Ibn Arabshah
Arab writer and traveller (1389–1450 CE)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Abu Muhammad Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Ibrahim also known as Muhammad ibn Arabshah (Arabic: ابن عَرَبْشَاه; 1389–1450), was an Arab[1] writer and traveller who lived under the reign of Timur (1370–1405).[2]
Ibn Arabshah Abu Muhammad Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Ibrahim أبو محمد شهاب الدين أحمد بن محمد بن عبد الله بن إبراهيم | |
|---|---|
The autograph of Ahmad ibn Arabshah, Aja'ib al-Maqdur fi Akhbar Taymur, dated 839, Adilnor Collection | |
| Born | 1389 Damascus, Mamluk Sultanate |
| Died | 1450 (aged 60–61) Egypt, Mamluk Sultanate |
Resting place | Egypt |
| Occupations | Arab writer, traveller and Historian |
| Writing career | |
| Pen name | Ibn Arabshah |
| Language | Arabic |
| Period | 9th Islamic century |
Arabshah was born and grew up in Damascus. Later when Timur invaded Syria, he was taken prisoner, along with his mother and sister, and transported as a slave to Samarkand and later to Transoxiana. Arabshah later moved to Edirne and worked in the court of Sultan Mehmed I translating Arabic books to Turkish and Persian. He later returned to Damascus after having been absent from the city for 23 years. In his critical biography of Timur, Aja'ib al-Maqdur, written in Arabic, Arabshah highlighted Timur's illiteracy of Arabic and his preference for Persian literature.[3] Later he moved to Egypt and died there.
The famous Muslim scholar, Abd al-Wahhab ibn Arabshah, was his son.
His works
- Aja'ib al-Maqdur fi Nawa'ib al-Taymur (The Wonders of Destiny of the Ravages of Timur), which he finished in Damascus on 12 August 1435. This book was translated and printed first time in Latin; Ahmedis Arabsiadae Vitae & rerum gestarum Timuri, qui vulgo Tamerlanes dicitur, historia. Lugduni Batavorum, ex typographia Elseviriana, 1636.
- al-Ta'lif al-tahir fi shiyam al-Malik al-Zahir (Life of Zahir)
- Fakihat al-Khulafa' wa Mufakahat al-Zurafa'
- Jami' al-Hikayat; translated from Persian to Turkish.
- al-'Aqd al-Farid fi al-Tawhid
- Ghurrat al-Siyar fi Duwal al-Turk wa al-Tatar
- Muntaha al-Adab fi Lughat al-Turk wa al-Ajam wa al-'Arab