Publisher's Synopsis
This two-volume set delves deeply into the life of the Muslim scholar Ibn A?tham al-Kufi and his monumental historical work, the Kitab al-futuh (Book of Conquests). Previous research has treated this work with considerable suspicion, and its historical value was called into question almost from the very moment of its discovery. This study firmly situates Ibn A?tham within the historical context of the early fourth/tenth century, shedding new light on his notable contributions to Islamic historiography. Volume 1 examines Ibn A?tham's biography, proposes a refined timeframe for his life and work, and investigates the reception of his work across the Muslim world and in modern scholarship, identifying significant periods of popularity in different regions. Detailed codicological descriptions of the Kitab al-futuh's surviving Arabic manuscripts underscore the complexity of the textual tradition, while analyses of the sources of the narrative on the ridda ('apostasy') wars and its poetic elements enrich our understanding of Ibn A?tham's sources and his authorial methods. The book also provides critical editions of the Kitab al-futuh's collective isnads, prepared on the basis of all available Arabic manuscripts, alongside their translations and detailed analyses. Volume 2 presents a new critical edition of the Kitab al-futuh's first sections, covering the saqifa and ridda narratives based on the chronicle's two manuscripts kept in the Forschungsbibliothek Gotha and the Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library in Patna.
