The History of Al Tabari

This volume presents for the first time in English Ṭabarī's complete account of the twenty-year long reign of the fifth caliph, Muʿāwiyah (661-680). The importance of this account lies partly in Ṭabarī's quotation of major portions of the work of earlier authors, such as Abu Mikhnaf and other eighth-century compilers. It is also significant because Ṭabarī's selection of themes has had a decisive influence on modern interpretations of this period, particularly on the identification of what the important issues were in the works of Henri Lammens and Julius Wellhausen. Here one can read the exciting account of the Khāriji revolt of Mustawrid ibn Ullifah, the impressive but controversial record of the governorship of Ziyād ibn Abīhi, the entertaining escapades of the poet Farazdaq in his youth, and the tragic story of Ḥujr ibn 'Adī. Ṭabarī''s presentation of different points of view about these and other events makes his account an indispensable source for early Islamic history.