Ibn Bassam Explained

Ibn Bassam
Birth Name:Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Bassām al-Shantarīnī
Birth Date:1058 CE
Birth Place:Santarém, Al-Andalus (modern-day Portugal)
Death Date:1147 CE
Occupation:Poet, Historian
Notable Works:Dhakhīra fī mahāsin ahl al-Jazīra
Era:Almoravid era
Influences:Ibn Hayyan, Abu Mansur al-Tha'alibi

Ibn Bassām or Ibn Bassām al-Shantarīnī (; 1058-1147) was an Arab-Andalusian poet[1] and historian from al-Andalus. He was born in Santarém (sometimes spelled Shantarin or Xantarin) and hailed from the Banu Taghlib tribe.[2] He died in 1147.

Ibn Bassam describes how the incessant invasions of the Christians forced him to run away from Santarém in Portugal, "the last of the cities of the west," after seeing his lands ravaged and his wealth destroyed, a ruined man with no possessions save his battered sword.[3]

Especially well known is his anthology (The Treasury concerning the Merits of the People of Iberia), an important source relating to the Almoravid dynasty.[4]

Editions and translations

References

Notes and References

  1. Book: Allen, Roger . "Arabic Literature in the Post-Classical Period" . Cambridge University Press . 2006 . 19 . English.
  2. Web site: Ibn Bassām as a literary historian, a critic and a stylist. Baker. Khalid Lafta. University of Glasgow. 21. He is said to have been of the tribe of Taghlib..
  3. Web site: Archived copy . 2010-03-16 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110305133942/http://muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=729 . 2011-03-05 .
  4. ʼAbī ʼal-Ḥasan ʻAlī ibn Bassām ʼal-Shantarīnī, ʼal-Dhakhīrah fī maḥāsin ahl ʼal-Jazīrah, ed. by Iḥsān ʻAbbās, 4 vols in 8 (Bayrūt: Dār ʼal-Thaqāfah, 1978).