al-Irbili, al-Nashabi

Abu al-Majd As'ad ibn Ibrahim al-Nashabi al-Irbili (582–656 AH / 1186–1258 CE) was an Iraqi chancery scribe, poet, and man of letters from Erbil, best known for his treatise on the sobriquets of Arabic poets, al-Mudhakara fi Alqab al-Shuara Qalaid al-Juman fi Faraid…+1.

Origin and Early Life

Abu al-Majd As'ad ibn Ibrahim ibn al-Hasan ibn 'Ali was born in Erbil in Safar 582 AH (April–May 1186 CE) Qalaid al-Juman fi Faraid…. He was given the honorific Majd al-Din and earned the surname al-Nashabi because in his early youth his profession was crafting arrows Qalaid al-Juman fi Faraid….

Career and Travels

In his early career, al-Nashabi left Erbil and traveled through the regions of al-Jazira and the Levant Tarikh al-Islam. In Aleppo, he entered the service of the vizier Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Baqi ibn Abi Ya'la during the rule of the Ayyubid prince al-Zahir Ghazi, composing panegyric poetry in the prince's honor Bughyat al-Talab fi Tarik….

Al-Nashabi later returned to Erbil, where the Begteginid ruler Muzaffar al-Din Kokburi appointed him head of the chancery (kitabat al-insha') before 620 AH Tarikh al-Islam+1. In Kokburi's administration, he exercised broad authority and was dispatched as an envoy to the Abbasid court Tarikh al-Islam+1. In 628 AH, he accompanied Kokburi on a diplomatic mission to Baghdad to appear before the Abbasid Caliph al-Mustansir bi-llah Tarikh al-Islam.

In Ramadan 629 AH, Kokburi turned against him after discovering that al-Nashabi had been secretly reporting local intelligence and political developments directly to the caliphal court Bughyat al-Talab fi Tarik…+1. Kokburi imprisoned him in the citadel of Karkhin, where he remained incarcerated until Kokburi's death and the subsequent takeover of Erbil by the caliph's forces in 630 AH Bughyat al-Talab fi Tarik…+1. Caliph al-Mustansir subsequently summoned al-Nashabi to Baghdad, granted him an official stipend, and appointed him to administrative posts in the surrounding districts Bughyat al-Talab fi Tarik….

Literary Standing

Al-Nashabi was noted for his skill in epistolary prose and poetry, frequently composing panegyrics and verses on contemporary political events Mujam al-Shuara al-Arab+1. His treatise al-Mudhakara fi Alqab al-Shu'ara served as an onomastic reference for later biographers who drew upon his explanations of poets' nicknames Majma al-Adab fi Mujam al…+1. Contemporary biographers such as Ibn al-Sha'ar transmitted poetic works and personal accounts directly from him Qalaid al-Juman fi Faraid…+1.

Death

When the Mongols sacked Baghdad in 656 AH (1258 CE), al-Nashabi went into hiding and survived the initial assault, but died later that same year in Baghdad Tarikh al-Islam+1. Another historical account dates his death to 657 AH Bughyat al-Talab fi Tarik….