Kamāl al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Razzāḳ ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Fuwaṭī () best known as Ibn al-Fuwati (25 June 1244 – 1323), was a medieval librarian and historian who wrote a great deal, but whose works have mostly been lost. His most important extant work is the ''Talḵīṣ'', a biographical dictionary.

Biography

Ibn al-Fuwati was born on 25 June 1244 in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. His family originated in

Marw al-Rudh Marw-Rud (, also ''Marw-Rudh'') or Marw al-Rudh (from ; ), locally used to be known by the older variants Marwarudh () and Marrudh (),"مرورود" in Dehkhoda Dictionary was a medieval settlement in Greater Khurasan, Khurasan. It was also known ...

Khurasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...

. His '' nisba'' indicates that one of his parents was a seller of waist wraps (Arabic: ''fūṭa'', plural: ''fowaṭ''). Aged 14, he was enslaved and incarcerated by the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

at the

Siege of Baghdad The siege of Baghdad took place in early 1258. A large army commanded by Hulegu, a prince of the Mongol Empire, attacked the historic capital of the Abbasid Caliphate after a series of provocations from its ruler, caliph al-Musta'sim. Within ...

(1258) and was subsequently brought to Adharbayjan. In 1261/2, he joined

Nasir al-Din al-Tusi Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Ṭūsī (1201 – 1274), also known as Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī (; ) or simply as (al-)Tusi, was a Persians, Persian polymath, architect, Early Islamic philosophy, philosopher, Islamic medicine, phy ...

Maragheh Maragheh () is a city in the Central District (Maragheh County), Central District of Maragheh County, East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Maragheh is on the bank of ...

and was appointed librarian of the

Maragheh observatory The Maragheh observatory (Persian language, Persian: رصدخانه مراغه), also spelled Maragha, Maragah, Marageh, and Maraga, was an astronomical observatory established in the mid 13th century under the patronage of the Ilkhanid Hulagu and ...

by Tusi. While in Maragheh, Ibn al-Fuwati wrote a biographical dictionary of astronomers, the ''Taḏkerat man qaṣada’l-raṣad'' (non-extant). He stayed in Maragheh together with Tusi's son and successor Asil al-Din. In 1281, Ibn al-Fuwati returned to

on the request of

Ata-Malik Juvayni Ata-Malik Juvayni ; 1226 – 5 March 1283) was a bureaucrat and historian from the Juvayni family who served under the Mongol Empire. He is known for composing the ''Tarikh-i Jahangushay'' ("History of the World Conqueror"), an important account ...

and was appointed director of the Mustansiriya School. Ibn al-Fuwati visited Adharbayjan at least three times between 1304 and 1316. He retired to Baghdad after the execution of

Rashid-al-Din Hamadani Rashīd al-Dīn Ṭabīb (;‎ 1247–1318; also known as Rashīd al-Dīn Faḍlullāh Hamadānī, ) was a statesman, historian, and physician in Ilkhanate Iran.Charles P. Melville suggests that some of Ibn al-Fuwati's works were destroyed during the subsequent sack of the Rashidiya quarter. Ibn al-Fuwati's religious beliefs were not strictly categorizable, for he is variously claimed to have been a Hanbalite, Shafi'ite,

Shi'ite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood to ...

, and

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

. He drank wine and was renowned for his calligraphical works. He died in 1323 in Baghdad.

Literary output

Ibn al-Fuwait's most important extant work is his biographical dictionary, the ''Talḵīṣ''. The ''Talḵīṣ'' is believed to be an abridgement of the ''Majmaʿal-ādāb fī moʿjam al-alqāb''. However, it may be that the ''Majmaʿal-ādāb fī moʿjam al-alqāb'' never even existed. Melville notes that even if the work did exist, it was probably never completed. The ''Talḵīṣ'' itself was also never completed, for many entries are unfinished or left blank. The exact scope of the ''Talḵīṣ'' is not clearly defined, as it appears to include a wide array of people whose names Ibn al-Fuwati had come across. Most entries cover people from present-day

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and present-day western and central

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, especially

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

. Melville notes that the ''Talḵīṣ'' contains a wealth of information about the intellectual and cultural life of the

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...

. Ibn al-Fuwati studied

Mongolian Mongolian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Mongolia, a country in Asia * Mongolian people, or Mongols * Bogd Khanate of Mongolia, the government of Mongolia, 1911–1919 and 1921–1924 * Mongolian language * Mongolian alphabet * ...

and

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 ...

; although he did not write books in Persian, he did own a memorabilia book (''majmu'a'') for Persian poetry. In his ''Talḵīṣ'', Ibn al-Fuwati occasionally quotes Persian poetry.

References

Sources

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Biography

Literary output

References

Sources

Further reading