al-Itlidi
- Died
- 1150 AH
- Born in
- -
Muhammad Diyab al-Itlidi (d. after 1100 AH / 1689 CE) was an Egyptian chronicler and storyteller from Munyat al-Khasib, best known for his historical narrative collection I‘lam al-Nas bima Waqa‘a lil-Baramika ma‘a Bani al-‘Abbas (Informing the People of What Befell the Barmakids with the Abbasids) .
Life and Background
Al-Itlidi hailed from the region of Munyat al-Khasib (modern Minya) in Egypt, where he introduced himself in his writing as "Muhammad, known as Diyab al-Itlidi" . Biographical details regarding his upbringing, formal education, and teachers are unrecorded in classical biographical compendia, and later biographical dictionaries treat him primarily through his authorial activity in the late eleventh century of the Hijri calendar . Biographer Khayr al-Din al-Zirikli designates him as a storyteller (qassas), while others classify him as a historian and chronicler .
He completed the composition of his principal historical and anecdotal collection, I‘lam al-Nas bima Waqa‘a lil-Baramika ma‘a Bani al-‘Abbas (also circulated under the title Nawadir al-Khulafa), in 1100 AH (1689 CE) . In the prologue to the work, al-Itlidi relates that he undertook its compilation at the request of an associate who asked him to gather reports, literary narratives, and events from the reigns of early caliphs, beginning his accounts with Umar ibn al-Khattab before covering the Umayyad and Abbasid eras, with a particular focus on the rise and downfall of the Barmakid family .
Death
Biographical sources record that al-Itlidi lived past 1100 AH (1689 CE), the year he finished his chronicle, with some cataloging records placing his death around 1150 AH .
Answer updated
List of Works
Nawadir al-Khulafa (also known as I‘lam al-Nas bima Waqa‘a lil-Baramika ma‘a Bani al-‘Abbas) is an Arabic collection of historical anecdotes and literary narratives. Completed around 1100 AH (1689 CE), the work compiles accounts of events, literary exchanges, and rulers from the early Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, with a notable focus on the history and downfall of the Barmakids.