The ''History of the Prophets and Kings'' ( ar, تاريخ الرسل والملوك ''Tārīkh al-Rusul wa al-Mulūk''), more commonly known as ''Tarikh al-Tabari'' () or ''Tarikh-i Tabari'' or ''The History of al-Tabari '' ( fa, تاریخ طبری) is an

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

-language historical

chronicle A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and ...

completed by the Muslim historian

Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari ( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...

(225–310 AH, 838–923 AD) in 915 AD. It begins with

creation Creation may refer to: Religion *''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing *Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it *Creationism, the belief that ...

, and charts

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and

Middle Eastern history The Middle East, interchangeable with the Near East, is home to one of the Cradles of Civilization and has seen many of the world's oldest cultures and civilizations. The region's history started from the earliest human settlements and continue ...

from the myths and legends associated with the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

through to the history of the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Mutta ...

era, down to the year 915. An appendix or continuation, was written by Abu Abdullah b. Ahmad b. Ja'far al-Farghani, a student of al-Tabari.

Editions

Various editions of the Annals include: * An edition published under the editorship of M.J. de Goeje in three series comprising 13 volumes, with two extra volumes containing indices, introduction and glossary (

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration w ...

, 1879–1901). * An edition published under the editorship of Muhammad Abu al-Fadl Ibrahim (1905-1981) in 10 volumes (

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

: Dar al-Ma'arif, 1960–1969.) * A Persian digest of this work, made in 963 by the

Samanid The Samanid Empire ( fa, سامانیان, Sāmāniyān) also known as the Samanian Empire, Samanid dynasty, Samanid amirate, or simply as the Samanids) was a Persianate Sunni Muslim empire, of Iranian dehqan origin. The empire was centred in ...

scholar al-Bal'ami, translated into

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Hermann Zotenberg Hermann Zotenberg (1836, Silesia – 1894, Paris) was an orientalist and Arabist. He worked for the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris. His most celebrated work is his edition of the ''Chronique de Tabari'' (Paris, 1867–1871) Works * ...

(vols. i.-iv.,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, 1867–1874). * An English translation in 39 volumes (plus index), published by the

State University of New York Press The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by ...

from 1985 through 2007. Various editors and 29 translators. (hc), (pb), Author: Tabari (various translators), Publisher: SUNY Press

Volumes of the SUNY edition

* Vol. 01 General Introduction and from the Creation to the Flood (

Franz Rosenthal Franz Rosenthal (August 31, 1914 – April 8, 2003) was the Louis M. Rabinowitz professor of Semitic languages at Yale from 1956 to 1967 and Sterling Professor Emeritus of Arabic, scholar of Arabic literature and Islam at Yale from 1967 to 1985 ...

) * Vol. 02 Prophets and Patriarchs (William Brinner) * Vol. 03 The Children of Israel (William Brinner) * Vol. 04 The Ancient Kingdoms (Moshe Perlmann) * Vol. 05 The

Sassanids The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

, the Byzantines, the

Lakhmids The Lakhmids ( ar, اللخميون, translit=al-Laḫmiyyūn) referred to in Arabic as al-Manādhirah (, romanized as: ) or Banu Lakhm (, romanized as: ) was an Arab kingdom in Southern Iraq and Eastern Arabia, with al-Hirah as their capita ...

, and

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...

( C. E. Bosworth) * Vol. 06 Muhammad at Mecca ( W. Montgomery Watt and M.V. McDonald) * Vol. 07 The Foundation of the Community - Muhammad at al-

Madina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...

, A. D. 622-626 (M.V. McDonald) * Vol. 08 The Victory of Islam (Michael Fishbein) * Vol. 09 The Last Years of the Prophet: The Formation of the State, A.D. 630-632-A.H. 8-11 (

Ismail Poonawala Ismail Kurban Husein Poonawala (born January 7, 1937) is an Indian professor of Arabic at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures (NELC) of over 30 years. Poonawala was born in 1937 in Go ...

) * Vol. 10 The Conquest of Arabia, A. D. 632-633 - A. H. 11 ( Fred M. Donner) * Vol. 11 The Challenge to the Empires (

Khalid Blankinship Khalid Yahya Blankinship (born 1949 in Seattle, Washington) is an American historian who specialises in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies. Biography He graduated ( BA) in History from the University of Washington in 1973 and in the same year, whi ...

) * Vol. 12 The

Battle of al-Qadisiyyah The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah ( ar, مَعْرَكَة ٱلْقَادِسِيَّة, Maʿrakah al-Qādisīyah; fa, نبرد قادسیه, Nabard-e Qâdisiyeh) was an armed conflict which took place in 636 CE between the Rashidun Caliphate and th ...

and the Conquest of Syria and Palestine ( Yohanan Friedmann) * Vol. 13 The Conquest of Iraq, Southwestern Persia, and Egypt: The Middle Years of '

Umar ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate ...

's Caliphate, A.D. 636-642-A.H. 15-21 ( G.H.A. Juynboll) * Vol. 14 The Conquest of Iran, A. D. 641-643 - A. H. 21-23 (G. Rex Smith) * Vol. 15 The Crisis of the Early Caliphate: The Reign of

Uthman Uthman ibn Affan ( ar, عثمان بن عفان, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān; – 17 June 656), also spelled by Colloquial Arabic, Turkish and Persian rendering Osman, was a second cousin, son-in-law and notable companion of the Islamic prop ...

, A. D. 644-656 - A. H. 24-35 (

R. Stephen Humphreys R. Stephen Humphreys is an American historian specializing in the history of Southwest Asia and North Africa. He was the 'Abd al-Aziz al-Sa'ud Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara and is now an emeritus professor at that inst ...

) * Vol. 16 The Community Divided: The Caliphate of Ali I, A. D. 656-657-A. H. 35-36 (Adrian Brockett) * Vol. 17 The First Civil War: From the

Battle of Siffin The Battle of Siffin was fought in 657 CE (37 AH) between Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth of the Rashidun Caliphs and the first Shia Imam, and Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, the rebellious governor of Syria. The battle is named after its location ...

to the Death of Ali, A. D. 656-661-A. H. 36-40 ( G. R. Hawting) * Vol. 18 Between Civil Wars: The Caliphate of

Mu'awiyah Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the deat ...

40 A.H., 66 A.D.-60 A.H., 680 A.D. (

Michael G. Morony Michael Gregory Morony (born September 30, 1939) has been a professor of history at UCLA since 1974, with interests in the history of Ancient and Islamic Near East.Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan ( ar, يزيد بن معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiya ibn ʾAbī Sufyān; 64611 November 683), commonly known as Yazid I, was the second caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate. He ruled from ...

, A. D. 680-683 - A. H. 60-64 (I. K. A. Howard) * Vol. 20 The Collapse of

Sufyanid The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

Authority and the Coming of the Marwanids: The Caliphates of Mu'awiyah II and

Marwan I Marwan ibn al-Hakam ibn Abi al-As ibn Umayya ( ar, links=no, مروان بن الحكم بن أبي العاص بن أمية, Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam ibn Abī al-ʿĀṣ ibn Umayya), commonly known as MarwanI (623 or 626April/May 685), was the fo ...

(G. R. Hawting) * Vol. 21 The Victory of the Marwanids, A. D. 685-693-A. H. 66-73 (Michael Fishbein) * Vol. 22 The Marwanid Restoration: The Caliphate of ' Abd al-Malik: A.D. 693-701 - A.H. 74-81 ( Everett K Rowson) * Vol. 23 The Zenith of the Marwanid House: The Last Years of 'Abd al-Malik and the Caliphate of al-Walid A.D. 700-715-A.H. 81-95 (

Martin Hinds Martin Hinds (10 April 1941 in Penarth, Wales – 1 December 1988) was a British scholar of the Middle East and historiographer of early Islamic history. Life Dr. Hind's interest in Islamic culture began as early as the year 1960 when he was a ...

) * Vol. 24 The Empire in Transition: The Caliphates of Sulayman, 'Umar, and Yazid, A. D. 715-724-A. H. 96-105 (Stephan Powers) * Vol. 25 The End of Expansion: The Caliphate of

Hisham Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ( ar, هشام بن عبد الملك, Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik; 691 – 6 February 743) was the tenth Umayyad caliph, ruling from 724 until his death in 743. Early life Hisham was born in Damascus, the administrat ...

, A.D. 724-738-A.H. 105-120 (Khalid Blankinship) * Vol. 26 The Waning of the Umayyad Caliphate: Prelude to Revolution, A.D. 738-744 - A.H. 121-126 (

Carole Hillenbrand Carole Hillenbrand, (born 1943), is a British Islamic scholar who is Emerita Professor in Islamic History at the University of Edinburgh and Professor of Islamic History at the University of St Andrews. She is the Vice-President of the British ...

) * Vol. 27 The

Abbasid Revolution The Abbasid Revolution, also called the Movement of the Men of the Black Raiment, was the overthrow of the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE), the second of the four major Caliphates in early Islamic history, by the third, the Abbasid Calipha ...

, A. D. 743-750 - A. H. 126-132 (John Alden Williams) * Vol. 28 The Abbasid Authority Affirmed: The Early Years of

al-Mansur Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ar, أبو جعفر عبد الله بن محمد المنصور‎; 95 AH – 158 AH/714 CE – 6 October 775 CE) usually known simply as by his laqab Al-Manṣūr (المنصور) ...

(

Jane Dammen McAuliffe Jane Dammen McAuliffe (born 1944) is an American educator, scholar of Islam and the inaugural director of national and international outreach at the Library of Congress. She is a president emeritus of Bryn Mawr College and former dean of Georget ...

) * Vol. 29 Al-Mansur and

al-Mahdi Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Manṣūr ( ar, أبو عبد الله محمد بن عبد الله المنصور; 744 or 745 – 785), better known by his regnal name Al-Mahdī (, "He who is guided by God"), was the third Abb ...

, A.D. 763-786-A.H. 146-169 ( Hugh N. Kennedy) * Vol. 30 The Abbasid Caliphate in Equilibrium: The Caliphates of

Musa al-Hadi Abū Muḥammad Mūsā ibn al-Mahdī al-Hādī ( ar, أبو محمد موسى بن المهدي الهادي; 26 April 764 CE 14 September 786 CE) better known by his laqab Al-Hādī (الهادي‎) was the fourth Arab Abbasid caliph who succee ...

and

Harun al-Rashid Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar , أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...

, A. D. 785-809 - A. H. 169-192 (C. E. Bosworth) * Vol. 31 The War Between Brothers, A. D. 809-813 - A. H. 193-198 (Michael Fishbein) * Vol. 32 The Absolutists in Power: The Caliphate of

al-Ma'mun Abu al-Abbas Abdallah ibn Harun al-Rashid ( ar, أبو العباس عبد الله بن هارون الرشيد, Abū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hārūn ar-Rashīd; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name Al-Ma'm ...

, A.D. 813-33 - A.H. 198-213 (C. E. Bosworth) * Vol. 33 Storm and Stress Along the Northern Frontiers of the Abbasid Caliphate (C. E. Bosworth) * Vol. 34 Incipient Decline: The Caliphates of al-Wathig,

al-Mutawakkil Abū al-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad al-Muʿtaṣim bi-ʾllāh ( ar, جعفر بن محمد المعتصم بالله; March 822 – 11 December 861), better known by his regnal name Al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (, "He who relies on God") was ...

and

al-Muntasir Abu Ja'far Muhammad ( ar, أبو جعفر محمد; November 837 – 7 June 862), better known by his regnal title Al-Muntasir bi-llah (, "He who triumphs in God") was the caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate from 861 to 862, during the "Anarchy at Sa ...

, A.D. 841-863-A.H. 227-248 (Joel L Kraemer) * Vol. 35 The Crisis of the Abbasid Caliphate ( George Saliba) * Vol. 36 The Revolt of the Zanj, A. D. 869-879 - A. H. 255-265 (David Waines) * Vol. 37 The Abbasid Recovery: The War Against the Zanj Ends (Philip M Fields) * Vol. 38 The Return of the Caliphate to Baghdad: The Caliphate of

al-Mu'tadid Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Ṭalḥa al-Muwaffaq ( ar, أبو العباس أحمد بن طلحة الموفق), 853/4 or 860/1 – 5 April 902, better known by his regnal name al-Muʿtaḍid bi-llāh ( ar, المعتضد بالله, link=no, ...

al-Muktafi Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ( ar, أبو محمد علي بن أحمد; 877/78 – 13 August 908), better known by his regnal name al-Muktafī bi-llāh ( ar, المكتفي بالله, , Content with God Alone), was the Caliph of the Ab ...

and

al-Muqtadir Abu’l-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Ahmad al-Muʿtaḍid ( ar, أبو الفضل جعفر بن أحمد المعتضد) (895 – 31 October 932 AD), better known by his regnal name Al-Muqtadir bi-llāh ( ar, المقتدر بالله, "Mighty in God"), w ...

, A.D. 892-915 (Franz Rosenthal) * Vol. 39 Biographies of the Prophet's Companions and Their Successors:

al-Tabari ( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...

's Supplement to His History (Ella Landau-Tasseron) * Vol. 40 Index (Prepared by Alex V Popovkin under the supervision of

Everett K. Rowson Everett K. Rowson is an American scholar and Professor Emeritus of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University. He is known for his works on the intellectual and social history of the medieval Islamic world. A ''festschrift'' in his ...

)

Content

The main purpose of Tabari was to write history according to the science of narration. That is to say he quotes the narrator without interfering in any way. Among its content can be found: *

Hadith of the pen and paper The Hadith of Pen and Paper () refers to the incident in which the Islamic prophet Muhammad expressed a wish to issue a written statement shortly before his death, possibly on a Thursday, but was prevented from doing so. Muhammad's intentions a ...

* Information about

Zayd al-Khayr Zayd al-Khayr (Arabic: زيد الخير) was a noted, significant companion of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. Hailing from the tribe of Tayy in northern Nejd. He was originally known as Zayd al-Khayl ("Zayd of the Steeds", a reference to his c ...

* Information about

Utbah ibn Ghazwan Utba ibn Ghazwan al-Mazini ( ar, عُتبة بن غَزْوان المازني, ʿUtba ibn Ghazwān al-Māzinī) (–638) was a well-known companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was the seventh person to convert to Islam and participated i ...

* Information about Ka’b al-Ahbar * Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr being the first to attack in the killing of Uthman. * Some hadith regarding

Aisha Aisha ( ar, , translit=ʿĀʾisha bint Abī Bakr; , also , ; ) was Muhammad's third and youngest wife. In Islamic writings, her name is thus often prefixed by the title "Mother of the Believers" ( ar, links=no, , ʾumm al- muʾminīn), referr ...

’s age at marriage. * Slave

Zanj rebellion The Zanj Rebellion ( ar, ثورة الزنج ) was a major revolt against the Abbasid Caliphate, which took place from 869 until 883. Begun near the city of Basra in present-day southern Iraq and led by one Ali ibn Muhammad, the insurrection invol ...

. Tabari at times draws on the Syriac ''

Julian Romance The ''Julian Romance'' is fictionalized prose account of the reign of the Roman emperor Julian the Apostate. It was written sometime between Julian's death in 363 and the copying of the oldest known manuscript in the sixth century. It does not su ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of The Prophets And Kings 10th-century Arabic books 10th-century encyclopedias 10th-century history books Middle Eastern chronicles Biographical dictionaries History of the Middle East History of Islam Iranian literature Sunni literature Universal history books Works by Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari

Editions

Volumes of the SUNY edition

Content

See also

References