0021-1818_islam_98-1-2-i-259

Was al-Maqrizi’s Khitat Khaldunian History? 123
Maqr\z\ himself says nothing about his relationship with Barquq, although his unusually
high opinion of the sultan, in most instances, may indicate a close connection.
Other biographers of al-Maqr\z\ only state that he had been in the entourage
of Barquq and later of his son Faraj, in what capacity they do not specify. 20
It is at that point in time that al-Maqr\z\ may have had the chance to repay his
teacher’s previous courtesy, for Ibn Khaldun himself was reassigned to the post of
chief Malik\ judge in 15 Ramadan 801/May 21, 1399, two months after al-Maqr\z\’s
appointment to the ihtisab. 21 Nowhere is it mentioned that al-Maqr\z\ had anything
to do with this appointment, but all the circumstances suggest that he might
have put a good word on Ibn Khaldun’s behalf in court. Al-Maqr\z\, possibly out
of reverence to his teacher, says that Barquq decided to give Ibn Khaldun the
post back in recognition of his vast knowledge and without anyone’s recommendation.
22 Interestingly, the same pattern recurs again in 807/1405 under Sultan
Faraj b. Barquq, only in reverse order. Ibn Khaldun and al-Maqr\z\ were both
reappointed to the same positions they held before within two months of each
other, Ibn Khaldun first in 11 Sha^ban/12 February, and al-Maqr\z\ in 22 Shawwal/23
April. 23 They lost their positions within five days of one another, al-Maqr\z\
on the 21 Dhu l-Qa^da/21 May and Ibn Khaldun in 26 Dhu l-Qa^da/26 May, which
at least suggests that the two men belonged to the same faction at court, and that
their fates there rose and fell down together. 24
The Fa5imid Connection
An important factor that seems to have heightened the admiration of al-Maqr\z\
for his master is their apparently shared views about the Fatimids. Against the
consensus of their Sunni ^ulama# contemporaries, they both accepted the authenticity
of the Fatimids’ lineage back to Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet and
20 Najm al-D\n ‘Umar b. Mu1ammad Ibn Fahd, Mu^jam al-Shuyukh, ed. Mu1ammad al-Zah\ and
0amad al-Jasir, (Riyad: Dar al-Yamama, 1982), 63; Ibn 0ajar, Inba#, 2: 43, 54; al-Sakhaw\, Daw#,
2: 22.
21 al-Jal\l\, “Tarjamat Ibn Khaldun,” 229. It is interesting to note that al-Maqr\z\ says that Ibn
Khaldun came back to his chief-judgeship without any help.
22 al-Maqr\z\, Suluk, 3, 3: 999, 1013; al-Jawhar\ al-Sayraf\, ^Al\ b. Da^ud, Nuzhat al-nufus wal-abdan
fi-tawarikh al-zaman, 0asan 0abash\, ed., 4 vols. (Cairo: Dar al-Kutub, 1970–89), 2:
45–46, 57; ‘Abd al-Raziq, “hisba,” 131–32, 149–50.
23 al-Maqr\z\, Suluk, 3, 3: 1155.
24 al-Maqr\z\ does not report the date of his dismissal although he reports the dismissal of Ibn
Khaldun a few days after his. Ibid., 3, 3: 1157; for the date of al-Maqr\z\’s dismissal, see al-Sayraf\,
Nuzhat, 2: 201.