Tarikh Jurjan
- Author died
- 427 AH
- Editions
- ‘Ālam al-Kutub
Tarikh Jurjan (The History of Jurjan), also titled Kitab Ma'rifat 'Ulama' Ahl Jurjan (The Book of Knowing the Scholars of the People of Jurjan), is a biographical dictionary and local history compiled by the hadith master Hamza al-Sahmi (d. 427 AH / 1036 CE; another report gives 428 AH) . The work documents the scholars, hadith transmitters, jurists, judges, and rulers connected to the city of Jurjan and its surrounding districts .
Composition and Scope
In his introduction, al-Sahmi states that he authored the work after observing that scholars in other regions had compiled local histories celebrating the Companions, rulers, and scholars who visited or inhabited their territories . Finding that no previous scholar had composed a comprehensive chronicle dedicated to the scholars of Jurjan despite their great numbers, he set out to assemble the material . He noted that he began collecting information when senior authorities were passing away and their books were being neglected .
The geographical scope of the work is not restricted to the city of Jurjan alone, but encompasses its wider administrative districts (kuwar), including Astarabadh, Abaskun, intermediate villages, and the frontier post of Dihistan (Rabat Dihistan) .
Structure and Contents
The book opens with introductory historical and topographic chapters that detail the Companions and Successors who entered Jurjan, the names of its governors during both the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties, and the layout of its mosques (khitat masajidiha) .
The main body consists of biographical notices arranged alphabetically by personal name (huruf al-mu'jam) to facilitate reference, rather than by chronological generation (tabaqat) . For each entry, al-Sahmi generally quotes a hadith, narration, or historical anecdote transmitted by or concerning the subject . The biographies encompass:
- Native scholars of Jurjan, whether they remained there or migrated elsewhere .
- Scholars from other regions who entered Jurjan, transmitted reports in it, or died there .
The work also includes a supplemental section containing additions (ziyadat) that al-Sahmi incorporated from the Tarikh Astarabadh of Abu Sa'd al-Idrisi, supplying figures omitted from the original draft . The book preserves unique biographies of numerous regional hadith memorizers, as well as Hanafi and Shafi'i jurists unrecorded in standard biographical dictionaries .
Transmission and Reception
Tarikh Jurjan was transmitted directly from al-Sahmi by his student Abu al-Qasim Isma'il ibn Mas'ada al-Isma'ili (d. 477 AH) . Through this line, major scholars received and cited the work, including Ibn Makula (d. 475 AH), al-Mu'taman al-Saji (d. 507 AH), Abu al-Faraj Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597 AH), and Ibn al-Sam'ani (d. 562 AH) . Ibn al-Sam'ani drew heavily upon it in al-Ansab, noting that al-Sahmi compiled the history of Jurjan into a single volume recording a large multitude of its scholars . It served as a primary reference for later geographical and biographical works, including Yaqut al-Hamawi's Mu'jam al-Buldan .
Editions
The work was edited and corrected by Abd al-Rahman al-Mu'allimi and published at the Da'irat al-Ma'arif al-'Uthmaniyya press in Hyderabad, India, under the supervision of Muhammad 'Abd al-Mu'id Khan . It has subsequently been reissued in multiple editions in Beirut and Riyadh .
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