Abu Bakr bin Yahya al-Suli

Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn al-‘Abbās al-Ṣūli
أبو بكر محمد بن يحيى بن العباس الصولي
Bornc. 870
Diedbetween 941/948
Other namesAbu Bakr,
Ibn Yahya,
Muhammad
OccupationAbbasid courtier
Years active908 – 941
EraIslamic Golden Age
(Middle Abbasid era)
Known forCourt companion of three Abbasid caliphs: al-Muktafi, al-Muqtadir, and al-Radi
Notable workKitāb Al-Awrāq
Kitāb al-Shiṭranj
FatherYaḥyā ibn al-‘Abbās

Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn al-‘Abbās al-Ṣūlī (Arabic: أبو بكر محمد بن يحيى بن العباس الصولي) (born c. 870 Gorgan – died between 941 and 948 Basra) was a Turkic scholar and a court companion of three Abbāsid caliphs: al-Muktafī, his successor al-Muqtadir, and later, al-Radi, whom he also tutored. He was a bibliophile, wrote letters, editor-poet, chronicler, and a shatranj (chess) player.[1] His contemporary biographer Isḥāq al-Nadīm tells us he was “of manly bearing.”[2] [3][4][5][6] He wrote many books, the most famous of which are Kitāb Al-Awrāq and Kitāb al-Shiṭranj.

  1. ^ Khallikān (Ibn) 1868, p. 70, III.
  2. ^ Nadīm (al-) 1970, p. 329.
  3. ^ Yāqūt 1993, p. 136, VI (7).
  4. ^ Mas'ūdī (al-) 1861, p. 161, I.
  5. ^ Yāqūt 1907, p. 2677, Irshād, 1134.
  6. ^ Nadīm (al-) 1970, p. 1105.