Abdelaziz al-Malzuzi

Abu Faris Abdelaziz ibn Abdarrahman al-Malzuzi al-Miknasi (born in Meknes, died 1298) is considered to be the greatest poet of the Marinid period. He is also well known as an historian. There is little known about his life, besides that he was the court poet of Abu Yahya ibn Abd al-Haqq. Among his many poetical works is a long didactic poem about the history of prophets. According to Ibn al-Khatib (the biographer of Ibn Abd al-Haqq) Al-Malzuzi mixed his Arabic with Zenata elements. He himself was from the Berber Malzuza tribe of Tripolitania. He died encarcerated, in 1297-1298.