ABULFEDA, Ismael ben-Ali, Emad-eddin, the celebrated Arabian historian and geographer, born at Damascus in the year 672 of the Hegira (1273 a.d.), was directly descended from Ayub, the father of the emperor Saladin. In his boyhood he devoted himself to the study of the Koran and the sciences, but from his twelfth year he was almost constantly engaged in military expeditions, chiefly against the crusaders. In 1285 he was present at the assault of a stronghold of the Knights of St John, aud he took part in the sieges of Tripoli, Acre, and Roum. In 1298 the princedom of Hamah and other honours, originally conferred by Saladin upon Omar, passed by inheritance to Abulfeda; but the succession was violently disputed by his two brothers, and the Court availed itself of the opportunity to supersede all the three, and to abolish the principality. The sultan Melik-el-Nassir ultimately (1310) restored the dignity to Abulfeda, with additional honours, as an acknowledgment of his military services against the Tartars and Bibars, the sultan’s rival. He received an independent sovereignty, with the right of coining money, Ac., and had the title Melik Mowayyad (victorious prince) conferred upon him. For twenty years, till his death in October 1331, he reigned in tranquillity and splendour, devoting himself to the duties of government and to the composition of the works to which he is chiefly indebted for his fame. He was a munificent patron of men of letters, who repaired in large numbers to his court. Abulfeda’s chief historical work is An Abridgement of the History of the Human Race, in the form of annals, extending from the creation of the world to the year 1328. A great part of it is compiled from the works of previous writers, and it is difficult to determine accurately what is ...