INTRODUCTIONin the Sasanian Book of Kings. The reader should be alerted to the
importance of confirming information from Arabic literature with
information from sixth and seventh-century Syriac and Greek texts.
In order to deal with the history of an entire region and all of its
people, not only the Muslim Arabs, it is necessary to construct an
understanding of conditions based on primary sources of diverse na-
tures, written in different languages, and pertaining to different dis-
ciplines. One purpose for doing this is to open up several new avenues
of investigation by showing how such diverse materials may be used.
Even those who are familiar with early Islamic history may find some
of this material unfamiliar, but the only way to make unfamiliar ma-
terials familiar is to use them.
The use of all of these materials makes a more multidimensional
comparative approach possible. The comparison of two adjacent pe-
riods should be more than a mere "before and after" catalogue of
similarities and differences, and it ought to avoid a thrashing-about
in a sea of details. No one should impose an interpretation on the
material or look for particular features; one can usually find whatever
one .looks for, and a predisposition to emphasize similarities or dif-
ferences will have a prejudicial effect on the outcome. Principles ought
to be derived from specific circumstances for each society, culture, or
period before one engages in comparisons. In this case, valid com-
parisons of conditions in Iraq before and after the Islamic conquest
depend on a proper reconstruction and understanding of those con-
ditions, so that criteria can be established to determine what may be
used as evidence for continuity or change; this evidence should form
the basis for the conclusions. Static comparisons should be avoided
and a concern should prevail for the dynamics of continuity and change
and for the process inherent in the formation of social institutions and
in the transmission of culture. The tendency to emphasize law and
language in discussions of society and culture should be complemented
by a concern for values and behavior, interests and attitudes, and the
perspective of the people themselves.
The major advantage in such a comparative method lies in the
possibility of recognizing the importance of things that may at first
seem unimportant or be overlooked. The best way to begin is to
consider several topical themes separately before trying to interrelate
them. Recurring patterns or themes will emerge as one moves from
one topic to another. The method of presentation here will be to
juxtapose and to discuss several subjects separately in terms of con-