The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 11: The Challenge to the Empires A.D. 633-635/A.H. 12-13

Front Cover
SUNY Press, Jan 1, 1993 - History - 261 pages

Although this volume deals with the part of al-Ṭabarī's History covering the years 12 and 13 (633-35), in the caliphates of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq and ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, the narratives contained in it, which are lengthy and detailed, are concerned with the first Muslim conquests in Iraq and Syria. Although it might be expected, therefore, that this volume would be a basic source for these conquests, the actual value of the bulk of the reported traditions is in considerable doubt because most of the material is derived from a later Kufan traditionist, Sayf b. 'Umar (d. 170-93/786-809), who apparently exaggerated and distorted his material considerably. Indeed, Sayf's transmissions clearly reveal the tendency of his party, an anti-Shi'ite faction based on the Arab Mudar tribal group in al-Kufah that had lost out with the fall of the Umayyads and the coming of the 'Abbasids to power. Although Sayf's transmissions thus have limited value as far as the earliest conquests themselves are concerned, they are of the utmost value in revealing the content and character of Islamic historical debates in the late 2nd/8th century. In addition, they permit us to elucidate and reconstruct an early harmonizing tendency in Islam that undoubtedly had a significant effect on the way later Muslims viewed their earliest history.

The translation is preceded by an introduction analyzing the tendencies of Sayf and his party as revealed in this volume. Extensive notes accompany the text for the benefit of historians in other fields, as well as of Islamic specialists.

 

Contents

IX
1
X
15
XI
19
XII
21
XIII
26
XV
37
XVI
49
XVII
53
XXXIII
139
XXXIV
140
XXXV
142
XXXVI
145
XXXVII
155
XXXVIII
157
XXXIX
159
XL
161

XVIII
57
XIX
62
XXII
65
XXIII
67
XXIV
68
XXV
71
XXVI
72
XXVII
73
XXVIII
122
XXIX
128
XXX
129
XXXI
133
XXXII
138
XLI
170
XLII
172
XLIV
173
XLV
176
XLVI
182
XLVII
188
XLVIII
195
XLIX
196
L
215
LI
221
LII
227
LIII
235
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Bibliographic information