The Reputation of Ḥunayn b. IsḥÄq in Contemporaneous and Later Sources
In: Journal of Abbasid StudiesSearch for other papers by J.T. Olsson in
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The intellectual abilities and activities of the great Abbasid-era scholar and translator, Ḥunayn b. IsḥÄq (d. 260/873 or 264/877), have been lauded and eulogised from the Middle Ages through to modern times. However, it is clear that most of the information which has shaped Ḥunaynâs reputation derives from much later reports in histories and biographical dictionaries. This is particularly true of Ḥunaynâs purported âautobiography,â which, as a number of recent investigations have concluded, is most likely a later fabrication. However, I would suggest that there are three extant reports which were plausibly composed by contemporaries of Ḥunayn: namely, AbÅ« MaÊ¿shar, YÅ«suf b. IbrÄhÄ«m b. al-DÄya and Ibn al-Munajjim. In the course of this study, I discuss the reliability of these accounts and evaluate how far they support the later descriptions of Ḥunayn. Following this, I investigate a report, found in Ibn Rabban al-ṬabarÄ«âs (fl. 235/850) Firdaws al-ḥikma, which appears to be the only extant criticism of Ḥunaynâs intellectual achievements.
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AbÅ« MaÊ¿shar Federici-Vescovini G. La versio latina degli excerpta de secretis Albumasar di Sadan Archives dâhistoire doctrinale et littéraire du Moyen Ãge 1998 65 273 330
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25
Ibid., 101-102.
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The Reputation of Ḥunayn b. IsḥÄq in Contemporaneous and Later Sources
In: Journal of Abbasid StudiesSearch for other papers by J.T. Olsson in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
The intellectual abilities and activities of the great Abbasid-era scholar and translator, Ḥunayn b. IsḥÄq (d. 260/873 or 264/877), have been lauded and eulogised from the Middle Ages through to modern times. However, it is clear that most of the information which has shaped Ḥunaynâs reputation derives from much later reports in histories and biographical dictionaries. This is particularly true of Ḥunaynâs purported âautobiography,â which, as a number of recent investigations have concluded, is most likely a later fabrication. However, I would suggest that there are three extant reports which were plausibly composed by contemporaries of Ḥunayn: namely, AbÅ« MaÊ¿shar, YÅ«suf b. IbrÄhÄ«m b. al-DÄya and Ibn al-Munajjim. In the course of this study, I discuss the reliability of these accounts and evaluate how far they support the later descriptions of Ḥunayn. Following this, I investigate a report, found in Ibn Rabban al-ṬabarÄ«âs (fl. 235/850) Firdaws al-ḥikma, which appears to be the only extant criticism of Ḥunaynâs intellectual achievements.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 575 | 84 | 2 |
| Full Text Views | 194 | 2 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 146 | 7 | 1 |
