The History of al-Ṭabarī, Vol. 12: The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah and the Conquest of Syria and Palestine A.D. 635-637/A.H. 14-15

262 Pages·1991·11.9 MB·English

by  Yohanan Friedmann

The
History of al-Tabari
The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah
and the Conquest of
Syria and Palestine
The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah and the
Conquest of Syria and Palestine
Volume XII
Translated by Yohanan Friedmann
The present volume of the History of al-TabarT deals
with the years 14 and 15 of the Islamic era, which
correspond to A.D. 635-637. The nascent Islamic state
had just emerged victorious from the crisis that followed
the Prophet's death in 632 and had suppressed what was
known as the riddab ("apostasy") rebellion in the
Arabian peninsula. Under the leadership of 'Umar b. al-
Khattab, the second caliph, or successor to the Prophet
Muhammad, the Muslims embarked on the conquests
that would soon transform the whole of the Middle East
and North Africa into an Arab empire. Most of the
present volume describes the battle of al-Qadisiyyah,
which took place on the border between the fertile Iraqi
lowlands (al-sawid) and the Arabian desert and resulted
in the decisive defeat of the Persian army. The Muslim
victory at al-Qadisiyyah heralded the downfall of the
Sasanian dynasty, which had ruled Persia and Meso-
potamia since A.D., the third century; it also paved the
way for the conquest of Iraq and facilitated Islamic
expansion into Persia and beyond.
The volume also deals with the conquest of Syria and
Palestine and the expulsion of the Byzantines from those
regions. Particular attention is devoted to the traditions
related to the conquest of Jerusalem at the hands of
'Umar b. al-Khattab, the first Muslim prayer on the
Temple Mount, and its transformation into an Islamic
sanctuary.
The volume contains colorful descriptions of the various
battles, expatiations on the bravery of the Muslim
warriors, and portrayals of the futile negotiations
between the parties before the beginning of hostilities. It
thus provides the reader with a fascinating insight into
the later Muslim traditions related to these crucial events
of early Islamic history.
ISVBNIVI0II-II7M9I1II4I-I0IV734 I-I9I°^
SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies
Said Amer Arpmand. Editor
9 780791°4073491
The State University of New York Press

THEHISTORYOF AL-TA.BARE
AN ANNOTATED TRANSLATION
VOLUME XII
The Battle of al-Qddisiyyah and the
Conquest of Syria and Palestine
A.D. 635-637/A.H. 4 5
1 -1
e
The Historyof al-Tabari
Editorial Board
Ihsan Abbas, University of Jordan, Amman
C. E. Bosworth, The University of Manchester
Franz Rosenthal, Yale University
Everett K. Rowson, The University of Pennsylvania
EhsanYar-Shater, Columbia University (General Editor)
Estelle Whelan, Editorial Coordinator
Center forIranian Studies
Columbia University
SUNY
SERIESIN NEAR EASTERN STUDIES
Said Amir Arjomand, Editor
The preparation ofthis volume was made possible in part by a
grant from the National Endownment for the Humanities, an
independent federal agency.
Bibliotheca Persica
Edited by Ehsan Yar-Shater
The History of al-Tabari
(Ta'rikh al-rusul wa 'l-muluk)
VOLUME XII
The Battle of al-Qddisiyyah and the
Conquest of Syria and Palestine
translated and annotated
by
Yohanan Friedmann
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
State University of New York Press
Published by
State University of New York Press,Albany
® 1992. State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced
in any manner whatsoever without written permission
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical articles and reviews.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Tabari,838?-913.
[Ta'rikh al-rusul wa-al-muluk. English.Selections[
The battle of al-Qidisiyyah and the conquest of Syria and
Palestine:A.D. 63 S-637/A.H. 14-15 / translated and annotated by
Yohanan Friedmann.
p. cm. -(The history of al-Tabari = Ta'rikh al-rusul wa'I
-mulfik;v 12) (Bibliotheca Persica) (SUNYseries in Near Eastern
studies)
'Translation of extracts from: Ta'rikh al-rusul wa-al-muluk.
Includes index.
Bibliography: p.
ISBN 0-7914-0733-0 (acid-free).-ISBN0-7914-0734-9 (pb: acid
free)
i. Islamic Empire-History-62.2.-661.2. Qidisiyah,Battle of,
637. ;. `Umar ibn al-KhaSSib, Caliph,d. 644.1. Friedmann,
Yohanan.H. Title.III. Series.IV. Series: Tabari,838?-92.3.
Ta'rikh al-rusul wa-al-muluk.English; v. 12. V.Series:
Bibliotheca Persica(Albany, N.Y)
DS38.z.T313 1985 vol. 12.
IDS38.11
90-1032.6
909'.1-dczo
CIP
For
Zafrira,Yasmin, Tamar

e
Preface
THE HISTORY OF PROPHETS AND KINGS (Ta'rikh al-rusul wa'1-mu-
luk) by Abu Ja`far Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari (839 923), here ren-
dered as The History of al-Tabari , is by common consent the most
important universal history produced in the world of Islam. It has
been translated here in its entirety for the first time for the benefit
of non-Arabists, with historical and philological notes for those in-
terested in the particulars of the text.
Al-Tabari's monumental work explores the history of the ancient
nations,with special emphasis on biblical peoples and prophets, the
legendary and factual history of ancient Iran,and, in great detail, the
rise of Islam, the life of the Prophet Muhammad, and the history of
the Islamic world down to the year 9 r S. The first volume of this
translation contains a biography of al-Tabari and a discussion of the
method, scope, and value of his work. It also provides information
on some of the technical considerations that have guided the work
of the translators.
TheHistory has been divided here into 39volumes,each of which
covers about two hundred pages of the original Arabic text in the
Leiden edition.An attempt has been made to draw the dividing lines
between the individual volumes in such a way that each is to some
degree independent and can be read as such. The page numbers of
the Leiden edition appear on the margins of the translated volumes.
Al-Tabari very often quotes his sources verbatim and traces the
chain of transmission (isndd) to an original source. The chains of
transmitters are, for the sake of brevity,rendered by only a dash (-)
between the individual links in the chain. Thus, "According to Ibn