Ibn abd al-Malik al-Marrakushi or al-Murrakushi (Full name: ''Abu abd Allah Muhammed ibn Muhammed ibn abd al-Malik al-Marrakushi'' ) (b. 5 July 1237 – September 1303) was a Moroccan

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

scholar, historian, judge and biographer. He is the author of the famous book '''Ad-Dayl wa Takmila, a nine-volume biographical encyclopaedia of notable people from

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and

al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

Life

Born into a notable family of prestigious Arab lineage in Marrakech, hence the ''nisba'', ''al-Marrakushi''. In 1300, Ibn Abd al-Malik left

Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

following the court of the

Marinid The Marinid dynasty ( ) was a Berber Muslim dynasty that controlled present-day Morocco from the mid-13th to the 15th century and intermittently controlled other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian Peninsula ...

King

Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr () (died 13 May 1307) was a Marinid ruler. He was the son of Abu Yusuf Ya'qub, whom he succeeded in 1286. His mother was a sharifa, Lalla Oum'el'Iz bint Mohammed al-Alaoui. He was assassinated in 1307. History Abu ...

and settled in

Mansourah Mansoura (; ' , rural: ) is a city in Egypt located on the eastern bank of the Damietta branch of the Nile river. The city is the capital of the Dakahlia Governorate and has a population of 621,953 as of 2021. Etymology ''Mansoura'' in Arabic ...

, where the Marinids were besieging

Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran and is the capital of Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the port of Rachgoun. It had a population of ...

in an attempt to oust the Abd al-Wadid dynasty. He seems to have died there three years later in September 1303, despite reports of him being at

Aghmat Aghmat ( Tashelhit: ''Aɣmat'', ''Āghmāt''; pronounced locally ''Ughmat, Uɣmat'') was an important commercial medieval Berber town in Morocco. It is today an archaeological site known as "Joumâa Aghmat". The city is located approximately 30& ...

only three months earlier. He had a son who settled in

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

where he became a close friend of

Ibn al-Khatib Lisan ad-Din Ibn al-Khatib (; 16 November 1313 – 1374) was an Arab Andalusi polymath, poet, writer, historian, philosopher, physician and politician from Emirate of Granada. Being one of the most notable poets from Granada, his poems decorate ...

. The latter based much of his biographical book A''l-Ihata'' on the works of Ibn abd al-Malik.

Work

* ''Ad-Dayl wa Takmila'' () ('Appendix and Supplement'); Ibn abd al-Malik's biographical dictionary and life's work completed months before his death. His intention to complete the biographical dictionaries of

Ibn Bashkuwāl Ibn Bashkuwāl, Khalaf ibn ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Mas'ud ibn Musa ibn Bashkuwāl ibn Yûsuf al-Ansârī, Abū'l-Qāsim () (var. Ḫalaf b.'Abd al- Malik b. Mas'ūd b. Mūsā b. Baškuwāl, Abū'l-Qāsim; September 1101 in Córdoba (Spain), Córdoba ...

and Ibn al-Faraḍī resulted in this surpassing sequel. Of the nine original, approx., 700 page volumes, four volumes survive intactvols. 1, 5, 6, 8. Two more survive in partvols. 2 and 4. The work is rich in detail. Some inaccurate renderings in name pronunciation arise from the Arabic writing system. :''Al-Dhayl wa-al-takmilah : li-kitābay al-Mawṣūl wa-al-Ṣilah'' ()

Life

Work

References

See also