Rediscovering al-Azd? and the Fut?? al-Sh?m Narrative

Rediscovering al-Azd? and the Fut?? al-Sh?m Narrative Synopsis

The Fut?? al-Sh?m (The Conquests of Greater Syria), usually attributed to Ab? Ism???l Mu?ammad b. ?Abdall?h al-Azd? al-Ba?r?, is one of the primary sources used for historians studying the early Muslim expansion into Greater Syria. This study revaluates the Fut?? al-Sh?m narrative and the question of its compiler-author, investigating the history of the narrative as text through an analysis of a new manuscript and important parallel texts, and revisiting the evidence and hypotheses previous scholars have put forward on both al-Azd?’s life and the Fut?? al-Sh?m narrative’s text. It thus offers an overview of the history of Oriental and Islamic Studies on the basis of one work.