"I have been informed by certain men learned in tradition, biography and the conquest of the lands whose narratives I transmitted, abridged and pieced up together into one whole," etc. Where his store of authorities fails him, al-Balâdhuri introduces his narratives by "they said," or "he said," or "it was said."
On a geographical basis, Moslem tradition may be grouped into two categories: (1) that of al-Madiînah as represented by Muḥammad ibn-Isḥâḳ and al-Wâḳidi, and (2) that of al-‘Irâḳ. Notwithstanding the fact that al-Balâdhuri lived in Baghdâd, the tradition of al-Madînah, which for obvious reasons is more reliable than that of al-‘Irâḳ, forms the basis of his works.
History, whose domain in the time of the first four caliphs was not sharply defined, made its full appearance, and was recorded for the first time under the sway of the Umaiyads. According to al-Fihrist[1] Mu‘âwiyah ibn-abi-Sufyân[2] summoned from al-Yaman one, ‘Âbid ibn-Sharyah, and asked him about past events, histories of the Arabs and foreign kings and "ordered that the answers be recorded." This "book of the kings and past events," however, is lost.
The early favorite forms of writing history were biography, genealogy and description of campaigns. The oldest biography is Sîrat Rasûl Allâh written for al-Manṣûr by ibn-Isḥâḳ (d. 151/767). This we do not possess in its original form but only in the recension of ibn-Hishâm (d. 213/834). Genealogy borders on biography and, calling for elucidation, both lead on to history. Genealogical books were first written in the Umaiyad period. The genealogical list served as an army roll. The study of tradition
