Abu Ali Muhammad Bal'ami (, died 992/997 CE), also called Amirak Bal'ami () and Bal'ami-i Kuchak (, "Bal'ami the Younger"), was a 10th-century
Persian historian, writer, and
vizier to the
Samanids. He was from the influential
Bal'ami family.
Biography
He was born in Lashjerd in the district of
Merv, then part of the Samanid Empire. He was the son of
Abu'l-Fadl al-Bal'ami (also called Bal'ami-i Buzurg; "Bal'ami the Elder"). Muhammad Bal'ami was appointed vizier late in the 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, 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 (r. 976-997), but chose to retire in 992, dying in an unknown date before 997.
Work
Bal'ami most famous work is ''
Tarikhnama'', 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 Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
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.
Abu Mansur Muhammad
Abu Mansur Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Razzaq ibn 'Abdallah ibn Farrukh, also simply known as Abu Mansur Muhammad and Ibn 'Abd al-Razzaq, was an Iranian peoples, Iranian aristocrat who served the Samanids for most of his career, and briefly served as gove ...
.
The 12th-century poet Nizami Aruzi 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
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
10th-century Iranian historians
Samanid viziers
Poets from the Samanid Empire
Bal'ami family
974 deaths
Historians from the Samanid Empire