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Summary
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-Siddiq and 'Umar b. al-Khattab, 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.
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Table of Contents
Preface
Abbreviations
Translator's Foreword
Genealogical Table of the Later Sasanians as Represented by Sayf b. `Umar
Genealogical Table of the Later Sasanians as Attested in Sources Other than Sayf b. `Umar
Maps 1. Iraq at the Time of the Muslim Conquest
2. Syria at the Time of the Muslim Conquest
The Caliphate of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq
The Events of the Year 12 (633/634)
The Battle of al-Madhar
The Battle of al-Walajah
About Ullays, Which Is on the Euphrates Itself
The Affair of Amghishiya
The Day of al-Maqr and the Mouth of Furat Badaqla
What Happened after al-Hirah
Al-Anbar, Which Is Dhat al-`Uyun, and Kalwadha
About `Ayn al-Tamr
Dumat al-Jandal
Husayd
Al-Khanafis
Al-Musayyakh of the Banu al-Barsha'
Al-Thani and al-Zumayl
Al-Firad
Khalid's Pilgrimage
Those Who Say Abu Bakr Led the Pilgrimage
Those Who Say `Umar Led the Pilgrimage
The Events of the Year 13 (634/635)
Al-Yarmuk
Continuation of the Report of Ibn Ishaq
Continuation of the Report of Abu Zayd
[Abu Bakr's Illness and Death]
Who Washed Abu Bakr, His Shroud, Who Prayed over Him, the Time of His Funeral Prayer, and the Time at Which He Died
Abu Bakr's Appearance
Abu Bakr's Genealogy, His Name, and What He Was Known by
The Names of Abu Bakr's Wives
The Names of His Judges, Secretaries, and Tax Officials
[His Appointment of `Umar b. al-Khattab as His Successor]
The Caliphate of `Umar b. al-Khattab
The Events of the Year 13 (cont'd) (634/635)
[The Expedition of Fihl and the Conquest of Damascus]
The Report about Damascus According to Sayf
The Affair of Fihl According to Sayf
Baysan
Tiberias
Al-Muthanna b. Harithah and Abu `Ubayd b. Mas`ud
Al-Namariq
Al-Saqatiyyah in Kaskar
The Battle of al-Qarqus, Which Is Also Called al-Quss, Quss al-Natif, the Bridge, and al-Marwah. ah
