Ibn Amira

Ibn Amira
Born	Abū al-Muṭarrif Aḥmad bin Abdallāh bin al-Ḥusayn bin Aḥmad Ibn Amīra al-Makhzūmī 1186 Alzira, Spain
Died	1258 or 1260 Tunis, Tunisia
Nationality	Andalusian
Occupation(s)	Historian, Scholar, Poet
Employer	Almohad Sultan
Title	Qadi of Mallorca
Academic work
Era	Almohad period
Notable works	Tarij Mayurqa (History of Mallorca)

Ibn Amira (Arabic: ابن عمیرہ)(1186- 1258/60), full name: Abū al-Muṭarrif Aḥmad bin Abdallāh bin al-Ḥusayn bin Aḥmad Ibn Amīra al-Makhzūmī (Arabic: أبو المطرف أحمد بن عبد الله بن محمد بن الحسين ابن عميرة المخزومي) was a historian, poet, and scholar of law from al-Andalus during the reign of the Almohad Caliphate. Ibn Amira was Qadi of Mallorca and worked for the Almohad sultan in Valencia and Seville. He moved to Morocco in 1239/40 (after the fall of Valencia in 1238) and continued to work for the sultan there.

Biography

Ibn Amira al-Makhzumi was born at Alzira in the province of Valencia, Spain. He was born into a well-known Berber family established in al-Andalus, in Shatiba (now Xàtiva, Valencia), by the eleventh century. He started his studies in Alzira and focused on hadith, fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), and literature. He was taught by some of the most famous scholars of his day, such as the traditionist Abu l-Rabi Ibn Salim and the grammarian al-Shalawbin.

Works

Ibn Amira was also the author of a manuscript about the history of Mallorca, Tarij Mayurqa. The manuscript (written between 1203 and 1232) was translated into Spanish by the historian Guillem Rosselló Bordoy.

Sources

• Manuel Boix and Josep Palàcios: Ali b. Atiyya Ibn al-Zaqqaq, Ahmad b. Abd Allah Ibn Amira, Ibrahim b. Abi l-Fath Ibn Hafaya Alzira, Valencia, Bromera, 1988. ISBN 84-7660-021-6
• Öz, Mustafa (1999). İBN AMÎRE - An article published in 19th volume of TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish). Vol. 19. Istanbul: İslâm Ansiklopedisi. pp. 310–311.