Read The Great Arab Conquests Online
Authors: Hugh Kennedy
The Great Arab Conquests (70 page)
33
Christensen,
L’Iran
, pp. 499-500.
Christensen,
L’Iran
, pp. 499-500.
34
Especially Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2247-9.
Especially Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2247-9.
35
Firdawsi,
Shahnamah
, trans. D. Davis (Washington, DC, 1998-2004), Vol. III, pp. 492-6.
Firdawsi,
Shahnamah
, trans. D. Davis (Washington, DC, 1998-2004), Vol. III, pp. 492-6.
36
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2269-77.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2269-77.
37
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
I, p. 2270.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
I, p. 2270.
38
The word used is
tarjumn
. With the ‘j’ pronounced as a hard ‘g’ in Egyptian dialect, this became the dragoman, the term used by eighteenth- and nineteenth-century travellers in the Levant to describes their local guides and agents.
The word used is
tarjumn
. With the ‘j’ pronounced as a hard ‘g’ in Egyptian dialect, this became the dragoman, the term used by eighteenth- and nineteenth-century travellers in the Levant to describes their local guides and agents.
39
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2269, names al-Sarī and Shu
c
ayb.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2269, names al-Sarī and Shu
c
ayb.
40
Balādhurī,
Futūh
, pp. 259-60.
Balādhurī,
Futūh
, pp. 259-60.
41
Firdawsi,
Shahnāmah
, III, p. 499.
Firdawsi,
Shahnāmah
, III, p. 499.
42
Balādhurī,
Futūh
, p. 258.
Balādhurī,
Futūh
, p. 258.
43
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2421.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2421.
44
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2411.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2411.
45
Nā’il b. Ju
c
sham al-A
c
rajī al-Tamīmī; Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2422-4, trans. Juynboll.
Nā’il b. Ju
c
sham al-A
c
rajī al-Tamīmī; Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2422-4, trans. Juynboll.
46
Morony,
Iraq
, p. 186.
Morony,
Iraq
, p. 186.
47
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2425.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2425.
48
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2429-30. Juynboll suggests the identification of Ifridūn but it is not certain. The general sense of the remarks is, however, entirely clear.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2429-30. Juynboll suggests the identification of Ifridūn but it is not certain. The general sense of the remarks is, however, entirely clear.
49
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2433-4.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2433-4.
50
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2438.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2438.
51
Balādhurī,
Futūh
, p. 263.
Balādhurī,
Futūh
, p. 263.
52
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2451.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2451.
53
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2441, 2451.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2441, 2451.
54
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2450-56.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2450-56.
55
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2445.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2445.
56
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2446.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2446.
57
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2446-7.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2446-7.
58
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2453. The Persian tradition of carpet weaving is very ancient but no trace of carpets from this period survives. The oldest existing Persian carpets date from the fifteenth century and the earliest full-size masterpieces such as the Ardabil carpet from the sixteenth. Descriptions like this make it clear that such magnificent artworks were heirs to a thousand years of tradition.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2453. The Persian tradition of carpet weaving is very ancient but no trace of carpets from this period survives. The oldest existing Persian carpets date from the fifteenth century and the earliest full-size masterpieces such as the Ardabil carpet from the sixteenth. Descriptions like this make it clear that such magnificent artworks were heirs to a thousand years of tradition.
59
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2453-4.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2453-4.
60
Balādhurī,
Futūh
, p. 264; Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2445.
Balādhurī,
Futūh
, p. 264; Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2445.
61
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2442-3.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2442-3.
62
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2457.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2457.
63
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2459.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2459.
64
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2463.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2463.
65
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2462-3.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2462-3.
66
Donner,
Early Islamic Conquests
, p. 213, estimates the numbers.
Donner,
Early Islamic Conquests
, p. 213, estimates the numbers.
67
Balādhurī,
Futūh
, p. 341.
Balādhurī,
Futūh
, p. 341.
68
Koran, 4:15-16.
Koran, 4:15-16.
69
Balādhurī,
Futūh
, p. 345.
Balādhurī,
Futūh
, p. 345.
70
On this text, see C. F. Robinson, ‘The conquest of Khuzistan: a historiographical reassessment’,
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
67 (2004): 14-39.
On this text, see C. F. Robinson, ‘The conquest of Khuzistan: a historiographical reassessment’,
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
67 (2004): 14-39.
71
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2567-8.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2567-8.
72
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2464-6.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2464-6.
73
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2567.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2567.
74
Khuzistān Chronicle and Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2554-5.
Khuzistān Chronicle and Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2554-5.
75
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2557-9; Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2560, gives a variation with a slightly different trick.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2557-9; Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2560, gives a variation with a slightly different trick.
76
On the Hamra, see Morony,
Iraq
, pp. 197-8; M. Zakeri,
Sasanid Soldiers in Early Muslim Society. The origins of ’Ayyārān and Futuwwa
(Wiesbaden, 1995), pp. 116-20.
On the Hamra, see Morony,
Iraq
, pp. 197-8; M. Zakeri,
Sasanid Soldiers in Early Muslim Society. The origins of ’Ayyārān and Futuwwa
(Wiesbaden, 1995), pp. 116-20.
77
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2261.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2261.
78
Balādhurī,
Futūh
, p. 280; Morony,
Iraq
, p. 197.
Balādhurī,
Futūh
, p. 280; Morony,
Iraq
, p. 197.
79
See Morony,
Iraq
, p. 198; Zakeri,
Sāsānid Soldiers
, pp. 114-15.
See Morony,
Iraq
, p. 198; Zakeri,
Sāsānid Soldiers
, pp. 114-15.
80
Balādhurī,
Futūh
, p. 280.
Balādhurī,
Futūh
, p. 280.
81
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2484.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2484.
82
Donner,
Early Islamic Conquests
, p. 229.
Donner,
Early Islamic Conquests
, p. 229.
83
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2488.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2488.
84
For the mosque, see Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2488-94; H. Djaït,
Al-Kufa: naissance de la ville islamique
(Paris, 1986), pp. 96-100.
For the mosque, see Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2488-94; H. Djaït,
Al-Kufa: naissance de la ville islamique
(Paris, 1986), pp. 96-100.
85
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2494.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2494.
86
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2490-91.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2490-91.
87
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2492.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, p. 2492.
88
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2491-5.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2491-5.
89
Djaït,
Naissance
, pp. 102-3, rejects Sayf’s narrative without giving any convincing reasons: the fact is, we simply do not know.
Djaït,
Naissance
, pp. 102-3, rejects Sayf’s narrative without giving any convincing reasons: the fact is, we simply do not know.
90
Djaït,
Naissance
, p. 108-111.
Djaït,
Naissance
, p. 108-111.
91
On this, see Donner,
Early Islamic Conquests
, p. 230.
On this, see Donner,
Early Islamic Conquests
, p. 230.
92
See H. Kennedy,
The Armies of the Caliphs
(London, 2001), pp. 60-74.
See H. Kennedy,
The Armies of the Caliphs
(London, 2001), pp. 60-74.
93
Balādhurī,
Futūh
, p. 332. For the origins and early development of Mosul, see Robinson,
Empire and Elites
, pp. 63-71.
Balādhurī,
Futūh
, p. 332. For the origins and early development of Mosul, see Robinson,
Empire and Elites
, pp. 63-71.
94
Morony,
Iraq
, p. 175.
Morony,
Iraq
, p. 175.
4. THE CONQUEST OF EGYPT
1
For Egypt in the early seventh century, see W. E. Kaegi, ‘Egypt on the eve of the Muslim conquest’, in
Cambridge History of Egypt
, vol. I:
Islamic Egypt, 640-1517
, ed. C. Petry (Cambridge, 1998), pp. 34-61.
For Egypt in the early seventh century, see W. E. Kaegi, ‘Egypt on the eve of the Muslim conquest’, in
Cambridge History of Egypt
, vol. I:
Islamic Egypt, 640-1517
, ed. C. Petry (Cambridge, 1998), pp. 34-61.
2
In this chapter, I have followed the ‘tentative chronology’ worked out in Kaegi, ‘Egypt on the eve’, pp. 60-61.
In this chapter, I have followed the ‘tentative chronology’ worked out in Kaegi, ‘Egypt on the eve’, pp. 60-61.
3
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2579-95.
Tabarī,
Ta’rīkh
, I, pp. 2579-95.
4
Ibn Abd al-Hakam, Abū‘l-Qāsim ‘Abd al-Rahmān b. ‘Abd Allāh,
Futūh˛ Misr
, ed. C. C. Torrey (New Haven, CT, 1921). For critiques of this work, see R. Brunschvig, ‘Ibn
c
Abdal-hakam et la conquète de l’Afrique du Nord par les Arabes: etude critique’,
Annales de l’Institut des Etudes Orientales
6 (1942-7): 108-55, and W. Kubiak,
Al-Fustāt, Its Foundation and Early Urban Development
(Cairo, 1987), pp. 18-22. Both see Ibn Abd al-Hakam as a jurist looking for legal precedents rather than as a historian. I think the historical content is more significant and Kubiak certainly exaggerates when he says (pp. 18-19) ‘that its primary intention was not to transmit knowledge of bygone facts and events to posterity or to apothesize the warriors of the first generation of the Islamic conquerors, but to give a plausible historical explanation for a number of obscure juridico-religious traditions concerning the conquest of Egypt and North Africa’.
Ibn Abd al-Hakam, Abū‘l-Qāsim ‘Abd al-Rahmān b. ‘Abd Allāh,
Futūh˛ Misr
, ed. C. C. Torrey (New Haven, CT, 1921). For critiques of this work, see R. Brunschvig, ‘Ibn
c
Abdal-hakam et la conquète de l’Afrique du Nord par les Arabes: etude critique’,
Annales de l’Institut des Etudes Orientales
6 (1942-7): 108-55, and W. Kubiak,
Al-Fustāt, Its Foundation and Early Urban Development
(Cairo, 1987), pp. 18-22. Both see Ibn Abd al-Hakam as a jurist looking for legal precedents rather than as a historian. I think the historical content is more significant and Kubiak certainly exaggerates when he says (pp. 18-19) ‘that its primary intention was not to transmit knowledge of bygone facts and events to posterity or to apothesize the warriors of the first generation of the Islamic conquerors, but to give a plausible historical explanation for a number of obscure juridico-religious traditions concerning the conquest of Egypt and North Africa’.
5
Kubiak,
Al-Fustt
, p. 19. The earliest collector of traditions about the conquest seems to have been Yazīd b. Abī Habib (d. 745).
Kubiak,
Al-Fustt
, p. 19. The earliest collector of traditions about the conquest seems to have been Yazīd b. Abī Habib (d. 745).
6
John of Nikiu,
The Chronicle of John (c.690 AD) Coptic Bishop of Nikiu
, trans. R. H. Charles (London, 1916).
John of Nikiu,
The Chronicle of John (c.690 AD) Coptic Bishop of Nikiu
, trans. R. H. Charles (London, 1916).
7
See the second edition by P. M. Fraser (Oxford, 1978).
See the second edition by P. M. Fraser (Oxford, 1978).
8
For Ancient Egypt, see R. E. Ritner, ‘Egypt under Roman rule: the legacy of ancient Egypt’, in
Cambridge History of Egypt
, vol. i:
Islamic Egypt, 640-1517
, ed. C. Petry (Cambridge, 1998), pp. 1-33.
For Ancient Egypt, see R. E. Ritner, ‘Egypt under Roman rule: the legacy of ancient Egypt’, in
Cambridge History of Egypt
, vol. i:
Islamic Egypt, 640-1517
, ed. C. Petry (Cambridge, 1998), pp. 1-33.
9
Kaegi, ‘Egypt on the eve’, p. 33.
Kaegi, ‘Egypt on the eve’, p. 33.
10
For Egypt in this period, see R. Bagnall,
Egypt in Late Antiquity
(Princeton, NJ, 1993).
For Egypt in this period, see R. Bagnall,
Egypt in Late Antiquity
(Princeton, NJ, 1993).
11
On which see the discussion in Butler,
Arab Conquest
, pp. 401-25.
On which see the discussion in Butler,
Arab Conquest
, pp. 401-25.
12
Ritner, ‘Egypt’, p. 30.
Ritner, ‘Egypt’, p. 30.
13
Kaegi, ‘Egypt on the eve’, p. 34.
Kaegi, ‘Egypt on the eve’, p. 34.
14
Quoted in Butler,
Arab Conquest
, p. 72.
Quoted in Butler,
Arab Conquest
, p. 72.
15
See Kaegi, ‘Egypt on the eve’, pp. 42-4.
See Kaegi, ‘Egypt on the eve’, pp. 42-4.
16
On Benjamin, see his biography, in Sawīrus b. al-Muqaffa, ‘Life of Benjamin I the thirty-eighth patriarch A.D. 622-61’, in
History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Church of Alexandria
, trans B. Evetts
(Patrologia Orientalis
I.4, 1905), pp. 487-518.
On Benjamin, see his biography, in Sawīrus b. al-Muqaffa, ‘Life of Benjamin I the thirty-eighth patriarch A.D. 622-61’, in
History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Church of Alexandria
, trans B. Evetts
(Patrologia Orientalis
I.4, 1905), pp. 487-518.
17
Sawīrus, ‘Life of Benjamin’, p. 496.
Sawīrus, ‘Life of Benjamin’, p. 496.
18
Butler,
Arab Conquest
, pp. 176-9.
Butler,
Arab Conquest
, pp. 176-9.
19
Ibid., p. 183.
Ibid., p. 183.
20
Sawīrus, ‘Life of Benjamin’, pp. 491-2.
Sawīrus, ‘Life of Benjamin’, pp. 491-2.
21
Nikephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople,
Short History
, trans. C. Mango (Washington, DC, 1990), pp. 72-5.
Nikephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople,
Short History
, trans. C. Mango (Washington, DC, 1990), pp. 72-5.
22
This reconstruction is based on R. Hoyland,
Seeing Islam as Others Saw It
, pp. 574-90, which uses non-Arab sources, notably the Byzantine Chronicle of Nicephorus, to produce a plausible reconstruction; cf. the blunt dismissal of this possibility that Cyrus paid tribute by Butler,
Arab Conquest
, pp. 207-8.
This reconstruction is based on R. Hoyland,
Seeing Islam as Others Saw It
, pp. 574-90, which uses non-Arab sources, notably the Byzantine Chronicle of Nicephorus, to produce a plausible reconstruction; cf. the blunt dismissal of this possibility that Cyrus paid tribute by Butler,
Arab Conquest
, pp. 207-8.
23
Balādhurī,
Futūh
, p. 213; Ibn Abd al-Hakam,
Futūh
, pp. 56-7.
Balādhurī,
Futūh
, p. 213; Ibn Abd al-Hakam,
Futūh
, pp. 56-7.
24
Ibn Abd al-Hakam,
Futūh
, p. 58.
Ibn Abd al-Hakam,
Futūh
, p. 58.
25
Butler,
Arab Conquest
, pp. 209-10.
Butler,
Arab Conquest
, pp. 209-10.
26
Ibid., p. 211.
Ibid., p. 211.
27
Ibn Abd al-Hakam,
Futūh
, pp. 58-9.
Ibn Abd al-Hakam,
Futūh
, pp. 58-9.
28
Ibn Abd al-Hakam,
Futūh
, pp. 59-60.
Ibn Abd al-Hakam,
Futūh
, pp. 59-60.
29
Ibn Abd al-Hakam,
Futūh
, p. 60.
Ibn Abd al-Hakam,
Futūh
, p. 60.
30
The rather confusing story in John of Nikiu,
Chronicle
, pp. 179-80 was used by Butler in his account (
Arab Conquest
, pp. 222-5), on which I have based this narrative.
The rather confusing story in John of Nikiu,
Chronicle
, pp. 179-80 was used by Butler in his account (
Arab Conquest
, pp. 222-5), on which I have based this narrative.
31
apud
Ibn Abd al-Hakam,
Futūh
, p. 61, but see also the other figures in Butler,
Arab Conquest
, p. 226, where he remarks that ‘there is no sort of confusion not found among the Arab historians’. John of Nikiu speaks of 4,000 new men.
apud
Ibn Abd al-Hakam,
Futūh
, p. 61, but see also the other figures in Butler,
Arab Conquest
, p. 226, where he remarks that ‘there is no sort of confusion not found among the Arab historians’. John of Nikiu speaks of 4,000 new men.
32
Ibn Abd al-Hakam,
Futūh
, p. 64.
Ibn Abd al-Hakam,
Futūh
, p. 64.
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