Muhammad bin Aydamar
- Died
- 710 AH
- Born in
- Baghdad
Muhammad bin Aydamar (639–710 AH / 1242–1310 CE) was a Baghdad-born Abbasid amir, administrator, and man of letters, best known as the compiler of the poetic encyclopedia al-Durr al-Farid wa-Bayt al-Qasid.
Origin and early life
His full name was Falak al-Din Abu Nasr Muhammad bin Sayf al-Din Aydamar bin Abd Allah al-Musta'simi. He was born in Baghdad in the quarter of Darb Habib on the morning of Friday, 4 Rajab 639 AH (1242 CE). His father, Abu Mansur Aydamar bin Sakizbar Kawanjak, belonged to the ruling lineages of the Qipchaq tribes; after the conquests of Genghis Khan, he was taken captive as an infant, brought by merchants to Egypt, and presented to the Abbasid caliph al-Mustansir bi-llah, later becoming one of the close confidants of Caliph al-Musta'sim bi-llah.
He was raised in Baghdad under the care of Iqbal al-Sharabi al-Nabawi al-Mustansiri, who granted him daily access to his court. In his youth, he studied calligraphy and literature, and trained in horsemanship. In 656 AH, he served in the army of Mujahid al-Din Aybak al-Duwaydar al-Saghir during the engagement at Nahr Bashir near Dujayl.
Career and later life
Following the fall of Baghdad in 656 AH, he accompanied the king of Georgia and entered the court of the Ilkhanid ruler Hulagu, who made him supervisor over the practitioners of alchemy attached to his court. After Hulagu's death, he returned to Baghdad and was appointed treasurer in the administrative bureau (diwan), maintaining ties and receiving allowances from the governor Ata-Malik Juvayni.
He later withdrew from official employment, shaved his head, discarded military attire in favor of the robes of ascetics (farajiyya), and devoted himself to compiling and editing his extensive alphabetical poetic compendium al-Durr al-Farid wa-Bayt al-Qasid (also cited as al-Jawhar al-Farid wa-Bayt al-Qasid). Having accrued debts, he presented the fair copy of the work to the library of the vizier Sa'd al-Din, who cleared his financial obligations on his behalf.
Death and legacy
He maintained a friendship with the historian Ibn al-Fuwati from 650 AH onward, with the two frequently exchanging visits in Baghdad. Ibn al-Fuwati praised his personal demeanor, prose, and verse, and composed an elegy for him upon his death in Rajab 710 AH (1310 CE).
Answer updated
List of Works
al-Durr al-Farid wa Bayt al-Qasid (The Unique Pearl and the Quintessential Verse) is an extensive Arabic poetic encyclopedia that gathers approximately twenty thousand standalone verses arranged alphabetically by their opening words.