The History of al-Ṭabarī Vol. 15

The Crisis of the Early Caliphate: The Reign of ʿUthmān A.D. 644-656/A.H. 24-35

R. Stephen Humphreys

• Publisher: SUNY Press
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9780791401552, 9780791401545
• eBook ISBN: 9781438407289
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Before the caliphate of the ?Uthm?n ibn ?Aff?n, the Muslim community had grown from strength to strength in spite of a series of major crises—the Hirah, the death of the Prophet, the Riddah wars, the assassination of 'Umar by a Persian slave. But ?Uthm?n's reign ended in catastrophe. His inability to manage the social and political conflicts that were now emerging among various factions within the community led to his death at the hands of Muslim rebels. The consequences of this tragic event were bitter: not only a century of civil war, but also political and religious schisms of such depth that they have not been entirely healed even now. Most medieval Muslim historians told this story in an overtly partisan manner, but al-?abar? demands more of his readers. First of all, they must decide for themselves, on the basis of highly ambigous evidence, whether ?Uthm?n's death was tyrannicide or murder. But, more than that, they must ask how such a thing could have happened at all; what had the Muslims done to bring about the near-destruction of their community?

Al-?abar? presents this challenge within a broad framework. For, even while the internal crisis that issued in ?Uthm?n's death was coming to a head, the wars against Byzantium and Persia continued. The first expeditions into North Africa, the conquest of Cyprus, the momentary destruction of the Byzantine fleet at the Battle of the Masts, the bloody campaigns in Armenia, the Caucasus, and Khurasan are all here, in narratives that shift constantly between hard reporting and pious legend. Muslim forces retain the offensive, but there are no more easy victories; henceforth, suffering and endurance will be the hallmarks of the hero. Most evocative in the light of ?Uthm?n's fate is the moving account of the murder of the last S?s?nian king, Yazdagird III—a man betrayed by his nobles and subjects, but most of all by his own character.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• The History of al-Tabari: Editorial Board
• The History of al-Tabari: Vol. XV
• Copyright
• Preface
• Table of Contents
• Abbreviations
• Translator’s Foreword
• Transliteration and Editorial Conventions
• Table 1. 'Uthman's Lineage
• The Events of the Year 24 (November 7, 644 - October 27, 645)
• The Events of the Year 25 (October 28, 645 - October 16, 646)
• The Events of the Year 26 (October 17, 646 - October 6, 647)
• The Events of the Year 27 (October 7, 647 - September 24, 648)
• The Events of the Year 28 (September 25, 648 - September 13, 649)
• The Events of the Year 29 (September 14, 649 - September 3, 650)
• The Events of the Year 30 (September 4, 650 - August 23, 651)
• The Events of the Year 31 (August 24, 651 - August 11, 652)
• The Events of the Year 32 (August 12, 652 - August 1, 653)
• The Events of the Year 33 (August 2, 653 - July 21, 654)
• The Events of the Year 34 (July 22, 654 - July 10, 655)
• The Events of the Year 35 (July 11, 655 - June 29, 656)
• Bibliography of Cited Works
• Index
• Back Cover