The History of al-Ṭabarī, Vol. 36: The Revolt of the Zanj A.D. 869-879 / A.H. 255-265

252 Pages·1991·11.33 MB·English

by  al-Ṭabarī

The
History of ai-zabaa
The Revolt of the Zanj
Volume XXXVI
Translated by David Waines
The present volume of al-Tabarr s monumental history
covers the years 255-265/869.878, the first half of the
reign of the Abbasid caliph A-Muctamid in Samara
Although the decade was one of relative calm in the
capital, compared with the anarchy of the years
immediately preceding,danger signals were flashing in
territories adjacent to the imperial heartlands. Chief
among them was the revolt of the Zanj, the narrative of
which occupies the bulk of the present volume.
A people of semi-servile status, the Zanj, who were
based in the marshlands of southern Iraq, were led by a
somewhat shadowy and mysterious figure claiming
Shiite descent, `Ali b. Muhammad. Their prolonged
revolt against the central authorities was not crushed
until 269/882.
Al-Tabarr s account of these momentous events is unique
in both the quality and the quantity of his information.
He himself was present in Baghdad during the years of
the revolt, and he was thus able to construct his story
from reports by numerous eyewitnesses.The result is a
detailed narrative that brings alive for the modern reader
the main personalities and engagements of the revolt.
SUNYSeries in Near Eastern Studies
Said Amir Arjomand, Editor
SIY
P R E S S
State University
of New York Press
www.sunypress.edu
i-,4-(1
190000
9 11780791114C7646,
THE HISTORY OF AL- TABARI
AN ANNOTATED TRANSLATION
VOLUME XXXVI
The Revolt of the Zanj
A.D. 869-879/A.H. 255-265
e
The History of 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
Ehsan Yar-Shater, Columbia University (General Editor)
Estelle Whelan, Editorial Coordinator
Center for Iranian Studies
Columbia University
SUNY
SERIES IN NEAR EASTERN STUDIES
Said Amir Arjomand, Editor
9
The preparation of this volume was made possible inpart
by a grant from the NationalEndowmentfor the
Humanities, an independent federal agency.
BiMiotheca Persica
Edited by Ehsan Yar-Shater
The History of al-Tabar!
(Ta'rikhal-rusul wa'1-muluk)
VOLUME XXXVI
The Revolt of the Zanj
translated and annotated
by
David Whines
Lancaster University
State University of New York Press
Published by
State Universityof New York Press, Albany
® 1992 State University of New York
All rightsreserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced
in any manner whatsoeverwithoutwritten 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?-9a3.
)Ta'rikh al-rusul wa-al-muluk.English.Selections]
The revoltof the Zanj : A.D. 869-879 / A.H. 2.55-2.65 / translated
and annotatedby DavidWaines.
p. cm. - (Bibliotheca Persica) (The historyal-Tabari =
Ta'rikhal-rusul wa'I-muluk ; v. ;6) (SUNY seriesin Near Eastern
studies)
T anslation of extracts from: Ta'rikh al-rusul wa-al-muluk.
Includes bibliography: (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-7914-0763-z (acid-free). - ISBN 0-7914-0764-0 (pb:
acid free)
1. Iraq- History-Zanj Rebellion,868-883. z. Islamic Empire-
History-7So-12.58. 1. Waines,David. II. Title. III. Series.
8;8?-913. Ta'rikh al-rusul wa-al-muluk. English; V. 36.
DS38.z.T313 1985 vol. 36
IDS76.4)
956.7'oz-dczo 90-103 z.
CIP
(b
Preface
40
THE HISTORY OF PROPHETS AND KINGS (Ta'rikh al-rusul wa'1-mu-
10k) byAbu Jadfar Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari(839-9z3(,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 915. 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.
TheHistoryhas been divided here into 39 volumes,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 (isnud) to an original source. The chains of
transmitters are, for the sake of brevity, renderedby only adash (-(
vi Preface
between the individual links in the chain. Thus, "According to Ibn
Humayd-Salamah-Ibn Ishaq"means that al-Tabari received the
report from Ibn Humayd,who said that he was told by Salamah, who
said that he was told by Ibn Ishaq, and so on. The numerous subtle
and important differences in the original Arabic wording have been
disregarded.
The table of contents at the beginning of each volume gives a brief
survey of the topics dealt with in that particular volume. It also in-
cludes the headings and subheadings as they appear in al-Tabari's
text, as well as those occasionally introduced by the translator.
Well-known place names, such as, for instance, Mecca, Baghdad,
Jerusalem, Damascus, and the Yemen, are given in their English
spellings. Less common place names, which are the vast majority,
are transliterated. Biblical figures appear in the accepted English
spelling. Iranian names are usually transcribed according to their
Arabic forms, and the presumed Iranian forms are often discussed
in the footnotes.
Technical terms have been translated wherever possible, but
some, such as dirham and imam, have been retained in Arabic
forms. Others that cannot be translated with sufficient precision
have been retained and italicized, as well as footnoted.
The annotation aims chiefly at clarifying difficult passages, iden-
tifying individuals and place names, and discussing textual difficul-
ties. Much leeway has been left to the translators to include in the
footnotes whatever they consider necessary and helpful.
The bibliographies list all the sources mentioned in the annota-
tion.
The index in each volume contains all the names of persons and
places referred to in the text, as well as those mentioned in the notes
as far as they refer to the medieval period. It does not include the
names of modern scholars. A general index, it is hoped, will appear
after all the volumes have been published.
For further details concerning the series and acknowledgments,
see Preface to Volume I.
Ehsan Yar-Shater
To Martin Hinds,
in memory of
a long
and
valued
friendship