The first written record of the Magellanic Clouds was by the Persian astronomer Al Sufi. In 964 he wrote the "Book of Fixed Stars". He called the Large Magellanic Cloud "al-Bakr" (the Sheep) "of the southern Arabs". He wrote that the Cloud could not be seen from northern Arabia and Baghdad, but could be seen at the strait of Bab el Mandeb (12°15' N). This is the southernmost point of Arabia.