A Claim of Tajdīd for the Sixth/Twelfth Century? al-Samānī, his Kitāb al-Ansāb and a Legacy Contested

• Published in: Oriens Vol. 39; no. 2; pp. 165 - 198
• Main Author: Yazigi, Maya
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Netherlands BRILL 2011; Brill
• Subjects: al-Samānī; ansāb; Anthropomorphism; Ascriptions; Caliphs; Dictionaries; Genealogy; Ibn al-Jawzī; Islam; Legacies; mujaddid; Muslims; Obituaries; Rivalry; Tajdīd
• ISSN: 0078-6527; 1877-8372
• DOI: 10.1163/187783711X588105

This article investigates the legacy of ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Samʿānī (b. 506/1113; d. 562/1166). It argues that al-Samʿānī, through his authorship of Kitāb al-Ansāb and the wide criteria of inclusion under the umbrella of ansāb that this biographical dictionary displayed, intended to overcome the cultural divisions based on the use of different bases of identification in the society of his day and to earn the title of the mujaddid of his time. These implicit claims of al-Samʿānī, I finally argue, may have been one of the reasons behind the rivalry that pitted his younger contemporary Ibn al-Jawzī against him. Cet article examine la contribution d ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Samʿānī (b. 506/1113; d. 562/1166). Il soutient qu'al-Samʿānī, en écrivant le Kitāb al-Ansāb et dû au larges critères d'inclusion sous le terme ansāb que ce dictionnaire biographique a affiché, avait l'intention de surmonter les divisions culturelles émanant de l'utilisation de différentes bases d'identification dans la société de son jour et de gagner le titre du mujaddid de son temps. Finalement, je propose que ces revendications implicites d'al-Samʿānī peuvent avoir été une des causes de la rivalité que son jeune contemporain Ibn al-Jawzī a exhibé contre lui.