Griffithes Wheeler Thatcher, 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 1… (1911)
“ ABŪ UBAIDA [Maʽmar ibn ul-Muthanna] (728–825) , Arabian scholar, was born a slave of Jewish Persian parents in Baṣra, and in his youth was a pupil of AbūʽAmr ibn ul-ʽAlā. In 803 he was called to Bagdad by Harūn al-Rashīd. He died in Baṣra. He was one of the most learned and authoritative scholars of his time in all matters pertaining to the Arabic language, antiquities and stories, and is constantly cited by later authors and compilers. Jāhiz held him to be the most learned scholar in all branches of human knowledge, and Ibn Hishām accepted his interpretation even of passages in the Koran. ”
