Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdani | |
|---|---|
| أبو محمد الحسن الهمداني | |
| Born | c. 893 |
| Died | c. 945-947 |
| Other names | Abu Al-Hasan Al-Hamdani |
| Occupation(s) | Geographer, poet, grammarian, historian, and astronomer |
| Academic work | |
| Era | Abbasid |
| Main interests | Geography,History,Astronomy,Writing |
| Notable works | Sifat Jazirat ul-Arab and Al-Iklīl |
Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan ibn Aḥmad ibn Yaʿqūb al-Hamdānī (Arabic:أبو محمد الحسن بن أحمد بن يعقوب الهمداني, 279/280-333/334A.H.;c. 893 – 947;) was anArab[1]Muslimgeographer,chemist,poet,grammarian,historian, andastronomer, from the tribe ofBanu Hamdan, western'Amran,Yemen.[2] He was one of the best representatives of Islamic culture during the last period of theAbbasid Caliphate. His work was the subject of extensive 19th-century Austrian scholarship.
The biographical details of al-Hamdani's life are scant, despite his extensivescientific work. He was held in high repute as a grammarian, wrote much poetry, compiled astronomical tables and is said to have devoted most of his life to the study of the ancient history and geography of Arabia.[3]
Before he was born his family had lived in al-Marashi (المراشي). Then they moved toSana'a (صنعاء), where al-Hamdani was born in the year 893. His father had been a traveller and had visitedKufa,Baghdad,Basra,Oman andEgypt. At around the age of seven, al-Marashi started to talk about his desire to travel. Somewhat later he left forMecca, where he remained and studied for more than six years, after which he departed forSa'dah (صعدة). There he gathered information onKhawlan (خولان). Later, he went back to Sanaa and became interested in the land that wasHimyar (حمْير), but was imprisoned for two years due to his political views. After his release from prison, he went toRaydah (ريدة) to live under the protection of his own tribe. He compiled most of his books while there and stayed on until his death in 945.[4]
HisGeography of the Arabian Peninsula (Sifat Jazirat ul-Arab) is by far the most important work on the subject,[3] where he describes thegeography and the linguistic situation in the Arabian peninsula andSocotra.[5] The manuscript was used by Austrian orientalist,Aloys Sprenger in hisPost- und Reiserouten des Orients (Leipzig, 1864) and further in hisAlte Geographie Arabiens (Bern, 1875), and was edited byD.H. Müller (Leiden, 1884; cf. Sprenger's criticism inZeitschrift der deutschen morgenländischen Gesellschaft, vol. 45, pp. 361–394).[6]
His work has been the subject of extensive research and publications by the Austrian Arabist,Eduard Glaser, a specialist on ancient Arabia. The other great work of al-Hamdānī is his ten volume,al-Iklil (theDiadem), concerning the genealogies of theHimyarites and the wars waged by their kings. Volume 8, on the citadels and castles of southern Arabia, has been translated into German, edited and annotated byDavid Heinrich Müller asDie Burgen und Schlösser Sudarabiens (Vienna, 1881).[7]
Other works said to have been written by al-Hamdani are listed inG. L. Flügel'sDie grammatischen Schulen der Araber (Leipzig, 1862), pp. 220–221.[7]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Thatcher, Griffithes Wheeler (1911). "Hamdānī". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 875–876.Islam topics | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
