Imad al-Din al-Isfahani
(Redirected from
Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani
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Imad al-Din al-Isfahani | |
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Ayyubid Dynasty | |
| Allegiance | Zengid dynasty Ayyubid dynasty |
| Unit | Kings Guard = |
Muhammad ibn Hamid (
Zengid and Ayyubid
period.
Biography
Muhammad was born in
Nur ad-Din
, who appointed him a professor in the school he had established there, which then became known as the Imadiyya school in his honour. Nur ad-Din was later appointed to be his Chancellor.
After the death of Nur ad-Din in 1174, Imad al-Din was removed from all his bureaucratic duties, and was banished from the palace. He went to live in
al-Qadi al-Fadil, appointed him chancellor, and he also became al-Fadil's deputy. Although Saladin had been unsure of his talent because he was only a scribe, Imad al-Din soon became one of the sultan's favourites. As chancellor he did not have to perform the everyday duties of the chancery scribes, and he had a lot of leisure time in Egypt
.
From then on he accompanied Saladin on all his campaigns. After a certain raid, he was chosen to kill one of the prisoners, but the prisoner was a child and was instead exchanged for a Muslim prisoner held by the
Acre, he criticised Saladin for giving away the city's treasure instead of spending it on the reconquest. At Beirut, he became ill, but was the only scribe capable of writing the terms of surrender. He had recuperated in time to see the aftermath of the Siege of Jerusalem (1187), where he again criticised Saladin's generosity; he was also disgusted by those in charge of the ransom who took bribes, and the rich Crusader nobles who took their treasures with them rather than ransoming the poor. He was present at Acre again during the Third Crusade when the Christians retook the city of Acre
, and was among those who fled after the defeat.
After Saladin's death in 1193, he began writing his biographies of the sultan. He wrote the Kitab al-Barq al-Shami, which is largely lost, save for its third and fifth volumes, but was abridged by
Bustan al-jami' attributes it to Imad al-Din, but this seems to be an error, for its information on Saladin does not align too well with that of Imad al-Din's biography.[4] He died on 5 June 1201 in Damascus.[2]
In popular culture
- A heavily fictionalised version of Imad ad-Din is portrayed in the 2005 Ridley Scott epic film Kingdom of Heaven, by actor Alexander Siddig.
- Imad ad-Din is also portrayed in "The Book of Saladin: A Novel" by Tariq Ali - the second instalment of what is known as the "Islam Quintet".
See also
- List of Iranian Scientists
References
- ^ a b Donald S. Richards, "Emad al-Din Kateb Esfahani" in Encyclopedia Iranica. "The family of Persian origin into which ʿEmād-al-Dīn Kāteb was born had a tradition of administrative service for the Saljuq dynasty and the caliphate." [1]
- ^ ISBN 978-975-389-449-4. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ http://www.crusades-encyclopedia.com/imadaldin.html
- JSTOR 41603412
External links
- Crusades-encyclopedia.com
- EMĀD-AL-DĪNKĀTEB, ABŪ ʿABD-ALLĀH MOḤAMMAD b. Moḥammad b. Ḥāmed EṢFAHĀNĪ in Encyclopedia Iranica by Donald S. Richards
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