Inba al-Umara bi-Anba al-Wuzara
- Author died
- 953 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Basha'ir al-Islamiyyah
Inba al-Umara bi-Anba al-Wuzara (Informing the Amirs of the Accounts of the Viziers) is a biographical treatise by the Damascene historian and jurist Ibn Tulun (880–953 AH / 1475–1546 CE) dedicated to notable viziers across Islamic history .
Purpose and Scope
Ibn Tulun describes the work in his preface as a brief note (ta'liq) and states that he was not commissioned by anyone to compile it, but was divinely inspired to assemble its accounts . In the author's own opening text, the title appears with the preposition li- as Inba al-Umara li-Anba al-Wuzara, though bibliographical works commonly cite it with bi- .
The work adds to the relatively small corpus of classical biographical texts focusing exclusively on ministers and chancellors, alongside earlier compositions such as al-Wuzara wa-al-Kuttab by al-Jahshiyari and al-Ishara ila Man Nala al-Wizara by Ibn al-Sayrafi . Chronologically, it is not restricted to a single period such as the Abbasid or Ayyubid eras, but extends through the Mamluk period, and geographically it covers figures from both the Islamic East and al-Andalus, including the Granadan vizier Lisan al-Din Ibn al-Khatib .
Structure and Content
The treatise begins with an exegesis of the Quranic verses in Surah Ta-Ha concerning the Prophet Moses asking for Aaron to be appointed as his vizier: وَاجْعَلْ لِي وَزِيرًا مِنْ أَهْلِي ٢٩ هَارُونَ أَخِي ٣٠ اشْدُدْ بِهِ أَزْرِي ٣١ وَأَشْرِكْهُ فِي أَمْرِي ٣٢ كَيْ نُسَبِّحَكَ كَثِيرًا ٣٣ وَنَذْكُرَكَ كَثِيرًا ٣٤ إِنَّكَ كُنْتَ بِنَا بَصِيرًا ٣٥ ("And appoint for me a minister from my family: Aaron, my brother; strengthen my back through him and associate him in my affair...") .
Following this passage, Ibn Tulun provides a linguistic and grammatical discussion on the etymology (ishtiqaq) of the word wazir, exploring whether it derives from wizr (carrying a burden), wazar (a sanctuary or refuge), or azr (strength), citing grammarians and lexicographers such as Abu al-Baqa al-Ukbari and al-Jawhari's al-Sihah .
The author then transitions to biographical entries on prominent viziers (A'yan al-Wuzara), incorporating anecdotes, political events, and related verses of poetry . Among the figures profiled are:
- Abu al-Mawahib Nasir al-Din al-Qummi (Nasir ibn Mahdi al-Mazandarani), the vizier to the Abbasid caliph al-Nasir .
- Abu al-Hasan al-Qasim ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Sulayman ibn Wahb, the vizier to the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tadid, detailing his conflict with the poet Ibn al-Rumi as related by Ibn Khallikan .
- Yahya ibn Khalid al-Barmaki and Awn al-Din Ibn Hubayra .
Manuscript and Publication
The work survived in a unique autograph manuscript in the author's handwriting preserved at the Berlin State Library under collection number Landberg 409 (Ms. No. 9880 / 704) . The manuscript consists of 20 folios, with 22 lines per page in a compressed hand . It was edited from this copy by Muhanna Hamad al-Muhanna and published in 1417 AH / 1997 CE .
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