Nasif al-Yaziji

Nasif al-Yaziji
ناصيف اليازجي
Born	Nāṣīf bin ʻAbd Allāh bin Nāṣīf bin Janbulāṭ bin Saʻd al-Yāzijī (1800-03-25)March 25, 1800
Died	February 8, 1871(1871-02-08)(aged 70)
Occupation	Author
Era	Ottoman Empire
Movement	Nahda

Nāṣīf bin ʻAbd Allāh bin Nāṣīf bin Janbulāṭ bin Saʻd al-Yāzijī(Arabic:ناصيف بن عبد الله بن ناصيف بن جنبلاط بن سعد اليازجي;March 25, 1800 – February 8, 1871) was an author at the times of the Ottoman Empire and father ofIbrahim al-Yaziji.He was one of the leading figures in theNahdamovement.

Like several of the principal players of the Arab Awakening (Nahda), Nasif al-Yaziji migrated from aMount Lebanonravaged by discord and revolt, toBeirutat a time when the city was undergoing rapid development and establishing itself as a centre of academia and journalism.

AGreek Catholic,born to a prominent family originally fromHoms(modernSyria).He began his career as a private secretary (mudabbir) - a common way for Christians to attain social mobility under the restrictiveiqta'system by which Mount Lebanon, which he described as "a country of tribes", was governed.

Bashir Shihab IIand Nasif al-Yaziji atBeiteddine Palace

First employed by Prince Haydar al-Shihabi,he went on to work forBashir Shihab II.

When Yaziji moved to Beirut in 1840, he became an Arabic tutor and it was in this role that he came into contact with American and British Protestant missionaries. He would help fulfil one of the greatest ambitions of the missionaries – conduct a Protestant translation of the Bible into Arabic – when he corrected a translation thatEli Smith,an American missionary, andButrus al-Bustanistarted in 1847.

After that, he taught at the Syrian Protestant College (later renamed theAmerican University of Beirut) and wrote on poetry, rhetoric, grammar and philosophy. It was for his attempts to emulate the style of classical Arab writers, thereby rediscovering the literary heritage of the Arabs, that he is best known.

Among his works is a treatise on themuqata 'jisystem. Used by the Ottomans to govern the emirate of Mount Lebanon, this involvedtax-farmingor iqta' rights being given to leading local families. These families enjoyed a degree of autonomy in the running of their region, controlled the land, collected taxes and benefitted from tax exemptions and benefits in exchange for providing the central authorities in Istanbul with revenue and armed men.

With Bustani andMikhail Mishaqa,al-Yaziji formed theSyrian Association for the Sciences and Arts– the Arab world's first literary society – in 1847. The circle tackled and published its deliberations on themes such as women's rights, history and their fight against superstition.

It was dissolved in 1852 but its inner circle went on to establish theSyrian Scientific Associationa few years later.This became a much larger, multi-sectarian society of intellectuals who pushed for Arab independence from the Ottomans.

Bibliography

• Johnson, Michael (2001).All Honourable Men: The Social Origins of War in Lebanon.I.B.Tauris.ISBN978-1-86064-715-4.
• Meisami, Julie Scott;Paul Starkey(1998).Encyclopedia of Arabic literature.Taylor & Francis.p. 231.ISBN978-0-415-18571-4.
• Moosa, Matti (1997).The Origins of Modern Arabic Fiction.Lynne Rienner Publishers.ISBN978-0-89410-684-2.
• Salibi, Kamal S.(2003).A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered.I. B. Tauris & Co.ISBN9781860649127.