Ibn Fadl Allah al-Umari
ابن فضل الله العمري
1301 CE · 700 AH – 1349 CE · 749 AH
Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn Fadl Allah al-Umari (700–749 AH), head of the Mamluk chancery's correspondence bureau and author of Masalik al-Absar and al-Ta'rif bi'l-Mustalah al-Sharif — who begged the reader's pardon that he 'had not braved Tihama nor plunged into Iraq': a compiler from books and informants, not a traveller 1.
At a glance
- Era
- The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks
- Region
- Levant & Iraq
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
Life in time
Overview
Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn Fadl Allah al-Umari (700–749 AH), secretary of the royal secrets in the chancery of the Mamluk state. Among his works are Masalik al-Absar fi Mamalik al-Amsar (Paths of Vision through the Realms of the Cities) and al-Ta'rif bi al-Mustalah al-Sharif (An Introduction to the Noble Terminology). 2
His book on the routes
In the introduction to Masalik al-Absar he apologises that he was not accused in Tihama nor more deeply versed in Iraq. His book is therefore a gathering from books and from the speech of informants, not from first-hand observation. 2
The Gregorian dates of his birth and death are derived from the Hijri dates, and are not stated in the source.
Connections
- Authored
- Masalik al-Absar fi Mamalik al-Amsar
People and things also explored
Sources
- Masalik al-absar fi mamalik al-amsar — al-Umari (1924 printing), p. 14
- Masalik al-absar fi mamalik al-amsar — al-Umari (1924 printing), p.14
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Ibn Fadl Allah al-Umari”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/ibn-fadl-allah-al-umari/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.