Muḥyī d-Dīn Ibn Abd al-Zahir محيي الدين بن عبد الظاهر | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1223 Cairo, Egyptian Mamluk Sultanate (now Egypt) |
| Died | 1293 Cairo, Egyptian Mamluk Sultanate (now Egypt) |
| Resting place | Cairo |
| Pen name | Ibn Abd al-Zahir |
| Occupation | Chancery scribe, Arabic Poet and Historian |
| Language | Arabic |
| Period | 7th Islamic century (Mamluk era) |
Ibn Abd al-Zahir (Egyptian Arabic: محي الدين بن عبد الظاهر, romanized: Muḥyī d-Dīn ibn ʿAbd aẓ-Ẓāhir; 1223–1293) was an Egyptian chancery scribe, poet and historian during the Mamluk period. Several of his works survive, including three biographies of the early Mamluk sultans Baybars, al-Mansur Qalawun and al-Ashraf Khalil. In addition, a diwan of his poetry survives, as does a collection of letters written by Saladin's vizier al-Qāḍī al-Fāḍil which he compiled, and parts of a geographical work entitled Kitāb al-Rawḍah al-Bahīyah which was used extensively by the later historian Al-Maqrizi for his work "Al-Mawāʿiẓ wa-l-iʾtibār bi-dhikr al-khiṭaṭ wa al-athār." His son Fath al-Din Ibn Abd al-Zahir and grandson Ala al-Din Ibn Abd al-Zahir were also important chancery scribes of the Mamluk period, as was his nephew Shafiʾ ibn ʾAli who also wrote three surviving biographies of sultans Baybars, Qalawun and al-Nasir Muhammad.