Ibn Athīr is the family name of three brothers, all famous inArabic literature, born atJazīrat ibn Umar[1] (today'sCizre nowadays in south-easternTurkey) in upperMesopotamia. The ibn al-Athir brothers belonged to the Shayban lineage[2] of the large and influentialArab tribeBanu Bakr,[3][4] who lived across upperMesopotamia, and gave their name to the city ofDiyar Bakr.[5][6]
The eldest brother, known asMajd ad-Dīn (1149–1210), was long in the service of the amir ofMosul, and was an earnest student of tradition andlanguage. Hisdictionary of traditions (Kitāb an-Ni/zdya) was published atCairo (1893), and his dictionary of family names (Kitāb ul-Murassa) has been edited byFerdinand Seybold (Weimar, 1896).[1]
The youngest brother ، ضياء الدين ، Diyā' ad-Dīn (1163–1239), served underSaladin from 1191 and his sonal-Malik al-Afdal who succeeded him, served inEgypt,Samosata,Aleppo,Mosul andBaghdad. He was one of the most famous aesthetic and stylistic critics of Arabian literature. His works include:
The most famous brother wasAli ibn al-Athir (May 13, 1160 – 1233), who devoted himself to the study of history and Islamic tradition. At the age of twenty-one he settled with his father in Mosul and continued his studies there. In the service of the amir for many years, he visited Baghdad andJerusalem and laterAleppo andDamascus. He died in Mosul. His world history, theal-Kāmil fi t-tarīkh[9] (The Complete History), extends to the year 1231. It has been edited byCarl Tornberg,Ibn al-Athīr Chronicon quod perfectissinum inscribitur (14 vols., Leiden, 1851–1876). The first part of this work up to A.H. 310 (A.D. 923) is an abbreviation of the work ofTabari with minor additions. Ibn Athīr also wrote a history of theAtabegs of Mosulat-Tarīkh al-atabakīya, published in theRecueil des historiens des croisades (vol. ii., Paris); a work (Usd al-Ghdba) giving an account of 7,500 companions of the Muslim prophet Muhammad (5 vols., Cairo, 1863), and a compendium (theLubāb) of Samani's Kitāb ui-A n.~db (cf.Ferdinand Wüstenfeld'sSpecimen el-Lobabi, Göttingen, 1835).[1]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Thatcher, Griffithes Wheeler (1911). "Ibn Athīr". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 14 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 219.