History and Historiography Again

I've discussed historiography as an aspect of religious science but I also want to discuss it as a 'secular' science that has contributed to the writing of Arab history even until today. I say 'secular' because I want to emphasise that its religious origins make it impossible to consider it as a science divorced in every way from the religious impulse. Nevertheless, attempts were made to achieve a method that reflected worldly epistemological concerns precisely in order that it might support the religion of the historiographer in the hope that the religion was the true revealed religion.

Ibn Khaldoun, who lived in the 14^th Century, has been regarded as the greatest Arab-Islamic historian of the the pre-modern era (or at least the latest serious one). However, as mentioned in earlier posts, histories were quite important from the very beginning of the Islamic Era, firstly as a means of reliably authenticating Hadith transmission. The life of the prophet himself is among the earliest subjects of biographical history. One form of history that in a significant sense formed its basis was the Arab genealogy that had preceded the Islamic Era. The early Islamic conquests were also historically attested by Islamic as well as non-Islamic writers in and beyond the Islamic world. The origin of the Arabs was also considered religiously relevant history and world history (from Adam on) was an early historical interest. At-Tabari, living in the late 9^th and early 10^th Centuries, produced a famous version of such a global and comprehensive history.

Historical schools developed in Medina, Iraq, Syria, Egypt and elsewhere and regional histories and histories of cities were produced (as I've mentioned before). History thus became quite varied in its subjects but was nevertheless often based on the same model of biography and validated with the same scholarly genealogy (borrowing a method from Hadith scholarship which in turn owed something to pre-Islamic methods).

Al-Mas’udi’s famous 10^th Century history was both thematic and encyclopaedic and also drew upon the author’s extensive travel experience. Al-Ya’qubi (9^th Century) and Miskawayh (10^th Century) were also notable early historians.

Ibn Khaldoun produced the great Introductions (Muqaddima) to History. His historiography is potentially a culturally satisfying model for explaining history for the Arabs and Islamic groups today. The essence of his theory is that certain triggers have inexorably led to a cycle of civilisations and that environment (along with religious revelation) plays a role in the different regional forms of civilisation. In particular, he examined the role of both the cities and the uncivilised Bedouin desert-dwellers in this process in the Arab and Islamic worlds.