View source for Ibn Hatim

'''Badr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Ḥātim al-Hamdānī''', commonly known simply as '''Ibn Hatim''', was a 13th-century official and historian in [[Yemen]], under the [[Rasulid dynasty]].

Very little is known about Ibn Hatim's life, all of which is gleaned from his chief historical work, ''Kitāb al-Simṭ al-ghālī al-thaman fī akhbār al-mulūk min al-Ghuzz bi’l-Yaman''. His date of birth is unknown, but he was a member of the [[Banu Hatim]] clan of the [[Banu Yam]], who were dominant in the region of the provincial capital, [[Sana'a]]. Although an adherent of [[Tayyibi Isma'ilism]], he managed to have a successful career under the [[Sunni]] Rasulids, rising under Sultan [[al-Muzaffar Yusuf I]] ({{reign|1249|1295}}) to become one of only a handful of officials "employed by the sultan in the capacity of roving ambassador, personally representing him wherever in the country he was needed, now negotiating with recalcitrant tribes, now conveying a personal message from the sultan, at times even participating in military operations" (G. R. Smith). The date of his death is likewise unknown.{{sfn|Smith|2004|pp=387–388}}

Ibn Hatim wrote two historical works, the first being ''Kitāb al-ʿIqd al-thamīn fī akhbār mulūk al-Yaman al-mutaʾakhkhirīn'', a general history of [[Yemen]], which has not survived. He is therefore known from his other work, the ''Kitāb al-Simṭ'', a history of Yemen under the [[Ayyubids]] and the first two Rasulid sultans. G. R. Smith writes that despite a slight bias towards his own clan, Ibn Hatim's account is "a refreshingly impartial one", and contains much unique information about the country during the period it covers.{{sfn|Smith|2004|pp=387–388}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Sources==
* {{EI2 | volume = 12 | title = Ibn Ḥātim | first = G. R. | last = Smith | authorlink = | pages = 387–388 | url = http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/ibn-hatim-SIM_8651}}

[[Category:Rasulid dynasty]]
[[Category:13th-century Yemeni people]]
[[Category:13th-century Arabic-language writers]]
[[Category:13th-century historians of the medieval Islamic world]]
[[Category:Historians of Yemen]]
[[Category:Yemeni Ismailis]]
[[Category:13th-century Arab people]]