Abu Bakr bin Yahya al-Suli

Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn al-‘Abbās al-Ṣūlī (Arabic: ) (born c. 870 Gorgan – died between 941 and 948 Basra) was a Turkic scholar and a court companion of three Abbāsid caliphs: al-Muktafī, his successor al-Muqtadir, and later, al-Radi, whom he also tutored. He was a bibliophile, wrote letters, editor-poet, chronicler, and a shatranj (chess) player. His contemporary biographer Isḥāq al-Nadīm tells us he was "of manly bearing." He wrote many books, the most famous of which are Kitāb Al-Awrāq and Kitāb al-Shiṭranj.

Life

Abū Bakr al-Ṣūlī was born into an illustrious family of Turkic origin, his great-grandfather was the Turkic prince Sul-takin and his uncle was the poet Ibrahim ibn al-'Abbas as-Suli. Al-Marzubānī, a principal pupil of al-Ṣūlī, who admired him and copied him in the art of compilation, borrowed much of al-Ṣūlī's material for his Kitāb al-Muwashshaḥ. Abū al-Faraj al-Iṣbahānī made extensive use of his material in his Kitāb al-Aghānī. On Caliph al-Rāḍī's death in 940, al-Ṣūlī fell into disfavour with the new ruler due to his Shi'a sympathies and he died hiding at al-Baṣrah, for having quoted a passage about ‘Alī, which caused a public scandal.

Chess

Al-Ṣūlī was among a group of tenth-century chess players who wrote books about the game of shaṭranj, i.e. "chess".

Al-Ṣūlī's books were:

• Kitāb al-Shiá¹­ranj al-Nisḥa al-Awala () ‘Chess, the first manuscript’;
• Kitāb al-Shiá¹­ranj al-Nisḥa ath-ThānÄ«a () Chess, the second manuscript; Book on chess strategy, common chess openings, standard problems in middle game, annotated end games and the first known description of the knight's tour problem.

Sometime between 902 and 908, al-Ṣūlī played and beat the reigning shaṭranj champion, al-Mawardī, at the court of Caliph al-Muktafī, and the Caliph of Baghdad. When al-Muktafī died, al-Ṣūlī retained the favour of the succeeding rulers, Caliph al-Muqtadir and Caliph al-Radi.

His biographer Ibn Khallikan, (d. 1282), relates that even in his lifetime the phrase "to play like al-Ṣūlī" was to show great skill at shaṭranj. His endgame strategies are still studied. Contemporary biographers mention his skill in blindfold chess. Al-Ṣūlī also taught shaṭranj. Many later European writers based their work on modern chess on al-Suli's work.

Other Chess players/authors in the Group

• Al-‘AdlÄ« () wrote:

Kitāb al-Shiṭranj () ‘Chess’, the first book on chess, and; Al-Nard, wa Isbābha wa-al-La’ab bīha (). 'Al-Nard Its Elements and Play'.

• Al-RāzÄ« () was a chess rival of al-‘AdlÄ« and the caliph Al-Mutawakkil attended their matches. He wrote:

Kitāb latīf fī al- Shiṭranj () ‘A Delightful Book about Chess.’

• AbÅ« al-Faraj Muḥammad ibn ‘Ubayd Allāh al-Lajlāj ("the stammerer") (), whom Isḥāq al-NadÄ«m had met, was his best known pupil. He excelled at chess at the BÅ«yid court of king ‘Aḍud al-Dawlah in ShÄ«rāz, where he died sometime after 970/71 [360 AH]. He wrote:

Manṣūbāt al-Shiṭranj () ‘The Stratagems of Chess.’

• Ibn al-UqlÄ«dasÄ« AbÅ« Isḥāq IbrāhÄ«m ibn Muḥammad ibn Ṣāliḥ, one of the most skilful chess players, who wrote A Collection of the Stratagems of Chess.

Al-Suli's Diamond

Al-Ṣūlī's shaṭranj problem, called "Al-Ṣūlī's Diamond", went unsolved for over a thousand years. As this is shaṭranj, the "queen" (counsellor) is a very weak piece, able to move only a single square diagonally. It is possible to win in shaṭranj by capturing all pieces except the king, unless the opponent is able to do the same on the next move.

David Hooper and Ken Whyld studied this problem in the mid-1980s but were unable to crack it. It was finally solved by Russian Grandmaster Yuri Averbakh. The solution, starting with 1. Kb4, is given in Hans Ree's "The Human Comedy of Chess", and on the web.

Works

Kitāb Al-Awrāq

• Kitāb Al-Awrāq () ‘Leaves’ or ‘Folios’; unfinished work on the traditions of the caliphs and the poets; the poems and chronicles of the sons of the caliphs, from al-Saffāḥ to Ibn al-Mu‘tazz (750–908) and poems of other members of the BanÅ« al-‘Abbās who were neither caliphs nor sons of caliphs in rank. This included the poetry of ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘AlÄ« (), the poetry of AbÅ« Aḥmad Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Ismā’īl ibn IbrāhÄ«m ibn ‘Īsā ibn al-Manṣūr (), the poems of members of the family of AbÅ« Ṭālib the descendants of al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, the descendants of al-‘Abbās ibn ‘AlÄ«, the descendants of ‘Umar ibn ‘AlÄ«, and the descendants of Ja‘far ibn AbÄ« Ṭālib; poems of the descendants of al-Ḥārith ibn ‘Abd al-Muá¹­á¹­alib; traditions about, and selected poems by, Ibn Harmah; traditions about al-Sayyid al-ḤimyarÄ« (), with a selection of his poetry; traditions about, and selected poems by, Aḥmad ibn YÅ«suf (); traditions about Sudayf with a selection of his poetry. Ishaq al-NadÄ«m speculates that al-ṢūlÄ« plagiarized al-MarthadÄ«'s book on poetry and the poets, as he had seen a copy of his book that had come from al-ṢūlÄ«'s library.
• Kitāb Al-Awrāq published in three parts (1934–6, London):

i) Kitāb al-Awrāķ (Section on Contemporary Poets): contains anthologies of poets of the Muḥadathūn (modern poets) and their diwans. Al-Ṣūlī was interested in the lesser known poets. Al-Mas'ūdī highly esteemed him for his unique recording of people and events. Of the fourteen poets al-Ṣūlī cites, Abān ibn ‘Abdal-Ḥamīd al-Lāḥiķī and Ashja ibn ‘Amr al-Sulamī are the best known. Part of Abān's versification of the Kalīla wa Dimna written for Yaḥyā ibn Khālid al-Barmakī is preserved and published in the edited Arabic edition by James Heyworth-Dunne (1934).

ii) Akhbar al-Rāḍī wa'l-Muttaqī; chronicle covering a thirteen-year period of the reigns of the caliphs al-Rāḍīwhom al-Ṣūlī had tutored and been a close companion ofand al-Muttaqī. It contains many fresh details of their reigns and the literary activities of the court. Although less famous than the histories of al-Mas'ūdī and Miskawayh, al-Ṣūlī's is an eyewitness-account of the transition to Buyid rule. The position of amir al-umara was created in 936 during al-Radi's caliphate, which devolved some caliphal executive powers to amirs (princes). The Buyid amirs later exerted these powers to establish their independent dynasty within the Caliphate and the Abbāsid's never regained their full power. However, al-Ṣūlī's account makes clear the limits of the devolved powers to the amirs.

iii) Ash’ār Awlād al-Khulafā’ wa-Akhbāruhum; chronicle of the House of al-'Abbās who were poets.

Other Works

• Kitāb al-Wazrā () The Viziers;
• Kitāb al-'Abādah () Worship;
• Kitāb Adb al-Kātib 'alā al-HaqÄ«qa () Training of the Secretary, according to Standard;
• Kitāb tafdhÄ«l al-Sinān () ‘Superiority of the Aged,’ written for ‘AlÄ« ibn al-Furāt (855 – 924) surnamed AbÅ« al-Ḥasan;
• Kitāb al-Shāb () Youths;
• Kitāb al-Anwā’ () Varieties (unfinished);
• Kitāb suwāl wa-jawāb Ramaḍān li Ibn al-Munajjim () Questions about Answers of Ramaḍān of Ibn al-Munajjim;
• Kitāb Ramaḍān () Ramaḍān;
• Kitāb al-Shāmal fÄ« ‘Alam al-Qur’ān () The Compendium, about knowledge of the Qur’ān (unfinished),
• Kitāb Munāqub ‘alā ibn al-Furāt () The Virtues of ‘AlÄ« ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Furāt;
• Kitāb akhbār AbÅ« Tammām () Traditions about AbÅ« Tammām;
• Kitāb akhbār al-Jubbā’ī AbÅ« Sa’īd () Traditions about al-Jubbā’ī AbÅ« Sa’īd;
• Kitāb al-‘Abbās ibn Aḥnaf () Al-‘Abbās ibn Aḥnaf and selected poems;
• Epistle of Al-‘Abbās ibn Aḥnaf about collecting taxes;
• Kitāb akhbār Abā ‘Amru Ibn al-‘Alā’ () Traditions about AbÅ« ‘Amr ibn al-‘Alā’;
• Kitāb Al-Gharar () Al-Gharar

Dīwāns of Contemporary Poets edited by al-Ṣūlī

• Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-á¹¢anawbarÄ«
• Ibn al-RÅ«mÄ« (); Ibn al-RÅ«mÄ« AlÄ« ibn al-Abbās grandson of George the Greek popular poet of Baghdād.
• AbÅ« Tammām ();
• al-BuḥturÄ« ();
• AbÅ« Nuwās ();
• Al-‘Abbās ibn al-Aḥnaf ();
• ‘AlÄ« ibn al-Jahm ();
• Ibn Ṭabāṭabā ();
• IbrāhÄ«m ibn al-‘Abbās al-ṢūlÄ« ();
• Sufyān ibn ‘Uyaynah ();
• Sawwār ibn AbÄ« Sharā‘ah ();

Legacy

Others who made use of content from al-Ṣūlī’s works:

• Al-MarzubānÄ«, his principal student who adopted his compilation technique, and frequently cites him in his Kitāb al-Muwashshaḥ.
• AbÅ« al-Faraj al-Iá¹£bahānÄ« in his Kitāb al-AghānÄ«
• Al-Mas'Å«dÄ«
• Hilāl al-ṢābÄ«
• ArÄ«b ibn Sa’d al-Qurá¹­ubÄ«
• AbÅ« Hilāl al-‘AskarÄ«
• MiskawaihÄ«
• ‘AlÄ« ibn Ẓāfir al-AzdÄ«
• Ibn Ṭiqá¹­aqā
• Al-SuyÅ«á¹­Ä«

See also

• List of Muslim historians

Notes

References

Bibliography

• Robert Charles Bell (1980). Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations. .
• Leder, S. "al-Suli, Abu Bakr Muhammad." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2008. Brill Online.
• Murray, H. J. R. (1913). A History of Chess. .