Al-Suyuti (c. 1445–1505 CE); aka Jalaluddin; was an Egyptian scholar, historian and jurist. From a family of Persian origin, he was described as one of the most prolific writers of the Middle Ages. His biographical dictionary Bughyat al-wuʻāh fī ṭabaqāt al-lughawīyīn wa-al-nuḥāh contains valuable accounts of prominent figures in the early development of Arabic philology. He was appointed to a chair in the mosque of Baybars in Cairo in 1486, and was an authority of the Shafii school of thought (madhhab).