Seerah al-Maqrizi — Taqi al-Din Ahmad ibn Ali al-Maqrizi (1364-1442 CE): The Egyptian Mamluk Historian Who Wrote al-Mawa'iz wal-I'tibar fi Dhikr al-Khitat wal-Athar (The Admonitions and Reflections on the Quarters and Monuments — the 'Khitat al-Maqriziyya'), the Most Comprehensive Topographical History of Cairo and Egypt, and Who Also Wrote Itti'az al-Hunafa' (the History of the Fatimid Caliphs)

Seerah al-Maqrizi (سِيرَةُ المَقرِيزِيّ; full name: Taqi al-Din Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhammad al-Maqrizi; born 766 AH / 1364 CE in Cairo; died 845 AH / 1442 CE in Cairo; Shafi'i in fiqh; his family had roots in Ba'labakk [Lebanon] and possibly Fatimid connections; career: he served as a Mamluk official — superintendent of the Muqattam mosque; he also taught hadith; the major topographical work: al-Mawa'iz wal-I'tibar fi Dhikr al-Khitat wal-Athar [المَوَاعِظُ وَالاعتِبَارُ فِي ذِكرِ الخِطَطِ وَالآثَار — The Admonitions and Reflections on the Quarters and Monuments]: universally known as the Khitat al-Maqriziyya; covers Cairo, Fustat [Old Cairo], and Egypt more broadly; organized by neighborhoods [khitat], institutions, and monuments; describes mosques, madrasas, churches, synagogues, Nile geography, economic institutions, street life, social classes, markets, and historical events associated with each location; historical depth: al-Maqrizi traced the history of every institution and monument from its founding; his account of Fatimid Cairo [969-1171 CE] draws on sources now lost; he preserved descriptions of Fatimid palaces, ceremonies, and institutions that would otherwise be unrecoverable; the Fatimid history: Itti'az al-Hunafa' bi-Akhbar al-A'imma al-Fatimiyyin al-Khulafa' [اتِّعَاظُ الحُنَفَاءِ بِأَخبَارِ الأَئِمَّةِ الفَاطِمِيِّينَ الخُلَفَاء — The Admonition of Hanifs About the Fatimid Imam-Caliphs]: a comprehensive history of the Fatimid dynasty from its origins through its fall in 1171 CE; unusually detailed given al-Maqrizi's Shafi'i/Sunni context; scholars have debated whether al-Maqrizi had Ismaili sympathies or was simply a comprehensive historian; the Itti'az contains information about Fatimid institutional structure, ceremonies, da'wa organization, and the imam-caliphs themselves that is not found in other sources; the Suluk fi Ma'rifat Duwal al-Muluk: a history of the Ayyubid and Mamluk dynasties; 4 volumes; detailed political and military history through al-Maqrizi's own time; other works: [1] Imta' al-Asma' bil-Nabiyy — on the Prophet's life and campaigns; [2] Kitab al-Muqaffa al-Kabir — a biographical dictionary [largely lost or incomplete]; [3] works on coins, weights, and measures [valuable for economic history]; al-Maqrizi as economic historian: he wrote extensively on monetary history and famine; his analysis of the great plague and famines of 14th-century Egypt is a pioneering work in economic history; he analyzed how the debasement of coinage and hoarding contributed to famine; the Fatimid connection controversy: al-Maqrizi claimed through his mother to descend from the Fatimid family; whether true or not, it may explain his unusual sympathy for and detailed knowledge of Fatimid history; legacy: the Khitat al-Maqriziyya is the foundational text for the study of medieval Cairo; every study of Fatimid and Mamluk Cairo depends on it) remains Cairo's master historian.