al-Dhakhira fi Mahasin Ahl al-Jazira
- Author died
- 542 AH
- Editions
- al-Dār al-‘Arabīyah lil-Kitāb
al-Dhakhira fi Mahasin Ahl al-Jazira (The Treasury Regarding the Merits of the People of the Peninsula) is an Andalusian biographical anthology and history compiled by Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Bassam al-Shantirini (d. 542 AH / 1147–1148 CE; another report gives 524 AH) . It serves as an extensive literary and historical compendium on the poets, prose writers, rulers, and notable figures of al-Andalus during the 5th century AH (11th century CE) .
Composition and Purpose
Ibn Bassam was originally from Santarem (modern Portugal), which he left around 480 AH amid Christian advances, later settling in Seville and then Cordoba, where he finished writing the work around 503 AH (1109/1110 CE) . In his introduction, Ibn Bassam explicitly explained his motive for composing the book: he observed that his Andalusian contemporaries were excessively consumed by Eastern (Mashriqi) literature and neglected the literary achievements of their own land . He composed the work to demonstrate the brilliance of Andalusian poets and prose writers, proving that literary excellence was not the exclusive preserve of the Islamic East .
Ibn Bassam restricted his anthology primarily to the 5th century AH, the era of the Taifa kingdoms and the beginning of the Almoravid period, because he considered specialization essential for thoroughness . He deliberately omitted earlier periods, such as the Umayyad and Amirid eras, noting that Ibn Faraj al-Jayyani had already covered them in Kitab al-Hada'iq . His work was also conceived along lines parallel to Abu Mansur al-Tha'alibi's Eastern anthology Yatimat al-dahr .
Structure and Contents
The work is organized geographically into four principal parts (aqsam):
- Part One: Dedicated to the capital Cordoba and the adjacent central regions of al-Andalus, covering their prominent rulers, scribes, ministers, and poets from the end of the Amirid state to the author's era .
- Part Two: Dedicated to the western region of al-Andalus, centering on Seville and adjacent coastal districts extending toward the Atlantic Ocean, including the history and figures of the Abbadid dynasty .
- Part Three: Dedicated to the eastern region of al-Andalus, including Denia, Valencia, and the Upper March (al-Thaghr al-A'la) .
- Part Four: Dedicated to visiting scholars and emigrants who arrived in al-Andalus from the Islamic East, Kairouan, and Sicily up to the year 502 AH, alongside entries on select prominent contemporary Eastern and North African figures from Syria, Iraq, and Ifriqiya .
Style and Historical Value
Although primarily conceived as a literary anthology containing extensive biographies, epistolary prose, official state correspondence, and poetry selections, al-Dhakhira is considered one of the primary historical and social sources for the Taifa period . It incorporates numerous contemporary historical narratives written by Ibn Bassam himself as well as extensive excerpts from earlier historians, most notably Ibn Hayyan's otherwise lost major chronicle, al-Matin .
Ibn Bassam employed an ornate rhymed prose (saj') style embellished with rhetorical figures, but he combined this with detailed, critical, and analytical observations regarding the personalities, politics, and social conditions of the figures he discussed .
Abridgments and Editions
The book achieved widespread fame and was abridged by Ibn Mammati under the title Lata'if al-dhakhira wa-tara'if al-jazira .
The complete manuscript was located through efforts led by the French Orientalist Évariste Lévi-Provençal in Moroccan collections . Its first part appeared in two volumes between 1939 and 1942 in Cairo under an editorial committee, followed by a fragment of the fourth part in 1945 . A complete critical edition in eight volumes was later prepared by Dr. Ihsan Abbas and published in 1981 by al-Dar al-'Arabiyya lil-Kitab .
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