Ya'qubi Explained

Period:	Islamic Golden Age (Abbasid era)
ʾAbū l-ʿAbbās ʾAḥmad bin ʾAbī Yaʿqūb bin Ǧaʿfar bin Wahb bin Waḍīḥ al-Yaʿqūbī
Occupation:	writer, traveller and historian
Language:	Arabic
Death Date:	AH 284 (AD 897–898)^[1]
Genre:	History and geography
Module:	Embed: yes Ism: ʾAḥmad Ism-Ar: أحمد Nasab: bin ʾAbī Yaʿqūb bin Ǧaʿfar bin Wahb bin Waḍīḥ Nasab-Ar: بن أبي يعقوب بن جعفر بن وهب بن واضح Kunya: ʾAbū l-ʿAbbās Kunya-Ar: أبو العباس Nisba: al-Yaʿqūbī Nisba-Ar: اليعقوبي
Birth Place:	Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate

ʾAbū al-ʿAbbās ʾAḥmad bin ʾAbī Yaʿqūb bin Ǧaʿfar bin Wahb bin Waḍīḥ al-Yaʿqūbī (died 897/8), commonly referred to simply by his nisba al-Yaʿqūbī, was an Arab^{[2] [3] [4] [5]} Muslim geographer.

Life

Ya'qubi was born in Baghdad to a family of noble background, his great-grandfather was Wadih, the freedman of the caliph Al-Mansur and ruler of Egypt during the reign of al-Mahdi.^[6] Until 873, he lived in Armenia and Khorasan, working under the patronage of the Tahirid Governors; then he traveled to India, Egypt and the Maghreb. In 872, he listed the kingdoms of Bilād as-Sūdān, including Ghana, Gao, and Kanem.^[7]

His methodical approach to writing history includes personal observations and interviews to close relations on topics that Yaqubi could not encounter first-hand. He covered on topics of natural, human and economic geography as well as noting down cultural, historical and topographic information.

His sympathies with Ahl al-Bayt^[8] are found throughout his works.^[9]

He died in Egypt on AH 284 (897/8).

Works

• Ta'rikh ibn Wadih (Chronicle of Ibn Wadih)
• Kitab al-Buldan (Book of the Countries) - biology, contains a description of the Maghreb, with a full account of the larger cities and much topographical and political information (ed. M. de Goeje, Leiden, 1892).

Editions

• Book: Gordon . Mathew S. and al. . The Works Of Ibn Wāḍiḥ Al Yaʿqūbī . 2018 . Brill . 9789004364165 . Vol 1, 2, 3 .
• Book: Kitab al-Buldan . Ya'qubi . Ya'qubi. A. W. T. Juynboll . BRILL. 1861. ar.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Muhammad's successor. www.ismaili.net. 2006-10-29. 2006-11-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20061126215726/http://www.ismaili.net/histoire/history03/history337.html. live.
2. Book: Zaman, Muhammad Qasim. The encyclopaedia of Islam.. 1960–2009. Brill. H. A. R. Gibb, P. J. Bearman. 90-04-16121-X. II.. Leiden. 257–258. 399624. 2021-10-08. 2019-09-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20190925063229/https://www.worldcat.org/title/encyclopaedia-of-islam/oclc/399624. live.
3. Web site: Al-Yaʿqūbī | Arab historian and geographer. 2021-06-17. 2021-08-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20210827124024/https://www.britannica.com/biography/al-Yaqubi. live.
4. Web site: AL YA'QUBI. Encyclopædia. Universalis. Encyclopædia Universalis. 2021-06-17. 2021-05-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20210509085336/https://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/al-ya-qubi/. live.
5. Web site: Al-Ya'qubi | Encyclopedia.com. www.encyclopedia.com. 2021-06-17. 2021-06-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20210624195941/https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/al-yaqubi. live.
6. Book: Daly, Okasha El . Egyptology: The Missing Millennium : Ancient Egypt in Medieval Arabic Writings . Psychology Press . 2005 . 978-1-84472-063-7 . 166 . en.
7. Book: Nehemia Levtzion. Levtzion. Nehemia. Ancient Ghana and Mali. 1973. Methuen & Co Ltd. New York. 0841904316. 3.
8. Camilla Adang, Muslim Writers on Judaism and the Hebrew Bible: From Ibn Rabban to Ibn Hazm, (E.J. Brill, 1996), 37.
9. Web site: al-Yaʿqūbī | Arab historian and geographer | Britannica. www.britannica.com. 2021-06-17. 2021-08-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20210827124024/https://www.britannica.com/biography/al-Yaqubi. live.