Badr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Ḥātim al-Hamdānī, commonly known simply as Ibn Hatim, was a 13th-century official and historian in Yemen, under the Rasulid dynasty. Very little is known about Ibn Hatim's life, all of which is gleaned from his chief historical work, Kitāb al-Simṭ al-ghālī al-thaman fī akhbār al-mulūk min al-Ghuzz bi ’l-Yaman. His date of birth is unknown, but he was a member of the Banu Hatim clan of the Banu Yam, who were dominant in the region of the provincial capital, Sana'a. Although an Isma'ili, he managed to have a successful career under the Sunni Rasulids, rising under Sultan al-Muzaffar Yusuf I (r. 1249–1295) to become one of only a handful of officials "employed by the sultan in the capacity of roving ambassador, personally representing him wherever in the country he wa