Abu al-Fida

Abu al-Fida (äˌbō äl-fēˈdä, -fĭdäˈ) [key], 1273–1331, Arab historian, b. Damascus. He fought against the Christians in the last period of the Crusades and later became (1310) governor of Hama in Syria. He was a patron of learning and wrote a descriptive geography and a universal history, which is a superior source for Arab history from the pre-Islamic period to 1329.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.