The History of Al-Tabari, Volume 24: The Empire in Transition

History of Al-Tabari #24

by Muhammad Ibn Jarir Al-Tabari (Translator), David Stephan Powers

In this volume, which covers the caliphates of Sulayman, 'Umar II, and Yazid II, al-Tabari provides vivid and detailed accounts of the events spanning the period from 97-105/715-724. We listen to the stirring speeches of Qutaybah b. Muslim, in which he urges his followers to renounce their allegiance to Sulayman; are present at the disastrous third and final attempt to take Constantinople; watch from behind the scenes as Raja'b. Haywah skillfully engineers the accession of 'Umar II; and follow the remarkable career of Yazid b. al-Muhallab, first as governor and conqueror, then as prisoner, and finally as rebel.

Throughout this volume we observe the struggle of the Umayyad regime to maintain control over a rapidly expanding but increasingly dissatisfied subject population. Governors are appointed and dismissed with dizzying rapidity, administrative boundaries are drawn and redrawn, Arab tribesmen express dissatisfaction with the diminishing rewards of military conquest, non-Arab converts chafe at the differential treatment they receive, and religious opponents revolt in the name of "the Book and the Sunnah." Important in their own right, the events of this period provide an essential key to a proper understanding of the 'Abbasid revolution that lay just over the horizon.

A discounted price is available when purchasing the entire 39-volume History of al-Tabari set. Contact SUNY Press for more information.

Genres: History

236 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (224 – 310 AH; 839 A.D–923 A.D) was a prominent and influential Persian scholar, historian and exegete of the Qur'an from Tabaristan, modern Mazandaran in Iran. Even if today he's better known for his expertise in Islamic sciences (Qur'anic commentary and law) or history, he has been described as "an impressively prolific polymath. He wrote on such subjects as poetry, lexicography, grammar, ethics, mathematics, and medicine."

His most influential and best known works are his Qur'anic commentary known as Tafsir al-Tabari and his historical chronicle Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk (History of the Prophets and Kings), often referred to Tarikh al-Tabari. Al-Tabari founded his own madhhab which is usually designated by the name Jariri.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad...