ABSTRACT
Abn Shmma and Ibn Wmxil wrote their chronicles in Syria1 in the seventh/thirteenth century and arranged them annalistically, in the then prevailing style of history writing. They dealt mainly with the history of the Syrian and Egyptian lands, starting with the beginning of Nnr al-Dln’s (d. 569/1174) dynasty, the Zangids, in the late fifth/eleventh century. Abn Shmma’s Raw,atayn ended with Xalm. al-Dln’s death in 589/1193 and its following few pages dealt only briefly with subsequent events. Ibn Wmxil’s chronicle, in contrast, extended well into the author’s lifetime and broke off (depending on the manuscript examined), either during the year 659/1261 or at the end of 661/1263.2
The textual analysis in this study will focus on passages dealing with the period covered by both authors: the reigns of Nnr al-Dln and Xalm. al-Dln. In both texts it was the political history of the period which was central – that is to say, first the dynastic transitions from the Fatimids (in Egypt) and the Zangids (in Syria and al-Jazlra3) to the Ayyubids and second, conflicts involving the Crusaders. However, the role of the Crusaders should not be overstated, since, unlike the dynastic issue, it did not achieve such a central importance in the texts. This was also indicated by the ‘factual’ parts of the titles: On the Reports of the Two Reigns [of Nnr al-Dln and Xalm. al-Dln]) and On the Reports of the Ayyubids. Further subjects, such as events linked to the scholarly community of the ^mlims, received only a relatively marginal place in the authors’ narratives. As the texts were mainly concerned with the dynastic issue, the following section provides a brief outline of the main events of the period.
