Abu Ali Muhammad Bal'ami ( fa, ابو علی محمد, d. 992-997 CE), also called Amirak Bal'ami () and Bal'ami-i Kuchak (, "Bal'ami the Younger"), was a 10th-century
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
historian, writer, and
vizier
A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called '' katib'' (secretary), who was ...
to the
Samanids People
Samanid
Samanid
Samanid
The Samanid Empire ( fa, سامانیان, Sāmāniyān) also known as the Samanian Empire, Samanid dynasty, Samanid amirate, or simply as the Samanids) was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire, of Iranian dehqan orig ...
. He was from the influential
Bal'ami family The Bal'ami family was a Persian family native to Khorasan and Transoxiana. The most famous members were Abu'l-Fadl al-Bal'ami (d. 940) and his son
Muhammad Bal'ami (d. 974).
Although some sources state that they were of Arab origin, they were mos ...
.
Biography
He was born in Lashjerd in the district of
Merv
Merv ( tk, Merw, ', مرو; fa, مرو, ''Marv''), also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), Antiochia in Margiana ( grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐν τῇ Μαργιανῇ) and ...
, then part of the Samanid Empire. He was the son of
Abu'l-Fadl al-Bal'ami Abu'l-Fadl al-Bal'ami, also known as Bal'ami the Elder (died November 14, 940), was a Samanid statesman from the al-Bal'ami family, who served as the ''vizier'' of Nasr II from 922 to 938.
Biography
Bal'ami is first mentioned as serving under the ...
(also called Bal'ami-i Buzurg; "Bal'ami the Elder"). Muhammad Bal'ami was appointed vizier during the late reign of
Abd al-Malik I (r. 954-961) and kept holding the office under Abd al-Malik's successor
Mansur I (r. 961-976). According to
Gardizi Abū Saʿīd ʿAbd-al-Ḥayy ibn Żaḥḥāk b. Maḥmūd Gardīzī ( fa, ابوسعید عبدالحی بن ضحاک بن محمود گردیزی), better known as Gardizi (), was an 11th-century Persian historian and official, who is notable for ...
, Bal'ami died in March 974 while serving in office, but according to the Persian historian al-Utbi, he was later from removed the vizierate office, and was reappointed later as the vizier of
Nuh II
Nuh II ( fa, نوح, died 22 July 997)''Tabaqat-i Nasiri'' by Minhaj-i-Siraj, pg. 107, Lahore Sangmil Publications 2004 was amir of the Samanids (976–997). He was the son and successor of Mansur I.
Beginning and Middle of Reign
Having ascended ...
(r. 976-997), but chose to retire in 992, dying in an unknown date before 997.
Work
Bal'ami most famous work is ''
Tarikhnama
''Tarikh-i Bal'ami'' ( fa, تاریخ بلعمی, , History of Bal-ami) or ''Tārīkhnāmeh'' (, 'Book of History') is the earliest known extant prose book in the Persian language written by Muhammad Bal'ami, a vizier in Samanid service. The 10t ...
'', a historical text that spans a period beginning with the dawn of creation through to the Islamic age. The book was translated into
Turkish and
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
and remained in circulation for a thousand years. It is among the most influential books of Islamic historical literature and contains supplementary material, some of which is found nowhere else.
Though Bal'ami claims the ''Tarikhnama'' is a translation of
al-Tabari's ''
History of the Prophets and Kings'', it is actually an independent work.
Nizami Aruzi Ahmad ibn Umar ibn Alī, known as Nizamī-i Arūzī-i Samarqandī ( fa, نظامی عروضی) and also Arudi ("The Prosodist"), was a Persian poet and prose writer who flourished between 1110 and 1161. He is particularly famous for his ''Chahar M ...
makes mention of a book composed by Bal'ami named ''Tawqi'at'', and two lines by Bal'ami are cited in the '' Farhang-e Jahangiri'' by Jamal al-Din Hosayn Enju Shirazi. However, it is not known if this refers to Bal'ami or his father, Bal'ami the Elder.
References
Sources
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Further reading
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External links
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{{Authority control
10th-century Iranian historians
Samanid viziers
Samanid-period poets
Bal'ami family
974 deaths
Samanid historians