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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.
Witnesses to a World Crisis Historians and Histories of the Middle East in the Seventh Century
by Howard-Johnston, JamesFormat: Paperback
Pub. Date: 2011-09-05
Publisher(s): Oxford University Press
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Summary
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 RomanùPersian 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 |
| TheQur'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 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
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