Muhammad ibn Abd al-Jabbar al-Utbi

Al-Utbi
Born
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Jabbar al-Utbi

c. 961
Rayy, Buyid Empire
Died1036/1040
OccupationsHistorian, Poet
Academic work
EraSamanid era, Ghaznavid era
Notable worksKitab al-Yamini

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Jabbar al-Utbi, called al-Utbi (c. 961 – 1036/1040), was an Arab historian[1], poet, and courtier. Born in Rayy,[2] al-Utbi traveled to Nishapur with his uncle, Abu Nasr al-Utbi, who was a courtier for the Samanids. Al-Utbi became sahib al-barid, working as a secretary for the Turkic general Abū ʿAlī Simjūr and for the Ziyarid ruler Qabus ibn Wushmagir. He later worked for the Ghaznavid Sabuktigin, alongside the poet Abu 'l-Fath al-Busti.[3] He was neither an official court historian nor a trained scholar, so his writing lacks precise dates and a consistent chronological order.[4]

In 999, al-Utbi, as an envoy for Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, was sent to Gharchistan to convince that ruler to recognize Mahmud as his overlord.[5] He was patronized by the vizier Ahmad b. Hasan al-Maymandi.[3] Later al-Utbi was removed from his position as sahib al-barid, due to plots by the governor.[3] He spent the rest of his life in retirement, dying in the later period of Sultan Masʽud I's reign (1036/1040).[3]

The history of his family goes back to Utba ibn Ghazwan, the founder of the city of Basra.[6]

Legacy

Around 1021, al-Utbi finished his work, Kitab al-Yamini.[5] The al-Yamini, an embellished flowery rhetorical rhymed prose, is a history of the reigns of Sabuktigin and Mahmud.[7][8] The al-Yamini starts in 965 CE, but the Samanids are not mentioned until Nuh ibn Mansur's reign in 976, while it details the Buyids prior to 983.[9] Utbi had direct knowledge of Sultan Mahmud's personality and the actions of his officials, and he was well-informed about the background of Mahmud's campaigns in India, though he likely never took part in those expeditions himself.[4] His work recounts the rise of Ghaznavid power under Sebuktegin and details Mahmud's character and military achievements up to the year 1020.[4] Utbi was unfamiliar with Indian languages and had a poor grasp of Indian geography, leading to numerous errors in his accounts of Mahmud's Indian campaigns.[4]

According to the historian al-Tha'alibi,[10] al-Utbi wrote numerous works, which included poetry.[11] His sole surviving work is the Kitab al-Yamini.[3] Jurji Zaydan's Tarikh Adab al-Lughat al-Arabiya, regarded the al-Yamini superior in style to al-Tha'alibi's Yatima, while stating it was comparable to Hilal al-Sabi's Tarikh al-Wuzara.[5]

References

  1. ^ Levi, Scott C. (2002). "Hindus Beyond the Hindu Kush: Indians in the Central Asian Slave Trade". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Third Series. 12 (3): 282. doi:10.1017/S1356186302000329. the Arab historian al-ʿUtbī recorded that in 1001 the armies of Maḥmūd of Ghazna conquered Peshawar and Waihand...
  2. ^ Levi & Sela 2010, p. 83.
  3. ^ a b c d e Bosworth 2000a, p. 945.
  4. ^ a b c d Mehta 1986, p. 5.
  5. ^ a b c Nazim 1993, p. 1059.
  6. ^ Abdullaev, Abbaskhan (2022). "A Look at the Life and Legacy of Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Jabbar al-ʿUtbi". European Journal of Humanities and Educational Advancements. 3 (11): 38. ISSN 2660-5589.
  7. ^ Khan 1976, p. 114.
  8. ^ Bosworth 2000b, p. 37.
  9. ^ Khan 1969, p. 114.
  10. ^ Shagrir & Goldberg 2019, p. 141.
  11. ^ Bosworth 2000b, p. 945.

Sources

  • Bosworth, C.E. (2000a). "Al-Utbi". In Bearman, P.J.; Bianquis, TH.; Bosworth, C. E.; Van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W. P. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. X: T-U. Brill. p. 945. ISBN 90 04 11211 1.
  • Bosworth, C. Edmund (Winter–Spring 2000b). "Sistan and Its Local Histories". Iranian Studies. 33 (1/2). JSTOR 4311333.
  • Khan, M. S. (October–December 1969). "Miskawaih and Arabic Historiography". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 89 (4). JSTOR 596943.
  • Khan, M.S. (1976). "al-Bīrūnī and the Political History of India". Oriens. 25/26. JSTOR 1580658.
  • Levi, Scott C.; Sela, Ron, eds. (2010). Islamic Central Asia: An Anthology of Historical Sources. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-35385-6.
  • Mehta, J.L. (1986). Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India. Vol. I: 1000-1526 A.D. Sterling Publishers. ISBN 978 81 207 0617 0.
  • Nazim, M. (1993). "Al-Utbi, Abu Nasr Muhammad b. Muhammad al-Djabbar". In Houtsma, M. Th.; Wensinck, A.J.; Gibb, H.A.R.; Heffening, W.; Levi-Provencal, E. (eds.). First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936. Vol. VIII: Ta'if-Zurkhana. Brill. pp. 1059–1060. ISBN 90 04 09794 5.
  • Shagrir, Iris; Goldberg, Ilana (2019). The Parable of the Three Rings and the Idea of Religious Toleration in European Culture. Springer International Publishing. ISBN 978-3-030-29695-7.
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