Ibn 'Asakir
Ibn 'Asakir (1105 - 1176 CE) was the most famous member of the prominent Ibn 'Asakir family of Damascus.
He was born into tumultuous times - soon after the
First Crusade and in the waning days of the Shia'a
Fatimid Caliphate. His wealthy family provided him with an extensive Islamic education and after the death
of his father, he traveled extensively to major Islamic centers throughout the world (e.g. to Egypt, the Hejaz, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Central Asia).
When he returned to Damascus for good in ~1141 CE, he had brought with him many books and the fruits of a ~20 year search for
hadiths which eventually turned him into a hafiz (a hadith expert). When
Nur al-Din occupied Damascus in 1154 CE,
he contacted
Ibn 'Asakir and together they formed an alliance whereby
Ibn 'Asakir helped develop institutions and wrote texts in support of
Nur al-Din and his religious policies - e.g. extolling the virtues of Sunni Islam
against Shia' Islam, advocating for Holy Wars, and seeking the removal of the Frankish Crusaders.
Ibn 'Asakir produced a considerable amount of literary works on a variety of
subjects including much poetry. He also taught many prominent pupils, among
them noted historian
Ibn al-Athir. His magnum opus is
Tarikh Dimashq (History of Damascus) which is
an 80 volume encyclopedic work considered to be the largest medieval Muslim
biographical dictionary
ever produced. He also wrote Kitab al-zalazil (Book of earthquakes).