Ibn Amira or Ahmad ibn Abd Allah Ibn Amira (1186 Alzira

Alzira

Alzira may refer to:*Alzira , an opera by Giuseppe Verdi*Alzira, Valencia, a town in Spain, also known as Alcira...

 in the province of Valencia

Valencia (province)

Valencia or València is a province of Spain, in the central part of the Valencian Community.It is bordered by the provinces of Alicante, Albacete, Cuenca, Teruel, Castellón, and the Mediterranean Sea...

- 1251/1259) was a historian, poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

, and scholar of law from al-Andalus

Al-Andalus

Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...

 during the reign of the Almohad dynasty. Ibn Amira was Qadi

Qadi

Qadi is a judge ruling in accordance with Islamic religious law appointed by the ruler of a Muslim country. Because Islam makes no distinction between religious and secular domains, qadis traditionally have jurisdiction over all legal matters involving Muslims...

 of Mallorca

Mallorca

Majorca or Mallorca is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands.The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca...

 and worked for the Almohad

Almohad

The Almohad Dynasty , was a Moroccan Berber-Muslim dynasty founded in the 12th century that established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains in roughly 1120.The movement was started by Ibn Tumart in the Masmuda tribe, followed by Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi between 1130 and his...

 sultan in Valencia and Sevilla and moved to Morocco in 1239/40 (after the fall of Valencia in 1238) and continued to work for the sultan there.

The theme of paradise lost (al-firdaws al-mafqud) was expressed by the Valencian exile in his 'Letter to a Friend'. This friend was the poet Ibn al-Abbar

Ibn al-Abbar

Ibn al-Abbar, in full Abu Abd Allah Muhammad Ibn al-Abbar was a well-known poet, diplomat, theologian and scholar from al-Andalus and perhaps the most famous man of letters produced by the city of Valencia during the Middle Ages.Ibn al-Abbar began his official career as a secretary to the Muslim...

.: "An ocean of sadness rages inside us, Our hearts, desperate, burn with eternal flames. The city was so beautiful with its gardens and rivers, The nights were imbued with the sweet fragrance of narcissus."

Ibn Amira is also the author of a manuscript about the history of Mallorca

Mallorca

Majorca or Mallorca is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands.The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca...

, Tarij Mayurqa. The manuscript (written between 1203 and 1232) is translated into Spanish by the historian Guillem Rosselló Bordoy.