Averroes

Maria Angeles Gallego

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 6.1.2: Middle-Eastern Arabic Writing and Culture: Classical and Post-Classical, 700-1300.
Vol. editors: Ziad Elmarsafy (King's College London), Claire Gallien (Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3), Rita Sakr (Maynooth University), Anastasia Valassopoulos (University of Manchester)

Dates

Born 1126
Died 1198
Activity 1169-1198

Places

Born in Andalusia
Active in Spain

Activities

Primary

Jurist
Philosopher
Scientist
Theologian

Resources

Abu l-Walid Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Rushd (born in Cordova 1126; died Marrakech 1198), known in the Western world as Averroes (or Averrhoës), marks the highpoint of of the development of Arabo-Islamic philosophy and he was for centuries regarded as the supreme commentator on Aristotle among Christians and Jews. Averroes is best known for his philosophical rationalism and his contribution to the philosophy versus theology debate in the Muslim world by claiming that Truth could be expressed in two different ways: abstract (Philosophy) and symbolic (Theology), there existing thus no contradiction between the two disciplines. He was also a prominent Islamic jurist, Koran commentator, and a scientist.

Life

Ibn Rushd was born in Cordova in 1126 into a prominent Andalusian family. At this moment, Cordova was a centre of Almoravid culture and a place where...

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1854 words

Citation: Gallego, Maria Angeles. "Averroes". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 October 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=193, accessed 09 June 2026.]