Editing Kitab al-I'tibar (section)

{{Short description|Book by Usāmah ibn Munqidh}}
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{{Infobox book
| name           = Kitab al-I'tibar
| title_orig     = كتاب الاعتبار
| translator     = 
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| author         = [[Usama ibn Munqidh]]
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| country        = 
| language       = Arabic
| series         = 
| subject        = Autobiography, History
| genre          = Non-fiction
| publisher      = 
| pub_date       = 
| media_type     = Print (Hardcover & Paperback)
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}}

{{Arab culture}}
'''''Kitab al-I'tibar''''' ({{langx|ar|كتاب الاعتبار}}, ''The Book of Learning by Example'') is the autobiography of [[Usama ibn Munqidh|Usama ibn-Munqidh]], an [[Arab]] [[Syria]]n diplomat, soldier of the 12th century, hunter, poet and nobleman.

The book was first discovered in 1880 in the Real Biblioteca del Monasterio de San Lorenzo de [[El Escorial]] (San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Madrid, Spain). It exists as 134 folios with the first 21 pages missing and is considered a copy of a copy of the original made in July 1213.<ref>Hitti, ''An Arab-Syrian Gentleman and Warrior in the Period of the Crusades'' p. 17</ref> However it remains the only version available to date.

[[Hartwig Derenbourg]] (1844-1908) was the first to mention the manuscript in his three volumes book "Les manuscrits arabes de l'Escurial" (1884-1903) and his book "Ousama ibn Mounkidh, un émir syrien" (1889) when he studied, transcribed and published the work. [[Philip K. Hitti]] (1886 – 1978) added to his work in his publication "An Arab-Syrian Gentlemen in the Period of the Crusades: Memoirs of Usamah ibn-Munqidh", with the latest edition published in 2000 by Columbia University Press.

Usamah's autobiography is part of the literary genre known as ''[[Adab (behavior)|adab]]'' which aims at "pleasing, diverting and titilating" its readers, as well as instructing them. [[Philip K. Hitti]], in the introduction to his translation, describes the work as superior to other Arabic biographies. According to him, ''It gives us a glimpse into Syrian methods of warfare, hawking and  medication, and ushers us into the intimacies of Moslem court life as well as private home life.''.<ref>Hitti, ''An Arab-Syrian Gentleman and Warrior in the Period of the Crusades'' p. 14</ref> It also offers an insight into the mindset of Arabic knights as they interacted with the crusaders as friends, fought against them as enemies and on matters of religion and politics.