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The History of al-Tabari Vol. 17: The First Civil War: From the Battle of Siffin to the Death of 'Ali A.D. 656-661/A.H. 36-40 (SUNY series in Near Eastern Studies) Paperback – March 1, 1996

by G. R. Hawting (Translator)

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This volume 17 of al-Tabari's great 40-volume history of the Arabs treats the first Civil War, 656-661. Many of the events treated in this volume have become part of the historical consciousness of Muslims. The first civil war of Islam, the Fitnah, is widely seen as of decisive importance in dividing the Muslims into three major traditions, Sunnis, Shi'is, and Kharijis, which have persisted until today. Although this division may be an over-simplification of a much more complex process of community formation, the events narrated here are certainly of great importance in the early history of Islam. The volume is focused on the struggle between the caliph 'Ali and his rival and eventual successor as caliph, Mu'awiyah, the first caliph of the Umayyad dynasty. About half of the material is concerned with the confrontation between the two at the battle of Siffin in 657, the fighting, the ending of the battle when the Syrian supporters of Mu'awiyah are described as having attached Qu'ranic texts to their lances, and the subsequent negotiations between the two rivals which resulted in the dispute's being put to arbitration. Much detail is also provided about 'Ali's struggle against the Kharijis, his former supporters who had turned against him as a result of his agreement with Mu'awiyah to accept arbitration; the revolt against 'Ali in regions of Iraq and Persia around the northern edges of the Persian Gulf, which involved Christians, as well as Muslims, Arabs, and such non-Arab groups as Kurds; the events in Egypt that led to the burning of 'Ali's representative there in the skin of a donkey; and the murder of 'Ali by Ibn Muljam, the account of which sometimes reads as if it were a popular story. Al-Tabari's text makes available a wealth of detail in narratives collected from the now lost compilations of scholars of earlier generations. The bulk of the material is cited from the famous Abu Mikhnaf, who died in A.D. 774,

The History of al-Tabari Vol. 17: The First Civil War: From the Battle of Siffin to the Death of 'Ali A.D. 656-661/A.H. 36-40 (SUNY series in Near Eastern Studies)

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Product Details

Series: SUNY series in Near Eastern Studies
Paperback: 278 pages
Publisher: State University of New York Press (March 1, 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0791423948
ISBN-13: 978-0791423943
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,721,985 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #198 in Books > History > Middle East > Syria
- #851 in Books > History > Africa > Egypt
- #18779 in Books > History > Asia

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

highly entertaining history

By Amazon Customer on August 23, 2005

Format: Paperback

in reply to the claim that Tabari is almost as blasphemous as Rushdie, Professor Mohja Kahf drily remarked that its no surprise, since both are writers of fiction! Any historian who writes a couple of hundred years after the event and reports dialogue, witticisms and even facial expressions is obviously writing a lot of fiction, but fiction or not, its high drama, presented in vivid detail. one of these days, someone should do a translation without the long lists of "who reported to whom" (the isnad) because they do take away from the flow of the book. Tabari also makes no attempt at social analysis and has little to say about what the "common people" might have been doing and why, but his history is one of the prime sources for all the famous stories of islamic history and one can see why. well worth a read....

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