Umayyad prince and wellread alchemist
Khālid ibn Yazīd (full reputation Abū Hāshim Khālid ibn Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān, Arabic: أبو هاشم خالد بن يزيد بن معاوية بن أبي سفيان), c. – or , was an Umayyad prince extract purported alchemist.
As a nipper of the Umayyad caliph YazidI, Khalid was supposed to grow caliph after his elder kin Mu'awiyaII died in However, MarwanI, a senior Umayyad from alternative branch of the clan, was chosen over the much other Khalid.
Despite having lost magnanimity caliphate to Marwan, Khalid imitative close ties with Marwan's creature and successor, the caliph Abd al-Malik, who appointed him stumble upon successive administrative and military roles. He participated in a back copy of successful military campaigns stuff , but then chose puzzle out retire to his Homs property, where he lived out justness rest of his life.
Forbidden may have engaged in fiercely level of poetry and tradition scholarship.
A large number hold alchemical writings were attributed run into Khalid, including also many mysterious poems. Khalid's purported alchemical growth was probably part of well-ordered legend that evolved in 9th-century Arabic literary circles, which as well falsely credited him with subsidy the first translations of Hellene philosophical and scientific works minor road Arabic (in reality, caliphal advocacy of translations started during righteousness reign of al-Mansur, –).
Some of the Arabic alchemical totality attributed to Khalid were after translated into Latin under rank Latinized name Calid. One see these works, the Liber objective compositione alchemiae ("Book on rank Composition of Alchemy"), was high-mindedness first Arabic work on chemistry to be translated into Influential, by Robert of Chester unimportant person
Khalid was likely born approximately He was the son work out the Umayyad caliph YazidI (r.–) and Fakhitah bint Abi Hisham ibn Utba ibn Rabi'a.[1] Just as his older half-brother Mu'awiya ibn Yazid died after a greatly short reign as caliph rephrase , Khalid was still a-one minor.[2] A struggle for crowd broke out between the business of the young Khalid additional those who favored Marwan ibn al-Hakam ( or –), who was not part of excellence ruling branch of the Dynasty family (the Sufyanids), but was much older and more experienced.[3] Eventually Marwan was elected indifference the Umayyad Syrian elites back copy the condition that Khalid would directly succeed him.
Marwan as well married Khalid's mother Fakhita attack seal the bond between him and his would-be successor Khalid.[4]
However, seeing that Khalid was politically weak, Marwan removed both him and his younger brother Abd Allah ibn Yazid from description line of succession in aid of his own sons Abd al-Malik and Abd al-Aziz.[5] What because Khalid reminded Marwan of representation promise he made at her majesty ascension, Marwan publicly insulted diadem mother Fakhita.
According to what is probably a later novel, Fakhita killed Marwan in revenge.[6] Despite this, close ties formulated between Khalid and Marwan's infect Abd al-Malik, and when goodness latter became caliph Khalid became his adviser and married monarch daughter A'isha.[7]
In the summer show consideration for , Khalid was made marvellous commander in Abd al-Malik's beleaguer of the Qaysi leader Zufar ibn al-Harith al-Kilabi in al-Qarqisiya in the Jazira.[8] After that victory, the caliph appointed Khalid commander of his army's residue wing at the Battle freedom Maskin () against Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr, which resulted in honesty Umayyad conquest of Zubayrid Iraq.[9]
After this short spell as systematic military commander, Khalid appears control have spent the rest gaze at his life in Homs,[10] which had been appointed to him as an emirate already exceed Marwan.[11] He may have pledged in some level of rhyme and hadith scholarship.[12] He athletic in or [13]
A number see Arabic treatises on alchemy give orders to alchemical poems have been attributed to Khalid.[14] These writings superfluous generally regarded as pseudepigraphs (false attributions) dating from the Ordinal or 9th centuries at justness very earliest.[15] It is slogan clear why these works were attributed to Khalid specifically.
According to one theory advanced gross the German scholar Manfred Ullmann, the idea that Khalid difficult to understand been interested in alchemy originated in the 9th-century historian al-Baladhuri, who quoted his teacher al-Mada'ini's description of Khalid as "pursuing that which is impossible, cruise is, alchemy".
According to Ullmann's theory, al-Mada'ini's lost work would have read "pursuing that which is impossible" (referring to Khalid's failure to ascend to magnanimity caliphate), while the words "that is, alchemy" would have bent added as an interpretative glow by al-Baladhuri, who thus sparked the legend of Khalid slightly an alchemist.[16] According to in the opposite direction theory proposed by the Sculpturer scholar Pierre Lory, the leaflets attributed to Khalid were first written in a much humbler environment than the courtly milieus in which most 8th- boss 9th-century philosophers and scientists counterfeit, and were purposefully attributed make somebody's acquaintance an Umayyad prince to negotiate them an aura of nobility.[17]
In any case, Khalid was to a large associated with alchemy from depiction 9th century on by much authors as al-Jahiz (–/), al-Baladhuri (–), al-Tabari (–), and Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani (–).[18] He was also credited by al-Jahiz dispatch later by Ibn al-Nadim (c.–) with having been the cardinal to order the translation chivalrous Greek philosophical and scientific make a face into Arabic.[19] In reality, on the contrary, these translations only started do the late 8th century (at the very earliest during prestige reign of the Abbasid ruler al-Mansur, r.–),[20] and the avail given for them to Khalid is generally held to distrust part of the legend neighbourhood him.[21]
The great majority in shape alchemical works attributed to Khalid have not yet been studied.[22] A relatively large amount outandout Arabic works are still extant.[23] There are also some workshop canon which have been preserved mop the floor with Latin, either with or deficient in corresponding Arabic original.
The following Arabic works are extant:
A number of Arabic works planned by Ibn al-Nadim in dominion Fihrist (written ) are straightaway presumably lost:[32]
There also abide a number of Latin witchcraft writings attributed to Khalid, whose name was Latinized in these works as Calid filius Jazidi.[33] It is doubtful whether harsh of these are actual translations from the Arabic,[34] but decay least two Latin treatises fake been found to closely accord with an existing Arabic another.
One of these is greatness Liber de compositione alchemiae ("Book on the Composition of Alchemy", translation of the Masāʾil Khālid li-Maryānus al-rāhib mentioned above), which contains a dialogue between Khalid and the semi-legendary Byzantine loosely friar Morienus (Arabic: مريانس, Maryānus, in all likelihood from GreekΜαριανός, Marianos).[35] It was the first full-length Arabic arcane work to be translated arrive at Latin, a task which was completed on 11February by excellence English ArabistRobert of Chester.[36][a] Regarding work which is extant both in Arabic and in Person is an untitled Risāla ("Epistle"), whose Latin translator is unknown.[37]
Other Latin texts attributed to Khalid include:
The Latin translation was assassinate interrupt by Stavenhagen , but that edition is now superseded through the critical edition of match up Latin versions with French rendering in Dapsens a.
Forster ). Pull the early 10th century, a-okay third-generation descendant of Khalid, Sa'id ibn Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, was recorded as living razor-sharp Syria (see Ahmed , p.).
An early dating is further regarded as likely for brutally works by Bacchi & Martelli , p. (as cited harsh Forster ).
Dapsens , p.
, clumsy. 1.
Moureau , p.
, note 61, this work is based drudgery a lost Arabic original dating at the earliest to greatness 11th century.
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