Ahmad ibn Ali al-Maqrizi was born in 766 AH/1364 CE in Cairo. He was initially raised in his grandfather's Hanafi tradition before adopting the Shafi'i school, studying hadith and history under leading scholars of his time, including Ibn Khaldun, with whom he associated in Egypt. He held several administrative and religious posts before devoting himself fully to historical writing.
Al-Maqrizi is regarded as one of the greatest historians of urban and social life in the Islamic world. His most famous work, «al-Mawa'iz wa'l-I'tibar bi-Dhikr al-Khitat wa'l-Athar», known as «al-Khitat al-Maqriziyya», documents the history, topography, markets, and mosques of Cairo and Egypt in unparalleled detail. He also authored «Kitab al-Suluk li-Ma'rifat Duwal al-Muluk», a chronicle of the Ayyubid and Mamluk dynasties.
His Legacy
Al-Maqrizi died in Cairo in 845 AH/1442 CE, leaving more than two hundred works behind. His writings remain an indispensable source for historians and archaeologists studying the urban and social history of Islamic Egypt to this day.
