Ibn Hayyan

Abū Marwān Ḥayyān ibn Khalaf ibn Ḥusayn ibn Ḥayyān al-Qurṭubī () (987–1075), usually known as Ibn Hayyan, was a Muslim historian from Al-Andalus.

Born at Córdoba, his father was an important official at the court of the Andalusian ruler al-Mansur and published several works on history which have only survived in part. His books constitute one of the most important sources for the study of the Andalusian history, especially the history of Córdoba and the kings of the taifas. His work also provides an early reference to Viking raiders, called ''Majus'' by him.

Like Ibn Hazm he defended the dynasty of the Umayyads and deplored its fall and the following dissolution of the Andalusian state and the coming of the ''taifas''.

He died in Córdoba in 1075.

Works

The following works are ascribed to Ibn Hayyan:
*''Tarikh Fuqaha Qurtuba''
*''Al-Kitab al ladi Jama'a fihi bayna Kitbay al-Qubbashi wa Ibn Afif''
*''Intijab al-Jamil li Ma'athir Banu Khatab''
*''Al-Akhbar fi'l Dawla al-Amiriya'' (in 100 volumes)
*''Al-Batsha al-Kubra'' (in ten volumes).
*''Al-Muqtabis fi Tarikh al-Andalus'' (in ten volumes)Meouak, Mohamed, "Kitāb al-muqtabis fī ta'rīkh rijāl al-Andalus, part of Al-ta'rīkh al-kabīr." Christian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical History. , 2012. Reference. 27 February 2012
http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/christian-muslim-relations/kitab-al-muqtabis-fi-tarikh-rijal-al-andalus-part-of-al-tarikh-al-kabir-COM_23341

*''Kitab al-Matin''.

His best-known works are ''al-Muqtabis'' and ''al-Matin''.

References

*Abd al-Rahman al-Hajji (ed.), ''Al-Muqtabis''. Beirut: 1965. Partial Spanish translation in F. Corriente and M.J. Viguera, ''Cronica del Califa Abdurrahmen III entre les anos 912 y 942'' (Zaragoza, 1981)
*David J. Wasserstein. ''The Caliphate in the West: An Islamic Political Institution in the Iberian Peninsula''.

External links

Muslim Heritage.com: Historians in North Africa and Spain

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibn Hayyan
987 births
1075 deaths
11th-century Arabic writers
11th-century Al-Andalus historians
Court scholars
11th-century Al-Andalus writers
People from Córdoba, Spain