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Abū l-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Bassām al-Shantarīnī Date of Birth: Second half of the 11th century Place of Birth: Santarem, Portugal Date of Death: 1147 Place of Death: Possibly Santarem Biography Ibn Bassām was born in the town of Santarem in the second half of the 11th century. We have very little information about his youth, except that he travelled to Lisbon in 1084-85. After the conquest of Santarem by Alfonso VI of Castile in 1092-93, Ibn Bassām was forced to leave his birthplace. Around the year 1100, Ibn Bassām went to Cordova for the first time, though the reasons for this are…

The gleaner, on the history of the people of al-Andalus, part of The great history Ibn Ḥayyān Date: Probably after 1058-59 Original Language: Arabic Description The Muqtabis is undoubtedly a primary source for reconstructing the history of al-Andalus between the end of the 8th and the end of the 10th centuries. As a supporter of the Umayyads, Ibn Ḥayyān was sharply critical of the fall of this dynasty, the break-up of centralized power, the civil war and lands given over to violence. However, he knew how to adapt himself to the new situation i…

The strong, part of The great history Ibn Ḥayyān Date: Mid-11th century; before 1076 Original Language: Arabic Description This work survives only in quotations from other authors, such as Ibn Bassām, who used it extensively, Ibn al-Abbār and Ibn Sa῾īd. The work was mainly compiled from oral sources that reflect the rich experience of the author, and show he witnessed the events he records. It told the histories of the taifa kingdoms and was not unlike the Kitāb al-muqtabis in structure, though probably less rigid and systematic. Significance Al-matīn contained interesting though sc…

Treasure, on the merits of the people of the Peninsula Ibn Bassām Date: Between 1100 and 1108-9 Original Language: Arabic Description The Dhakhīra is divided into four parts, on litterateurs ( udabā') and poets from Cordova, from western al-Andalus, from eastern al-Andalus, and from abroad. Within each part, Ibn Bassām arranges the contents according to litterateurs, secretaries, viziers and poets. Each chapter opens with a eulogy in which every kind of epistolary device is employed. Ibn Bassām frequently indicates his sources and changes in style and narrative. Despite its import…

Abū Marwān Ḥayyān ibn Khalaf ibn Ḥusayn ibn Ḥayyān al-Qurṭubī Date of Birth: 987-88 Place of Birth: Cordova Date of Death: 1076 Place of Death: Cordova Biography Few details about the life of Ibn Ḥayyān are known. His father was a secretary in the time of the vizier al-Manṣūr (d. 1002), and was known as an expert in mathematics and geometry ( al-misāḥa). Thus, Ibn Ḥayyān would have grown up in a cultivated environment and received a thorough education. He saw the fall of the Umayyad caliphate of Cordova in 1031 and under their successors, the Jahwarids, he…

La fonction de ṣāḥib al-madīna n’apparaît guère que dans la documentation relative à l’Andalus. Le juriste grenadin Ibn Sahl [ q.v.], dans ses al-Aḥkam al-kubrā, la mentionne parmi les six charges ( khuṭṭa ou «magistratures») traditionnelles, qui donnent à leurs détenteurs le droit de rendre des jugements (le kāḍī, le ṣāḥib al-s̲h̲urṭa, le ṣāḥib al-maẓālim, le ṣāḥib al-radd, le ṣāḥib al-madīna et le ṣāḥib al-sūḳ). D’après le Valencien Ibn al-Abbār [ q.v.], il existait jusqu’au VIIe/XIIe siècle deux magistratures distinctes, celle du ṣāḥib al-madīna et celle du ṣāḥib al-s̲h̲urṭa. Ib…

, sing. Ṣaḳlabī, Ṣiḳlabī, dans les sources islamiques du Moyen-Age, désignation des Slaves et d’autres peuples d’Europe du Nord aux cheveux blonds et à la peau colorée (voir A. Z. Velidi Togan, Die Schwerter der Germanen, 19-38). 1. Les Ṣaḳāliba d’Europe du Nord et de l’Est. Le vrai nom des Ṣaḳāliba était «Slave», un mot d’emprunt du grec moyen ΣκλάβοΣ. Celui-ci, à son tour, est à relier à Slovĕne, appellation choisie par les Slaves eux-mêmes (cf. l’emploi par les Rus’ de Slovĕne, Slovyane, Sloven’skiy yazik «Slaves», «nation slave», dans le Povest’ vremyannik̲h̲ let, dans PSRL, I, 5-6, …

(a.), an administrative function found in mediaeval Islamic Spain. Documentation for this is almost exclusively found in regard to al-Andalus. The Granadan jurist Ibn Sahl [ q.v.], in his al-Aḥkām al-kubrā , mentions it amongst the six traditional functions ( k̲h̲uṭṭa or “magistratures”) which gave their holders the right to pronounce judgements (the ḳāḍī , the ṣāḥib al-s̲h̲urṭa , the s. al-maẓālim , the ṣ. al-radd , the ṣ. al-madīna and the ṣ. al-sūḳ ). According to the Valencian Ibn al-Abbār [ q.v.], there existed until the 7th/13th century two distinct magistratures, se. the ṣāḥib al-…

, sing. Ṣaḳlabī, Ṣiḳlabī, the designation in mediaeval Islamic sources for the Slavs and other fair-haired, ruddy-complexioned peoples of Northern Europe (see A.Z. Velidi Togan, Die Schwerter der Germanen , 19-38). 1. The Ṣaḳāliba of Northern and Eastern Europe. The actual name was a borrowing from Middle Greek Σλάβος, “Slav.” this, in turn, is to be connected with the self-designation of the Slavs, Slověne (cf. the Rus’ usage Slověne, Slovyane , Sloven’ski̊y yazi̊k “Slavs”, “Slavic nation” in the Povest’ vremyanni̊k̲h̲ let , in PSRL, i, 5-6, 28, Mod. Russ. Slavyane , Ukr. Slov’yani̊ …