Ithaf Alam al-Nas bi-Jamal Akhbar Hadirat Meknes
- Author died
- 1365 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Thaqāfah al-Dīniyyah
Ithaf A'lam al-Nas bi-Jamal Akhbar Hadirat Meknes (Bestowing upon the Notables the Splendid Accounts of the Capital Meknes) is an encyclopedic history and biographical dictionary of the Moroccan city of Meknes composed by the historian and Sharifian genealogist Ibn Zaydan al-Sijilmasi (1290–1365 AH / 1873–1946 CE) . The author also offered two alternative titles for the work: 'Abir al-As min Rawd Tarikh Meknas and Husn al-Iqtibas min Mafakhir al-Dawla al-'Alawiyya wa-Tarikh Meknas .
Composition and Purpose
Ibn Zaydan dedicated the book to Sultan Muhammad ibn Yusuf of Morocco . In his introduction, he noted that although previous local historians such as Ibn Ghazi had documented aspects of the city in works like al-Rawd al-Hatun, such earlier writings were concise and left much of the city's later history unrecorded . Ibn Zaydan sought to bridge this gap by compiling an exhaustive record of Meknes from its ancient foundations and early dynasties down to his own lifetime, with particular emphasis on the monuments and affairs of the Alaouite dynasty .
Structure and Contents
The work is organized into an introduction (muqaddima) followed by four principal thematic inquiries (matalib) :
- Introduction (al-Muqaddima): Discusses the nature, definition, categories, and utility of historiography as an intellectual discipline .
- First Inquiry (al-Matlab al-Awwal): Covers the layout and foundation of Meknes (ikhtitat al-bilad) and recounts scholarly differences regarding its historical origins .
- Second Inquiry (al-Matlab al-Thani): Details the topography, landmarks, architectural features, and physical characteristics of the city .
- Third Inquiry (al-Matlab al-Thalith): Forms the largest component of the work, consisting of comprehensive biographical entries for the scholars, jurists, rulers, statesmen, and prominent notables associated with Meknes, including figures who subsequently relocated elsewhere .
- Fourth Inquiry (al-Matlab al-Rabi'): Provides a concise chronological survey of the major political events, dynasties, and historical shifts that unfolded across the city's history .
Methodology and Sources
Ibn Zaydan utilized a wide array of sources drawn from his personal manuscript library (known as al-Khizana al-Zaydaniyya) and official archives . A distinguishing feature of his approach is the extensive transcription of primary diplomatic correspondence, royal decrees (dahirs), and conference records exchanged between Moroccan government representatives and foreign dignitaries . Ibn Zaydan noted that he deliberately reproduced these historical documents verbatim without editorial alteration, preserving their original wording and grammatical idiosyncrasies for documentary fidelity .
Reception and Editions
The work was received with acclaim by contemporary scholars and administrators . Marshal Hubert Lyautey, the former French Resident-General in Morocco, contributed a preface to the work dated August 1929, praising its documentation of Meknes's history and the reign of Sultan Ismail ibn Sharif . Ibn Zaydan also presented copies to prominent figures abroad, including King Fuad I of Egypt, whose royal court acknowledged receipt through former Prime Minister Muhammad Tawfiq Nasim Pasha . Contemporary Moroccan scholars such as Muhammad Ghirrit and Abd al-Karim ibn al-Hasani commended the volume in verse and prose .
Ithaf A'lam al-Nas was first published in five volumes in Rabat at al-Matba'a al-Wataniyya between 1347 and 1352 AH (c. 1932–1934 CE) . A later five-volume critical edition prepared by Ali Omar was published in Cairo by Maktabat al-Thaqafa al-Diniyya in 1429 AH / 2008 CE .
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