Title: An Ayyubid notable and his world : Ibn al-ʻAdīm and Aleppo as portrayed in his biographical dictionary of people associated with the city /
Authors: Morray, D. W.
Publisher: E.J. Brill,
Year: 1994
Subjects: Ibn al-ʻAdīm, Kamāl al-Dīn ʻUmar ibn Aḥmad,; Aleppo (Syria) Biography.
Abstract: "This book examines the life and milieu of the thirteenth-century northern Syrian statesman and author Ibn al-‘Adīm, as reflected in his principal work, the dictionary of people associated with his native Aleppo, the Bughyat al-ṭalab fī ta’rīkh ḥalab. The book is an examination of the text, in particular Ibn al-‘Adīm's biographies of his contemporaries, and a discussion of topics suggested by the material. These include the influence of different groups within Aleppo, why and how the dictionary was written, and the personality of the author himself. The study adds social, literary and human dimensions to our knowledge of the place and period. It is also a lucid guide to a long neglected source, the extant Arabic text which has only recently been published in full."--
Contents: 1. Introduction. 1.1. Ibn al-Adim and the Bughyat al-talab fi tarikh Halab ; 1.2. Northern Syria in Ibn al-Adim's lifetime ; 1.3. The Bughyah: form and content ; 1.4. The Bughyah and the development of Arabic prosopography ; 1.5. The Bughyah: possibilities and constraints -- 2. Selected Contemporary Notices. 2.1. Choice and presentation ; 2.2. List of subjects ; 2.3. Notices -- 3. The world of the Bughyah. 3.1. The religious notables of Aleppo and the ruler ; 3.2. Landlords ; 3.3. Schoolmen ; 3.4. Mystics -- 4. The Bughyah: official reflections -- 5. The gathering of the Bughyah. 5.1. Ibn al-Adim's diplomatic travels ; 5.2. The work of a grand collector -- 6. The penning of the Bughyah. 6.1. The writing up of a lifetime's collecting ; 6.2. The later history of the manuscripts -- 7. The Bughyah: personal reflections. 7.1. Likes and dislikes ; 7.2. Theory and practice ; 7.3. An anthologer's style -- 8. Conclusion -- Appendix A. Publishing history of the Bughyah -- App. B. Re-ordered list of the contents of the topographical introduction.