Arab Conquests and Early Islamic Historiography: The Futuh al-Buldan of al-Baladhuri

Description

Of the available sources for Islamic history between the seventh and eighth centuries CE, few are of greater importance than al-Baladhuri’s Kitab Futu? al-buldan (The Book of the Conquest of Lands). Written in Arabic by a ninth-century Muslim scholar working at the court of the ‘Abbasid caliphs, the Futu?'s content covers many important matters at the beginning of Islamic history. It informs its audience of the major events of the early Islamic conquests, the settlement of Muslims in the conquered territories and their experiences therein, and the origins and development of the early Islamic state. Questions over the text's construction, purpose, and reception, however, have largely been ignored in current scholarship. This is despite both the text’s important historical material and its crucial early date of creation. It has become commonplace for researchers to turn to the Futu? for information on a specific location or topic, but to ignore the grander – and, in many ways, more straightforward – questions over the text’s creation and limitations. This book looks to correct these gaps in knowledge by investigating the context, form, construction, content, and early reception history of al-Baladhuri’s text. Title Page Copyright Page Contents Acknowledgements Notes on primary source citation, translation, and transliteration Illustrations Figures Maps Introduction The early Arabic historical tradition and the problematic nature of the ‘narrative sources’ Ansāb al-ashrāf and Futūḥ al-buldān Dating the text The limitations of the Futūḥ and this research Author, editor, compiler: The many professions of an early Muslim writer The deliberate intention of the author: Historical analysis through textual analysis Notes Chapter 1: The text of Futūḥ al-buldān The modern scholarly editions The surviving manuscript tradition of the Futūḥ Notes Chapter 2: The author and the context The Biography of al-Balādhurī Contextualizing the Futūḥ: Military transformation and the Turkish military crisis The economic crisis of the ninth/third century The fracturing of central authority Kharāj, Amwāl, and Hikma: Writing the books that were needed Notes Chapter 3: The sources of Futūḥ al-buldān Introductory words and the collective Isnād Al-Balādhurī’s use of Qāla as an introductory phrase in the Futūḥ A most important informant: Al-Ḥusayn b. ‘Alī b. al-Aswad al-‘Ijlī Abū ‘Ubayd al-Qāsim b. Sallām and Kitāb al-Amwāl Conclusions Notes Chapter 4: The content and themes of the text Administering conquest: The conquest context and al-Balādhurī’s presentation of history Conquered status and settlement agreements The exploitation of land and resources Building projects and cities Attitudes towards the Umayyads, the ‘Abbāsids, and the caliphal office Administrators on horses: Commanders, governors, and executive bureaucrats Literary features of the Futūḥ Poetry, the Futūḥ, and the early Arabic historical tradition Conclusions Notes Chapter 5: The matter of genre and the classification of Futūḥ al-buldān What’s in a name? Medieval classifications of Futūḥ al-buldān Futūḥ al-buldān as conquest literature Futūḥ al-buldān as a legal text Futūḥ al-buldān as administrative geography Origins of a profession: Futūḥ al-buldān’s ‘appendices’ A unique time and place: The audience of Futūḥ al-buldān Conclusions Notes Chapter 6: The medieval reception and reuse of the Futūḥ Textual reuse and the Futūḥ: To cite or not to cite? The where and what of Futūḥ reuse Ibn al-Faqīh’s Kitāb al-Buldān Yāqūt’s Mu‘jam al-buldān Ibn al-‘Adīm’s Bughyat al-ṭalab fī ta’rīkh Ḥalab Ibn al-Athīr’s al-Kāmil fi-l-ta’rīkh Ibn ‘Asākir’s Ta’rīkh madīnat Dimashq Qudāma b. Ja‘far and Kitāb al-khāraj’s Futūḥ section Repetition and emendation: The common features of reused material Conclusions Notes Conclusion: A portrait of authority A different kind of history An administrator’s handbook Notes Bibliography Primary sources Secondary sources Index