A biographical dictionary is a type of encyclopedic dictionary limited to biographical information. Many attempt to cover the major personalities of a country (with limitations, such as living persons only, in Who's Who, or deceased people only, in the Dictionary of National Biography). Others are specialized, in that they cover important names in a subject field, such as architecture or engineering.
Tarif Khalidi claimed the genre of biographical dictionaries is a "unique product of Arab Muslim culture".[1]
The earliest extant example of the biographical dictionary dates from 9th-century Iraq, and by the 16th-century it was a firmly established and well-respected form of historical writing.[2] They contain more social data for a large segment of the population than that found in any other pre-industrial society. The earliest biographical dictionaries initially focused on the lives of the prophets of Islam and their companions, with one of the earliest examples being The Book of The Major Classes by Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi, and then began documenting the lives of many other historical figures (from rulers to scholars) who lived in the medieval Islamic world.[3]
When it comes to the numbers of individuals, American scholar of Islam Richard Bulliet argues that "a brief look at Brockelmann's Geschichte der Arabischen Litteratur is sufficient to convince anyone that the number of individual biographies extant must run into the hundreds of thousands and most likely into the millions."[4]
^Khalidi, Tarif (January 1973). "Islamic Biographical Dictionaries: A Preliminary Assessment". The Muslim World. 63 (1): 53–65. doi:10.1111/j.1478-1913.1973.tb03104.x.
^Scalenghe, Sara (2014). "Introduction". Disability in the Ottoman Arab World, 1500-1800. Loyola University Maryland. p. 16. ISBN978-1107622791.
^Josef W. Meri (2005), Medieval Islamic civilization: an encyclopedia, vol. 2, Routledge, p. 110, ISBN0-415-96690-6
^Richard W. Bulliet, "A Quantitative Approach to Medieval Muslim Biographical Dictionaries" in Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 13, No. 2 (Apr., 1970), p. 195
Sources
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
"Biographical dictionaries" Khabari Club Biography Topics.
January 11, 2023
biographical, dictionary, biographical, dictionary, type, encyclopedic, dictionary, limited, biographical, information, many, attempt, cover, major, personalities, country, with, limitations, such, living, persons, only, deceased, people, only, dictionary, nat. A biographical dictionary is a type of encyclopedic dictionary limited to biographical information Many attempt to cover the major personalities of a country with limitations such as living persons only in Who s Who or deceased people only in the Dictionary of National Biography Others are specialized in that they cover important names in a subject field such as architecture or engineering Contents 1 History in the Islamic civilization 2 See also 3 References 3 1 Citations 3 2 SourcesHistory in the Islamic civilization EditTarif Khalidi claimed the genre of biographical dictionaries is a unique product of Arab Muslim culture 1 The earliest extant example of the biographical dictionary dates from 9th century Iraq and by the 16th century it was a firmly established and well respected form of historical writing 2 They contain more social data for a large segment of the population than that found in any other pre industrial society The earliest biographical dictionaries initially focused on the lives of the prophets of Islam and their companions with one of the earliest examples being The Book of The Major Classes by Ibn Sa d al Baghdadi and then began documenting the lives of many other historical figures from rulers to scholars who lived in the medieval Islamic world 3 When it comes to the numbers of individuals American scholar of Islam Richard Bulliet argues that a brief look at Brockelmann s Geschichte der Arabischen Litteratur is sufficient to convince anyone that the number of individual biographies extant must run into the hundreds of thousands and most likely into the millions 4 See also EditList of biographical dictionariesReferences EditCitations Edit Khalidi Tarif January 1973 Islamic Biographical Dictionaries A Preliminary Assessment The Muslim World 63 1 53 65 doi 10 1111 j 1478 1913 1973 tb03104 x Scalenghe Sara 2014 Introduction Disability in the Ottoman Arab World 1500 1800 Loyola University Maryland p 16 ISBN 978 1107622791 Josef W Meri 2005 Medieval Islamic civilization an encyclopedia vol 2 Routledge p 110 ISBN 0 415 96690 6 Richard W Bulliet A Quantitative Approach to Medieval Muslim Biographical Dictionaries in Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient Vol 13 No 2 Apr 1970 p 195 Sources Edit Biographical dictionaries University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Biographical dictionaries Khabari Club Biography Topics Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Biographical dictionary amp oldid 1093047360, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
