Taqi al-Din Ahmad ibn 'Ali ibn 'Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhammad al-Maqrizi (1364 – 1442);
Arabic: , was an
Egyptian
historian more commonly known as
al-Maqrizi or
Makrizi. Although he was "a
Mamluk-era historian and himself a
Sunni, he is remarkable in this context for his unusually keen interest in the
Ismaili Fatimid dynasty and its role in Egyptian history."
Life
Al-Maqrizi was born in
Cairo and spent most of his life in
Egypt, where he was trained in the Hanifite school of
law; however, he later became a
Shafi'ite with an inclination to
Zahirite views. Al-Maqrizi confessed to his contemporaries that he believed that he was related to the Fatimids through the son of
imam al-Muizz.
Ibn Hajar preserves the most memorable account: his father, as they entered the
al-Hakim Mosque one day, told him "My son, you are entering the mosque of your ancestor." However, his father also instructed al-Maqrizi not to reveal this information to anyone he could not trust; Walker concludes:
Ultimately it would be hard to conclude that al-Maqrizi conceived any more than an antiquarian interest in the Fatimids. His main concern seems more likely to be the meaning they and their city might have for the present, that is, for Mamluk Egypt and its role in Islam. (p. 167)
In 1385, he went on the Islamic pilgrimage, the
Hajj. For some time he was secretary in a government office, and in 1399 became inspector of markets for Cairo and northern Egypt. This post he soon gave up to become a preacher at the
Mosque of 'Amr ibn al 'As, president of the
al-Hakim Mosque, and a lecturer on tradition. In 1408, he went to
Damascus to become inspector of the Qalanisryya and lecturer. Later, he retired into private life at Cairo.
In 1430, he again went on Hajj with his family and travelled for some five years. His learning was great, his observation accurate and his judgment good, but his books are largely compilations, and he does not always acknowledge the sources upon which he relied.
Writings
Most of his works, exceeding 200, are concerned with Egypt. The most important is the
Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi dhikr al-khitat wa al-'athar (2 vols., Bulaq, 1854), translated into French by
Urbain Bouriant as
Description topographique et historique de l'Égypte (Paris, 1895-1900; compare
A. R. Guest, "A List of Writers, Books and other Authorities mentioned by El Maqrizi in his Khitat," in
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1902, pp. 103-125).
Of his
History of the Fatimites an extract was published by J.G.L. Kosegarten in his
Chrestomathia (Leipzig, 1828), pp. 115-123; the
History of the Ayyubit and Mameluke Rulers has been translated into French by
É. Quatremère (2 vols., Paris, 1837-1845).
Maqrizi began a large work called the
Muqaffa, an
encyclopedia of Egyptian biography in alphabetic order. Another Egyptian historian,
al-Sakhawi, believed this would require eighty volumes to complete, but only sixteen were written. Three autograph volumes exist in manuscript in
Leiden, and one in
Paris.
Smaller works
- Arab Weights and Measures (ed. Tychsen, Rostock, 1800)
- Arabian Tribes that migrated to Egypt (ed. F. Wüstenfeld, Göttingen, 1847)
- Strife between the Bani Umayya and the Bani Hashim (ed. G. Vos, Leiden, 1888)
- Historia Regum Islamiticorum in Abyssinia (ed. and Latin trans. F. T. Rink, Leiden, 1790).
Books
- Al Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi dhikr al-khitat wa al-'athar (about the planning of Cairo and its monuments)
- Al Selouk Leme'refatt Dewall al-Melouk (about Mamluk history in Egypt)
- Ette'aaz al-honafa be Akhbaar al-A'emma Al Fatemeyyeen Al Kholafaa (about the Fatimid state)
- Al Bayaan wal E'raab Amma Be Ard Misr min al A'raab (about the Arab Tribes in Egypt)
- Eghathatt Al Omma be Kashf Al Ghomma (about the famines that took place in Egypt)
- Al Maqfi (biographies of princes and prominent personality of his time)
