New Perspectives on Ibn ʿAsākir in Islamic Historiography

Steven Judd, Ph.D. (1997) University of Michigan, is Professor of Middle East History at Southern Connecticut State University. He has published a monograph and several articles on the Umayyad period, including Religious Scholars and the Umayyads (2013).Jens Scheiner, Ph.D. (2009) Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, is Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Göttingen. He has published a monograph on the conquest of Damascus (2010) and edited a volume on the contexts of learning in Baghdad (2014).

"The present volume gathers a variety of recent studies on [Ibn ˁAsākir], his biographical dictionary, its respective topographical introduction, and his forty-hadith collection about jihad. It is a welcome addition to the far too small number of studies devoted to arguably the most prolific Arabic historiographical genre in the Middle Ages and one of its prominent representatives. The author who is the focal point of the present book has already attracted some attention but surely merits further research. The present book may inspire future research as it points towards possible new, fruitful directions." - Benedikt Reier, in: Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes 109 (2019) "... Judd and Scheiner have produced a superb volume, reflecting an increasing interest in the various complexities of Ibn ʿAsākir's work, as well as the irreplaceable contribution he makes to understanding early Islamic Syria and the Umayyad period. [...] For scholars of Islamic historiography, this volume will prove a requisite addition to their libraries. Its meticulous scholarship and wide-ranging themes cover a broad swathe of this highly respected Islamic historian's life and times, and makes essential reading for those examining the waxing and waning of Ibn ʿAsākir's beloved city." - Christopher P. Clohessy, in: Islamochristiana 44 (2018)