HISTORIAN

Ibn Kathir

1301 - 1373

Photo of Ibn Kathir

Icon of person Ibn Kathir

Abu al-Fida Isma'il ibn Umar ibn Kathir al-Dimashqi (Arabic: أبو الفداء إسماعيل بن عمر بن كثير الدمشقي, romanized: Abū al-Fidā' Ismā'īl ibn 'Umar ibn Kathīr al-Dimashqī; c. 1300–1373), known simply as Ibn Kathir, was an Arab Islamic exegete, historian and scholar. An expert on tafsir (Quranic exegesis), tarikh (history) and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), he is considered a leading authority on Sunni Islam. Born in Bostra, Mamluk Sultanate, Ibn Kathir's teachers include al-Dhahabi and Ibn Taymiyya. He wrote several books, including a fourteen-volume universal history titled al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya (Arabic: البداية والنهاية). Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Ibn Kathir is the 29th most popular historian (down from 23rd in 2019), the 14th most popular biography from Syria (down from 12th in 2019) and the most popular Syrian Historian.

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

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of Ibn Kathir by language

Loading...

Among HISTORIANS

Among historians, Ibn Kathir ranks 29 out of 561. Before him are Arrian, Fernand Braudel, Joannes Zonaras, Arnold J. Toynbee, Bede, and Johan Huizinga. After him are Edward Gibbon, Jacob Burckhardt, Saxo Grammaticus, Eric Hobsbawm, Marc Bloch, and Ibn Ishaq.

Most Popular Historians in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

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

Others Born in 1301

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 1373

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In Syria

Among people born in Syria, Ibn Kathir ranks 14 out of 210. Before him are Pope Anicetus (70), Philip the Arab (204), Imad ad-Din Zengi (1087), Apollodorus of Damascus (50), Julia Domna (160), and Abd al-Rahman I (731). After him are John Climacus (579), Al-Nawawi (1233), Marwan II (688), Aemilius Papinianus (142), Iamblichus (245), and Al-Adil I (1145).

Others born in Syria

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among HISTORIANS In Syria

Among historians born in Syria, Ibn Kathir ranks 1. After him are Al-Dhahabi (1274), Nicolaus of Damascus (-64), Evagrius Scholasticus (536), Malchus (450), and Abu Shama (1203).

Syrian born Historians

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous