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Al-Maqrīzī or Maḳrīzī (
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
: ), whose full name was Taqī al-Dīn Abū al-'Abbās Aḥmad ibn 'Alī ibn 'Abd al-Qādir ibn Muḥammad al-Maqrīzī (
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
: ) (1364–1442) was a medieval Egyptian Arab historian during the Mamluk era, known for his interest in the
Fatimid dynasty The Fatimid dynasty () was an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty of Arab descent that ruled an extensive empire, the Fatimid Caliphate, between 909 and 1171 CE. Claiming descent from Fatima and Ali, they also held the Isma'ili imamate, claiming to be the r ...
and its role in Egyptian history.


Life

A direct student of Ibn Khaldun, Al-Maqrīzī was born in Cairo and spent most of his life in Egypt. When he presents himself in his books he usually stops at the 10th forefather although he confessed to some of his close friends that he can trace his ancestry to Al-Mu‘izz li-Dīn Allāh – first Fatimid caliph in Egypt and the founder of al-Qahirah – and even to Ali ibn Abi Talib. He was trained in the
Hanafi The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named a ...
te school of law. Later, he switched to the
Shafi'i The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...
te school and finally to the Zahirite school. Maqrizi studied theology under one of the primary masterminds behind the
Zahiri Revolt The Zahiri Revolt was a conspiracy leading to a failed coup d'état against the government of the 14th-century Mamluk Sultanate, having been characterized as both a political struggle and a theological conflict. While the initial support for the ...
, and his vocal support and sympathy with that revolt against the Mamluks likely cost him higher administrative and clerical positions with the Mamluk regime. The name Maqrizi was an attribution to a quarter of the city of Baalbek, from where his paternal grandparents hailed. Maqrizi confessed to his contemporaries that he believed that he was related to the Fatimids through the son of
al-Muizz Abu Tamim Ma'ad al-Muizz li-Din Allah ( ar, ابو تميم معد المعزّ لدين الله, Abū Tamīm Maʿad al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, Glorifier of the Religion of God; 26 September 932 – 19 December 975) was the fourth Fatimid calip ...
. Ibn Hajar preserves the most memorable account: his father, as they entered the
al-Hakim Mosque The Mosque of al-Hakim ( ar, مسجد الحاكم بأمر الله, Masjid al-Ḥākim bi Amr Allāh), nicknamed al-Anwar ( ar, الانور, lit=the Illuminated), is a historic mosque in Cairo, Egypt. It is named after Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (98 ...
one day, told him "My son, you are entering the mosque of your ancestor." However, his father also instructed al-Maqrizi not to reveal this information to anyone he could not trust; Walker concludes: :Ultimately it would be hard to conclude that al-Maqrizi conceived any more than an antiquarian interest in the Fatimids. His main concern seems more likely to be the meaning they and their city might have for the present, that is, for Mamluk Egypt and its role in Islam. (p. 167) In 1385, he went on the Islamic pilgrimage, the Hajj. For some time he was secretary in a government office, and in 1399 became inspector of markets for Cairo and northern Egypt. This post he soon gave up to become a preacher at the
Mosque of 'Amr ibn al 'As The Mosque of Amr ibn al-As ( ar, جامع عمرو بن العاص), or Taj al-Jawame' ( ar, تاج الجوامِع, lit=Crown of Mosques), or Masjid Ahl ar-Rayah ( ar, مسجد اهل الرّاية, lit=Mosque of the Banner Bearers), or Ja ...
, president of the
al-Hakim Mosque The Mosque of al-Hakim ( ar, مسجد الحاكم بأمر الله, Masjid al-Ḥākim bi Amr Allāh), nicknamed al-Anwar ( ar, الانور, lit=the Illuminated), is a historic mosque in Cairo, Egypt. It is named after Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (98 ...
, and a lecturer on tradition. In 1408, he went to Damascus to become inspector of the Qalanisryya and lecturer. Later, he retired into private life at Cairo. In 1430, he again went on Hajj with his family and travelled for some five years. His learning was great, his observation accurate and his judgement good, but his books are largely compilations, and he does not always acknowledge the sources upon which he relied.


Works

Most of Al-Maqrizi's works, exceeding 200, are concerned with Egypt. *''Al-Mawāʻiẓ wa-al-Iʻtibār bi-Dhikr al-Khiṭaṭ wa-al-āthār''
Arabic, 2 vols., Bulaq, 1853
; French translation by
Urbain Bouriant Urbain Bouriant (11 April 1849 – 19 June 1903) was a French Egyptologist, who discovered the Gospel of Peter in a tomb at Akhmim. He is best known from his translation of Al-Maqrizi, published as ''Description topographique et historique de l'Eg ...
as ''Description topographique et historique de l'Égypte'' (Paris, 1895–1900; compare A. R. Guest, "A List of Writers, Books and other Authorities mentioned by El Maqrizi in his Khitat," in ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society'', 1902, pp. 103–125). *''Itti‘āz al-Ḥunafā’ bi-Akhbār al-A’immah al-Fāṭimīyīn al-Khulafā’'' *''Kitāb al-Khiṭaṭ al-Maqrīzīyah'' *''Kitāb al-Sulūk li-Ma‘rifat Duwal al-Mulūk'' *''History of the Fatimites''; extract published by J.G.L. Kosegarten in ''Chrestomathia'' (Leipzig, 1828), pp. 115–123; *''History of the Ayyubit and Mameluke Rulers''; French translation by Etienne Marc Quatremère (2 vols., Paris, 1837–1845). *''Muqaffa'', first sixteen-volumes of an Egyptian biographic encyclopedia arranged in alphabetic order. The Egyptian historian,
al-Sakhawi Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Sakhāwī ( ar, شمس الدين محمد بن عبدالرحمن السخاوي, 1428/831 AH – 1497/902 AH) was a reputable Shafi‘i Muslim hadith scholar and historian who was born in Cair ...
, estimated that the complete work would require eighty volumes. Three autograph volumes exist in manuscript in
Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...
and one in Paris.


Smaller works

*''Mahomeddan Coinage'' (ed. O. G. Tychsen, Rostock, 1797; French translation by
Silvestre de Sacy Antoine Isaac, Baron Silvestre de Sacy (; 21 September 175821 February 1838), was a French nobleman, linguist and orientalist. His son, Ustazade Silvestre de Sacy, became a journalist. Life and works Early life Silvestre de Sacy was born in Pa ...
, Paris, 1797) *''Arab Weights and Measures'' (ed. Tychsen, Rostock, 1800) *''Arabian Tribes that migrated to Egypt'' (ed. F. Wüstenfeld, Göttingen, 1847) *''Account of Hadhramaut'' (ed. P.B. Noskowyj, Bonn, 1866) *''Strife between the Bani Umayya and the Bani Hashim'' (ed. G. Vos, Leiden, 1888) *''Historia Regum Islamiticorum in Abyssinia'' (ed. and Latin trans. F. T. Rink, Leiden, 1790).


Books

* Al Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi dhikr al-khitat wa al-'athar (about the planning of Cairo and its monuments) **A. R. Guest, p. 103ff
A list of Writers, Books and other Authorities mentioned by El Maqrisi in his Khitat
* Al Selouk Leme'refatt Dewall al-Melouk (about Mamluk history in Egypt) * Ette'aaz al-honafa be Akhbaar al-A'emma Al Fatemeyyeen Al Kholafaa (about the Fatimid state) * Al Bayaan wal E'raab Amma Be Ard Misr min al A'raab (about the Arab Tribes in Egypt) * Eghathatt Al Omma be Kashf Al Ghomma (about the famines that took place in Egypt) * Al Muqaffa (biographies of princes and prominent personality of his time) * * (pp
115
−123: Al-Maqrizi, an extract of ''History of the Fatimites.'') * * * * * *A. R. Guest, 1902, in
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society The ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society'' is an academic journal which publishes articles on the history, archaeology, literature, language, religion and art of South Asia, the Middle East (together with North Africa and Ethiopia), Central Asi ...
, pp. 103–125:
A List of Writers, Books and other Authorities mentioned by El Maqrizi in his Khitat
(Notes on the 1853-edition) * * * * **alternative:


See also

*
List of Muslim historians :''This is a subarticle of Islamic scholars, List of Muslim scholars and List of historians.'' The following is a list of Muslim historians writing in the Islamic historiographical tradition, which developed from hadith literature in the time of ...
*
List of Arab scientists and scholars This is a list of Arab scientists and scholars from the Muslim World, including Al-Andalus (Spain), who lived from antiquity up until the beginning of the modern age, consisting primarily of scholars during the Middle Ages. For a list of cont ...


Notes


References


External links


''Mawa'iz'', online text
(in Arabic)

(in English)

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maqrizi 1364 births 1442 deaths 14th-century Arabic writers Historians from the Mamluk Sultanate 15th-century Arabic writers 15th-century biographers 15th-century Egyptian historians Egyptian encyclopedists 14th-century Egyptian historians Writers from Cairo Zahiris