ʿAbd al-Wāhid al-Marrākushī

ʿAbd al-Wāhid al-Marrākuschī ( Arabic عبد الواحد المراكشي, DMG ʿAbd al-Wāḥid al-Marrākušī ; * July 7, 1185 in Marrakech ; † around 1228 in uncertain: Egypt ) was an Islamic historiographer and scholar.

biography

Al-Marrakushi was born in Marrakech under the rule of the Almohad sultant Yaʿqūb al-Mansūr (r. 1184–1199). At the age of nine he went to Fez - probably not accompanied by his parents - to continue his studies in the spiritual and religious metropolis of the empire. Ultimately, however, he was commuting back and forth between the two cities. In 1206 he traveled to Andalusia , but returned to Morocco three years after the defeat of the Islamic armies at Las Navas de Tolosa (1212). Probably in 1217 he set out on a trip to Egypt and Mecca . He probably spent the last years of his life in Egypt, where he did not live to see the phase of the gradual decline of the Almohads, but published his book on the history of the dynasty in 1224.

plant

He called his book Kitab al-mujib fi talkhis akhbar ahl al-Maghrib (German for example: "An entertaining and instructive book on the history of the Maghreb"). In it he described the change of power from the Almoravids to the Almohads as well as their heyday in a perfectly legible way with many anecdotes. He was addressing students who, even then, were bored of academic teaching materials and their dry presentation. He probably came into personal contact with the philosopher Averroes ( Ibn Ruschd ) who was about 20 years his senior .

rating

Research describes his book as comparatively precise and objective. He also describes the teachings of the founder of the dynasty, Mohammed Ibn Tumart , to the best of his knowledge. Astonishment also aroused his quite neutral, sometimes even positive description of the deeds of the Almoravids, the predecessor dynasty deeply hated by the Almohads.

Quote

“I only wrote down what I believed to be true and found in books, heard from trustworthy people or seen myself - with the strict aim of telling the truth and being fair in doing so. I have taken the greatest care not to withhold any good behavior, but also not to give anyone a single praise that they did not deserve. ” (Translation from English)

Web links

• Short biography Al-Marrakushis (English)