The History of al-Tabari Vol. 1: General Introduction and From the Creation to the Flood (SUNY series in Near Eastern Studies)

Franz Rosenthal [Translator]

ISBN 10: 0887065635 / ISBN 13: 9780887065637

Published by State University of New York Press, 1989

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Seller Inventory # Q-0887065635

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The History of al-Tabari Vol. 1: General Introduction and From the Creation to the Flood (SUNY series in Near Eastern Studies)
• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Publication Date: 1989
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0887065635
• ISBN 13: 9780887065637
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 26 ounces

About this title

Synopsis

Volume I of the thirty-eight volume translation of Ṭabarī's great History begins with the creation of the world and ends with the time of Noah and the Flood. It not only brings a vast amount of speculation about the early history of mankind into sharp Muslim focus, but it also synchronizes ancient Iranian ideas about the prehistory of mankind with those inspired by the Qur'an and the Bible. The volume is thus an excellent guide to the cosmological views of many of Ṭabarī's contemporaries. The translator, Franz Rosenthal, one of the world's foremost scholars of Arabic, has also written an extensive introduction to the volume that presents all the facts known about Ṭabarī's personal and professional life. Professor Rosenthal's meticulous and original scholarship has yielded a valuable bibliography and chronology of Ṭabarī's writings, both those preserved in manuscript and those alluded to by other authors. The introduction and first volume of the translation of the History form a ground-breaking contribution to Islamic historiography in English and will prove to be an invaluable source of information for those who are interested in Middle Eastern history but are unable to read the basic works in Arabic.

Language Notes

Text: English, Arabic (translation)