Yatimat al-Dahr
- Author died
- 429 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmīyah
Yatimat al-Dahr fi Mahasin Ahl al-Asr (The Unique Pearl of the Age on the Merits of the People of the Epoch) is a four-volume biographical anthology and literary survey compiled by the philologist and man of letters Abu Mansur al-Thaalibi (350–429 AH / 961–1038 CE) .
Composition and Scope
Al-Thaalibi wrote the first version of the work in 384 AH and completed a later, expanded edition between 402 and 407 AH, dedicating it to the Khwarazmshah prince Abu al-Abbas Ma'mun ibn Ma'mun (d. 407 AH) . The book functions as a continuation (dhayl) to al-Bari' by Harun ibn Ali al-Munajjim (d. 288 AH) . It gathers biographical notices, selected poetry, and prose excerpts of poets and literary figures who lived during the fourth and early fifth centuries AH, arranged according to their geographical regions and the princely courts they frequented .
Structure and Content
The anthology is arranged into four major parts (aqsam), each containing ten chapters (abwab) :
- Part One: Covers the poetry and literary figures associated with the Hamdanid dynasty and the poets of Syria, Egypt, Mosul, and the Maghrib, dedicating detailed treatment to figures such as al-Mutanabbi and Abu Firas al-Hamdani .
- Part Two: Focuses on the poets and chancellery stylists of Iraq and the Daylamite (Buyid) state, documenting their verse, accounts, and anecdotes .
- Part Three: Encompasses the literature of al-Jibal, Fars, Gorgan, Tabaristan, and Isfahan, with substantial coverage given to leading Buyid viziers and scribes such as Ibn al-Amid and al-Sahib ibn Abbad .
- Part Four: Treats the poets and writers of Khurasan and Transoxiana under the Samanid Empire, including poets from Bukhara and Nishapur .
In the third and fourth parts, al-Thaalibi includes figures known as bilingual poets who composed in both Arabic and Persian, providing Arabic translations of select Persian verses as well as preserved Persian specimens . Critics noted that al-Thaalibi focused primarily on poetry rather than comprehensive biographical data regarding birth and death dates, and some pointed to his favoritism toward Syrian poets over those of other lands .
Continuations, Supplements, and Editions
Roughly twenty years after issuing the revised version, al-Thaalibi authored a supplementary sequel titled Tatimmat al-Yatima (also called al-Yatima al-Thaniya), adding authors he had previously omitted or who had risen to prominence later, particularly figures surrounding the Ghaznavid court .
Other scholars also compiled continuations and abridgments:
- Hasan ibn al-Muzaffar al-Naysaburi (d. 443 AH) wrote a continuation to the work .
- Ali ibn al-Hasan al-Bakharzi (d. 467 AH) authored the continuation Dumyat al-Qasr wa-Usrat Ahl al-Asr, which assembled biographical notices of roughly 530 poets .
- Taqi al-Din ibn Abd al-Qadir al-Misri (d. 1005 AH) wrote an abridgment of the text .
The poet Ibn Qalaqis al-Iskandari praised the work in verse, noting that its subjects died while the poetry survived, thus earning the title al-Yatima ("the unique/orphan") .
The book was printed in Damascus in 1302–1303 AH . Later editions include the critical edition by Muhammad Muhyi al-Din Abd al-Hamid (Cairo, 1956) and the four-volume edition edited by Mufid Muhammad Qumayha (Beirut, 1983) .
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