Shams al-Din al-Ansari al-Dimashqi

Sheikh Shams al-Din al-Ansari al-Dimashqi or simply al-Dimashqi (1256–1327) was a medieval Arab geographer, completing his main work in 1300. Born in Damascus—as his name "Dimashqi" implies—he mostly wrote of his native land, the Greater Syria, upon the complete withdrawal of the Crusaders. He became a contemporary of the Mamluk sultan Baibars, the general who led the Muslims in war against the Crusaders. His work is of value in connection with the Crusader Chronicles. He died while in Safad, in 1327.