BOOK REVIEWS

A more proper rendering of the passage into English would be as follows: We have resented in our people deviation in judgement, suspension of Islamic penalties, and monopolization of the booty. We ask you to submit to the Book of God Almighty and Great and the tradition of His Prophet (peace be upon Him) and to acknowledge the rightful rule of Abu Bakr and 'Umar and to discredit ' and 'All for introducing changes in religion and their departure from the Book's injunctions. If you accept, then you have matured; if you do not, then we have stretched to the limit in offering you chances of excuse. And we have declared war on you, and disavowed our compact with you, as you did without forewarning. Surely God does not favour the disloyal. These are just a few examples of the numerous inexactitudes of translation Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jis/article/3/2/236/758490 by guest on 28 September 2021 which could have been averted if a method of double-checking had been employed enabling native -speaking scholars to co-operate in resolving the difficulties of the Arabic text. It is to be hoped that these anomalies will be ironed out in the reprints and in the forthcoming volumes of this impressive enterprise. Adel Salama Ain-Skams University, Cairo

The History of al-Tabarl, Volume XXXV: The Crisis of the lAbbasid Translated and annotated by GEORGE SALIBA. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1985. Pp. 187. Price HB not given. 0-88706-569-4.

Al-TabarTs involvement in the art of history and exegesis has to be understood against the background of a highly lettered and religious culture, with its emphasis on, and respect for, knowledge. According to Professor Rosenthal, al-Tabarl was 'well past seventy in the year his History, as we know it, was published. [He] was a famous, if somewhat controversial, personality. Among the figures of his age, he had access to sources of information equal to anyone, except, perhaps, those who were directly connected with decision-making within the government'.1 As a theologian, an adib, an educator, and a historian, al-Tabarl was in a unique position to shed some light on all the information that was available to him. The text under review, rendered in a beautiful and highly readable English by Professor George Saliba of Columbia University, covers a period of six turbulent years from the caliphate of al-Mustain in 249/863-4 to the death of his successor and brother, the caliph al-Mu'tazz in 255/869. The main political events of this period were shaped by the continuous conflict between the seat of the caliphate and the newly imported Turkish army. In an earlier section not covered by this translation, al-Tabarl reports that

1 al-Jarir al-Tabari, The Return of the Caliphate to . The Caliphate of al-Mutadid, al-Muktafi and al-Muqtadir, A.D. 892-91S/A.H. 279-302, translated and annotated by Franz Rosenthal (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1985), xiii. BOOK REVIEWS Z37 a Turkish regiment was brought as a mercenary army to Baghdad by the caliph al-Mu'tasim in the year AH 220. Afterwards, the caliph felt the need to build a new city for the Turkish army called Samarra. The reasons for building the city are given by one of al-Tabarrs contemporaries, the historian al-Mas'udl: Mu'tasim sought out Turks and had them bought by his freedmen. He thus gathered together a troop of 4,000, whom he dressed in brocade with gilded belts and ornaments, distinguishing them by their costume from the rest of the army... These Turks soon made up a numerous army. They subjected the inhabitants of Baghdad to great annoy- ance, riding their horses at full gallop through the middle of the markets and doing much harm to the infirm and to children. On several occasions the people took vengeance Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jis/article/3/2/236/758490 by guest on 28 September 2021 and killed more than one horseman who had knocked over a woman, an old man, a child or someone blind.1 In view of the above, how can one assess the Turkish political and cultural influence on Islamic civilization before the demise of the ' in the thirteenth century? Many Muslim historians, including al-Tabarl, al- Mas'udT, Ibn Hajar, Ibn al-Nadim, and the modern Ahmad Amln, argue that the Turks were brought to Baghdad to counterbalance the almost pervasive influence of the Iranians in the Islamic caliphate. What was conceived as, perhaps, a simple solution to a 'major problem' ended up a disaster to the political, the military, and even the moral integrity of the 'Abbasid caliphate. But this is only one part of the story. Though one may argue that the Turks did not add much to the religious and intellectual life of in this period, they none the less became, with the conversion of tens of thousands of them over the years, the new blood of the faith. They were successful in reviving the classical image of Muslims as dynamic conquerors and promoters of a universal faith. Their expansion placed Islam once again at the centre of the world political map from at least the thirteenth to the seventeenth century. - We read in al-Tabari that the caliph al-Mutawakkil (847-61) plotted to kill the top Turkish leadership because of their increasing influence. When his attempt failed, he was himself killed. The killing of a caliph by the Turks ushered the 'Abbasid caliphate into one of its weakest phases. As al-Jabarl notes, 'the Turks killed any caliph they desired to kill and appointed in his stead whomever they wished, without any reference to the religious authority and eliciting the opinions of the Muslims' (10). From this text we know that the Turkish military put al-Mustain in power in the year AH 248. However, the tension between the caliph and the Turks never ceased. Al-Mustain escaped from Samarra to Baghdad, and there they followed him, regretting that they had ostracized him. He admonished them by saying: 'You are people of corruption and ill-repute who belittle the bonds of privilege... I have seen that all your desires were met. I poured out my gifts to you until I was giving you the gold and the silver that I deprived myself of. All of that I did in an attempt to please you and to attend to your welfare. In return you persisted in your corruption, infamy, arrogance, and threats' (35). The caliph, who was nomin- ally the Imam of Muslims, was treated as a guest, as Ahmad Amln puts it.

1 The Meadows of Gold: The Abbasids by Mas'udi, trans and ed. Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone (: Kegan Paul International, 1989), 228. 238 BOOK REVIEWS

This state of affairs widened the gap between the government and the masses, especially in at the time. In his introduction to the current translation, Saliba states correctly that al- Tabarrs narratives 'are rich in allusions to daily life' (xii). It is, perhaps, possible to reconstruct the social and cultural history, in addition to the political one, of the formative phase of Islam on the basis of al-Tabari*s Ta'rikh. Though one may argue that al-Tabarfs historical method is less sophisticated than that of or that of his contemporary al-Mas'udl, it is hard to escape the conclusion that al-Tabarfs style is versatile, his method all-encompassing, and his insights persuasive and clear. Al-Tabarfs method and scope of writing Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jis/article/3/2/236/758490 by guest on 28 September 2021 are a reflection of a rich and encyclopedic mind, as well as of a culture that valued learning. There is ample evidence from his Ta'rikh that the intellectual class played a pivotal role in education and the advancement of learning and scholarship. The spread of knowledge was not the privilege of the ruling elite class alone. In addition to a detailed description and analysis of the military situation of the 'Abbasid caliphate and the role of the officers in politics, one can point out other major themes and issues discussed by al-Tabari: social and economic life; the social position of the scribes as the backbone of the professional intelligent- sia in the 'Abbasid caliphate; the role of the 'JJlama' and their standing in society; governmental corruption and political instability; women's, including female slaves', influence on political life; the role of propaganda in society, and the dispersion of wealth. Though al-Tabarl alludes very often to the cultural and religious life of the period under study, there is no clue, in this particular text, to whether or not certain traditions (ahadith) were forged either to support or to criticize the Turks. Saliba's is an excellent translation of a period that has been less fortunate in attracting the attention of historians than the preceding one, termed by some 'the 'Abbasid revolution*. However, this is no less important a phase in Islamic history than any other. On the whole, and in spite of minor spelling and transliteration mistakes, this is a faithful translation of an important segment of al-Tabarfs work. The translator's numerous footnotes have added substantially to the value of the work. However, a lot of terms, locations, and names of persons have gone undefined. Ibrahim M. Abu-Kabi The Duncan Black Macdonald Center, Hartford Seminary, Hartford, CT

The History of al-Tabari, Volume IV: The Ancient Kingdoms Translated and annotated by MOSHE PERLMANN. Albany: State Uni- versity of New York Press, 1987. Pp. xiv + 205. Price HB $49.50. 0-88706-181-8.

Perlmann has produced an excellent annotated translation of a section of al- TabarFs Ta'rikh al-rusul wa-l-muluk. Like the other volumes in the series, this