Scholars’ Visit to Damascus from outside of the Levant (471- 571 AH / 1078-1175 CE)

A study of the Causes and Effects through The History of Damascus for Ibn Asaker (d. 571 AH / 1175 CE)

Abstract

This study aims to reveal i) the scholars who visited Damascus, and settled there for a period of time or settled there completely, ii) the reasons that prompted them to visit it, and iii) the extent of their impact on the cultural life in Damascus or their influence on the Damascene cultural life. The study attempts to identify the geographical areas from which they came, their scientific disciplines, and their jurisprudential doctrines. It also tries to monitor their knowledge, the sciences they spread in Damascus, or the sciences they took from the scholars of Damascus and spread in their country. The study concluded that about one hundred and five scholars visited Damascus, and that they came to it from most parts of the Islamic world at the time, and that their reasons for visiting it were numerous, but the most prominent of which was seeking knowledge, seeking jobs, and visiting Jerusalem, and that their influence on the Damascene culture was great, as they transferred many of the Levant’s narratives and the books of their authors to the Islamic regions. They also transferred to Damascus a lot of knowledge and works.