Bot at 21:10, 18 November 2022

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{{Short description|Pakistani army general and historian}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox writer 
| name = A. I. Akram<br /> آغا ابراہیم اکرم
| caption =
| image = Agha Ibrahim Akram.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| pseudonym =
| birth_name = Agha Ali Ibrahim Akram
| birth_date = 22 September 1923
| birth_place = [[Ludhiana]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab Province]], [[British Raj]]
| death_date = 1989
| death_place = [[Pakistan]]
| occupation = [[Army Officer]] and writer
| nationality = Pakistani
| genre = [[Military history]]
| subject =
| notableworks = The Sword of Allah Khalid Bin Waleed, The Muslim Conquest of Persia, The Muslim Conquest of Egypt and North Africa
| influences =
| influenced =
| signature =
| awards =
}}

'''Agha Ali Ibrahim Akram''' ([[Urdu]]: '''آغا ابراہیم اکرم'''), (1989- 1923) better known as '''A. I. Akram''' was a [[Lieutenant-General]] in the [[Pakistan Army]] and a historian. He wrote books about early [[Muslim]] conquests. His most famous book The [[Sword of Allah]] is a biography of Muslim general, [[Khalid ibn al-Walid]]. He retired from the Pakistan Army as Lieutenant-General in 1978. He also served as [[Pakistan]]'s Ambassador to Spain. He founded the Institute of Regional Studies in 1982 and remained its president till his death in 1989.<ref name="Across the Wagah">{{cite book |last=Tikekar |first=Maneesha |year=2004 |title=Across the Wagah: An Indian's Sojourn in Pakistan |publisher=Promilla |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HGqsWktyFcEC |page=34 |isbn=978-81-85002-34-7}}</ref>

==Biography==
Akram was born in [[Ludhiana]] on 22 September 1923 to an Indian Police Officer.<ref name="October 1945 Indian Army List"> October 1945 Indian Army List</ref>
He graduated from Government College Lahore in 1942 and joined the [[British Indian Army]], being commissioned a second lieutenant in the [[13th Frontier Force Rifles]] on 26 November 1942. By October 1945 he held the rank of temporary Captain, a promotion he received on 1 January 1945.<ref name="October 1945 Indian Army List" /> He served in [[Burma]] in [[World War II]], and first three [[Indo-Pakistan Wars]].<ref name="The Muslim Conquest of Spain, About Author, page=4">{{cite book |last=Agha |first=Ibrahim Akram |title=The Muslim Conquest of Spain |publisher=Oxford University Press, Pakistan |location=Pakistan |page=265 |isbn=978-0-19-597715-8}}</ref><ref name="A. I. Akram interview with WGBH">{{cite web |title=Interview with General A.I. Akram, 1987 |work=Pakistan's rivalry and conflicts with India |publisher=WGBH Educational Foundation |url=http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/wpna-832494-interview-with-general-a-i-akram-1987-part-3-of-4 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130416051135/http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/wpna-832494-interview-with-general-a-i-akram-1987-part-3-of-4 |access-date=13 February 2012 |archive-date=16 April 2013}}</ref> After the [[partition of India]] in 1947, he preferred to join the [[Pakistan Army]].

He taught military history as Colonel and Chief Instructor at [[Pakistan Command and Staff College|Command and Staff College]], [[Quetta]] from September 1960 to November 1965,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gallery Chief Instructors |url=http://armystaffcollege.gov.pk/Gallery_CI.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326013326/http://armystaffcollege.gov.pk/Gallery_CI.php |access-date=27 January 2017 |archive-date=26 March 2017}}</ref>
during which he acutely felt the lack of detailed, clear and objective literature on Muslim military history. It was at this time when he decided to fill the void himself.

His first book, ''The Sword of Allah'', is about the life and campaigns of [[Khalid ibn al-Walid]] which was published in 1970 after a five years effort, including visits to battle-fields in [[Lebanon]], [[Syria]], [[Jordan]], [[Iraq]], [[Kuwait]] and [[Saudi Arabia]]. It has two English editions, and has been translated into [[Urdu]], [[Arabic]], German and [[Malay language|Bahasa]]. For several years it was compulsory reading in the Pakistan Army for entrance to the Staff College and has been on the leadership syllabus in the [[Malaysian Army]]. His second book ''The Muslim Conquest of Persia'' was published after four years, after visiting the battlefields in [[Iran]] and discussions with [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] scholars. ''The Muslim Conquest of Egypt and North Africa'' was his third book, which also took four years of preparations and visits to Egypt and Tunisia. His last book was ''The Rise of Cordoba'', which was published in 1986. To research for writing all these books he learned [[Arabic]], [[Persian language|Persian]] and Spanish and collected an impressive library of historical works.<ref name="Back cover of The Sword Of Allah">{{cite book |last=Agha |first=Ibrahim Akram |year=2006 |title=The Sword of Allah: Khalid bin al-Waleed, His Life and Campaigns |edition=3rd |orig-year=First published 1970 |publisher=Mr. Books |location=Islamabad |page=back cover |oclc=191257949}}</ref>

In 1978, he retired from [[Pakistan Army]] as a Lieutenant-General after being superseded by General [[Zia-ul Haq]].<ref name="Khalid Mahmud">{{cite book |last=Arif |first=Khalid Mahmud |year=1995 |title=Working with Zia: Pakistan Power Politics, 1977–1988 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=USA |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=26TjAAAAMAAJ |page=43 |isbn=978-0-19-577570-9}}</ref>
After that he served as [[Pakistan]]'s Ambassador to Spain for two and a half years. He founded the ''Institute of Regional Studies'' in 1982 and remained its president till his death in 1989.<ref name="Across the Wagah" />

==Works==
# The Sword of Allah<ref name="The Sword of Allah: Khalid Bin Al-Waleed, His Life and Campaigns">{{cite book |last=Agha |first=Ibrahim Akram |year=2006 |title=The Sword of Allah: Khalid Bin Al-Waleed, His Life and Campaigns |publisher=Adam Publishers & Distributors, India |isbn=978-81-7435-467-9}}</ref>
# The Muslim Conquest of Persia<ref name="The Muslim Conquest of Persia">{{cite book |last=Agha |first=Ibrahim Akram |title=The Muslim Conquest of Persia |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Pakistan |isbn=978-0-19-597713-4}}</ref>
# The Muslim Conquest of Egypt and North Africa<ref name="The Muslim Conquest of Egypt and North Africa">{{cite book |last=Agha |first=Ibrahim Akram |year=1977 |title=The Muslim Conquest of Egypt and North Africa |publisher=Ferozsons Ltd,Pakistan |location=Pakistan |isbn=978-969-0-00224-2}}</ref>
# The Muslim Conquest of Spain<ref name="The Muslim Conquest of Spain">{{cite book |last=Agha |first=Ibrahim Akram |title=The Muslim Conquest of Spain |publisher=Oxford University Press, Pakistan |location=Pakistan |isbn=978-0-19-597715-8}}</ref>
# The Falcon of the Quraish
# The Rise of Cordoba

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akram, Agha Ibrahim}}
[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:1989 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Pakistani historians]]
[[Category:British Indian Army officers]]
[[Category:Indian Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Pakistani generals]]
[[Category:Pakistani military historians]]

Agha Ibrahim Akram - Revision history

Bot at 21:10, 18 November 2022