Witnesses to a World Crisis Historians and Histories of the Middle East in the Seventh Century

by Howard-Johnston, James

• ISBN13: 9780199208593
• ISBN10: 019920859X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-07-29
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

James Howard-Johnston provides a sweeping and highly readable account of probably the most dramatic single episode in world history - the emergence of a new religion (Islam), the destruction of two established great powers (Roman and Iranian), and the creation of a new world empire by the Arabs, all in the space of not much more than a generation (610-52 AD). Warfare looms large, especially where operations can be followed in some detail, as in Iraq 636-40, in Egypt 641-2 and in the long-drawn out battle for the Mediterranean (649-98). As the first history of the formative phase of Islam to be grounded in the important non-Islamic as well as Islamic sources Witnesses to a World Crisis is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand Islam as a religion and political force, the modern Middle East, and the jihadist impulse, which is as evident today as it was in the seventh century.

Author Biography

James Howard-Johnston is a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and was University Lecturer in Byzantine Studies from 1971 to 2009. He has travelled extensively in the Middle East and East Mediterranean, and escaped for a while from the confines of academic life by serving on Oxford City Council (1971-6) and Oxfordshire County Council (1973-7, 1981-7). He is married to the novelist Angela Huth and has a step-daughter and daughter.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations	p. xvii
List of Maps	p. xviii
Maps	p. xix
Introduction	p. 1
George of Pisidia	p. 16
Life and early poems	p. 17
War poetry and religious poetry	p. 20
Official history of the Persian war and other late works	p. 25
Literary achievement	p. 27
Relations with the emperor	p. 31
Two Universal Chronicles	p. 36
Chronicon Paschale: general characteristics	p. 37
Chronicon Paschale: universal history	p. 41
Chronicon Paschale: documentary history of the recent past	p. 44
Chronicon Paschale: scope and authorship	p. 54
Chronicle to the Year 724: content and sources	p. 59
Chronicle to the Year 724: early seventh-century material	p. 63
Conclusion	p. 67
Seventh-Century Eastern Sources I: The History of Khosrov	p. 70
The History of Khosrov and its authorship	p. 71
Scope and character	p. 74
Sources	p. 80
Editing	p. 87
Trustworthiness	p. 94
Conclusion	p. 99
Seventh-Century Eastern Sources II: The History to the Year 682 and the Khuzistan Chronicle	p. 103
History of Atropatene (Azerbaijan) from the beginning of time	p. 105
A historical text disinterred: the History to the Year 682	p. 108
Information about Turks and Arabs	p. 113
Editing	p. 120
History to 682: reliability and historical contribution	p. 124
Khuzistan Chronicle	p. 128
Conclusion	p. 135
Supplementary Roman Sources of the Seventh Century I	p. 138
Works written in Constantinople	p. 140
Evidence from Asia Minor	p. 149
Evidence from the Balkans, Italy, and north Africa	p. 151
Two show-trials in Constantinople in the 650s	p. 157
Supplementary Roman Sources of the Seventh Century II	p. 163
Propaganda and lives of saints from Palestine	p. 163
Sophronius, poet and patriarch	p. 171
The Maronite Chronicle	p. 175
Evidence about Egypt in the early seventh century	p. 179
A detailed narrative of the Arab conquest of Egypt	p. 181
Conclusion	p. 189
Later Historians: The West Syrian Tradition	p. 192
The lost History of Theophilus of Edessa and its derivatives	p. 194
Theophilus' account of the last Roman-Persian War	p. 199
Theophilus' account of the rise of Islam	p. 206
Theophilus on international relations and domestic crises (641-661)	p. 216
Theophilus' evidence on Arab grand strategy before and after the second civil war	p. 223
Editorial treatment of Theophilus' work in later histories	p. 229
Conclusion	p. 233
Later Historians: Nicephorus	p. 237
Life and historical writing	p. 238
Nicephorus' account of the period 603-641: sources	p. 244
Nicephorus' account of the period 603-641: historical value	p. 250
Later seventh- and early eighth-century history: Nicephorus' source	p. 256
Nicephorus' account of Roman-Arab relations: historical value	p. 260
Conclusion	p. 265
Later Historians: Theophanes	p. 268
Life and work	p. 269
Last Roman-Persian war: sources	p. 274
Last Roman-Persian war: editorial errors	p. 279
A historical text disinterred: the official history of Heraclius' Persian campaigns	p. 284
Arab conquests: sources and editing	p. 295
Battle for the Mediterranean 669-718: sources and editing	p. 299
A historical text identified: the political memoirs of the Patrician Trajan	p. 306
Conclusion	p. 307
Later Historians at Work in Egypt, Iraq, and Iran	p. 313
History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria	p. 315
Chronicle of Seert	p. 324
Annals of Eutychius	p. 331
Khwadaynamag ('Book of Lords')	p. 341
Early Islamic Historical Writing	p. 354
The Qur'an	p. 355
Early Islamic historical traditions	p. 358
Al-Tabari's account of the last Roman-Persian war	p. 366
Muslim accounts of the conquests (futuh)	p. 370
Disruptions in the historical narrative: the capture of Jerusalem and the first civil war (fitna)	p. 379
History of events from the end of the first civil war (661) to the siege of Constantinople (717-718)	p. 387
Conclusion	p. 392
The Life of the Prophet	p. 395
Islamic traditions about sixth-century Arabia	p. 396
Rise of Mecca	p. 398
Historical value of the biography of the Prophet (sira)	p. 402
The settlement of Hudaybiya	p. 408
Triumph and triumphalism	p. 414
Historians of the Middle East in the Seventh Century	p. 419
Modest aims and respect for evidence	p. 420
General characteristics of non-Islamic historical writing	p. 423
General characteristics of early Islamic historical writing	p. 425
Coverage of extant historical sources	p. 428
Substantive history	p. 435
The Middle East in the Seventh Century: The Great Powers, Arabia, and the Prophet	p. 436
The last Roman-Persian war, 603-630	p. 436
The Prophet and his followers	p. 445
Confrontation and conciliation	p. 455
The Middle East in the Seventh Century: Arab Conquests	p. 461
Conquest of the Middle East	p. 464
Reasons for Muslim success	p. 470
Battle for the Mediterranean: phase I	p. 474
First civil war, 656-661	p. 481
The Middle East in the Seventh Century: A New World Order	p. 488
Battle for the Mediterranean: phase II	p. 489
Second civil war, 682-692	p. 495
The early Muslim state	p. 501
Siege of Constantinople, 717-718	p. 507
Byzantium and Islam	p. 510
Conclusion	p. 517
Bibliography	p. 531
Index	p. 551
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