Download PDF | Scott Savran - Arabs and Iranians in the Islamic Conquest Narrative_ Memory and Identity Construction in Islamic Historiography, 750-1050-Routledge (2017).
259 Pages
Arabs and Iranians in the Islamic Conquest Narrative
Arabs and Iranians in the Islamic Conquest Narrative analyzes how early Muslim historians merged the pre- Islamic histories of the Arab and Iranian peoples into a didactic narrative culminating with the Arab conquest of Iran. This book provides an in- depth examination of Islamic historical accounts of the encounters between representatives of these two peoples that took place in the centuries prior to the coming of Islam. By doing this, it uncovers anachronistic projections of dynamic identity and political discourses within the contemporaneous Islamic world. It shows how the formulaic placement of such embellishment within the context of the narrative served to justify the Arabs’ rise to power, whilst also explaining the fall of the Iranian Sasanian empire.
The objective of this book is not simply to mine Islamic historical chronicles for the factual data they contain about the pre- Islamic period, but rather to understand how the authors of these works thought about this era. By investigating the intersection between early Islamic memory, identity construction, and power discourses, this book will benefit researchers and students of Islamic history and literature and Middle Eastern Studies.
Scott Savran obtained his PhD from the University of Wisconsin in 2011. Dr Savran’s research focuses on identity- based discourses in early Islamic historiography.
Preface
This book is based on my dissertation which I completed at the University of Wisconsin in 2011. My idea for this study first came about during the summer of 2004, during which time I spent in Damascus reading Arabic chronicles. Though I was originally a student of Mamlūk studies, my colleague, Martyn Smith, convinced me that we read together al- Mas‘ūdī’s Murūj al- dhahab wa- ma‘ādin aljawhar, and that we focus on the section of pre- Islamic antiquities. I was drawn to this author’s chapter on the Sasanian empire, which cites pre- Islamic Persian texts.
Whose “voice” was speaking to us, I wondered, al- Mas‘ūdī or the composers of these ancient texts? Furthermore, what did the Sasanian era mean for alMas‘ūdī, and how did other Muslim historians, living in different times and places, think about the pre- Islamic period? These questions led me down the path of this current study, which analyzes early Islamic historiography on the relationship between the Sasanian empire and the tribes and states of the Arabian peninsula and Iraq through the lens of contemporaneous discourses and processes. Many people have helped and supported me through the course of this project.
While space limitations prevent me from mentioning everyone by name, there are several individuals whom I would particularly like to acknowledge. I would first like to thank my graduate and undergraduate advisors, David Morgan and Rudi Lindner, who have supported and inspired me throughout my education and in writing this book. From the University of Wisconsin, Uli Schamiloglu has also been a supportive figure throughout my career. Next, I would like to express my gratitude towards Tayeb El- Hibri, who kindly read a draft of my introduction, and provided invaluable advice. Sarah Savant, Greg Fisher, Conor Whately, Michael Bates, and Ignacio Sánchez graciously shared their scholarship with me, which I found most helpful.
Likewise, the faculty and students participating in the History Reading Circle at Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan, provided a much welcome assessment of my early chapters. While writing both my dissertation and this book, I benefited from my communication with Boaz Shoshan, Mahmoud Omidsalar, Parvaneh Pourshariati, Shaul Shaked, Reuven Amitai, Julia Rubanovich, Michael Morony, Elizabeth Urban, D. Gershon Lewental, and the late Patricia Crone, who gave me useful feedback on my dissertation. Furthermore, I would like to thank my teaching assistants from opposite sides of the globe, Nurlan Kabdylkhak and Jay Coman, for providing me invaluable Preface ix assistance and friendship during very busy times.
Other friends and colleagues I would like to thank include John Bragg, Don Leggett, Daniel Beben, Zbigniew Wojnowski, Alexander Morrison, Beatrice Penati, Brendan Pietsch, Matthew Wilhite, Daniel Scarborough, Siegfried Van Duffel, Philip Enns, Sofia An, Brian Ulrich, Mark Barrow, Trudy Harrington Becker, William Ochsenwald, Daniel Geiger, Elizabeth Bouldin, Eren Tasar, Natalia Bwallerstero, Austin Hollar, and Elsaid Mohammed. My own family and my spouse’s family have been bastions of support during this process as well. Finally and most importantly, I could not have completed this book without the support of my wife Hannah. From proofreading drafts of chapters, to following me to Kazakhstan, and back to the United States, this book is as much hers as it is mine
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