The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 28
The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 28

Author: Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1995-01-01

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 9780791418956

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The initial years (126-145) of al-Manṣūr's reign presented several significant challenges to nascent ʿAbbāsid hegemony, and the resulting confrontations constitute the central focus of this section of Ṭabarī's Tarikh. After Abu Jafar succeeded his brother Abū Al-ʿabbās as caliph, the second of the ʿAbbāsid dynasty, he moved against his recalcitrant uncle, ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAlī, and against the potential threat that he perceived in the person of the commander in Khurasan, Abu Muslim. Eliminating the latter and containing the former freed the caliph to address a series of other onslaughts and insurrections. Starting with the year 144, however, Ṭabarī turned to this volume's principal preoccupation, to which half of the book is devoted. Judging by the attention given to it, he clearly perceived the Hasanid rebellions of Muhammad b. Abdallah (the Pure Soul) and of his brother Ibrahim to be the most substantial attack on Abbasid authority to arise in the first years of that dynasty. Ṭabarī's description of the prolonged search for Muhammad and Ibrahim and of the caliphal vengeance visited upon their father and family provides an extended prelude to the vivid battle and death scenes in Medina and Bakhamra. Yet, elaboration of these events does not eclipse mention of all other Abbasid activity. To bridge the account of Muhammad's defeat and that of Ibrahim's uprising, Ṭabarī inserted a narrative interlude depicting the site selection and preliminary construction of al-Manṣūr's most celebrated achievement, the City of Peace, Baghdad.

The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 28
The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 28

Author:

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2015-06-29

Total Pages: 358

ISBN-13: 1438412320

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The initial years (126-145) of al-Manṣūr's reign presented several significant challenges to nascent ʿAbbāsid hegemony, and the resulting confrontations constitute the central focus of this section of Ṭabarī's Tarikh. After Abu Jafar succeeded his brother Abū Al-ʿabbās as caliph, the second of the ʿAbbāsid dynasty, he moved against his recalcitrant uncle, ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAlī, and against the potential threat that he perceived in the person of the commander in Khurasan, Abu Muslim. Eliminating the latter and containing the former freed the caliph to address a series of other onslaughts and insurrections. Starting with the year 144, however, Ṭabarī turned to this volume's principal preoccupation, to which half of the book is devoted. Judging by the attention given to it, he clearly perceived the Hasanid rebellions of Muhammad b. Abdallah (the Pure Soul) and of his brother Ibrahim to be the most substantial attack on Abbasid authority to arise in the first years of that dynasty. Ṭabarī's description of the prolonged search for Muhammad and Ibrahim and of the caliphal vengeance visited upon their father and family provides an extended prelude to the vivid battle and death scenes in Medina and Bakhamra. Yet, elaboration of these events does not eclipse mention of all other Abbasid activity. To bridge the account of Muhammad's defeat and that of Ibrahim's uprising, Ṭabarī inserted a narrative interlude depicting the site selection and preliminary construction of al-Manṣūr's most celebrated achievement, the City of Peace, Baghdad.

The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 28
The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 28

Author: Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1995-01-01

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 9780791418956

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The initial years (126-145) of al-Manṣūr's reign presented several significant challenges to nascent ʿAbbāsid hegemony, and the resulting confrontations constitute the central focus of this section of Ṭabarī's Tarikh. After Abu Jafar succeeded his brother Abū Al-ʿabbās as caliph, the second of the ʿAbbāsid dynasty, he moved against his recalcitrant uncle, ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAlī, and against the potential threat that he perceived in the person of the commander in Khurasan, Abu Muslim. Eliminating the latter and containing the former freed the caliph to address a series of other onslaughts and insurrections. Starting with the year 144, however, Ṭabarī turned to this volume's principal preoccupation, to which half of the book is devoted. Judging by the attention given to it, he clearly perceived the Hasanid rebellions of Muhammad b. Abdallah (the Pure Soul) and of his brother Ibrahim to be the most substantial attack on Abbasid authority to arise in the first years of that dynasty. Ṭabarī's description of the prolonged search for Muhammad and Ibrahim and of the caliphal vengeance visited upon their father and family provides an extended prelude to the vivid battle and death scenes in Medina and Bakhamra. Yet, elaboration of these events does not eclipse mention of all other Abbasid activity. To bridge the account of Muhammad's defeat and that of Ibrahim's uprising, Ṭabarī inserted a narrative interlude depicting the site selection and preliminary construction of al-Manṣūr's most celebrated achievement, the City of Peace, Baghdad.

The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 1
The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 1

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Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2015-06-10

Total Pages: 454

ISBN-13: 1438417837

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Volume I of the thirty-eight volume translation of Ṭabarī's great History begins with the creation of the world and ends with the time of Noah and the Flood. It not only brings a vast amount of speculation about the early history of mankind into sharp Muslim focus, but it also synchronizes ancient Iranian ideas about the prehistory of mankind with those inspired by the Qur'an and the Bible. The volume is thus an excellent guide to the cosmological views of many of Ṭabarī's contemporaries. The translator, Franz Rosenthal, one of the world's foremost scholars of Arabic, has also written an extensive introduction to the volume that presents all the facts known about Ṭabarī's personal and professional life. Professor Rosenthal's meticulous and original scholarship has yielded a valuable bibliography and chronology of Ṭabarī's writings, both those preserved in manuscript and those alluded to by other authors. The introduction and first volume of the translation of the History form a ground-breaking contribution to Islamic historiography in English and will prove to be an invaluable source of information for those who are interested in Middle Eastern history but are unable to read the basic works in Arabic.

The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 7
The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 7

Author: Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1987-01-01

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 9780887063442

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The contents of this volume are extremely significant: The specific events in this earliest period set precedents for what later became established Islamic practice. The book deals with the history of the Islamic community at Medina during the first four years of the Islamic period--a time of critical importance for Islam, both as a religion and as a political community. The main events recounted by Ṭabarī are the battles between Muḥammad's supporters in Medina and their adversaries in Mecca. Ṭabarī also describes the rivalries and infighting among Muḥammad's early supporters, including their early relations with the Jewish community in Medina.

The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade
The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade

Author: Susan Wise Bauer

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2010-02-22

Total Pages: 768

ISBN-13: 0393078175

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A masterful narrative of the Middle Ages, when religion became a weapon for kings all over the world. In her earlier work, The History of the Ancient World, Susan Wise Bauer wrote of the rise of kingship based on might. But in the years between the fourth and twelfth centuries, rulers had to find new justification for their power, and they turned to divine truth or grace to justify political and military action. Right began to replace might as the engine of empire. Not just Christianity and Islam but also the religions of the Persians, the Germans, and the Mayas were pressed into the service of the state. Even Buddhism and Confucianism became tools for nation building. This phenomenon—stretching from the Americas all the way to Japan—changed religion, but it also changed the state. The History of the Medieval World is a true world history, linking the great conflicts of Europe to the titanic struggles for power in India and Asia. In its pages, El Cid and Guanggaeto, Julian the Apostate and the Brilliant Emperor, Charles the Hammer and Krum the Bulgarian stand side by side. From the schism between Rome and Constantinople to the rise of the Song Dynasty, from the mission of Muhammad to the crowning of Charlemagne, from the sacred wars of India to the establishment of the Knights Templar, this erudite book tells the fascinating, often violent story of kings, generals, and the peoples they ruled.

The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 8
The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 8

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Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2015-06-15

Total Pages: 243

ISBN-13: 1438402902

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This volume covers the history of the Muslim community and the biography of Muḥammad in the middle Medinan years. It begins with the unsuccessful last Meccan attack on Medina, known as the battle of the Trench. Events following this battle show the gradual collapse of Meccan resistance to Islam. The next year, when Muḥammad set out on pilgrimage to Mecca, the Meccans at first blocked the road, but eventually a ten-year truce was negotiated at al-Ḥudaybiyah, with Muḥammad agreeing to postpone his pilgrimage until the following year. The Treaty of al-Ḥudaybiyah was followed by a series of Muslim expeditions, climaxing in the important conquest of Khaybar. In the following year Muḥammad made the so-called Pilgrimage of Fulfillment unopposed. Al-Ṭabarī's account emphasizes Islam's expanding geographical horizon during this period. Soon after the Treaty of al-Hudaybiyah, Muḥammad is said to have sent letters to six foreign rulers inviting them to become Muslims. Another example of this expanding horizon was the unsuccessful expedition to Mu'tah in Jordan. Shortly afterward the Treaty of al-Ḥudaybiyah broke down, and Muḥammad marched on Mecca. The Meccans capitulated, and Muḥammad entered the city on his own terms. He treated the city leniently, and most of the Meccan oligarchy swore allegiance to him as Muslims. Two events in the personal life of Muḥammad during this period caused controversy in the community. Muḥammad fell in love with and married Zaynab bint. Jaḥsh, the divorced wife of his adopted son Zayd. Because of Muḥammad's scruples, the marriage took place only after a Qur'anic revelation permitting believers to marry the divorced wives of their adopted sons. In the Affair of the Lie, accusations against Muḥammad's young wife ʿĀʾishah were exploited by various factions in the community and in Muḥammad's household. In the end, a Qur'anic revelation proclaimed ʿĀʾishah's innocence and the culpability of the rumormongers. This volume of al-Ṭabarī's History records the collapse of Meccan resistance to Islam, the triumphant return of Muḥammad to his native city, the conversion to Islam of the Meccan oligarchy, and the community's successful weathering of a number of potentially embarrassing events in Muḥammad's private life.

The History of al-Tabari Vol. 27
The History of al-Tabari Vol. 27

Author: Ṭabarī

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1990-07-30

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 9780791406250

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By 735 an Arab empire stretched from Arles and Avignon in southern France to the Indus River and Central Asia, and a vital young civilization fostered by a new world religion was taking root. Yet the Muslim conquerors were divided by tribal quarrels, tensions among new converts, and religious revolts. In 745 a vigorous new successor to the Prophet took control in Damascus and began to restore the waning power of the Umayyad dynasty. Marwan II's attempts were thwarted, however, by revolts on every hand, even among his own relatives. The main body of dissidents was a well-trained group of revolutionaries in Khurasan, led by the remarkable Abu Muslim. By 748 they had seized control of the province and drive the governor, Nasr b. Sayyar al-Laythi, to his death and were advancing westward. This volume tells of the end of the Umayyad caliphate, the Abbasid Revolution, and the establishment of the new dynasty.

The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 32
The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 32

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Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2015-07-01

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 0791497208

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The 20 years' caliphate of al-Maʾmūn began as a stormy period in Middle Eastern history; after the comparatively peaceful reign of his father Hārūn al-Rashīd, the caliphate was plunged into violent civil warfare in both Iraq and Arabia, involving the sons of al-Rashīd, rivals for the supreme authority, and various other sectarian rebels and aspirants for power. Yet once peace was secured and the caliphate lands united once more, al-Maʾmūn's reign settled down into one of the most exciting and innovative of the mediaeval caliphate. The Caliph himself was a highly cultivated man who possessed a keen intellectual curiosity and who interested himself in the practical sciences, astronomy and mathematics. He also encouraged the translating of Greek philosophical, scientific and medical works from Greek and Syriac into Arabic and involved himself in theological controversies in which the dialectical techniques of the Greek thinkers were to figure. Ṭabarī's history of this period constitutes a prime source for political and military history. His racy and vivid style, including many verbatim conversations and documents, brings the Caliphate of al-Maʾmūn very much alive. A discounted price is available when purchasing the entire 39-volume History of al-Ṭabarī set. Contact SUNY Press for more information.