Wilkins|139dictionaries, his two-volume work Durr al-habab fi tarikh aɇyan Halab (Beloved
pearls in the history of Aleppan notables) is an artifact of local pride, providing
an expansive and yet intimate portrait of his native city, as represented by promi-
nent persons, as it underwent a political and social transition to the Ottoman
order.
In defining what notability was, Ibn al-Hanbali’s dictionary is inclusive. It
was typical of Muslim biographers to compose notices of religious figures, who
would have included not only the ulema (sing. ɇalim)—those learned in the Is-
lamic sciences and serving in the professions of religious leadership, teaching,
jurisprudence, or law—but also popular religious figures such as mystics, eccen-
trics, and ascetics and other persons embodying high and popular forms of Is-
lam. Typical, also, was the inclusion of a small number of political figures, such
as rulers, governors, and personalities of the royal court. In Ibn al-Hanbali’s dic-
tionary, the vast majority of the biographical notices are of religious and political
figures, but also included are a wide variety of other social groups and categories,
including merchants, artists, calligraphers, musicians, physicians, and women.
Cutting across these categories was a large number of persons whom Ibn al-
Hanbali knew personally and whose record of accomplishment was not espe-
cially distinguished but whose tie to the author could be one of family, neighbor,
or work associate. In short, one might consider Durr al-Habab as a literary genre
intermediate between the formal biographical dictionary, with its relatively strict
standards of notability, and the personal memoir, in which the author seeks to
memorialize those closest to him.
Ibn al-Hanbali’s treatment of merchants as a group is of special relevance
here. In general, he describes merchants, several of whom he regards as friends
(Arabic sing. sāhib), in favorable terms, sometimes noting their attainment of
high culture or their adherence to a respected mystical path. By far the most
frequently noted positive attribute, however, is their generosity, as demonstrated
through the building of mosques, schools, and fountains and distributions of
food and money to the needy. If Ibn al-Hanbali defines virtuous political leaders
primarily by their just exercise of power, and the ulema by their diligent pursuit
and preservation of right knowledge, then he defines merchants by their willing-
ness to spend at least part of their wealth in acts of charitable philanthropy. This
is the way, Ibn al-Hanbali seems to imply, that rich merchants can compensate
for their accumulated wealth—wealth that may have been gotten through less
than savory means. In his classic study of cities under the Mamluk Sultanate, Ira
Lapidus describes the highest stratum of merchants, usually referred to as the
Karimi merchants, as enmeshed in cozy relations with Mamluk rulers, serving
them as moneylenders, provisioners, commercial agents, and diplomats.
While Ibn al-Hanbali regards philanthropy as a moral duty that wealthy
merchants should perform for the public welfare, carrying out philanthropic acts