This article aims at analyzing the representation of the plant kingdom in the Masālik al-abṣār fī mamālik al-amṣār, an Arabic encyclopaedia written by one the leading scholar of the Mamluk period, Šihāb al-Dīn Ibn Faḍl Allāh al-‘Umarī (1301-1349). The first part of the article offers an insight into the work of al-‘Umarī by presenting it in the framework of the encyclopaedic activities that characterize the fourteenth century. It also analyzes a number of special features of the Masālik al-abṣār and provides a detailed presentation of all its contents. The second part focuses on the plants (al-nabāt) which al-‘Umarī discusses along with the animals (al-ḥayawān) and the minerals (al-ma‘ādin). In drafting his encyclopedia, al-‘Umarī used various sources, ranging from Greek authors, such as Dioscorides, to Ibn Sīnā’s Qānūn fī l-ṭibb, Ibn al-Bayṭār’s Ǧāmi‘ and al-Qazwīnī’s ‘Aǧā’ib al-maḫlūqāt. Al-‘Umarī provided a new organization of all the information previously known to botanists of his time. Hence, the plants are classified into three types, the trees (al-šaǧar), the herbs (al-a‘šāb) and the plants (al-nuǧūm), arranged alphabetically and distributed according to their region of provenance.

Rappresentazioni del regno vegetale nell’enciclopedia mamelucca Masālik al-abṣār di Ibn Faḍl Allāh al-‘Umarī (m. 1349)

BELLINO, FRANCESCA
2016-01-01

Abstract

This article aims at analyzing the representation of the plant kingdom in the Masālik al-abṣār fī mamālik al-amṣār, an Arabic encyclopaedia written by one the leading scholar of the Mamluk period, Šihāb al-Dīn Ibn Faḍl Allāh al-‘Umarī (1301-1349). The first part of the article offers an insight into the work of al-‘Umarī by presenting it in the framework of the encyclopaedic activities that characterize the fourteenth century. It also analyzes a number of special features of the Masālik al-abṣār and provides a detailed presentation of all its contents. The second part focuses on the plants (al-nabāt) which al-‘Umarī discusses along with the animals (al-ḥayawān) and the minerals (al-ma‘ādin). In drafting his encyclopedia, al-‘Umarī used various sources, ranging from Greek authors, such as Dioscorides, to Ibn Sīnā’s Qānūn fī l-ṭibb, Ibn al-Bayṭār’s Ǧāmi‘ and al-Qazwīnī’s ‘Aǧā’ib al-maḫlūqāt. Al-‘Umarī provided a new organization of all the information previously known to botanists of his time. Hence, the plants are classified into three types, the trees (al-šaǧar), the herbs (al-a‘šāb) and the plants (al-nuǧūm), arranged alphabetically and distributed according to their region of provenance.
2016
20
125
153
Ibn Faḍl Allāh al-‘Umarī; Masālik al-abṣār fī mamālik al-amṣār; enciclopedismo; letteratura mamelucca; regno vegetale; alberi; piante
Francesca Bellino
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Bellino_al-Umari_Kervan_2016_202-60-PB.pdf

Accesso aperto

Tipo di file: PDF EDITORIALE
Dimensione 3.37 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
3.37 MB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2318/1620289
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact