wafayāt al-aʿyān wa-anbāʾ abnāʾ az-zamān () ('deaths of eminent men and the sons of the epoch'). begun in 1256 this eight-volume biographical reference dictionary of islamic scholarship and literature was completed in 1274. khallikān documented the lives of notable cultural figures, the celebrated writers, scientists, religious and legal scholars. complementary to the popular religio-political biographies of the prophet muhammad and of the caliphs, it is primarily a literary work. an english translation by william mcguckin de slane, in four volumes, published between 1801–1878, runs to over 2,700 pages. the british scholar reynold a. nicholson called it the "best general biography ever written".