Qustaki al-Himsi ( ar, قسطاكي الحمصي, ; 1858–1941) was a

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

writer and poet of the

Nahda The Nahda ( ar, النهضة, translit=an-nahḍa, meaning "the Awakening"), also referred to as the Arab Awakening or Enlightenment, was a cultural movement that flourished in Arabic-speaking regions of the Ottoman Empire, notably in Egypt, Leb ...

movement (the Arabic renaissance), a prominent figure in the Arabic literature of the 19th and 20th centuries and one of the first reformers of the traditional Arabic poetry. With his book ''The researcher's source in the science of criticism'', al-Himsi is considered to be the founder of modern

literary criticism Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. ...

among the Arab scholars.

Life

Qustaki al-Himsi was born on February 4, 1858 in Aleppo. He was a descendant of the al-Mashrouqi family of the Syrian city of

Homs ar, حمصي, Himsi , population_urban = , population_density_urban_km2 = , population_density_urban_sq_mi = , population_blank1_title = Ethnicities , population_blank1 = , population_blank2_t ...

. Al-Himsi's ancestors migrated to Aleppo during the first half of the 16th century and embraced the al-Himsi surname. Al-Himsi lost his father when he was 15 years old. He was raised by his mother Sousan Dallal in a highly educated community. His uncle, the prominent writer Gebrail Dallal ( ar, جبرائيل دلال), had a great influence on him, nurturing his love for Arabic literature and poetry. He received his preliminary education in the Roman Catholic school of Aleppo. Later, he studied Arabic and French literature in the "Terre-Sainte College" of the

Franciscan order The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

al-Shibani Church Al-Shibani Church ( ar, كنيسة الشيباني, Kanīsa aš-Šībānī), also known as al-Shibani School ( ar, مدرسة الشيباني, Madrasa aš-Šībānī), is a 12th-century religious and cultural centre located in al-Jalloum distric ...

of Aleppo. Al-Himsi became a wealthy and successful tradesman, visiting

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, and other French cities on several occasions. He mastered the French language during his long stays in France. He left his commercial activities in 1905. After the 1908 revolution in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

, he was elected as a member of the Aleppo city council many times and once as the assistant to the head council. Al-Himsi's cultural knowledge and wealth were gained through his vast collection of Arabic and European books and publications, as well as his great love for reading the works of elite European poets. He was known as the Voyager Poet due to his frequent visits to France,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

and

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. In 1922, he was appointed member of the Arab Scientific Academy in Damascus. Despite his great love for travel, al-Himsi lived and worked in Aleppo his whole life until his death in 1941.

Works

Scientific writings

*''The Enchantment of al-Dallal's Poetry'' ( ar, السحر الحلال في شعر الدلال / ''Al-Siḥr al-ḥalāl fī shi‘r al-Dallāl''), 1903,

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 metr ...

. *''The Researcher's Source in the Science of Criticism'' ( ar, منهل الورّاد في علم الانتقاد / ''Manhal al-warrād fī ‘ilm al-intiqād''), vol. 1 and 2, 1907, Cairo, vol. 3, 1935, Aleppo. *''Prominent Scholars of Aleppo in the Nineteenth Century'' ( ar, أدباء حلب ذوو الأثر في القرن التاسع عشر / ''Udabā’ Ḥalab dhawū al-’athar fī al-qarn al-tāsi‘ ‘ashar''), 1925, Aleppo. *''The Mirror of Souls'' ( ar, مرآة النفوس / ''Mir’āt al-nufūs''), 1935, Aleppo.

Poetry

The full collection of al-Himsi's poems has not yet been published. *''Anāshīd min al-‘Ahd al-Qadīm'' (Songs from the Old Testament), 1907,

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, Alexandri ...

Collections published in al-Himsi's lifetime

*''Mukhtārāt min nuẓum Qustākī al-Ḥimṣī'' (Selection from the poems of Qustaki al-Himsi), 1939, Aleppo.

Translations

Al-Himsi translated many works of the French literature into Arabic.

Honours

Qustaki al-Himsi was honoured in his native city of Aleppo by renaming a street at the centre of the city after him. His statue was erected in 1971 at the centre of the Liberty Square of Aziziyah district in Aleppo. The home of Qustaki al-Himsi in Aleppo was turned into a house-museum by the efforts of his grandson.EAleppo:A visit to the house-museum of Qustaki al-Himsi (in Arabic)
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Himsi, Qustaki al- 1858 births 1941 deaths Nahda Arab Christians 19th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire 20th-century Syrian writers Syrian poets People from Aleppo Syrian Christians Arabs from the Ottoman Empire Syrian literary critics Ottoman Arabic poets Himsi family