Abū Shāma Shihāb al-Dīn al-Maḳdisī [a] (10 January 1203 – 13 June 1267) [b] was an Arab historian.
Abū Shāma was born in Damascus, where he passed his whole life save for one year in Egypt, a fortnight in Jerusalem and two pilgrimages to the Ḥijāz. [1] He was an eyewitness to and provides the most precise information about the siege of Damascus in May–June 1229. [2] He received a diverse Sunnī education and wrote on a variety of topics. In 1263, he became a professor in the Damascene madrasas of al-Rukniyya and al-Ashrafiyya. He died five years later in Damascus. [1]
Five works by Abū Shāma survive. All the rest have been lost, some in a fire that destroyed his library. He is best known today for his three historical writings, especially his two volumes on Syria in the Zengid and Ayyubid periods: [1]
Abū Shāma's works are important sources for the history of the Crusades. [3] There are partial translations in French [c] and German. [3] Abū Shāma also wrote commentaries on:
Abū Shāma Shihāb al-Dīn al-Maḳdisī [a] (10 January 1203 – 13 June 1267) [b] was an Arab historian.
Abū Shāma was born in Damascus, where he passed his whole life save for one year in Egypt, a fortnight in Jerusalem and two pilgrimages to the Ḥijāz. [1] He was an eyewitness to and provides the most precise information about the siege of Damascus in May–June 1229. [2] He received a diverse Sunnī education and wrote on a variety of topics. In 1263, he became a professor in the Damascene madrasas of al-Rukniyya and al-Ashrafiyya. He died five years later in Damascus. [1]
Five works by Abū Shāma survive. All the rest have been lost, some in a fire that destroyed his library. He is best known today for his three historical writings, especially his two volumes on Syria in the Zengid and Ayyubid periods: [1]
Abū Shāma's works are important sources for the history of the Crusades. [3] There are partial translations in French [c] and German. [3] Abū Shāma also wrote commentaries on: