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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 s…

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…