Chronicling the Crusading Period

Richards' The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athīr is the second of his planned three-part translation of Ibn al-Athīr's universal chronicle al-Kāmil fī'l-ta'rīkh. Although Ibn al-Athīr intended al-Kāmil to be a universal history of the medieval Islamic world from Creation up until his own time, because the present translations have been published as part of the Crusade Texts in Translation series, an editorial decision was made to divide the translation into three volumes on the basis of a pre-existing crusades chronology: thus the first volume is subtitled 'The Coming of the Franks and the Muslim Response' and covers the first half of the twelfth century, whereas this volume, entitled 'The Age of Nur al-Din and Saladin', covers the period 1146 to 1193.¹ Thus Richards' translation of al-Kāmil begins, not at the start of the work, but with the year in which Ibn al-Athīr initially introduces into his work the first reference to the First Crusade. However, from this point onwards the work is translated in its entirety, including those sections narrating events not directly concerned with the activities of the crusaders. It therefore includes descriptions of events not only in greater Syria and the wider region of south-west Asia, but also those in the western Maghreb, Andalusia and south Asia. For example, Ibn al-Athīr pays particular attention to narrating the various conflicts and political machinations of the Ghurid dynasty.² It is this universalism and wide range in subject matter that makes this work and its translation of particular scholarly value. Not only does it help non-Arabic readers to form a more accurate or balanced judgement concerning the impact that the crusades had on the Arab and Muslim world, but it also provides an insight into events happening in less documented parts of the medieval Islamic world.³

Richards' translation is largely based upon the Beirut edition of the text published by Dār Sādir, but in places he refers to the Thornberg edition and notes any discrepancies or variants in the footnotes, such as alternative spellings of place names.⁴ He has also annotated his translation with extremely helpful footnotes that both clarify historical personages and events, as well as suggest further reading. In addition, he frequently identifies the sources employed, or referenced, by Ibn al-Athīr. For example, on one occasion Ibn al-Athīr mentions that a particular event was recounted to him by a friend who Richards identifies as being Baha al-Din Shaddad.⁵ Such identification helps readers gain a greater insight into the inter-textual links and scholarly contacts that existed between different authors and their works at this time. Moreover, when other contemporary historians such as Imād al-Dīn al-Isfahānī and al-Bundārī give alternative dates for events, provide variant inscriptions of personal names, or when they include additional information not present in Ibn al-Athīr, this is noted as well.⁶ Lastly, Richards cross references events in al-Kāmil with longer versions given in the other works of Ibn al-Athīr.⁷ However, despite this valuable annotation, the footnotes are not permitted to proliferate and overwhelm the translation.

The work contains a comprehensive bibliographical section, index, and a brief introduction by Richards, which focuses upon the perspective of Ibn al-Athīr, particularly towards Saladin, and his use of sources. The introduction is, however, extremely rudimentary, and, although it makes reference in footnotes to some other articles on this topic, some key sources on this subject are omitted, for example, one by Holt and a number of Richards' own articles.⁸ It should be noted that Richards provides an...