793 See note on p. 423.

794 The province of Tunis.

795 Murábiṭ is literally 'one who lives in a ribáṭ,' i.e., a guardhouse or military post on the frontier. Such buildings were often occupied, in addition to the garrison proper, by individuals who, from pious motives, wished to take part in the holy war (jihád) against the unbelievers. The word murábiṭ, therefore, gradually got an exclusively religious signification, 'devotee' or 'saint,' which appears in its modern form, marabout. As applied to the original Almoravides, it still retains a distinctly military flavour.

796 See Goldziher's article Materialien zur Kenntniss der Almohadenbewegung in Nordafrika (Z.D.M.G., vol. 41, p. 30 sqq.).

797 ‘Abdu ’l-Wáḥid, History of the Almohades, ed. by Dozy, p. 135, l. 1 sqq.

798 The Berbers at this time were Sunnite and anti-Fátimid.

799 Almohade is the Spanish form of al-Muwaḥḥid.

800 Stanley Lane-Poole, The Mohammadan Dynasties, p. 46.

801 Renan, Averroes et l'Averroïsme, p. 12 sqq.

802 See a passage from ‘Abdu ’l-Wáhid's History of the Almohades (p. 201, l. 19 sqq.), which is translated in Goldziher's Ẓâhiriten, p. 174.

803 The Arabic text, with a Latin version by E. Pocock, was published in 1671, and again in 1700, under the title Philosophus Autodidactus. An English translation by Simon Ockley appeared in 1708, and has been several times reprinted.

804 The true form of this name is Absál, as in Jámí's celebrated poem. Cf. De Boer, The History of Philosophy in Islam, translated by E. R. Jones, p. 144.

805 Jurjí Zaydán, however, is disposed to regard the story as being not without foundation. See his interesting discussion of the evidence in his Ta‘ríkhu ’l-Tamaddun al-Islámi ('History of Islamic Civilisation'), Part III, pp. 40-46.

806 The life of Ibnu ’l-Khaṭib has been written by his friend and contemporary, Ibn Khaldún (Hist. of the Berbers, translated by De Slane, vol. iv. p. 390 sqq.), and forms the main subject of Maqqarí's Nafḥu ’l-Ṭíb (vols. iii and iv of the Buláq edition).

807 Schack, op. cit., vol. i, p. 312 seq.

808 Cited in the Shadharátu ’l-Dhahab, a MS. in my collection. See J.R.A.S. for 1899, p. 911 seq., and for 1906, p. 797.

809 The Arabic text of the Prolegomena has been published by Quatremère in Notices et extraits des manuscrits de la Bibliothèque Impériale, vols. 16-18, and at Beyrout (1879, 1886, and 1900). A French translation by De Slane appeared in Not. et Extraits, vols. 19-21.

810 Muqaddima (Beyrout ed. of 1900), p. 35, l. 5 sqq. = Prolegomena translated by De Slane, vol. i, p. 71.

811 Muqaddima, p. 37, l. 4 fr. foot = De Slane's translation, vol. i, p. 77.

812 Von Kremer has discussed Ibn Khaldún's ideas more fully than is possible here in an admirably sympathetic article, Ibn Chaldun und seine Culturgeschichte der islamischen Reiche, contributed to the Sitz. der Kais. Akad. der Wissenschaften, vol. 93 (Vienna, 1879). I have profited by many of his observations, and desire to make the warmest acknowledgment of my debt to him in this as in countless other instances.

813 Muqaddima, Beyrout ed., p. 170 = De Slane's translation, vol. i, p. 347 sqq.

814 Muqaddima, p. 175 = De Slane's translation, vol. i, p. 356 sqq.

815 An excellent appreciation of Ibn Khaldún as a scientific historian will be found in Robert Flint's History of the Philosophy of History, vol. i, pp. 157-171.

816 Schack, op. cit., vol. ii, p. 151.

817 E. J. W. Gibb, A History of Ottoman Poetry, vol. ii, p. 5.

818 The nineteenth century should have been excepted, so far as the influence of modern civilisation has reacted on Arabic literature.

819 These Ismál‘ílís are the so-called Assassins, the terrible sect organised by Ḥasan b. Ṣabbáḥ (see Professor Browne's Literary History of Persia, vol. ii, p. 201 sqq.), and finally exterminated by Húlágú. They had many fortresses, of which Alamút was the most famous, in the Jibál province, near Qazwín.

820 The reader must be warned that this and the following account of the treacherous dealings of Ibnu ’l-‘Alqamí are entirely contradicted by Shí‘ite historians. For example, the author of al-Fakhri (ed. by Derenbourg, p. 452) represents the Vizier as a far-seeing patriot who vainly strove to awaken his feeble-minded master to the gravity of the situation.

821 Concerning the various functions of the Dawídár (literally Inkstand-holder) or Dawádár, as the word is more correctly written, see Quatremère, Histoire des Sultans Mamlouks, vol. i, p. 118, n. 2.

822 The MS. writes Yájúnas.

823 Al-kalb, the Arabic equivalent of the Persian sag (dog), an animal which Moslems regard as unclean.

824 By Shamsu ’l-Dín al-Dhahabí († 1348 a.d.).

825 Mameluke (Mamlúk) means 'slave.' The term was applied to the mercenary troops, Turks and Kurds for the most part, who composed the bodyguard of the Ayyúbid princes.

826 There are two Mameluke dynasties, called respectively Baḥrí (River) Mamelukes and Burjí (Tower) Mamelukes. The former reigned from 1250 to 1390, the latter from 1382 to 1517.

827 See Lane, The Modern Egyptians, ch. xxii.

828 See Sir T. W. Arnold, The Caliphate, p. 146.

829 Ed. of Buláq (1283 a.h.), pp. 356-366.

830 Ibid., p. 358.

831 These verses are cited in the Ḥadíqatu ’l-Afráḥ (see Brockelmann's Gesch. d. Arab. Litt., ii, 502), Calcutta, 1229 a.h., p. 280. In the final couplet there is an allusion to Kor. iv, 44: "Verily God will not wrong any one even the weight of an ant" (mithqála dharratin).

832 Hartmann, Das Muwaššah (Weimar, 1897), p. 218.

833 Literally, 'The Shaking of the Skull-caps,' in allusion to the peasants' dance.

834 See Vollers, Beiträge zur Kenntniss der lebenden arabischen Sprache in Aegypten, Z.D.M.G., vol. 41 (1887), p. 370.

835 Ibn Khallikán, De Slane's translation, vol. i, p. 3.

836 It should be pointed out that the Wafayát is very far from being exhaustive. The total number of articles only amounts to 865. Besides the Caliphs, the Companions of the Prophet, and those of the next generation (Tábi‘ún), the author omitted many persons of note because he was unable to discover the date of their death. A useful supplement and continuation of the Wafayát was compiled by al-Kutubí († 1363 a.d.) under the title Fawátu ’l-Wafayát.

837 The Arabic text of the Wafayát has been edited with variants and indices by Wüstenfeld (Göttingen, 1835-1850). There is an excellent English translation by Baron MacGuckin de Slane in four volumes (1842-1871).

838 The full title is al-Mawá‘iẓ wa-’l-l‘tibár fí dhikri ’l-Khiṭaṭ wa-’l-Athár. It was printed at Buláq in 1270 a.h.

839 Al-Sulúk li-ma‘rifati Duwali ’l-Mulúk, a history of the Ayyúbids and Mamelukes. The portion relating to the latter dynasty is accessible in the excellent French version by Quatremère (Histoire des Sultans Mamlouks de l'Égypte, Paris, 1845).

840 A. R. Guest, A List of Writers, Books, and other Authorities mentioned by El Maqrízí in his Khiṭaṭ, J.R.A.S. for 1902, p. 106.

841 The Fakhrí has been edited by Ahlwardt (1860) and Derenbourg (1895). The simplicity of its style and the varied interest of its contents have made it deservedly popular. Leaving the Koran out of account, I do not know any book that is better fitted to serve as an introduction to Arabic literature.

842 See p. 413, n. 1.

843 A Biographical Dictionary of Persons who knew Mohammad, ed. by Sprenger and others (Calcutta, 1856-1873).

844 Murúju ’l-Dhahab, ed. by Barbier de Meynard, vol. iv. p. 90. The names Shírázád and Dínázád are obviously Persian. Probably the former is a corruption of Chihrázád, meaning 'of noble race,' while Dínázád signifies 'of noble religion.' My readers will easily recognise the familiar Scheherazade and Dinarzade.

845 Strange as it may seem, this criticism represents the view of nearly all Moslem scholars who have read the 'Arabian Nights.'

846 Many episodes are related on the authority of Aṣma‘í, Abú ‘Ubayda, and Wahb b. Munabbih.

847 Those who recite the Síratu ‘Antar are named ‘Anátira, sing. ‘Antari. See Lane's Modern Egyptians, ch. >xxiii.

848 That it was extant in some shape before 1150 a.d. seems to be beyond doubt. Cf. the Journal Asiatique for 1838, p. 383; Wüstenfeld, Gesch. der Arab. Aerzte, No. 172.

849 Antar, a Bedoueen Romance, translated from the Arabic by Terrick Hamilton (London, 1820), vol. i, p. >xxiii seq. See, however, Flügel's Catalogue of the Kais. Kön. Bibl. at Vienna, vol. ii, p. 6. Further details concerning the 'Romance of ‘Antar' will be found in Thorbecke's ‘Antarah (Leipzig, 1867), p. 31 sqq. The whole work has been published at Cairo in thirty-two volumes.

850 Sha‘rání, Yawáqít (ed. of Cairo, 1277 a.h.), p. 18.

851 In 1417 a.d. The reader will find a full and most interesting account of Nasímí, who is equally remarkable as a Turkish poet and as a mystic belonging to the sect of the Ḥurúfís, in Mr. E. J. W. Gibb's History of Ottoman Poetry, vol. i, pp. 343-368. It is highly improbable that the story related here gives the true ground on which he was condemned: his pantheistic utterances afford a sufficient explanation, and the Turkish biographer, Laṭífí, specifies the verse which cost him his life. I may add that the author of the Shadharátu ’l-Dhahab calls him Nasímu ’l-Dín of Tabríz (he is generally said to be a native of Nasím in the district of Baghdád), and observes that he resided in Aleppo, where his followers were numerous and his heretical doctrines widely disseminated.

852 The 112th chapter of the Koran. See p. 164.

853 Founder of the Shádhiliyya Order of Dervishes. He died in 1258 a.d.

854 A distinguished jurist and scholar who received the honorary title, 'Sultan of the Divines.' He died at Cairo in 1262 a.d.

855 An eminent canon lawyer († 1370 a.d.).

856 It was the custom of the Zoroastrians (and, according to Moslem belief, of the Christians and other infidels) to wear a girdle round the waist.

857 See Materials for a History of the Wahabys, by J. L. Burckhardt, published in the second volume of his Notes on the Bedouins and Wahabys (London, 1831). Burckhardt was in Arabia while the Turks were engaged in re-conquering the Ḥijáz from the Wahhábís. His graphic and highly interesting narrative has been summarised by Dozy, Essai sur l'histoire de l'Islamisme, ch. 13.

858 Following Burckhardt's example, most European writers call him simply ‘Abdu ’l-Wahháb.

859 Burckhardt, op. cit., vol. ii, p. 96.

860 MSS. of Ibn Taymiyya copied by Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahháb are extant (Goldziher in Z.D.M.G., vol. 52, p. 156).

861 This is the place usually called Karbalá or Mashhad Ḥusayn.

862 Op. cit., vol. ii, p. 112.

863 Essai sur l'histoire de l'Islamisme, p. 416.

864 Burckhardt, loc. laud., p. 115.

865 I cannot enter into details on this subject. A review of modern Arabic literature is given by Brockelmann, Gesch. der Arab. Litt., vol. ii, pp. 469-511, and by Huart, Arabic Literature, pp. 411-443.

866 See M. Hartmann, The Arabic Press of Egypt (London, 1899).

867 Brockelmann, loc. cit., p. 476.

868 Translated into Arabic verse by Sulaymán al-Bistání (Cairo, 1904). See Professor Margoliouth's interesting notice of this work in the J.R.A.S. for 1905, p. 417 sqq.

869 H. A. R. Gibb, Studies in contemporary Arabic literature, Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, vol. iv, pt. 4, p. 746; cf. also vol. v, pt. 2, p. 311 foll. Mr Gibb has given references to the chief works on the subject, but for the sake of those who do not read Arabic or Russian it may be hoped that he will continue and complete his own survey, to which there is nothing simile aut secundum in English.

>INDEX

In the following Index it has been found necessary to omit the accents indicating the long vowels, and the dots which are used in the text to distinguish letters of similar pronunciation. On the other hand, the definite article al has been prefixed throughout to those Arabic names which it properly precedes; it is sometimes written in full, but is generally denoted by a hyphen, e.g. -‘Abbas for al-‘Abbas. Names of books, as well as Oriental words and technical terms explained in the text, are printed in italics. Where a number of references occur under one heading, the more important are, as a rule, shown by means of thicker type.