Battle of Tarif: the sultan, ABU AL-HASAN, after securing a naval vie tory in the Straits of Gibraltar, invaded Spanish territory. Following a defeat at Tarif (also known as Rio Salado) in 740/1340, he was forced to retreat back across the strait to Morocco.
Bayazid I (d. 804/1403): the Ottoman sultan who made major inroads into Europe (including a victory at the Battle of Kosovo). However, following his defeat by Timur Lang, he was imprisoned and executed.
Baybars Convent: built by Sultan Baybars (704/1305), this con vent (khanqa) had been established as a religious endowment (waqf) for Sufis. It was clearly a source of considerable revenue for IBN KHALDUN, something he missed greatly when he was dismissed from his post following his involvement in the judicial justification of SULTAN BARQUQ’S deposition (see ATABEG ALTUNBUGHA AL-JUBANI).
Bayn al-Qasrayn: literally, ‘between the two palaces,’ one of the principal thoroughfares of Old Cairo, made famous more recently as the title of the first volume of Naguib Mahfouz’s renowned trilogy of novels about Cairo between 1916 and 1944 (the English translation is entitled Palace Walk).
beautiful names (al-asma’ al-husna): in the Qur’an, God is described using ninety-nine separate epithets, termed ‘the beautiful names.’ It is very common for Muslims to name their children ‘Abd al- followed by one of these epithets. Ibn Khaldun himself is named ‘Abd al-Rahman — Servant of the Merciful.
Beginning and Ending (al-Bidaya wa-l-nihaya) of Ibn al-Kathir; Goal of Desire (Nihayat al-‘arab) by al-Nuwayri; History (Tarikh) of Abu al-Fida’: three important works by scholars of IBN KHALDUN’S period. Ibn al-Kathir (d. 774/1373) was one of the most famous historians of the Mamluk period; al-Nuwayri’s (d. 732/1332) work is a literary compendium on a large variety of topics; Abu al-Fida (d. 732/1331) was an Ayyubi amir and also a historian.
al-Bukhari and Muslim and the Sahihan: al-Bukhari (d. 258/870) and Muslim (d. 261/875) are the compilers of the two most authoritative collections of accounts of the Prophet Muhammad (hadith), known as sahih (‘authentic’).
Burhan al-Din ibn Muflih (d. 804/1401): The chief judge of the Hanbali school of law in Damascus (other sources name him Taqi al-Din, not Burhan al-Din). He was later appointed chief spokesman of the deputation (of which IBN KHALDUN was also a member) that went to meet Timur Lang on behalf of the citizens of Damascus.
Castle of Ibn Salama: this castle gives its name to a town in the Oran region of present-day Algeria. IBN KHALDUN stayed there from 778/1375 until 780/1378.
City of Brass, Sijilmasa: The story of the City of Brass (Madinat al-nuhas) is a separate Middle Eastern narrative tradition that was added to the Arabian Nights at some point following its translation into French in the early eighteenth century. Sijilmasa, in the easternmost section of modern Morocco, was an important town on the trans-Saharan trade route.
dawadar: Originally the title given to the carrier of the ruler’s inkwell, this position became during Mamluk times one of considerable authority. Among the functions performed by amirs who held this position were the selection of members of military expeditions and the supervision of tax collection.
Dawadar Yashbak al-Sha‘bani: under SULTAN BARQUQ, Yashbak had served as state treasurer and had also been appointed one of Sultan Faraj’s guardians. After suppressing the revolt of TANAM, the viceroy of Syria, Yashbak was appointed dawadar, or military chief, of Egypt in 803/1400.
The Diwan of Topic and Predicate (Diwan al-mubtada’ wa-l-khabar): this is the second part of the title of IBN KHALDUN’S work of history, Kitab al-‘ibar (‘Book on the Lessons of History’).
escape after hardship: this is a particular theme (al-faraj ba ‘da al-shidda) that was popular as an organizing matrix for varieties of anecdotal narrative in the pre-modern heritage of Arabic literature.
al-Farabi (d. 339/950): renowned philosopher, known as ‘the second teacher’ (Aristotle being the first).
Fatimi ‘Ubaydi dynasty: the Fatimi dynasty was founded by ‘Ubaydallah who claimed descent from ‘Ali. Moving to North Africa in the early tenth century, he established a base for the Shi‘ite cause, beginning in Morocco and spreading eastward. In 358/969, Jawhar, the general of ‘Ubaydallah’s descendant, al-Mu‘izz, entered FUSTAT. The Fatimi dynasty of Shi‘ite caliphs remained in power in Cairo until 567/1171.
Fayyum: a depression and oasis filled with lush vegetation to the southwest of Cairo.
Fustat: taking its name from fossata (the Latin word for ‘trench’), this is the oldest part of Cairo, to the south of the modern city.
Granada, Banu Ahmar: The Banu Ahmar gave their name to one of Islam’s most spectacular monuments, the Alhambra (al-Hamra’—‘the Red’) Palace in Granada, Spain.
Great Plague: known in Europe as the ‘Black Death,’ bubonic plague struck Cairo and various places in the Middle East off and on throughout the Middle Ages.
Hafsi, ‘Abd al-Wadi, and Marini regimes: these are the names of three of the dynasties who were continually intriguing against each other during the earlier part of Ibn Khaldun’s career in the Maghrib region. The Hafsis (Banu Hafs) were based in Tunis, the ‘Abd al-Wadis in Tilimsan (Tlemcen), and the Marinis (Banu Marin) in Fez.
al-Hakim (d. 411/1021): the Fatimi caliph who reigned from 385/996 to 411/1021. He suffered from a mental disorder, and his caliphate was characterized by the large number of extraordinary decrees that he issued — he declared night to be day, closed public baths, forbade Egyptians from going on the pilgrimage to Mecca, and so on. While it appears that he was assassinated on the order of his sister, Sitt al-Mulk, a group of his devotees fled to the mountains of Syria. Known as the Druze, they believe that al-Hakim is in fact in occultation.
al-Hallaj: one of the most famous figures in the history of Sufism (Islamic mysticism). After being convicted of heresy for proclaiming the phrase “Ana-l-haqq” (Ί am the truth’) during an ecstatic trance, he was executed in 309/922.
Ibn al-‘Arabi, Ibn Sab‘in, Ibn Qasiyy: three of the most controversial figures in Maghribi Sufism. All three were born in al-Andalus. Ibn al-‘Arabi (d. 638/1240), author of Fusus al-hikam (‘Bezels of Wisdom’) and al-Futuhat al-makkiya (‘Meccan Conquests’) is the most renowned of the three (his tomb in Damascus is still a site of pilgrimage); Ibn Sab‘in (Budd al-‘arif, ‘Temple of the Knower’) was born in Murcia and died in Mecca in 668/1270; Ibn Qasiyy (Khal‘ al-na‘layn, ‘Removal of Sandals’) participated in intrigues during the time of the ALMOHAD dynasty and was assassinated in 546/1151.
Ibn ‘Arafa (d. 803/1401): MALIKI JUDGE and imam of the mosque in Tunis who successfully intrigued to have IBN KHALDUN removed from his position at the court of SULTAN ABU AL-‘ABBAS, resulting soon afterward in the historian’s departure for Cairo.