Ibrahim ibn Wasif Shah
Ibrāhīm ibn Waṣīf Shāh | |
|---|---|
| Died | c. 1202[1] |
| Occupation | Historian |
| Writing career | |
| Years active | 12th century CE |
| Notable work | Mukhtaṣar ʻajāʼib al-dunyā |
Ibrāhīm ibn Waṣīf Shāh (Arabic: ابراهيم بن وصيف شاه) also called Ibn Waṣīf al-Ṣābiʾ and romanized as Alguazif was an obscure Muslim writer who lived around the twelfth century.[2][3] He wrote on topics relating to the history of Egypt from ancient times to Islamic rule.[3][4][5] A manuscript of one of his books, the Ajā’ib al-Dunyā ("Wonders of the World"), is currently stored in the British Museum.[2][6]
Ibn Wasif Shah wrote detailed descriptions of the pyramids of Egypt while relating myths and legends regarding the foundation and origins of them.[5][7][8] He also wrote about the history of the ancient Nubian people and their civilization.[9][10] The medieval Arab historian Al-Maqrizi quoted extensively from him in his encyclopedic work Kitāb al-Mawāʿiẓ wa-al-iʿtibār.[11][12] Ibn Wasif Shah is also believed to be the writer of the Akhbar al-Zaman, a manuscript of unknown authorship that has been dated to the tenth century.[13][14] Some of his works have also been cited in the General Estoria by Alfonso X of Castile, under the name Alguazif.[14][15]
Works
- Qisas wa ʿajaʾib Miṣr ("Stories and Wonders of Egypt"). A book on the legends and mythology surrounding Egypt in the eye of Arabic tradition, that was quoted by Al-Maqrizi in his Kitāb al-Mawāʿiẓ.[11] This book does not exist anymore and only fragments of it exist in the form of quotations from the writings of Al-Maqrizi.[16]
- Mukhtaṣar ʻajāʼib al-dunyā ("The Abridged Wonders of the World"). A history and geography book that discusses the history of the various wonders of the world, such as the pyramids of Egypt. This book was republished in Beirut by printing press Dār al-Kutub al-ʻIlmīyah‘ in 2001.[17] One of its original manuscripts is preserved in the private collection of the British Museum.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ Ibn Wasif Shah, Ibrahim (2001). Kasrawi, Hassan (ed.). Mukhtaṣar ʻajāʼib al-dunyā [The Abridged Wonders of the World]. Beirut, Lebanon: Dār al-Kutub al-ʻIlmīyah. ISBN 2745132199.
- 1 2 3 Al-Zirikli (2002). Al-A'lām [Eminent Personalities] (in Arabic). Vol. 1 (15 ed.). Lebanon: Dar al-'Ilm lil-Malayin. p. 28.
- 1 2 Sezgin, Ursula (2012-04-24). "al-Waṣīfī". Brill Reference Works. Retrieved 2026-03-30.
- ↑ Gottheil, Richard (1907). "Al-Ḥasan ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Zūlāḳ". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 28: 254–270. doi:10.2307/592773. ISSN 0003-0279.
- 1 2 Cook, Michael (1983). "Pharaonic History in Medieval Egypt". Studia Islamica (57): 67–103. doi:10.2307/1595483. ISSN 0585-5292.
- ↑ "'Ajāʾib al-dunyā عجائب الدنيا Ibn Waṣīf Shāh, Ibrāhīm ابن وصيف شاه، إبراهيم [86r] (182/234)". Qatar Digital Library. 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2026-03-30.
- ↑ al-Suyūṭī, Jalāl al-Dīn; Nemoy, Leon (1939). "The Treatise on the Egyptian Pyramids (Tuḥfat al-kirām fī khabar al-ahrām)". Isis. 30 (1): 17–37. ISSN 0021-1753.
- ↑ Pérez, Alba San Juan. "Kitāb al-istibṣār (12th century) and its Legendary Perception of the Pyramids". Al-Andalus y el Mediterráneo islámico.
- ↑ Vantini, Giovanni (1975). Oriental sources concerning Nubia. Warsaw, Poland: Akademie der Wissenschaften.
- ↑ al-Qalqashandi, Abu al-Abbas (1982). Qalāʾid al-Jumān fī al-Taʿrīf bi-Qabāʾil ʿArab al-Zamān [Necklaces of Pearls: On Defining the Tribes of the Arabs of the Age] (in Arabic) (2nd ed.). Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-'Ilm lil-Malayin. p. 28.
- 1 2 Malan, S.C. (1873). A short history of the Copts and their Church. Strand, London: D. Nutt.
- ↑ Bouriant, Urban (1895). Casanova, Paul (ed.). Description historique et topographique de l'Egypte [Historical and topographical description of Egypt] (in French). France: E. Leroux.
- ↑ Carra de Vaux, Bernard (1984). Miquel, André (ed.). L'abrégé des merveilles [The Abridged Wonders] (in French). Paris: Sindbad. ISBN 9782727400950.
- 1 2 Alegre, J.U. (2024-11-05). The Spanish Hermes and Wisdom Traditions in Medieval Iberia. England: Durham University IMEMS Press. ISBN 1914967097.
- ↑ Mettmann, Walter (1955). "Die Arabische Quelle Einer Altspanischen Fassung Der Josephslegende". Romanische Forschungen. 66 (3/4): 379–383. ISSN 0035-8126.
- ↑ Colavito, Jason (2018-09-25). "Why I Don't Think Ibrahim ibn Wasif Shah Is the Author of the Akhbar al-zaman". jasoncolavito.com. Retrieved 2026-03-30.
- ↑ Ibn Wasif Shah, Ibrahim (2001). Kasrawi, Hassan (ed.). Mukhtaṣar ʻajāʼib al-dunyā [The Abridged Wonders of the World]. Beirut, Lebanon: Dār al-Kutub al-ʻIlmīyah. ISBN 2745132199.