Ibn Miskawayh
| Ibn Miskawayh مُسکویه |
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| Born | 932 Rey, (Ziyarid Iran) |
| Died | 1030 Isfahan, (Kakuyid Iran) |
| Ethnicity | Persian |
| Era | Islamic Golden Age |
| Region | Iran |
| Religion | Islam |
| Main interest(s) | History, Theology, medicine, ethics and philosophy |
| Notable work(s) |
Kitab al hayawan (The book of animal life) تهذيب الأخلاق (Ethical Instruction) Al-Fawz al-Asghar Tajarib al-umam (Experiences of Nations) |
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Ibn Miskawayh (Persian: مُسکویه, 932–1030), full name Abū ʿAlī Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb ibn Miskawayh was a Persian chancery official of the Buyid era, and philosopher and historian from Rey, Iran. As a Neoplatonist, his influence on Islamic philosophy is primarily in the area of ethics. He was the author of the first major Islamic work on philosophical ethics entitled the Refinement of Morals (تهذيب الأخلاق), focusing on practical ethics, conduct, and refinement of character. He separated personal ethics from the public realm, and contrasted the liberating nature of reason with the deception and temptation of nature. Miskawayh was a prominent figure in the intellectual and cultural life of his time.
Miskawayh was born in Rey, then under Ziyarid control. Miskawayh may have been a Zoroastrian convert to Islam, but it seems more likely that it was one of his ancestors who converted. During his early career, he spent his life in Baghdad, where he served as the secretary of Muhallabi, the vizier of the Buyid emir Mu'izz al-Dawla. He was fluent enough in Middle Persian to have translated some pre-Islamic texts in that language into Arabic. After a long service to the Buyids of Iraq, Miskawayh moved to the court of Rukn al-Dawla, where he spent seven years working there with the Buyid vizier Abu 'l-Fadl ibn al-'Amid. In 966, a group of ghazi marched towards the Library of Rey but Miskawayh managed to save it. After the death of Abu'l-Fadl ibn al-'Amid in 970, Miskawayh continued to serve the latter's son, Abu'l-Fath, and in 975 along with him left for Baghdad.
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