Usama ibn Munqidh
Usama ibn Munqidh | |
---|---|
Born | 4 July 1095 Mount Qasiyun |
Occupation(s) | Poet, courtier, soldier |
Children | Murhaf ibn Munqidh |
Parent | Murshid ibn Munqidh |
Relatives | Sultan ibn Munqidh |
Majd ad-Dīn Usāma ibn Murshid ibn ʿAlī ibn Munqidh al-Kināni al-Kalbī
He was the nephew and potential successor of the emir of Shaizar, but was exiled in 1131 and spent the rest of his life serving other leaders. He was a courtier to the
During and immediately after his life, he was most famous as a poet and
Most of his family was killed in an earthquake at Shaizar in 1157. He died in Damascus in 1188, at the age of 93.
Early life
Usama was the son of Murshid, and the nephew of Nasr, emir of Shaizar.
Shaizar was seen as a strategically important site and the gateway to enter and control inner Syria. The Arabs initially conquered Shaizar during the Muslim conquest of the Levant in 637. Due to its importance it exchanged hands numerous times between the Arabs and Byzantines, who regained it in 999. In 1025 the Banu Munqidh tribe were given an allocation of land beside Shaizar by the ruler of Hama, Salih ibn Mirdas. Over time they expanded their lands building fortifications and castles until Usama's grandfather Izz al-Dawla al-Murhaf Nasr retook it in 1080.[3]
When Nasr died in 1098, Usama's father, Majd ad-Din Abi Salamah Murshid (1068–1137) became the emir of Shaizar and the surrounding cities.[4] However, he soon gave up his position to Usama's uncle, Izz ad-Din Abi al-Asaker Sultan, since Murshid was more interested in studying religion and hunting than in matters of politics.[5][6]
While Usama's uncle's rule, Shaizar was attacked numerous times by the
As a child, Usama was the second of four boys and raised by his nurse, Lu'lu'a, who had also raised his father and would later raise Usama's own children.[8] He was encouraged by his father to memorise the Quran, and was also tutored by scholars such as Ibn Munira of Kafartab and Abu Abdullah al-Tulaytuli of Toledo. He spent much of his youth hunting with his family, partly as recreation and certainly as warrior (faris), training for battle as part of furusiyya. He also gathered much direct fighting experience, against the neighbouring crusader County of Tripoli and Principality of Antioch, hostile Muslim neighbours in Hama, Homs, and elsewhere, and against the Hashshashin who had established a base near Shaizar.[9] According to Usama, his first experience in battle took place in 1119, in a raid on the crusaders at Apamea.
Sultan did not initially have any male heirs and it is possible that Usama expected to succeed him.[10] He certainly singled him out among his brothers by teaching him, tutoring him in the ways of war and hunting. He even favoured him for personal missions and as a representative.[11] However, after Sultan had his own son, he no longer appreciated the presence of Usama and Murshid's other sons. According to Usama, Sultan became jealous after a particularly successful lion-hunt in 1131, when Usama entered the town with a large lion head in his arms as a hunting trophy. When his grandmother saw this she warned him about the effect this could have on his uncle.[12] Despite this, he still spoke well of his uncle on a few occasions in his autobiography and highlighted his noble actions.[13] Usama ultimately left Shaizar temporarily in 1129, and after his father death in 1137 his exile became permanent.[14]
Usama's uncle died in 1154 and his son, Taj al-Dawla Nasr ad-Din Muhammad, inherited the castle. However, Usama was the last heir of the line left alive when in 1157 an earthquake struck the area, killing most of his family.
Damascus and Egypt
Usama went to Homs, where he was taken captive in a battle against
The emperor's siege of Shaizar was unsuccessful, but Shaizar was heavily damaged. After the siege, Usama left Zengi's service and went to
In Cairo he became a wealthy courtier, but he was involved in plots and conspiracies there as well. The young
Back in Egypt, as-Sallar was assassinated in 1153 by his son Abbas, Abbas's son Nasr, and caliph az-Zafir, who, according to Usama, was Nasr's lover. Thirteenth-century historian Ibn al-Athir says that Usama was the instigator of this plot.[19] Usama may also have been behind the assassination of az-Zafir by Abbas, in 1154. Az-Zafir's relatives called upon a supporter, Tala'i ibn Ruzzik, who chased Abbas out of Cairo, and Usama followed him. He lost his possessions in Cairo, and on the way to Damascus his retinue was attacked by the crusaders and Bedouin nomads, but in June 1154 he safely reached Damascus, which had recently been captured by Nur ad-Din. Ibn Ruzzik tried to persuade him to come back, as the rest of his family was still in Cairo, but Usama was able to bring them to Damascus, through crusader territory, in 1156. The crusaders promised to transport them safely, but they were attacked and pillaged, and Usama lost his entire library.[20]
Later years
In 1157, Shaizar was destroyed by an
Usama's life in Hisn Kayfa is very obscure, but he travelled throughout the region, and probably wrote many of his works there. In 1174, Usama was invited to Damascus to serve
Family
Usama had three brothers, Muhammad, 'Ali, and Munqidh; his cousin, also named Muhammad, succeeded Usama's uncle Sultan as emir of Shaizar. He had a son, Murhaf, in 1126, and another son, Abu Bakr, who died as a child. He had a daughter, Umm Farwa, in Hisn Kayfa in 1166. He mentions other children, but their names, and the name of his wife or wives, are unknown.[24]
The picture he painted of his father was of a pious religious man who was not interested in the affairs of this world. He would spend most of his time reading the Quran, fasting and hunting during the day and at night would copy the Quran. He also recounted a few battles his father joined against the crusaders in his autobiography Kitab al Itibar.[25]
Religion
It is sometimes assumed that Usama was
Works
Around 1171 in Hisn Kayfa, Usama wrote the Kitab al-'Asa ("Book of the Staff"), a poetry anthology about famous walking sticks and other staffs, and al-Manazil wa'l-Diyar ("Dwellings and Abodes"). In Damascus in the early 1180s he wrote another anthology, the Lubab al-Adab ("Kernels of Refinement"), instructions on living a properly cultured life. He is most famous for the
In 1880,
Usama wrote in "Middle Arabic", a less formal style of classical Arabic.[33]
Reputation
Usama was known for becoming embroiled in palace intrigues and political maneuvering. As the Encyclopaedia of Islam says, "his career was a troubled one, and for this his own actions were surely responsible in large part."[34]
To contemporary and later medieval Muslims, however, he was best remembered for his poetry and his poetry anthologies.[35] Ibn Khallikan, author of a fourteenth-century biographical dictionary, calls him "one of the most powerful, learned, and intrepid members of the [Munqidh] family" and speaks at great length about his poetry.[36]
He was also known for his military and hunting exploits. Ibn al-Athir described him as "the ultimate of bravery", regarding his presence at the Battle of Harim.[37]
For modern readers he is most famous for the Kitab al-I'tibar and his descriptions of life in Syria during the early crusades. The disjointed nature of the work has given him a reputation as a senile rambler, although it is actually written with an anthological structure, with humorous or moralistic tales that are not meant to proceed chronologically, as a true autobiography would.
Bibliography
Editions and translations of Usama's works
- Ousama ibn Mounkidh, un emir Syrien au premier siècle des croisades (1095–1188), ed. Hartwig Derenbourg. Paris, 1889.
- ibn Munqidh, Usama (1895). Souvenirs historiques et récits de chasse (in French). Hartwig Derenbourg (translator). Paris: E. Leroux.
- ibn Munqidh, Usama (1905). Memoiren eines syrischen Emirs aus der Zeit der Kreuzzüge (in German). Georg Schumann (translator). Innsbruck: Wagner'schen Universitäts -Buchhandlung.
- ibn Munqidh, Usama (1929). An Arab-Syrian Gentleman And Warrior in The Period of The Crusades: Memoirs of Usama Ibn-Munqidh (Kitab al i'tibar). Philip K. Hitti (translator). New York: Columbia University Press.
- Memoirs Entitled Kitāb al-I'tibār, ed. Philip K. Hitti (Arabic text). Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1930.
- Lubab al-Adab, ed. A. M. Shakir. Cairo: Maktabat Luwis Sarkis, 1935.
- Diwan Usama ibn Munqidh, ed. A. Badawi and H. Abd al-Majid. Cairo: Wizarat al-Ma'arif al-Umumiyya, 1953.
- Kitab al-Manazil wa'l-Diyar, ed. M. Hijazi. Cairo: Al-Majlis al-A'la li-l-Shu'un al-Islamiyya, 1968.
- Kitab al-'Asa, ed. Hassan Abbas. Alexandria: Al-Hay'at al-Misriyya al-'Amma li-l-Kitab, 1978.
- Al-Badi' fi-l-Badi', ed. A. Muhanna. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyya, 1987.
- Kitab al i'tibar, ed. Qasim as-Samarra'i. Riyadh, 1987.
- "Usama ibn Munqidh's Book of the Staff (Kitab al'Asa): autobiographical and historical excerpts," trans. Paul M. Cobb. Al-Masaq: Islam and the Medieval Mediterranean 17 (2005).
- "Usama ibn Munqidh's Kernels of Refinement (Lubab al-Adab): autobiographical and historical excerpts," trans. Paul M. Cobb. Al-Masaq: Islam and the Medieval Mediterranean 18 (2006)
- The Book of Contemplation: Islam and the Crusades, trans. Paul M. Cobb. Penguin Classics, 2008.
Secondary works
- William MacGuckin, Baron de Slane, vol. 1. Paris, 1842.
- Hassan Abbas, Usama ibn Munqidh: Hayatuhu wa-Atharuhu. Cairo: al-Hay'a al-Misriya al-'Ama li'l-Kitab, 1981.
- Adam M. Bishop, "Usama ibn Munqidh and crusader law in the twelfth century." Crusades 12 (2013), pp. 53–65.
- Niall Christie, "Just a bunch of dirty stories? Women in the memoirs of Usamah ibn Munqidh." Eastward Bound: Travel and Travellers, 1050–1550, ed. Rosamund Allen. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2004, pp. 71–87.
- Paul M. Cobb, Usama ibn Munqidh: Warrior-Poet in the Age of Crusades Oxford: Oneworld, 2005.
- Paul M. Cobb, "Infidel dogs: hunting crusaders with Usamah ibn Munqidh." Crusades 6 (2007).
- Lawrence I. Conrad, "Usama ibn Munqidh and other witnesses to Frankish and Islamic medicine in the era of the crusades." Medicine in Jerusalem throughout the Ages, ed. Zohar Amar et al. Tel Aviv: C. G. Foundation, 1999.
- Carole Hillenbrand, The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives. Routledge, 2000.
- R. S. Humphreys, Munkidh, Banu. Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd. ed., vol. VII (Leiden: Brill, 1960–2002).
- Robert Irwin, "Usama ibn Munqidh: an Arab-Syrian gentleman at the time of the Crusades reconsidered." The Crusades and their sources: essays presented to Bernard Hamilton ed. John France, William G. Zajac (Aldershot: Ashgate, 1998) pp. 71–87.
- Adnan Husain, "Wondrous Crusade Encounters: Usamah ibn Munqidh's Book of Learning by Example," in Jason Glenn (ed), The Middle Ages in Texts and Texture: Reflections on Medieval Sources (Toronto, University of Toronto, 2012),
- D. W. Morray, "The genius of Usamah ibn Munqidh: aspects of Kitab al-I'tibar by Usamah ibn Munqidh." Working Paper. University of Durham, Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, Durham, 1987.
- I. Schen, "Usama ibn Munqidh's Memoirs: some further light on Muslim Middle Arabic." Journal of Semitic Studies 17 (1972), and Journal of Semitic Studies 18 (1973).
- Bogdan C. Smarandache, "Re-examining Usama Ibn Munqidh's knowledge of "Frankish": A case study of medieval bilingualism during the crusades." The Medieval Globe 3 (2017), pp. 47–85.
- G. R. Smith, "A new translation of certain passages of the hunting section of Usama ibn Munqidh's I'tibar." Journal of Semitic Studies 26 (1981).
- Stefan Wild, "Open questions, new light: Usama ibn Munqidh's account of his battles against Muslims and Franks." The Frankish Wars and their Influence on Palestine, edd. Khalil Athamina and Roger Heacock (Birzeit, 1994), pp. 9–29.
- The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athir for the Crusading Period from al-Kamil i'l-Ta'rikh, Part 2: The Years 541–589/1146–1193: The Age of Nur al-Din and Saladin, trans. D.S. Richards. Crusade Texts in Translation 15. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007.
References
- honorific titlemeaning "glory of the faith". His given name, Usama, means "lion". Murshid was his father, Ali his grandfather, and Munqidh his great-grandfather. The Munqidh family belonged to Kinanah from Kalb from the Qudhaa. Paul M. Cobb, Usama ibn Munqidh: Warrior-Poet in the Age of Crusades (Oxford: Oneworld, 2005), p. 4.
- William MacGuckin, Baron de Slane, vol. 1 (Paris: 1842), p. 179. The Gregorian calendardates are from Cobb, Usama ibn Munqidh, p. 4.
- ^ Philip K Hitti: An Arab-Syrian Gentleman and Warrior in the Period of the Crusades: Memoirs of Usamah Ibn-Munqidh (Kitab Al-Itibar)
- ^ Philip K Hitti: An Arab-Syrian Gentleman and Warrior in the Period of the Crusades: Memoirs of Usamah Ibn-Munqidh (Kitab Al-Itibar)
- ^ Cobb, Usama ibn Munqidh, p. 4.
- ^ Philip K Hitti: An Arab-Syrian Gentleman and Warrior in the Period of the Crusades: Memoirs of Usamah Ibn-Munqidh (Kitab Al-Itibar)
- ^ Philip K Hitti: An Arab-Syrian Gentleman and Warrior in the Period of the Crusades: Memoirs of Usamah Ibn-Munqidh (Kitab Al-Itibar)
- ^ Cobb, Usama ibn Munqidh, p. 17.
- ^ Cobb, Usama ibn Munqidh, pp. 5–14.
- ^ The Book of Contemplation: Islam and the Crusades, trans. Paul M. Cobb (Penguin Classics, 2008), introduction, p. xxv.
- ^ Philip K Hitti: An Arab-Syrian Gentleman and Warrior in the Period of the Crusades: Memoirs of Usamah Ibn-Munqidh (Kitab Al-Itibar)
- ^ Usama Ibn Munqid: Kitab Al Itibar Page 126
- ^ Usam Ibn Munqid: Kitab Al Itibar Page 71
- ^ Philip K Hitti: An Arab-Syrian Gentleman and Warrior in the Period of the Crusades: Memoirs of Usamah Ibn-Munqidh (Kitab Al-Itibar)
- ^ Cobb, Usama ibn Munqidh, pp. 20–24.
- ^ Philip K Hitti: An Arab-Syrian Gentleman and Warrior in the Period of the Crusades: Memoirs of Usamah Ibn-Munqidh (Kitab Al-Itibar), pp. 161–170.
- ^ Cobb, Usama ibn Munqidh, pp. 26–31.
- ^ Cobb, Usama ibn Munqidh, pp. 34–37.
- ^ The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athir for the Crusading Period from al-Kamil i'l-Ta'rikh, Part 2: The Years 541–589/1146–1193: The Age of Nur al-Din and Saladin, trans. D.S. Richards. Crusade Texts in Translation 15 (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007), p. 62.
- ^ Cobb, Usama ibn Munqidh, pp. 37–43.
- ^ Cobb, Usama ibn Munqidh, pp. 44–48.
- ^ Cobb, Usama ibn Munqidh, pp. 63–64.
- ^ The Book of Contemplation, trans. Cobb, introduction, pp. xxxii–xxxiii.
- ^ Cobb, Usama ibn Munqidh, pp. 16–17, 51, and the family tree on p. xxiv.
- ^ Usama Ibn Munqid: Kitab al Itibar Page 191,197
- ^ An Arab-Syrian Gentleman and Warrior in the Period of the Crusades; Memoirs of Usamah ibn-Munqidh (Kitab al i'tibar), trans Philip K. Hitti (New York, 1929), introduction, p. 14.
- ^ Cobb, Usama ibn Munqidh, p. 74.
- Robert Irwin, "Usamah ibn Munqidh: An Arab-Syrian gentleman at the time of the crusades reconsidered." The Crusades and their Sources: Essays Presented to Bernard Hamilton, eds. John France and W.G. Zajac (Aldershot: Ashgate, 1998), p. 78.
- ^ Cobb, Usama ibn Munqidh, p. 77.
- ^ The Book of Contemplation, trans. Cobb, introduction, pp. xxxiii–xxxv.
- ^ Cobb, Usama ibn Munqidh, p. 63.
- ^ The Book of Contemplation, trans. Cobb, introduction, pp. xxxviii–xxxix.
- ^ The Book of Contemplation, trans. Cobb, introduction, p. xxxvii.
- ^ R. S. Humphreys, Munḳid̲h̲, Banū, in Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd. ed., vol. VII (Leiden: Brill, 1960–2002), p. 579.
- ^ Cobb, Usama ibn Munqidh, p. 116.
- ^ Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary, trans. MacGuckin, p. 179.
- ^ The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athir, trans. D.S. Richards, p. 134.
- ^ The Book of Contemplation, trans. Cobb, introduction, p. xxxi.
- ^ Cobb, Usama ibn Munqidh, p. 69.
- ^ Carole Hillenbrand, The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives (Routledge, 2000), p. 260.
External links
- Excerpts from Usamah's Autobiography Archived 14 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- Niall G. F. Christie: The Presentation of the Franks in Selected Muslim Sources from the Crusades of the 12th Century
- Hartwig Derenbourg, Ousâma ibn Mounkidh, un émir syrien au premier siècle des croisades, pt. 1, vie d'Ousâma; pt. 2, Arabic text of the Kitab al-I'tibar.