İbn Vâsıl

İbn Vâsıl (İbn Vâsıl el-Hamevî) was a historian and scholar based in Hama, who lived during the Ayyubid and early Mamluk periods. He is considered among the fundamental source writers of Ayyubid history.

Life and Scholarly Activities

İbn Vâsıl, who began his education under his father's supervision in Hama, went to Dımaşk with his father in 621/1224 when el-Melikü'l-Muazzam İsa, the ruler of Dımaşk, invited his father (Volume 1, p. 186). Within the scholarly environment in which he grew up, he is referred to as "the Ayyubid historian İbn Vâsıl el-Hamevî" among the many students of the Egyptian mathematician Alemüddîn Kayser (Volume 1, p. 171).

İbn Vâsıl, a versatile scholar, continued his scholarly activities in Dımaşk, Kudüs, Halep, Kerek, and Hama under the patronage of Ayyubid rulers. In early 631/1233, he entered the service of el-Melikü'l-Muzaffer Mahmûd, the ruler of Hama, and assisted the Egyptian mathematician and engineer Alemüddîn Kayser in the construction of an observatory and various astronomical instruments in Hama. In 642/1244, upon his arrival in Kahire, he was met by Hüsâmeddîn el-Hezbânî, the regent of the Ayyubid ruler el-Melikü's-Sâlih, with whom he would form a long-lasting friendship. İbn Vâsıl, who held various bureaucratic positions during the Ayyubid and Mamluk rule in Mısır, passed away in Hama in 697/1297 (Volume 1, p. 186).

Works

İbn Vâsıl's most renowned work is Müferricü'l-Kürûb; the part of the work up to a certain date was published in five volumes by Cemâleddin eş-Şeyyâl and Haseneyn Muhammed Rebîʿ, while the part up to 661/1263 was published in a single volume by Ömer Abdüsselam Tedmürî. His other work in the field of history is the two-volume concise Islamic history study titled et-Târîhü's-Sâlihî, which covers events up to 636/1239. He presented this work to the Ayyubid ruler el-Melikü's-Sâlih, who arrived in Dımaşk in 636; it is highly probable that the work is an abridgement of his voluminous book titled et-Târîhü'l-Kebîr, which has not survived to the present day. In the work, the political history of the Ayyubids is summarized chronologically (Volume 1, p. 187).

Influence on Later Historiography

İbn Vâsıl's works have been an important source for later historiography. The close resemblance of el-Mekîn's general history book titled et-Târîhü's-Sâlihî suggests that el-Mekîn heavily utilized İbn Vâsıl (Volume 1, p. 182).