al-Bandari
- Died
- 643 AH
- Born in
- Isfahan
Abu Ibrahim al-Bandari (586–643 AH / 1190–1245 CE) was an Isfahan-born historian, chancery writer, and translator who settled in Damascus and became known for his Arabic translation of the Persian epic Shahnameh and his historical abridgments .
Lineage and Early Life
He was Qiwam al-Din Abu Ibrahim al-Fath ibn 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Fath ibn Ahmad ibn Hibat Allah ibn 'Ali al-Bandari al-Isfahani . He was born in Isfahan in mid-Sha'ban 586 AH (1190 CE) into a prominent, noble family of civic notables and leaders . In his native city, he studied jurisprudence, adab, and hadith, developing mastery over epistolary and chancery composition (insha') in both Arabic and Persian .
Move to Damascus and Scholarly Activity
Al-Bandari left his homeland and arrived in Damascus in Muharram 617 AH during the reign of the Ayyubid dynasty ruler al-Mu'azzam 'Isa (an alternate report indicates he departed and took up residence there in 614 AH) . Under al-Mu'azzam's patronage, he undertook an Arabic prose rendering of Firdawsi's Shahnameh, commencing the project in Jumada al-Ula 620 AH and completing it in Shawwal 621 AH .
Al-Bandari also produced critical epitomes of the elaborate historical works of 'Imad al-Din al-Isfahani, completing in 622 AH Sana al-Barq al-Shami as an abridgment of al-Isfahani's Zengid and Ayyubid chronicle al-Barq al-Shami, and abridging al-Isfahani's Seljuk history into Zubdat al-Nusrah wa-Nukhbat al-'Usrah .
Standing and Death
Biographers praised his literary craftsmanship and personal conduct; Ibn al-Sha'ar described him as a dignified and upright figure distinguished by humility, sound intellect, and piety, while Ibn al-Fuwati commended the refinement of his prose and poetry . Al-Bandari resided in Damascus until his death in Rabi' al-Thani 643 AH (1245 CE) .
Answer updated
List of Works
Mukhtasar Sana al-Barq al-Shami, commonly known as Sana al-Barq al-Shami, is a thirteenth-century historical work. It serves as an abridgment of al-Barq al-Shami, a major chronicle of the Zengid and Ayyubid eras that details political and military events across Syria and Egypt, particularly during the reigns of Nur al-Din Mahmud ibn Zanki and Saladin.