Jamharat al-Nasab - Ibn al-Kalbi
- Author died
- 204 AH
- Editions
- t Faraj · t Naji · +1
Jamharat al-Nasab (The Compendium of Genealogy) is a foundational Arabic genealogical treatise by the Kufan scholar and historian Ibn al-Kalbi (d. 204 AH / 819 CE; another report gives 206 AH) . It provides comprehensive records of Arab tribal lineages, notable historical figures, and clan structures, and is regarded as the most extensive classical work composed in the field .
Scope and Content
Ibn al-Kalbi composed several works on genealogy, among which the intermediate-sized compilation was Jamharat al-Nasab, positioned between his largest work, al-Manzil, and his shorter treatises . The book documents the genealogical lineages of the Arab tribes—covering both the Adnanite and Qahtanite branches—recording maternal ancestries of tribal nobles, the points where sub-tribes branch into clans, and biographical notices of knights, poets, and prominent figures .
The work details tribal units and their notable figures in Islam, with particular attention to their residential quarters in Kufa . It also devotes detailed attention to Quraysh and the Ansar (Aws and Khazraj), extending certain lineage trees back to the prophet Ismail .
Transmission and Manuscripts
The text of Jamharat al-Nasab reached later generations primarily through the transmission of Abu Sa'id al-Sukkari from Muhammad ibn Habib from Ibn al-Kalbi . Over the course of transmission, scribes and narrators introduced visible additions and glosses that were not part of Ibn al-Kalbi's original draft .
The work survives in two complementary manuscript portions :
- A vocalized copy preserved in the British Museum (Add MS 23297), copied in 653 AH (1255 CE) across 259 folios, containing the first part dedicated to the Adnanite tribes .
- A manuscript preserved in the El Escorial library in Spain (MS 1698) bearing the title Nasab Ma'add wa-l-Yaman al-Kabir, containing the genealogies of the Qahtanite (Yemeni) tribes .
Reception, Influence, and Critique
Jamharat al-Nasab served as a standard source for subsequent historians and genealogists, including Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari, Ibn Durayd, al-Suhayli, Ibn Kathir, and Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani . Al-Tabari relied heavily on Ibn al-Kalbi's material for pre-Islamic Arab history, particularly for events in Iraq .
The book drew criticism from the Yemeni scholar Ibn al-Ha'ik al-Hamdani, who identified errors in its ancient names and higher genealogical origins . Critics also noted that Ibn al-Kalbi did not cover the broader tribal settlements across the Arabian Peninsula, Khurasan, Egypt, North Africa, or al-Andalus, nor did he discuss inter-tribal relations or political affiliations .
Abridgments and Modern Editions
Several scholars produced abridgments and adaptations of the book:
- Yaqut al-Hamawi (d. 626 AH) authored an abridgment titled al-Muqtadab min Kitab Jamharat al-Nasab, in which he retained the primary lineage chains while omitting minor branches, biographical details, and commentaries .
- Al-Mubarak al-Ghassani (d. 656 AH) compiled Mukhtasar Jamharat al-Nasab .
- Ibn Hazm drew at least eighty percent of the material for his Jamharat Ansab al-Arab directly from Ibn al-Kalbi's work, adding material related to al-Andalus .
In modern scholarship, the German Orientalist Werner Caskel (alongside Gert Strenziok) examined the London and Escorial manuscripts as parts of a unified work and published a critical study and genealogical tables in two volumes in Leiden in 1966 . An Arabic edition of the first volume was published by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Guidance and Information in 1403 AH (1983 CE), edited by Naji Hasan .
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