Ibn Mammati
Al-As'ad ibn Muhadhdhab ibn Zakariyya ibn Kudama ibn Mina Sharaf al-Din Abu'l-Makarim ibn Sa'id ibn Abi'l-Malih ibn Mammati, better known simply by the family name Ibn Mammati, was an Egyptian official who served as head of the government departments under Saladin and his successor, al-Aziz Uthman, as well as being a noted poet and prolific writer.
Origin
Al-As'ad ibn Mammati hailed from a family of
Life
Ibn Mammati succeeded his father as head of the diwān al-jaysh, and later was promoted to the headship of all the diwāns, holding that position under Saladin as well as his successor, al-Aziz Uthman (r. 1193–1198).[1] He was a close friend and collaborator of Saladin's chief secretary, Qadi al-Fadil, but when the latter was replaced as vizier by Ibn Mammati's rival Safi al-Din Abdallah ibn Ali ibn Shukr, Ibn Mammati fell from favour. His property was confiscated, and he had to flee with his family to the court of al-Zahir, sultan of Aleppo.[4] He died there in poverty on 29 November 1209, at the age of 62 Hijri years.[4][5]
Works
Apart from his work as an administrator, Ibn Mammati is best known as a poet and writer.
He is also the first author of a collection of satirical anecdotes known as Kitāb al-fāshūsh fi Aḥkām Qarāqūsh, or 'Book on the Stupidity in the Judgements of Qaraqush', lampooning his political rival, Baha al-Din Qaraqush. Begun by Ibn Mammati, its stories circulated widely in Egypt, and were collected and rewritten by Abu'l-Fadl Abd al-Rahman al-Suyuti (1445–1505) and Abd al-Salam al-Malki (1564–1668), and proved so popular that in subsequent centuries, the memory of the historical Qaraqush was obliterated and his name became "a symbol of a lunatic tyrant".[8]
References
- ^ a b c d Atiya 1971, p. 862.
- ^ Kapar 1995, p. 349.
- ^ Lev 1999, pp. 77, 188–189.
- ^ a b c d e f g Atiya 1971, p. 863.
- ^ Ibn Khallikan 1842, p. 195.
- ^ Ibn Khallikan 1842, p. 192.
- ^ Ibn Khallikan 1842, pp. 192–194.
- ^ Dowaidar 2020, pp. 482–484.
Sources
- Atiya, A. S. (1971). "Ibn Mammātī". In OCLC 495469525.
- Dowaidar, Ibrahim (2020). "Political Humor in Ibn Mammātī's Kitāb al-Fāshūsh fi Aḥkām Qarâqûsh (The Decisions of Qarâqûsh)". Open Linguistics. 6 (1): 482–511. .
- OCLC 1184199260.
- Kapar, Mehmet Ali (1995). "Es'ad b. el-Memmâtî". TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 11 (Elbi̇stan – Eymi̇r) (in Turkish). Istanbul: ISBN 978-975-389-438-8.
- Lev, Yaacov (1999). Saladin in Egypt. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 90-04-11221-9.
Further reading
- Atiya, A. S., ed. (1943). Kitāb Qawānīn al-Dawāwīn. Cairo: Royal Agricultural Society.
- Cooper, R. S. (1973). Ibn Mammati's Rules for the Ministries: Translation with Commentary of the Qawānīn al-Dawāwīn (PhD Thesis). Berkeley: University of California.