Ibn Taghri Bardi
- Died
- 874 AH
- Born in
- Cairo
Ibn Taghri Bardi (c. 813–874 AH / c. 1410–1470 CE) was an Egyptian historian, biographer, and Hanafi scholar of the Mamluk period, best known for his Egyptian chronicle al-Nujum al-Zahira fi Muluk Misr wa al-Qahira.
Origin and education
His full name was Jamal al-Din Abu al-Mahasin Yusuf ibn Sayf al-Din Taghri Bardi ibn Abd Allah al-Zahiri al-Hanafi. He was born in Cairo in Shawwal, around 813 AH (another report gives 812 AH), at Dar Manjak al-Yusufi near the Hasanid Madrasa. His father, Taghri Bardi—a Turkic name meaning "God-given"—was a senior Mamluk commander of Sultan Barquq who served as commander of the armies in Egypt and later as viceroy of Damascus, where he died in 815 AH when Yusuf was two years old.
Following his father's death, he was raised under the care of his sister and her husband, Chief Judge Nasir al-Din ibn al-Adim al-Hanafi. After Ibn al-Adim died, his sister married Chief Judge Jalal al-Din al-Bulqini al-Shafi'i, who oversaw his upbringing and had him memorize the Quran. During his upbringing, he also trained in horsemanship and rhythm and music.
In legal and linguistic studies, he memorized Mukhtasar al-Quduri, the grammatical Alfiyya of Ibn Malik, and Isaghuji in logic. He studied jurisprudence under Shams al-Din and Ala al-Din al-Rumiyyan, Badr al-Din al-Ayni, and Abu al-Baqa ibn al-Diya al-Makki, and morphology under Ala al-Din al-Rumi. He studied grammar with Taqi al-Din al-Shumunni, whom he accompanied extensively, and attended the lessons of al-Kafiyaji and Zayn al-Din Qasim ibn Qutlubugha. He studied prosody under al-Nawaji, read Maqamat al-Hariri and astronomy with Qiwam al-Din al-Hanafi, pharmacology with Salam Allah, and rhetoric and literature with Shihab al-Din Ibn Arabshah. He also attended the circles of Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, benefiting from his company and recording verses of his poetry, and wrote down verses in Mecca from its judge Abu al-Sa'adat ibn Zuhayra.
Scholarly standing
Ibn Taghri Bardi devoted himself to historical scholarship and closely accompanied the leading chroniclers of his time, particularly Taqi al-Din al-Maqrizi and Badr al-Din al-Ayni. His military and aristocratic heritage positioned him with direct knowledge of Mamluk court life, administrative offices, and high-ranking military commanders. In addition to his primary annalistic chronicle of Egypt, he compiled al-Manhal al-Safi wa al-Mustawfa bad al-Wafi, a extensive biographical dictionary devoted to prominent Mamluk rulers, emirs, and scholars as a continuation of al-Safadi's biographical work, and Hawadith al-Duhur fi Mada al-Ayyam wa al-Shuhur as a direct continuation of al-Maqrizi's chronicle.
Death
Ibn Taghri Bardi died in Cairo on 5 Dhu al-Hijjah 874 AH (1470 CE).
Answer updated
List of Works
Hawadith al-Duhur fi Mada al-Ayyam wa al-Shuhur (Events of the Ages Over the Course of Days and Months) is a late Mamluk-era historical chronicle arranged annalistically by years, months, and days. Composed as a direct continuation (dhayl) to Taqi al-Din al-Maqrizi's chronicle al-Suluk li-Ma'rifat Duwal al-Muluk, it picks up from the beginning of the year 845 AH and incorporates expanded biographical obituary notices.
al-Manhal al-Safi wa al-Mustawfa ba'd al-Wafi (The Pure Spring and the Complete Work Following al-Wafi) is an alphabetically arranged biographical dictionary documenting prominent figures from the rise of the Mamluk Sultanate up to the mid-9th century AH (mid-15th century CE). Conceived as a continuation and supplement to al-Safadi's al-Wafi bi al-Wafayat, it covers sovereigns, statesmen, military officers, scholars, and literati primarily from Egypt and the Levant.
Mawrid al-Latafa fi Man Wali al-Saltana wa al-Khilafa (The Source of Elegance on Those Who Held the Sultanate and the Caliphate) is an abridged historical and biographical chronicle designed as a concise reference compendium. Arranged in chronological order, it surveys the caliphs and sultans of Islam from the prophetic era through the Rightly Guided Caliphs, the Fatimids, Ayyubids, and Mamluks, down into the ninth century AH.
al-Nujum al-Zahira fi Muluk Misr wa al-Qahira (The Brilliant Stars among the Kings of Egypt and Cairo) is a comprehensive Arabic annalistic chronicle of Egyptian history spanning from the Muslim conquest in 20 AH (640 CE) down to 872 AH (1467 CE). Structured by year and ruler, the work details Egypt's governors, caliphs, and sultans alongside annual obituaries and systematic records of Nile flood levels.