Reinterpreting Islamic Historiography
Harun al-Rashid and the Narrative of the Abbasid Caliphate
1995
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The reigns of the caliph Harun al-Rashid and his successor al-Ma'mun have long been viewed as the golden age of the medieval Islamic caliphate. Yet how did chroniclers represent this crucial period? Tayeb El-Hibri's book applies a new literary-critical reading to the sources to demonstrate how medieval narrators devised various elusive ways of shedding light on controversial religious, political and social issues, while ostensibly presenting a history loyal to the 'Abbasid dynasty. This is an important book that represents a landmark in the field of early Islamic historiography.
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Author
Tayeb El-Hibri
Author · 3 books
Tayeb El-Hibri is currently professor of Arabic and Near Eastern Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He obtained his BA in History from Stanford University (1986) and Ph.D. in Islamic history from Columbia University (1994). He has published: Reinterpreting Islamic Historiography: Harun al-Rashid and the Narrative of the Abbasid Caliphate (1999), and Parable and Politics in Early Islamic History: The Rashidun Caliphs (2010), and a range of articles in journals such as: International Journal of Middle East Studies, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Journal of Near Eastern Studies and Der Islam
