At a glance
- Roles
- Poet · craftsman
- Era
- The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era
- Region
- Levant & Iraq
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
Life in time
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
Overview
Abu Yusuf Ya'qub ibn Sabir al-Manjaniqi, Najm al-Din, of Harranian origin and Baghdadi birth, a well-known poet and maker of the catapult (al-manjaniq) 2.
His life and craft
He was born in Baghdad in the year 554 AH, according to what he told Ibn al-Dubaythi. At the beginning of his career he was a soldier set over the catapult-men, and he mastered the manners of the sword and the pen and the making of weapons 3 2.
He composed the book "Umdat al-Salik fi Siyasat al-Mamalik" and did not complete it. It treats the conditions of wars, the conquest of frontiers and the building of fortresses 2.
His poetry
He was a prolific and accomplished poet, and he gathered a book of his poetry which he called "Mughani al-Ma'ani". He praised the caliphs, and had a standing with the caliph al-Nasir li-Din Allah 4.
Death
He died in Baghdad in the year 626 AH, on the night of the twenty-eighth of Safar. al-Badr al-Safir transmits from Ibn Sa'id that he died in 623 AH, so the date is disputed 5.
Connections
- Lived in
- Baghdad
People and things also explored
The Nizamiyya Madrasa of Baghdad· Bayt al-Hikma — the House of Wisdom· The 'Adudi Bimaristan· al-Bimaristan al-Muqtadiri· Bimaristan al-Sayyida· Dar al-'Ilm of Baghdad (Sabur's library)· The Jami' al-Qati'a of Baghdad· The mosque of Qati'at Umm Ja'far
Sources
- Wafayat al-A'yan wa-Anba' Abna' al-Zaman — Ibn Khallikan , p. 35-44
- Wafayat al-A'yan wa-Anba' Abna' al-Zaman — Ibn Khallikan , p. 35-36
- Wafayat al-A'yan wa-Anba' Abna' al-Zaman — Ibn Khallikan , p. 36
- Wafayat al-A'yan wa-Anba' Abna' al-Zaman — Ibn Khallikan , p. 37, 39
- Wafayat al-A'yan wa-Anba' Abna' al-Zaman — Ibn Khallikan , p. 44
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “يعقوب بن صابر المنجنيقي”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/yaqub-ibn-sabir-al-munajjiniqi/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.