RESOURCESThis material also appears in the anonymous Nihiiyat al-arab {t akhbiir
aI-Furs wa-l-'Arab (Mss. Cambridge Qq 225, Cairo Ta'rikh 4505),
which is summarized by E. G. Browne in "Some Account of the Arabic
Work entitled 'Nihayatu' l-irab [sic 1 fi akhbari'l-Furs wa'l-'Arab,'
particularly of that part which treats of the Persian Empire," jRAS
(1900), 195-259). It is also the basis of the Ghurar akhbiir mulilk al-
Furs wa siyaruhum by Abii Man~iir 'Abd al-Malik ibn Mul).ammad
ath-Tha'alibi (3501961-42911038), which was edited with a reliable
French translation by H. Zotenberg as Histoire des rois des Perses
(Paris, 1900).
The earliest surviving Arabic chronicle is the Ta'rtkh of Khalifa ibn
Khayyat (d. 240/854-55), which has been edited by A. al-'Umari in
two volumes (Najaf, 138611967) and covers Islamic history until 2321
846-47. For an evaluation see J. Schacht, "The Kitab al-Tarig of
Ijalifa b. Hayyat," Arabica 16 (1969): 79-81. The earliest surviving
Arabic account of the Muslim conquests is the Kitab futu~ al-buldiin
of Al).mad ibn Yal).ya ibn Jabir al-Baladhuri (d. 279/892), ed. M. J. de
Goeje (Leiden, 1866). The conquest of Iraq is treated on pages 110
to 113 and 241 to 289 of this text, which is translated into English
by P. K. Hitti as The Origins of the Islamic State (New York, 1916;
repr. Beirut, 1966). The Kitiib al-akhbiir at-tiwiil (Leiden, 1912) of
Abii l:Ianifa Al).mad ibn Da'iid ad-Dinawari (d. 281/894) and the
Ta'rtkh (Leiden, 1883) of Al).mad ibn Abi Ya'qiib ibn Wadil). al-
Ya'qiibi (d. 284/897) are the earliest surviving connected narrative
"universal" histories in Arabic. AI-Y a' qlibi covers Sasanian history
less extensively than Dinawari, although the obvious anachronisms in
Dinawari's account of the Sasanians must be balanced against the fact
that he is clearly well informed about the local history of his region
of origin in western Iran.
The massive, three-part Ta'rtkh ar-rusul wa I-mulilk of Abii Ja'far
Mul).ammad ibn Jarir at-Tabari (224/839-3101923) is probably the
single most important Arabic source for early Islamic history. It was
edited in fifteen volumes by M. J. de Goeje (Leiden, 1879) and by
M.lbrahim (Cairo, 1960). Universal in form and scope, it includes a
section on Sasanian history derived from the lost royal annals and was
reliably translated into German by T. Noldeke as Geschichte der Perser
und Araber zur Zeit der Sasaniden (Leiden, 1879). Although this is a
connected narrative, Tabari's account of Islamic history is not; it is
composed of quotations and excerpts of varying lengths from works
of earlier authors. In Tabari one finds the accounts of early Islamic