DR. SALEH AHMAD AL ALI

SIXTH SESSION 1998-1999
Humanities & Future Studies

Painting by : Ali Al Mimar – Iraq

  • Born in 1918 in Mosul, Iraq.
  • Attended elementary and middle school in Mosul.
  • Studied at theA Teacher-training School in Mosul for two years before graduating from it in 1937.
  • Taught at an elementary school for two years (1937-1938).
  • Joined the Higher Institute for Teacher-training in Baghdad.
  • Taught at secondary schools in Basra.
  • Joined the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University, where he studied for two years before graduating with Honors with a BA in History. He was awarded the Galal Sadiq Prize for graduating at the top of his class.
  • He joined Oxford University, where he studied for four years.
  • Appointed as a Lecturer at the College of Arts and Science, Baghdad, 1949.
  • Promoted to Assistant Professor, 1951.
  • Promoted to Professor, 1955.
  • Research fellow at Harvard University (1956-1957).
  • Dean of the Higher Institute of Islamic Studies, Baghdad University (1963-1968).
  • Chairman of the Center of the Revival of Arab Scientific Heritage (1980-1980).
  • Professor of Islamic History, University of Baghdad (since 1949).
  • Member of the Iraqi Academy of Science (1963-1978).
  • Chairman of the Iraqi Academy of Science (1978-1996).
  • Honorary Member of the Iraqi Academy of Science (1997).
  • Honorary Member of the Jordan Academy of Arabic.
  • Honorary Member of the Iraqi Philosophical Society.
  • Honorary Member of the UNESCO Committee for Writing World History (1980-1989), France.
  • Honorary Member of the Union of Iraqi Writers,
  • Member of the Academy of Arabic Language, Damascus.
  • Member of the Academy of Arabic Language, Cairo.
  • Correspondent Member of the Indian Scientific Academy.
  • Member of the Royal Academy for Islamic Civilization Research.
  • Member of the Indian Archaeological Society.
  • Member of the Spanish Institute, Madrid.
  • Member of the Supreme Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (1986-1989), Iraq.
  • Member of the Supreme Design Committee of the city of Baghdad, Iraq.
  • Member of the Supreme Council for the Preservation of the Arabic Language, Iraq.
  • Elected Member of the Administrative Board of Baghdad University.
  • Deputy Chairman of the History Writing Committee, Baghdad.
  • Participated in a number of committees in Baghdad for the development of history teaching, culture and collegiate affairs.
  • Participated in numerous academic symposiums and conferences on Arab history, culture both in Iraq and in the Arab world, Europe and India.

Decision of the General Secretariat   

Dr. Ahmed Saleh Al Ali has contributed to establishing a new school in the Arab world for reading into Islamic History. His objective approach in criticism is reflected in his books, including: Al Dawla Fee Ahd Al Rasoul Sala Allahu Alayh wa Sallam (The State during the Era of the Prophet PBUH), Al Kharaj Fil Iraq fil Uhood Al Islamiyya (Taxes in Iraq in the Islamic Eras) Baghdad Madinat Al Salam (Baghdad, the City of Peace), Dirasat fil Idara wal Uloom Indal Arab (Studies on Arab Management and Sciences) and Tatawur Al Haraka Al Fikriyya Fee Sadr Al Islam (The Development of Intellectualism Movement in the Early Islamic Era) .

Certificates of Merit

  • General Secretariat of the King Faisal International Award
  • The Center of the Revival of Arab Scientific Heritage.
  • Iraqi Writers’ Union.
  • Iraqi Philosophical Association
  • Association of Arab Historians

Awards

  • Jalal Sadiq Award, Cairo, 1945.
  • King Faisal International Award for Islamic Studies, Riyadh, 1989.
  • Aristotle Medal, UNESCO.
  • Elwa Mazel Medal, Hungary.
  • Arab Historian Golden Medal from the Federation of Arab Historians.

Famous Works

  • Al Tantheemat Al Ijtima’iya Wal Iqtisadiyya Fil Basra fil Qarn Al Awwal Al Hijri (Social and Economic Systems in Basra in the 1stHijri Century), 1953.
      • Muhadarat fee Tareekh Al Arab: Tareekh Al Arab Fil Quroon AL Wusta (Lectures on Arab History: Arab History in the Middle Ages), 1955 (co-authorship),
      • Ti’dad Al Sukkan fil Iraq fil Uhood Al Islamiyya Al Oola (Population of Iraq in the Early Islamic Era), 1977.
      • Al Ahwaz fil Uhood Al Islamiyya Al Oola (Ahwaz in the Early Islamic Era), 1982.
    • Revised Publications
    • Bilad Al Arab (Countries of Arabia), 1968 (joint).
    • Al Madkhal Al Hifthi Ela Ilm Al Arithmatiqi ( A Conservative Approach to Arithmatic by Al Bougazi), 1977.
    • Baghdad Madinat Al Salam by Ibn Al Faqih Al Hamadani (Baghdad, the City of Peace), 1977.
    • Kitab Al Buldan Lil Jaheth (Book of Countries by Al Jaheth), 1978.
    • Ma yahtaj Elayhi Al Sane’ Min Ilm Al Handasa (The Practical Principles of Geometry by Al Boughazi), 1979.Translations
    • The Byzantine City and Crusades, 1957.
    • Articles in  the Islamic Encyclopedia, 1959.
    • Ahmad Bin Touloun: The Young Turkey, 1960.
    • History for Muslim Historians, 1963.
    • The Cities, 1968.
    • The Establishment of Baghdad, 1975.
    • General Trends of Historic Research, 1984.
    • Baghdad in the Early Abbasid Era, 1984.
    • Baghdad in 5thHijri Century
    • Baghdad Suburbs, 1984.
    • The Middle Euphrates, 1990.

He passed away on January 25, 2003.