Wikipedia's first sentence called it “historian”. Today it says “prominent traditionist”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2020
Majd ad-Dīn Ibn al-Athīr ash-Shaybānī (1149–1210) ( مجد الدين أبو السعادات المبارك بن محمد بن محمد بن محمد بن عبد الكريم الشيباني الجزري بن الأثير ) was an historian , biographer and lexicographer . His full name was Abū l-Saʿādāt al-Mubārak b. Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Karīm b. ʿAbd al-Wāḥid al-Shaybānī al-Jazarī al-Mawṣilī. Majd ad-Dīn was one of three brothers from a wealthy family of scholars, all known as Ibn al-Athīr of Jazirat Ibn ‘Umar and Mosul. The other two being Ali ibn al-Athir and Diyā' ad-Dīn , who was also an historian. The father Muḥammad b. ‘Abd al-Karim was an official of the Zangid government. Majd al-Dīn was in the service of the emir of Mosul , Ghāzi b. Mawdūd, and later Mas‘ūd b. Although he became paralysed he continued working and outlived his two brothers. He was a distinguished translator of the Arabic language. The Ibn al-Athīr family were Arab , or Kurdish , of the Shayban lineage of the large and influential Arab tribe Banu Bakr , who lived across upper Mesopotamia , and gave their name to the city of Diyar Bakr . Kurdish historian and biographer Ibn al-Athir wrote in Arabic.. . In Lewis, B ; Ménage, V. Encyclopaedia of Islam (New ed.).
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 953964429.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Arab biographer, linguist and historian Majd ad-Dīn Ibn al-Athīr ash-Shaybānī (1149–1210) ( مجد الدين أبو السعادات المبارك بن محمد بن محمد بن محمد بن عبد الكريم الشيباني الجزري بن الأثير ) was an historian , biographer and lexicographer . His full name was Abū l-Saʿādāt al-Mubārak b. Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Karīm b. ʿAbd al-Wāḥid al-Shaybānī al-Jazarī al-Mawṣilī. Majd ad-Dīn was one of three brothers from a wealthy family of scholars, all known as Ibn al-Athīr of Jazirat Ibn ‘Umar and Mosul. The other two being Ali ibn al-Athir and Diyā' ad-Dīn , who was also an historian. The father Muḥammad b. ‘Abd al-Karim was an official of the Zangid government. Majd al-Dīn was in the service of the emir of Mosul , Ghāzi b. Mawdūd, and later Mas‘ūd b. Although he became paralysed he continued working and outlived his two brothers. He was a distinguished translator of the Arabic language. The Ibn al-Athīr family were Arab , or Kurdish , of the Shayban lineage of the large and influential Arab tribe Banu Bakr , who lived across upper Mesopotamia , and gave their name to the city of Diyar Bakr . Kurdish historian and biographer Ibn al-Athir wrote in Arabic.. . In Lewis, B ; Ménage, V. Encyclopaedia of Islam (New ed.).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1167338665.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Arab biographer, linguist and historian Majd ad-Dīn Ibn al-Athīr ash-Shaybānī (1149–1210) ( Arabic : مجد الدين أبو السعادات المبارك بن محمد بن محمد بن محمد بن عبد الكريم الشيباني الجزري بن الأثير ) was an historian , biographer and lexicographer . His full name was Abū l-Saʿādāt al-Mubārak b. Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Karīm b. ʿAbd al-Wāḥid al-Shaybānī al-Jazarī al-Mawṣilī. Majd ad-Dīn was one of three brothers from a wealthy family of scholars, all known as Ibn al-Athīr of Jazirat Ibn ‘Umar and Mosul. The other two being Ali ibn al-Athir and Diyā' ad-Dīn , who was also an historian. The father Muḥammad b. ‘Abd al-Karim was an official of the Zangid government. Majd al-Dīn was in the service of the emir of Mosul , Ghāzi b. Mawdūd, and later Mas‘ūd b. Although he became paralysed he continued working and outlived his two brothers. He was a distinguished translator of the Arabic language. The Ibn al-Athīr family were Arab , or Kurdish , of the Shayban lineage of the large and influential Arab tribe Banu Bakr , who lived across upper Mesopotamia , and gave their name to the city of Diyar Bakr . Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Kurdish historian and biographer Ibn al-Athir wrote in Arabic.. . In Lewis, B ; Ménage, V. Encyclopaedia of Islam (New ed.).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1293941253. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “historian”. Today it says “prominent traditionist”. Read the current article and compare.
2020
Oct '23
2025
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2020, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
historian
Now
prominent traditionist
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
