al-Ghusun al-Yani'a fi Mahasin Shu'ara al-Mi'a al-Sabi'a
- Author died
- 685 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Ma‘ārif
al-Ghusun al-Yani'a fi Mahasin Shu'ara al-Mi'a al-Sabi'a (The Ripe Branches on the Merits of the Poets of the Seventh Century) is a biographical anthology of seventh-century AH poets compiled by the Andalusian scholar Ibn Sa'id al-Maghribi (d. 685 AH / 1286 CE) .
Composition and Context
Ibn Sa'id began writing the work in Tunis in 657 AH (1259 CE) while in the service of the Hafsid ruler al-Mustansir I Muhammad ibn Yahya, to whom he dedicated the book . It forms part of a wider series of biographical works on poets that Ibn Sa'id integrated into an overarching compendium titled Jami' Tabaqat al-Shu'ara' (The Comprehensive Compendium of the Classes of Poets) .
Structure and Scope
According to the author's preface, the book was originally structured into three parts :
- Poets whose exact years of death were verified .
- Poets whose dates of death were unconfirmed .
- Contemporary poets established to be alive at the conclusion of the work (recorded in one account as 667 AH, and elsewhere as extending to the author's later life) .
The surviving portion of the work represents only a fraction of the original plan, containing entries for twenty-seven poets (twenty-six in some counts) who died between 600 and 605 AH . The coverage spans multiple regions of the Islamic world, including seven poets from Iraq, seven from al-Andalus, five from al-Sham, five from the Maghrib, two from Egypt, and one from al-Jazira .
Method and Sources
In each entry, Ibn Sa'id combines biographical details, critical evaluations of poetic skill, and selected verses . A distinct feature of the work is the systematic attribution of historical and literary reports to named written works and informants . His cited authorities include historical works such as Ibn al-Adim's Tarikh Halab, Ibn al-Sa'i's Tarikh Baghdad, Yaqut al-Hamawi's Mu'jam al-Udaba', and Ibn Nakheel's history, alongside oral transmissions gathered during his travels through Iraq, al-Jazira, and al-Sham .
Modern Editions
The extant portion was edited by Ibrahim al-Ibyari and published in Cairo .
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