HISTORIAN

Ibn Kathir

1301 - 1373

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Abu al-Fiḍā ‘Imād Ad-Din Ismā‘īl ibn ‘Umar ibn Kathīr al-Qurashī Al-Damishqī (Arabic: إسماعيل بن عمر بن كثير القرشي الدمشقي أبو الفداء عماد; c. 1300 – 1373), known as Ibn Kathīr (ابن كثير, was a highly influential Arab historian, exegete and scholar during the Mamluk era in Syria. An expert on tafsir (Quranic exegesis) and fiqh (jurisprudence), he wrote several books, including a fourteen-volume universal history titled Al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya.His tafsir is recognized for its critical approach to Israʼiliyyat, especially among Western Muslims and Wahhabi scholars. His methodology largely derives from his teacher Ibn Taymiyyah, and differs from that of other earlier renowned exegetes such as Tabari. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Ibn Kathir has received more than 799,831 page views. His biography is available in 35 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 30 in 2019). Ibn Kathir is the 30th most popular historian (up from 32nd in 2019), the 11th most popular biography from Syria (up from 14th in 2019) and the most popular Historian.

Ibn Kathir is most famous for his commentary on the Qur'an.

Memorability Metrics

  • 800k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 68.48

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 35

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 5.99

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.74

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Page views of Ibn Kathirs by language


Among HISTORIANS

Among historians, Ibn Kathir ranks 30 out of 339. Before him are Saxo Grammaticus, Jacob Burckhardt, Bede, Marc Bloch, Arrian, and Friedrich Carl von Savigny. After him are Eric Hobsbawm, Hippolyte Taine, Jacques Le Goff, Edward Gibbon, William of Tyre, and Ibn Ishaq.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1301, Ibn Kathir ranks 1. After him are Otto, Duke of Austria, Aleksandr Mikhailovich of Tver, Kera Tamara, Ni Zan, Andrew Corsini, Catherine of Valois–Courtenay, Prince Morikuni, Ingeborg of Norway, Nitta Yoshisada, Ubayd Zakani, and Carlo I Tocco. Among people deceased in 1373, Ibn Kathir ranks 2. Before him is Bridget of Sweden. After him are Joan of Valois, Queen of Navarre, Ivan Stephen of Bulgaria, Andrew Corsini, Elisabeth of Bohemia, and Magnus II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

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Others Deceased in 1373

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In Syria

Among people born in Syria, Ibn Kathir ranks 11 out of 181. Before him are Hafez al-Assad (1930), Abd al-Rahman I (731), Philip the Arab (204), Pope Anicetus (70), Apollodorus of Damascus (50), and Bashar al-Assad (1965). After him are Pope Gregory III (700), Muawiya II (661), Marwan II (688), Imad ad-Din Zengi (1087), Al-Nawawi (1233), and Julia Domna (160).

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Among HISTORIANS In Syria

Among historians born in Syria, Ibn Kathir ranks 1. After him are Nicolaus of Damascus (-64), Al-Dhahabi (1274), and Evagrius Scholasticus (536).

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