Mukhtasar Tarikh Dimashq
- Author died
- 711 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Fikr lil-Ṭibāʿah wa-al-Tawzīʿ wa-al-Nashr
Mukhtasar Tarikh Dimashq (Abridgment of the History of Damascus) is a biographical and historical work compiled by the scholar and lexicographer Ibn Manzur (630–711 AH / 1232–1311 CE), abridging the extensive chronicle Tarikh Madinat Dimashq by Ibn Asakir (499–571 AH / 1105–1176 CE) .
Background and Scope
Ibn Manzur was noted for his habit of condensing voluminous works of literature, language, and history, leaving behind epitomes of numerous major classical texts . In abridging Ibn Asakir's original history—which spanned approximately eighty volumes—Ibn Manzur reduced the vast material to roughly one-fourth of its original size, covering around thirty volumes in manuscript form .
Method and Structure
In his abridgment, Ibn Manzur moved away from Ibn Asakir’s strict traditionist format and methodology, structuring the work according to his own approach, taste, and intellectual inclinations . Rather than reproducing every narrative transmission, he exercised selectivity by omitting, summarizing, or preserving accounts based on his editorial judgment .
Scholarly Reception and Editions
Despite its divergence from Ibn Asakir's original scheme, the epitome became a valuable textual resource . Modern scholars and editors preparing the complete text of Tarikh Dimashq have consulted Ibn Manzur's abridgment to verify readings, track narrations, and establish correct texts when primary copies were difficult to decipher or damaged .
Mukhtasar Tarikh Dimashq was published in Damascus by Dar al-Fikr in 29 volumes between 1404 and 1408 AH (1984–1988 CE), edited by a team of scholars including Riyad Abd al-Hamid Murad, Ruhiyya al-Nahhas, and Muhammad Muti' al-Hafiz .
Answer updated