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Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Mūsā ibn Saʿīd al-Maghribī ( ar, علي بن موسى المغربي بن سعيد) (1213–1286), also known as Ibn Saʿīd al-Andalusī, was an
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
geographer, historian, poet, and the most important collector of poetry from
al-Andalus Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...
in the 12th and 13th centuries.


Biography

Ibn Said was born at
Alcalá la Real Alcalá la Real is a city in the Jaén (Spanish province), province of Jaén, Spain. According to the 2006 census (Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain), INE), the city has a population of 22,129. Geography Alcalá la Real is situated from ...
near
Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
to a prominent family which was descended from the Companion of the Prophet
Ammar ibn Yasir Abū 'l-Yaqẓān ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir ibn ʿĀmir ibn Mālik al-ʿAnsīy al-Maḏḥiǧī ( ar, أبو اليقظان عمار ابن ياسر ابن عامر ابن مالك العنسي المذحجي) also known as Abū 'l-Yaqẓān ʿAmmār i ...
. Many of his family members were literary figures, and grew up in
Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...
. He subsequently studied in
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
and stayed in
Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...
,
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
,
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
,
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
and
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
. At the age of 30, he undertook a pilgrimage to
Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
. He was also a close friend of the Muwallad poet Ibn Mokond Al-Lishboni (of
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
). His last years were spent in Tunis, and he died there in 1286.


Writings

Ibn Said al-Maghribi wrote or compiled 'at least forty works on various branches of knowledge'. Ibn Said's best known achievement was the completion of the fifteen-volume '' al-Mughrib fī ḥulā l-Maghrib'' ('The Extraordinary Book on the Adornments of the West'), which had been started over a century before by Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥijārī (1106–55) at the behest of Ibn Said's great-grandfather ‘Abd al-Malik. Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥijārī completed 6 volumes, ‘Abd al-Malik added to them; two of ‘Abd al-Malik's sons (Ibn Said's grandfather and great uncle) added more; Ibn Said's father worked on it further; and Ibn Said completed it. The work is also known as the ''Kitāb al-Mughrib'' ('book of the Maghrib'), and is midway between an anthology of poetry and a geography, collecting information on the poets of Maghreb organized by geographical origin. Part of the ''Mughrib'' circulated separately as ''
Rāyāt al-mubarrizīn wa-ghāyāt al-mumayyazīn ''Rāyāt al-mubarrizīn wa-ghāyāt al-mumayyazīn'' ( ar, رايات المبرزين وغايات المميزين, ''Banners of the Champions and the Standards of the Distinguished'', also translated as ''Pennants of the Champions'') is a thirt ...
'' (''Banners of the Champions and the Standards of the Distinguished''), which Ibn Said compiled in Cairo, completing it on 21 June 1243 (641 by Islamic dating). It is, in the words of
Louis Crompton Louis Crompton (April 5, 1925 – July 11, 2009) was a Canadian scholar, professor, author, and pioneer in the instruction of queer studies. Born to Master Mariner Clarence and Mabel Crompton, Crompton received an M.A. in mathematics from the U ...
, 'perhaps the most important' of the various medieval Andalucian poetry anthologies. 'His aim in compiling the collection seems to have been to show that poetry produced in the West was as good as anything the East had to offer (and that stuff by Ibn Sa'id and his family was especially good)'. As an indefatigable traveller, Ibn Said was profoundly interested in geography. In 1250 he wrote his ''Kitab bast al- ard fi 't -t ul wa-'l-'ard'' (The Book of the Extension of the Land on Longitudes and Latitudes). His ''Kitab al-Jughrafiya'' (''Geography'') embodies the experience of his extensive travels through the Muslim world and on the shores of the Indian Ocean. He also gives an account of parts of northern Europe including
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
. He visited Armenia and was at the Court of
Hulagu Khan Hulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulegu ( mn, Хүлэгү/ , lit=Surplus, translit=Hu’legu’/Qülegü; chg, ; Arabic: fa, هولاکو خان, ''Holâku Khân;'' ; 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of West ...
from 1256 to 1265. Ibn Said's works that are probably preserved only fragmentarily, in quotation by others, include ''Al-Ṭāli‘ al-Sa‘ı̄d fı̄ Tārı̄kh Banı̄ Sa‘ı̄d'', a history of the Banū Sa‘ı̄d.Marlé Hammond, 'He said "She said": Narrations of Women's Verse in Classical Arabic Literature. A Case Study: Nazhuūn's ''Hijā’'' of Abū Bakr al-Makhzūmī', ''Middle Eastern Literatures'', 6:1 (2003), 3-18 (p. 7). . An example of Ibn Said's own poems, which he included in the ''Rāyāt al-mubarrizīn wa-ghāyāt al-mumayyazīn'', is "Black horse with a white chest", here from
Cola Franzen Cola Franzen (February 4, 1923 – April 5, 2018) was an American writer and translator. Life She published more than twenty books of translations, by notable Spanish and Latin American authors. She was a member of ALTA (American Literary Translat ...
's translation into English of
Gómez Gómez (frequently anglicized as Gomez) is a common Spanish patronymic surname meaning "son of Gome". The Portuguese and Old Galician version is Gomes, while the Catalan form is Gomis. The given name ''Gome'' is derived from the Visigothic word ...
's 1930 Spanish translation:
Black hindquarters, white chest:
he flies on the wings of the wind.

When you look at him you see dark night
opening, giving way to dawn.

Sons of Shem and Ham live harmoniously
in him, and take no care for the words
of would-be troublemakers.

Men's eyes light up when they see
reflected in his beauty

the clear strong black and white
of the eyes of beautiful women.


Notes


External links


Geographia, in Arabic
* Excerpt from th
Book of the Maghrib
in English


References

*Ali Ibn Musa Ibn Said al-Magribi und sein Werk al-Gusun al-yaniafi mahasin su ara al-miça as-sabia by M. Kropp, in: Islam (Der) Berlin, 1980, vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 68–96 (2p.) *His history of the world and Islamic literature: ms. Escorial 1728. edition by Ibrahim al-Ibyari (2 vol.), Cairo 1968 * *''The Banners of the Champions of Ibn Said al-Maghribi'', translated by James Bellamy and Patricia Steiner (Madison: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, 1988) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ibn Said al-Maghribi 1213 births 1286 deaths 13th-century Arabs Poets of Al-Andalus 13th-century Al-Andalus writers Geographers from Al-Andalus 13th-century geographers