(CE:2160a)
SUQA‘I FADL ALLAH IBN FAKHR, AL-, thirteenth-century historian and biographer, a Christian resident of the city of Damascus. He was a scribe in the diwan (government office). He died a centenarian in 1326. In Christian literature, he was noted for his compilation of the four Gospels in a unified work in numerous languages including Hebrew, Syriac, Coptic, and Greek. Presumably, he also memorized the whole Bible, including the Psalms and the Gospels. He was also a famous biographer responsible for a summary of Ibn Khallikan's obituaries (Wafayat al-A‘yan) to which he appended a supplement dealing with celebrated personalities of Egypt and Syria between 1261 and 1324. His other works include a few religious studies, which show that he was familiar with Egyptian Christianity and the Copts.
AZIZ S. ATIYA
