Reinterpreting Islamic Historiography: Harun al-Rashid and the Narrative of the Abbasid Caliphate

Cambridge University Press
Tayeb El-Hibri
ISBN: 0521650232
price: $64.95   hardcover

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.