Abu al-Fida (1273-1331), Arabian historian and geographer, born in Damascus (now in Syria). He took part in the sieges of Tripoli (1289) and ‘Akko (1291), the last strongholds of the Crusaders. In 1310 Abu al-Fida was appointed governor of the city of Hamah, over which he ruled with almost absolute power. In 1312 he was made prince, and in 1320 he was given the title of sultan and the right to transmit the title to his descendants. Abu al-Fida's most important work was An Abridgment of the History of the Human Race, a text that traces human history until 1329. This work is especially valuable as a source for the period of the Crusades. He also wrote Geography, which is valued primarily for its description of the Muslim world. His name is sometimes spelled Abulfida.