Amin Maalouf

Amin Maalouf is a Lebanese-born French author born in 1949 in Beirut, Lebanon, who has lived in France since 1976 following the Lebanese civil war. He is best known for historical novels such as Leo Africanus (1986), Samarkand (1988), and The Rock of Tanios (1993), the latter winning the prestigious Prix Goncourt, as well as nonfiction like The Crusades Through Arab Eyes (1983). His achievements include election to the Académie française in 2011 (Perpetual Secretary in 2023), the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature (2010), and the Sheikh Zayed Book Award (2016); he remains alive as of 2026.Amin Maalouf