The History of Al-Tabari
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The History of Al-Tabari by David Waines
The present volume of al-Ṭabarī's monumental history covers the years 255-265/869-878, the first half of the reign of the Abbasid caliph al-Muʿtamid in Sāmarrā. 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 Shi'ite descent, 'Ali b. Muhammad. Their prolonged revolt against the central authorities was not crushed until 269/882. Al-Ṭabarī'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.
David Waines is Emeritus Professor of Islamic Studies, Lancaster University in England. He has also held teaching or research posts in Canada, Egypt, Spain and the Netherlands. He is the editor of Patterns of Everyday Life (London, 2002), and the author of Introduction to Islam (2nd edition, Cambridge, 2003), and Odyssey of Ibn Battuta: Uncommon Tales of a Medieval Adventurer (London, 2010). He has also written and lectured on the medieval Arabic culinary and dietetic traditions as well as on Islam in the contemporary world.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780791407646 |
| ISBN 10 | 0791407640 |
| Title | The History of Al-Tabari |
| Author | David Waines |
| Series | Suny Series In Near Eastern Studies |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | State University of New York Press |
| Year published | 1991-11-08 |
| Number of pages | 252 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |