İbnü’l-Esîr

İbnü'l-Esîr, full name İzzeddîn Ebü'l-Hasan Ali b. Muhammed b. Abdülkerîm eş-Şeybânî el-Cezerî, is one of the leading historians of the medieval Islamic world (1160-1233). Having grown up in the El-Cezîre region and gained great fame with his work el-Kâmil fi't-Târîh, İbnü'l-Esîr is considered one of the fundamental sources for the history of Kurdish dynasties.

Life

İbnü'l-Esîr was born in Cizre on 4 Cemâziyelevvel 555 (12 May 1160), thus acquiring the nisba "el-Cezerî" (Cilt 1, s. 106; Cilt 1, s. 125). He received his initial education in Cizre, went on Hajj at the age of 21, and studied hadith from some scholars in Haremeyn; he attended the lessons of the Shafi'i jurist Şeyh Ebü'l-Kâsım Yaîş and the hadith scholar İbn Sükeyne in Bağdat (Cilt 1, s. 125). In 579/1183, he settled in Musul with his father and two brothers, where he pursued knowledge from scholars such as Ebü'l-Fazl Abdullah et-Tûsî, Ebü'l-Ferec Yahyâ es-Sekafî, Ebû Mansûr Müslim es-Sîhî, and İbn Şebbe en-Nahvî el-Mukrî (Cilt 1, s. 125; Cilt 1, s. 134). His father, Esîrüddîn Muhammed, worked in the service of the Zengîler and was in the retinue of the Musul Atabeg İmâdüddin Zengî (Cilt 1, s. 165). The author possessed profound knowledge in language, hadith, literature, and history, especially ensâb (genealogy); he spent the last years of his life educating students and composing works, and passed away in Musul on 25 Şâban 630 (6 June 1233) (Cilt 1, s. 125; Cilt 1, s. 134).

El-Kâmil and His Historiography

İbnü'l-Esîr, who has four works in the field of history, has his most famous book as the general Islamic history el-Kâmil fi't-Târîh, which records events up to the year 628/1230 (Cilt 1, s. 106; Cilt 1, s. 134). The author, who approached events with a holistic rather than fragmented method, dealt with interconnected incidents within a cause-and-effect relationship in the same place; with his meticulousness in material selection, clear and understandable language, and success in grasping historical events, he produced one of the most influential works of Muslim historiography (Cilt 1, s. 166). However, he also faced serious criticism due to his failure to cite the sources he used and his biased perspective which led him to distort some events, yet he is still considered one of the reliable historians of the Middle Ages (Cilt 1, s. 166).

Contribution to Kurdish History

İbnü'l-Esîr's works are of primary importance for the history of Kurdish dynasties. He is among the historians who recorded the name of the Annâzîler dynasty as "Benû Annâz" – like Hilâl b. Muhassin es-Sâbî (Cilt 1, s. 141); according to him and Şerefhan, the Annâzîler period lasted 130 years (Cilt 1, s. 147). El-Kâmil is considered among the fundamental sources for Annâzî political history, and the author, while narrating the events of the year 495/1102, records Sürkâb b. Bedr, the grandson of Mühelhil, capturing Huftîzgân Kalesi, his defeat in the war against the Salgurlu Türkmenleri, and the Türkmenleri's capture of his entire country except for Dakûkâ and Şehrezor (Cilt 1, s. 143). Although his work provides little information regarding Şeddâdî history, his record of I. Fadl, whom he refers to as Fadlûn el-Kürdî, organizing an expedition to the Hazar country in 421/1030 is significant (Cilt 1, s. 106).

El-Kâmil is also one of the primary sources for determining Ayyubid history, especially political and military events centered in el-Cezîre, and Selâhaddîn's campaigns (Cilt 1, s. 166). Among later historians, İbnü'l-Adîm transferred a significant portion of the information regarding the early period of Ayyubid history from İbnü'l-Esîr's el-Kâmil (Cilt 1, s. 176).