Usama ibn Munqidh Quotes

Majd ad-Dīn Usāma ibn Murshid ibn ʿAlī ibn Munqidh al-Kināni al-Kalbi was a medieval Muslim poet, author, faris , and diplomat from the Banu Munqidh dynasty of Shaizar in northern Syria. His life coincided with the rise of several medieval Muslim dynasties, the arrival of the First Crusade, and the establishment of the crusader states.

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 Burids, Zengids, and Ayyubids in Damascus, serving the Zengi, Nur ad-Din, and Saladin over a period of almost fifty years. He also served the Fatimid court in Cairo, as well as the Artuqids in Hisn Kayfa. He travelled extensively in Arab lands, visiting Egypt, Syria, Palestine and along the Tigris River, and went on pilgrimage to Mecca. He often meddled in the politics of the courts in which he served, and he was exiled from both Damascus and Cairo.

During and immediately after his life, he was most famous as a poet and adib . He wrote many poetry anthologies, such as the Kitab al-'Asa , Lubab al-Adab , and al-Manazil wa'l-Diyar , and collections of his own original poetry. In modern times, he is remembered more for his Kitab al-I'tibar , which contains lengthy descriptions of the crusaders, whom he interacted with on many occasions, and some of whom he considered friends.

Most of his family was killed in an earthquake at Shaizar in 1157. He died in Damascus in 1188, at the age of 93. Wikipedia

✵ 10. July 1095 – 24. November 1188

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