Ibn Nazif
Abu'l Fada'il Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Ali ibn Muzhir ibn Barakat, commonly known as Ibn Nazif al-Hamawi (/ALA-LC: Ibn Naẓīf al-Ḥamawī), was a 13th-century Muslim chronicler and historian of the Ayyubid era.
Biography
There is scant biographical information about Ibn Nazif, and most information about him comes from his chronicle.[1] He was likely born in Hama in the latter half of the 12th century to that city's prominent Banu Nazif clan, hence his name.[1] He became a well-placed official in the court of the Ayyubid emir of Qal'at Ja'bar, al-Malik al-Hafiz ibn al-Adil (died 1240), who was subordinate to the Ayyubid emirs of Hama.[1] Ibn Nazif was terminated from his post in 1230 as a result of a dispute with al-Hafiz over the fate of a slave.[1] While drunk at a party, Ibn Nazif was arrested and had his properties confiscated on al-Hafiz's orders.[1] He remained imprisoned for undetermined period, but was released by the Ayyubid emir of Jazira, al-Ashraf Musa, with whom Ibn Nazif maintained good relations.[1] Afterward, Ibn Nazif relocated to the Euphrates fortress town of al-Rahba where he received the patronage of its commander, al-Mansur Ibrahim.[1] When the latter succeeded his father, al-Mujahid Shirkuh II, as emir of Homs, Ibn Nazif left with him.[1] In Homs, Ibn Nazif was given a pension, which allowed him to pen his historical chronicle, Tarikh Mansuri, which he dedicated to Shirkuh II.[1] The date of his death is unknown, though he likely died in Homs.[1]