Al-Qifti
Encyclopedia
Al-Qifti or Ibn al-Qifti (Djamal al-Din Abu 'l-Hasan 'Ali b. Yusuf b. Ibrahim b. 'Abd al-Wahid al-Shaybani) (lived ca. 1172-1248) was a medieval Muslim writer. He is remembered today mainly for his History of Learned Men.
in Upper Egypt
. He studied in Cairo
, and moved to Jerusalem and later to Aleppo
, where he compiled most of his works.
26 of his works are known by title, of which only two survive:
Some fragments survive of the posthumous Akhbar al-Muhammadin min al-shu'ara (Ms. Paris Arab. 3335).
The lost works dealt mostly with historiography, including a history of Cairo, a history of the Seljuks, and histories of the Mirdasids, of the Buyids, of Mahmud b. Sabuktakin, of the Maghreb, and of the Yemen.
Life and Works
He was a native of QiftQift
Qift is a small town in the Qena Governorate of Egypt about 43 km north of Luxor, on the east bank of the Nile.-History:In ancient Egypt, Qift, known then as Gebtu, was an important center for administration, religion, and commerce, being the chief city of the fifth Upper Egyptian Nome of Harawî...
in Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt is the strip of land, on both sides of the Nile valley, that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan north to the area between El-Ayait and Zawyet Dahshur . The northern section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Sohag is sometimes known as Middle Egypt...
. He studied in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, and moved to Jerusalem and later to Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
, where he compiled most of his works.
26 of his works are known by title, of which only two survive:
- The History of Learned Men (Kitab Ikhbar al-'ulama' bi-akhbar al-hukama' , usually referred to simply as Ta'rikh al-hukama' ), which exists in an epitome by al-Zawzani (written in 1249). It contains 414 biographies of physicians, philosophers and astronomers.
- Inbah al-ruwat 'ala anbah al-nuhat which contains about a thousand biographies of Muslim scholars.
Some fragments survive of the posthumous Akhbar al-Muhammadin min al-shu'ara (Ms. Paris Arab. 3335).
The lost works dealt mostly with historiography, including a history of Cairo, a history of the Seljuks, and histories of the Mirdasids, of the Buyids, of Mahmud b. Sabuktakin, of the Maghreb, and of the Yemen.
External links
- English translation of a portion of Al-Qifti's Tarikh al-hukama - dealing with the destruction of the library of AlexandriaLibrary of AlexandriaThe Royal Library of Alexandria, or Ancient Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt, was the largest and most significant great library of the ancient world. It flourished under the patronage of the Ptolemaic dynasty and functioned as a major center of scholarship from its construction in the...
.