Reading Classical Arabic historians
- Module Code:
- 155901334
- Credits:
- 15
- FHEQ Level:
- 6
- Year of study:
- Year 4
- Taught in:
- Term 1
This module will examine a selection of important historical texts. These will include the following: al-Baladhuri’s account of the Islamic conquest of Syria in the Futuh al-Buldan, al-Tabari’s account of the death of the caliph al-Amin from the Ta’rikh al-Rusuk wa’l-muluk,, Miskawayh’s description of the accession of the caliph al-Muqtadir in the Tajarib al-umam, Abu Shama’s Dhayl al-rawdatayn, Ibn al-Athir’s account of the Mongol conquest of north east Iran in his Kamil f’l-Ta’rikh.
Objectives and learning outcomes of the module
On successful completion of this module a student will be able to:
- read and understand the Arabic texts of a number of important historians of the first six centuries of Islam
- gain a firm grounding in the origins and development of early Arabic historiography
- demonstrate the manuscript tradition of the texts and their importance as sources for the history of the period
- demonstrate a firm understanding of the forms and functions of narrative in classical Arabic prose literature.
Workload
Total of 10 weeks teaching, 3 hours total classrrom time per week consisting of a 1 hour lecture and a 2 hour tutorial each week.
Method of assessment
- 4 x gobbet commentaries (4000 words for all 4 gobbets in total) to be submitted in term 1, week 7, day 1 (60%)
- 1 x essay (2500 words) to be submitted in term 1, week 11, day 5 (40%)
Suggested reading
- Cooperson, M., Classical Arabic Biography (Cambridge, 2000)
- El-Hibri, T., Reinterpreting Islamic Historiography (Cambridge, 1999)
- Kennedy, H., The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates (London, 2004)
- Khalidi, T., Arabic Historical Thought in the Classical Perod (Cambridge, 1994)
- Hirschler, K., Medieval Arabic Historiography: authors as actors (London, 2006)
- Noth, A., The Early Arabic Historical Tradition (Princeton, 1994)
- Robinson, C., Islamic Histoiography (Cambridge, 2003)