- Ibn Khallikan (1842–1871). Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary, Translated from the Arabic (4 vols.). Translated by Baron Mac Guckin de Slane. Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
Shams al-Dīn Abū Al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad Ibn Muḥammad Ibn Khallikān | |
|---|---|
ابن خلكان | |
| Title | Chief Judge |
| Personal | |
| Born | 22 September 1211 |
| Died | 30 October 1282 (aged 71) |
| Religion | Islam |
| Region | Middle East |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Shafi'i[1] |
| Creed | Ash'ari[2] |
| Notable work(s) | Deaths of Eminent Men and History of the Sons of the Epoch |
Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin Ibrāhīm bin Abū Bakr ibn Khallikān[a][3] (Arabic: أحمد بن محمد بن إبراهيم بن أبي بكر ابن خلكان; 22 September 1211 – 30 October 1282), better known as Ibn Khallikān, was a renowned Islamic historian who compiled the celebrated biographical encyclopedia of Muslim scholars and important men in Muslim history, Deaths of Eminent Men and the Sons of the Epoch ('Wafayāt al-Aʿyān wa-Anbāʾ Abnāʾ az-Zamān').[4] Due to this achievement, he is regarded as the most eminent writer of biographies in Islamic history.[5]
Ibn Khallikān was born in Erbil on 22 September 1211 (11 Rabī’ al-Thānī, 608), into a respectable family that claimed descent from Barmakids,[3] an Iranian dynasty of Balkhi origin.[6]
His primary studies took him from Arbil, to Aleppo and to Damascus,[7] before he took up jurisprudence in Mosul and then in Cairo, where he settled.[8] He gained prominence as a jurist, theologian and grammarian.[8] An early biographer described him as "a pious man, virtuous, and learned; amiable in temper, in conversation serious and instructive. His exterior was highly prepossessing, his countenance handsome and his manners engaging."[9]
He married in 1252[8] and was assistant to the chief judge in Egypt until 1261, when he assumed the position of chief judge in Damascus.[7] He lost this position in 1271 and returned to Egypt, where he taught until being reinstated as judge in Damascus in 1278.[7] He retired in 1281[8] and died in Damascus on 30 October 1282 (Saturday, 26th of Rajab 681).[7]
