TheHistory of the Prophets and Kings (Arabic:تاريخ الرسل والملوكTārīkh al-Rusul wa al-Mulūk), more commonly known asTarikh al-Tabari (تاريخ الطبري) orTarikh-i Tabari orThe History of al-Tabari (Persian:تاریخ طبری) is anArabic-language historicalchronicle completed by the Muslim historianMuhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (225–310AH, 838–923 AD) in 915 AD. It begins withcreation, and chartsMuslim andMiddle Eastern history from the myths and legends associated with theOld Testament through to the history of theAbbasid era, down to the year 915. Anappendix[1] or continuation,[2] was written by Abu Abdullah b. Ahmad b. Ja'far al-Farghani, a student of al-Tabari.[3][4] Tabari's work appeared during an intense period ofcanonization of Islamic history, and, in many ways, represented a culminating prism through which future Muslims read and learned about the past.[5]
Al-Tabari'sTarikh is considered one of the main repositories of information about Islamic origins, and certainly among the most important half-dozen or so texts for the events of the Islamic eras it describes. Al-Tabari also organizes his material in anannalistic way, meaning that the events are arranged altogether chronologically (year after year) as opposed to biographically (i.e. narrating the life of one figure, then another, and so on), which makes it, compared to a number of other texts, much more useful to understand the broad historical themes that the text is conveying. Furthermore, Tabari's work is typically considered representative of the mainstream Islamic view as opposed to being closely tied to any particular sectarian interests. What is also helpful is that Tabari often supplies multiple conflicting versions of reports of events that he is aware of.[6] For these reasons,Fred Donner writes:
Consequently, it is reasonable to consider al-Ṭabarī's work as a representative product of the early Islamic historiographical tradition, if not, indeed, as the culmination and crowning glory of that tradition.[7]
Al-Tabari focuses on a limited number of themes. A significant amount of space is relayed for the pre-Islamic history ofPersia; by comparison, very little space is devoted for the histories ofAncient Greece or theRoman Empire. Likewise, significant space is devoted to recountingOld Testament history, but very little to the life ofJesus and narratives concerning thehistory of the Christian community. Much more attention is given to Iran andIraq compared toSyria andEgypt. He devotes much more space to documenting political uprisings (even minor ones) and battles compared to more mundane but significant matters of everyday society such as taxation, commerce, industry, agriculture, and so forth. This selectivity is likely a product of a combination of al-Tabari's own interests as well as what sources of information were themselves able for access to al-Tabari as he composed his history.[8]
Furthermore, al-Tabari also provides a master narrative or history from an Islamic perspective that is ultimately dedicated to demonstrating thatIslam is the true religion. The main episodes of this master narrative are:[9]
The creation of the world by God
The many prophets God sends to warn humanity
The history of the empires before Islam. Special focus on Iran.
A history of Abbasid rule (including uprisings during this time)
The succession of governors, commanders, and other figures that represent the human embodiment of the Islamic tradition during this time
Another feature of Al-Tabari's work was to introduce methods ofhadith into it, meaning that he would supplyisnads (chains of transmission) for the reports he mentions. This was important for theta'rikh genre as it had, by then, been seen as lacking in rigor by Islamic scholars specialized in thehadith sciences (known as themuḥaddithūn). In one sense, Al-Tabari can be viewed as having combined the formats ofkhabar (report/account/narrative) andḥadīth.[10]
A number of other master narratives of pre-Islamic and Islamic history were written in the era of Al-Tabari. The most well-known isIbn Ishaq'sAl-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, which largely focuses on the life of Muhammad. Another is theKitab al-Maghazi ofAl-Waqidi, theKitab al-futuh (Book of Conquests) ofIbn A'tham al-Kufi, and theFutuh al-buldan ofAl-Baladhuri.[11] TheBook of Idols ofIbn al-Kalbi focuses on the religious pre-Islamic history of Arabia. There was also one annalistic work predating that of Al-Tabari: theTa'rikhKhalifa ibn Khayyat (d. 854). This work roughly uses the same outline/approach as does Al-Tabari, with the exception that it omits a discussion of pre-Islamic history. It is also much shorter in general than Al-Tabari's. Another knownTa'rikh is that ofAl-Ya'qubi, which has a moderate Shiite orientation. Al-Ya'qubi covers some topics in more detail that are more briefly or not at all covered by Al-Tabari, including administration, and commentary onIndia,China, and Egypt. The Kitab al-ta'rikh ofIbn Habib (d. 852) covers early Islamic history with a focus on administrative matters. He also coversbiographies of hadith scholars and the region ofAl-Andalus. Other works to this effect were written as well.[12]
An edition published under the editorship ofM.J. de Goeje in three series comprising 13 volumes, with two extra volumes containing indices, introduction and glossary (Leiden, 1879–1901).
An edition published under the editorship of Muhammad Abu al-Fadl Ibrahim (1905-1981) in 10 volumes (Cairo: Dar al-Ma'arif, 1960–1969.)
^Autonomous Egypt from Ibn Tulun to Kafur, 868-969, Thierry Bianquis,The Cambridge History of Egypt, Vol. 1, ed. M. W. Daly, Carl F. Petry, (Cambridge University Press, 1998), 98.
^History and Historians, Claude Cahen,Religion, Learning and Science in the 'Abbasid Period, 203
^History and Historians, Claude Cahen,Religion, Learning and Science in the 'Abbasid Period, ed. M. J. L. Young, J. D. Latham, R. B. Serjeant, (Cambridge University Press, 1990), 203.
^Ibn Jarir al-Tabari,The History of al-Tabari Vol. 1: General Introduction and From the Creation to the Flood, transl. Franz Rosenthal, (State University of New York Press, 1989), 7.
^Ibrahim, Ayman S. (2024).Muhammad's military expeditions: a critical reading in original Muslim sources. New York, NY, United States of America: Oxford University Press. p. 8.ISBN978-0-19-776917-1.
^Butts, Aaron M. (2011)."Julian Romance". InSebastian P. Brock; Aaron M. Butts;George A. Kiraz; Lucas Van Rompay (eds.).Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition. Gorgias Press. Retrieved1 December 2021.
History of Tabari - Volume 1 ...History of Tabari - Volume 39, 39 volumes of the SUNY English translation, accessible witharchive.org/details/tabarivolumeXX (XX=01..39), except for volume 12, which is accessible witharchive.org/details/history-of-tabari-volume-12
