The Damascene Historian Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn al-Mualla al-Asadi (Died 286 A.H/899 A.D) and his Book "Akhbar al-Sufyani"
Modar A. Telfah, Department of History and Islamic Civilization,University of Sharjah, UAE./ Department of History, Yarmouk University, Jordan.
Issam Okleh, Department of History and Islamic Civilization,University of Sharjah, UAE./ Department of History, The University of Jordan, Jordan.
Abstract
This research aims to shed light on the Damascene historian Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn al-Mualla al-Asadi (d. 286 AH/ 899 AD), and his book “Akhbar Al-Sufyani”. It aims to define ibn Al-Mualla’s personal life, enumerates his sheikhs and students, explains his sciences and historical writings, and defines in detail his book “Akhbar Al-Sufyani” in terms of its title and subject, ibn Al-Mualla’s resources and methodology in it, what subsequent historians say about him, and its historical importance. The research concluded that ibn Al-Mualla assumed a distinguished scientific position in Damascus. He distinguished himself in the science of history and authored several books in which the most important is the book “Akhbar Al-Sufyani”. It was about the revolution of Ali bin Abdullah Al-Sufyani in 195 AH /811 AD, which was spread according to the narration of his student Muhammad bin Ahmed bin Ghazwan. The historian ibn Asaker has many of its texts. These texts show the features of ibn Al-Mualla’s approach and its resources in his book, namely, his adoption of the objective method in his composition, his commitment to the chain of transmission, his dependence on contemporary narrators, his keenness on the accurate history of the event, its interpretation, its partial details, determining its geographical location, and its inclusion of letters, speeches and poems.
Keywords: Ahmad ibn al-Mualla al-Asadi, Kitab Akhbar al-Sufyani, Levantine historians of the 3th A.H/ 9 A.D century, Historiography of the Arab Islamic history, al-Sufyani Revolution in the year 195 A.H/811 A.D.