Mu?ammad Ibn-?ar?r a?- ?abar?

?abar?

Abu Jafár Muhammad B. Jar?r al-Tabar?

Mu?ammad ibn ?ar?r Al- ?abar?

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.

The Challenge to the Empires A.D. 633-635/A.H. 12-13

The History of al-Tabari Vol. 11

Ali ibn Sahl Rabban Tabari

This section of the History of al-Tabari covers the caliphate of Muhammad al-Amin, who succeeded his father, Harun al-Rashid on March 24, 809, and was killed on September 25, 813. The focus of this section is a single event, the civil war between al-Amin and his half-brother al-Ma'mun. Before his death, al-Rashid had arranged for the succession in a series of documents signed at Mecca and deposited for safekeeping in the Ka'bah. Al-Amin was to become caliph; al-Ma'mun was to govern Khurasan with virtual autonomy from Baghdad. Al-Amin could neither remove his brother from office nor interfere with his revenues or military support. Furthermore, al-Ma'mun was named as al-Amin's successor, and al-Amin was forbidden to alter the succession. If either brother violated these conditions, he was to forfeit his rights. It soon became apparent that the good will to carry out these arrangements did not exist. Disagreement broke out when al-Amin insisted that many of the forces that had accompanied al-Rashid and al-Ma'mun to Khurasan return to Baghdad. When the majority of army commanders obeyed the new caliph's orders, al-Ma'mun was enraged and countered with measures to secure his position. Angry letters were exchanged, with al-Amin pressing his brother to make concessions that al-Ma'mun regarded as contrary to the succession agreement. By March 811, military conflict was imminent. Al-Amin demanded that certain border districts be returned to the control of Baghdad. When al-Ma'mun refused, al-Amin despatched an expedition to seize the districts. Al-Amin's resort to force ended in disaster. Al-Ma'mun's forces, led by Tahir b. al-Husayn and Harthamah b. A'yan, quickly closed in on Baghdad. In a siege lasting over a year, Baghdad suffered extensive damage from the fighting and from bombardment by siege engines. Gangs of vagrants and paupers, organized by al-Amin into irregular units, fought a kind of urban guerrilla war. But, with Tahir and Harthamah enforcing the siege and with most of al-Amin's associates having switched their loyalties to the winning side, the caliph was forced to sue for terms. These were worked out among representatives of al-Amin, Tahir, and Harthamah. However, when the caliph boarded the boat that was to take him into Harthamah's custody, troops loyal to Tahir assaulted and capsized the boat. Al-Amin fell into the Tigris, was apprehended, and was executed that night on orders from Tahir. Thus ended this phase of the civil war. Al-Ma'mun was now caliph. Al-Tabari's history of these years includes accounts by participants in the event, diplomatic letters between al-Amin and al-Ma'mun, Tahir's long letter to al-Ma'mun on the circumstances of al-Amin's death, and a dramatic eyewitness account of al-Amin's last hours. Also noteworthy is a 135-verse poem describing the devastation of Baghdad. The section ends with a series of literary anecdotes on the character of al-Amin.

Abu Jafár Muhammad B. Jar?r al-Tabar?

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