Ibn al-Sayrafi al-Muarrikh
- Died
- 900 AH
- Born in
- Cairo
Ibn al-Sayrafi (819–900 AH / 1416–1494 CE) was an Egyptian Hanafi jurist and historian from Cairo, known for his historical chronicles including Inba al-Hasr bi-Abna al-Asr.
Biography
His full name was Ali ibn Dawud ibn Ibrahim, titled Nur al-Din al-Jawhari, and he was known as Ibn al-Sayrafi, Ibn Dawud, and Ibn al-Khatib al-Jawhari. He was born in Cairo in 819 AH (1416 CE). Ibn al-Sayrafi served as the preacher at the Mosque of Sultan Barquq (al-Zahir). In 871 AH, at the age of fifty-two, he was appointed deputy judge under the Hanafi chief justice Muhibb al-Din Ibn al-Shihnah, whom he frequently accompanied on official delegations to Sultan Qaytbay.
After being dismissed from his judicial post, he returned to his father's trade in Cairo's jewelers' market to earn a living, and also worked as a copyist transcribing manuscripts for sale. He died in Cairo in 900 AH (1494–1495 CE; another account states after 900 AH).
Scholarly Standing and Reception
In his historical writings, Ibn al-Sayrafi drew upon earlier chroniclers, including Ahmad ibn Ali al-Maqrizi, Ibn Taghribirdi, and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani. His writing received praise from al-Kafiyaji in 868 AH when Ibn al-Sayrafi was fifty years old.
His historical works, such as the multi-volume chronicle Nuzhat al-Nufus wa-al-Abdan fi Tawarikh al-Zaman, received critical scrutiny from contemporaries. Ibn Iyas criticized him, stating that he wrote history haphazardly without relying on authoritative informants or transmitters, resulting in numerous errors, though adding that he was not devoid of merit. Shams al-Din al-Sakhawi similarly dismissed his scholarly distinction, remarking that he was barely distinguishable from ordinary laymen except by outward appearance.
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List of Works
Inba al-Ghasr bi-Anba al-Asr is a late Mamluk historical chronicle recording political events and obituaries of late 9th-century AH Egypt. Organized year by year and month by month, the work documents contemporary state affairs, military campaigns, administrative appointments, and court ceremonial, followed by biographical notices for scholars, officials, and notables.