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

300 Pages·1993·15 MB·English

by  Khalid Yahya Blankinship

The
History of al-Tabari
The Challenge to the Empires
Volume XI
Translated by Khalid Yahya Blankinship
Although this volume deals with the part of al-Tabari s History
covering the years 12 and 13 (633-35), in the caliphates of Abu Bakr al-
Siddi'q and`Umar b. al-Khatlab, 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-Shiitefaction 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 `Abbiisids 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 tenden-
cies 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.
SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies
Said Amir Ariomand, Editor
The State University of New York Press
Visit ourweb site at http://www.sunypress.edu
ISBN 0-7914-0852-3

THE HISTORY OF AL-TABAR.I
AN ANNOTATED TRANSLATION
VOLUME XI
The Challengeto the Empires
A.D. 633-635/A.H. 11-13
16
The History of al-Tabari
Editorial Board
Ihsan Abbas, University of Jordan, Amman
C. E. Bosworth, The University of Manchester
Franz Rosenthal, Yale University
Everett K. Rowson, The University of Pennsylvania
Ehsan Yar-Shater, Columbia University ( General Editor)
Estelle Whelan, Editorial Coordinator
Center for Iranian Studies
ColumbiaUniversity
SUNY
SERIES IN NEAR EASTERN STUDIES
Said Amir Arjomand, Editor
OP
The preparation of this volume was made possible in part
by a grant from the National Endowment for the
Humanities, an independent federal agency.
Bibliotheca Persica
Edited by Ehsan Yar-Shater
The History of al-Tabari
(Ta'rikh al-rusul wal-muldk)
VOLUME XI
The Challenge to the Empires
translated and annotated
by
Khalid Yahya Blankinship
Temple University
State University of New York Press
Published by
State University of New York Press, Albany
0 1993 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced
in any manner whatsoever without written permission
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical articles and reviews.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Library ofCongress Cataloging In Publication Data
Tabari, 838?-923.
(Ta'rikhal-rusul wa-al-mul6k. English. Selections)
The challenge to the empires / translated and annotated by Khalid
Yahya Blankinship.
p. cm.-(SUNY seriesin Near Eastern studies) (The history
of al-Tabari = Ta'rikh al-rusul wall-muluk ; v i 1) (Bibliotheca
Persica)
Translation of extracts from: Ta'rikh al-rusul wa-al-muluk.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-7914-0851-5 (alk. paper). - ISBN 0-7914-0852-3 (pbk.:
alk. paper)
1. IslamicEmpire-History-622-661. 2. IslamicEmpire-History,
Military. I. Blankinship, Khalid Yahya. II. Title. III. Series.
IV. Series: Tabari, 838?-923. Ta'rikh al-rusul wa-al-muluk.
English; v. 11. V. Series: Bibliotheca Persica (Albany, N.Y.)
DS38.2.T313 1985vol. r1
(DS38.11
909'.1 s-dc20 90-28420
(909'.09767101) CIP
16
Preface
THE HISTORY OF PROPHETS AND KINGS (Ta'rikh al-rusul wa'l-mu-
luk) by Abu la`far Muhammad b. larir al-Tabari(839-92.3), here ren-
dered as The History of al-Tabari, is by common consent the most
important universal history produced in the world of Islam. It has
been translated here in its entirety for the first time for the benefit
of non-Arabists, with historical and philological notes for those in-
terested in the particulars of the text.
Al-Tabari's monumental work explores the history of the ancient
nations,with special emphasis on biblical peoples and prophets, the
legendary and factual history of ancient Iran,and, in great detail, the
rise of Islam, the life of the Prophet Muhammad, and the history of
the Islamic world down to the year 9 15. The first volume of this
translation contains a biography of al-Tabari and a discussion of the
method, scope, and value of his work. It also provides information
on some of the technical considerations that have guided the work
of the translators.
The History has been divided here into thirty-nine volumes, each
of which covers about two hundred pages of the original Arabic text
in the Leiden edition. An attempt has been made to draw the divid-
ing lines between the individual volumes in such a way that each is
to some degree independent and can be read as such.The page num-
bers of the Leiden edition appear on the margins of the translated
volumes.
Al-Tabari very often quotes his sources verbatim and traces the
chain of transmission (isnad) to an original source. The chains of
vi Preface
transmitters are, for the sake of brevity,rendered by only a dash (-)
between the individual links in the chain. Thus, "According to Ibn
Humayd-Salamah-Ibn Ishaq" means that al-Tabari received the
report from Ibn Humayd, who said that he was told by Salamah, who
said that he was told by Ibn Ishaq, and so on. The numerous subtle
and important differences in the original Arabic wording have been
disregarded.
The table of contents at the beginning of each volume gives a brief
survey of the topics dealt with in that particular volume. It also in-
cludes the headings and subheadings as they appear in al-Tabari's
text, as well as those occasionally introduced by the translator.
Well-known place names, such as, for instance, Mecca, Baghdad,
Jerusalem, Damascus, and the Yemen, are given in their English
spellings. Less common place names, which are the vast majority,
are transliterated. Biblical figures appear in the accepted English
spelling. Iranian names are usually transcribed according to their
Arabic forms, and the presumed Iranian forms are often discussed
in the footnotes.
Technical terms have been translated wherever possible, but
some, such as dirham and imam, have been retained in Arabic
forms. Others that cannot be translated with sufficient precision
have been retained and italicized, as well as footnoted.
The annotation aims chiefly at clarifying difficult passages, iden-
tifying individuals and place names, and discussing textual difficul-
ties. Much leeway has been left to the translators to include in the
footnotes whatever they consider necessary and helpful.
The bibliographies list all the sources mentioned in the annota-
tion.
The index in each volume contains all the names of persons and
places referred to in the text,as well as those mentioned in the notes
as far as they refer to the medieval period. It does not include the
names of modem scholars. A general index, it is hoped, will appear
after all the volumes have been published.
For further details concerning the series and acknowledgments,
see Preface to Volume I.
Ehsan Yar-Shater
1►
Contents
0
Preface / v
Abbreviations / xi
'Danslator's Foreword / xiii
Genealogical Table of the Later Sasanians as Represented by Sayf b.
`Umar / xxxi
Genealogical Table of the Later Sasanians as Attested in Sources
Other than Sayf b. `Umar / xxxii
Maps r. Iraq at the Time of the Muslim Conquest / xxxiii
z. Syria at the Time of the Muslim Conquest / xxxiv
The Caliphate of Abu Bakr al-$iddiq
The Events of the Year r2 (633/634) ! r
The Battle of al-Madhar / 15
The Battle of al-Walajah / i g
About Ullays,Which Is on the Euphrates Itself/ zi
The Affair of Amghishiya / z6
The Day of al-Maqr and the Mouth of Furat Badagla / z6