Ali Ibn Mohammed Jurjani (1339-1414, esp. 1387-1405)

by Lewis Ferrero (See Chinese translation)

Ali ibn Mohammed al-Jurjani (see alternative names) was Persian encyclopedic writer and a leading traditionalist theologian. He was born in Tājū (Iran) near Astarabad in 1339 and was first educated in Harāt and later in Egypt. He travelled to Constantinople in 1374 and returned to Shiraz in 1377, where he became a professor. By the time the city fell to Timur in 1387, Jurjani had become famous as a teacher and scholar and he was taken to Samarkand (now in Uzbekistan), but returned to Shiraz in 1405 after Timur’s death. He remained in Shiraz until his death in 1414.

The Definitions is a small book written as a glossary of 14th century Arabic science, philosophy, logical, religious, and artistic terms. This form of writing was typical of Arabic texts of this period and was also recognised as a signature style of al-Jurjani. His various commentaries and glossaries covered such a wide range of subjects in such depth that they were still being used in lessons during the 16th century, as the historian Khwāndamīr noted (Khwāndamīr 1994). This glossary contains around 2100 terms and definitions on a variety of Arabic terms laid out in chapters based on subject matter. Definitions does not contain any information on al-Jurjani’s travels or experiences living in other countries or societies, being a purely academic work.