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[ʾAḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Jābir ibn Dāwūd al-Balādhurī] 2nd/3rd century ah (9th century ad).Mesopotamia. Author of two Arabic books of dynastic history, Futūh al-Buldān and Ansāb al-Ashrāf. Balādhurī was descended from a wealthy family that had strong connections with ministers and Caliphs in Baghdad. He inherited his surname (patronymic) from his grandfather. Though his exact date of birth is uncertain, it is obvious that Balādhurī lived in Baghdad for a period of time, since he mentions being a student to Hudha ibn Khalīfa (d. 216/831). Later, he travelled to Damascus and visited a nu…

[Kamāl al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Razzāq ibn ʾAḥmad ibn al-Fuwati] 642-723 ah (1244-1323 ad). Mesopotamia. Born in Baghdad, historian and librarian. Most of his work is lost but he is especially known for the Madjmaʿ al-ādāb fī muʿdjam al-alkāb, a biographical dictionary dealing with personalities of his lifetime and concentrated on the events in Baghdad. The biographies are arranged by honorary titles as well as by nicknames.He also wrote other works of different character, like poetical-biographical collections which are lost and are only known to us by title.Hasan al-NaboodahBibliography T…

[Shihāb al-Dīn Abu ʿAbd Allah al-Hamawī al-Rūmī] b. 574/75 ah (1179 ad). Mesopotamia. Yāqūt ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Hamawī al-Rūmī was born in Asia Minor. As a prisoner of war, he was purchased by a merchant from Baghdad who taught him to read and write and made him his assistant, sending him on a commercial mission to Qais (Kish) Island, which was a centre of world trade at the time. Yāqūt devoted himself to literacy, and worked as a book scribe whose manuscripts were sold in Baghdad. On re-joining his master, …