Ali ibn al-Hasan al-Khazraji
- Died
- 812 AH
- Born in
- -
Ali ibn al-Hasan al-Khazraji (d. 812 AH / 1410 CE) was a Yemeni historian, Shafi'i scholar, and poet from Zabid, renowned as the principal chronicler of Yemen and the Rasulid dynasty.
Identity and Background
His full lineage is recorded as Muwaffaq al-Din Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Abi Bakr ibn al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Wahhas al-Khazraji al-Zabidi al-Yamani, and he was widely known as Ibn Wahhas. An alternate line traces his descent as Ali ibn al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Khazraji. His family possessed literary and historical standing in Yemen; his ancestral forebear, Ali ibn Wahhas, had been eulogized in verse by the prominent scholar al-Zamakhshari.
Scholarly Career and Standing
Al-Khazraji was based in Zabid, where he served as a legal consultant (mufti), genealogist, and man of letters skilled in both prose and verse. He gained significant acclaim as the foremost historian of his region, organizing his historical compendia along multiple frameworks: by chronological annals, by biographical entries, and by reigning dynasties.
Among his most celebrated historical compositions is al-Uqud al-Lulu'iyya fi Akhbar al-Dawla al-Rasuliyya ("The Pearly Strings in the History of the Rasulid Dynasty"), which documented the annals and rulers of the Rasulid state. He also authored Tiraz A'lam al-Zaman fi Tabaqat A'yan al-Yaman (also titled al-Iqd al-Fakhir al-Hasan fi Tabaqat Akabir Ahl al-Yaman), an extensive alphabetical biographical dictionary devoted to the notables, scholars, and rulers of Yemen.
During his later years, he met the renowned traditionist Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani in Zabid. On that occasion, al-Khazraji addressed a lengthy literary epistle in ornate rhymed prose to Ibn Hajar, expressing warm scholarly greetings and praise.
Death
Al-Khazraji died in Zabid late in the year 812 AH (1410 CE), having lived for more than seventy years.
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Uqud al-Lulu'iya fi Tarikh al-Dawla al-Rasuliyya (The Pearly Strings in the History of the Rasulid Dynasty) is a chronicle detailing the history of the Rasulid state in Yemen. The work documents the history and annals of the Rasulid dynasty, which held power across Yemen for approximately two centuries between 626 AH and 845 AH.