The History of States and Kings by Ibn al-Furāt (died 807 AH / 1405 AD). A Study of the Manuscript of the Second Volume, Its Sources and Importance

Abstract

This study examines the unedited second volume of the History of States and Kings (Tārīkh al-Duwal wa-al-Mulūk) by the historian Ibn al-Furāt (d. 807/ 1405 AD). The article presents the most important topics the volume covers, the sources on which Ibn al-Furāt relied, especially those that have been lost, and reveals the method that he adopted and the importance of the volume for historical studies in general, and for the history of the Abbasid caliphate, the Fatimid caliphate, the Seljuk state, and the Levant in the period from 522 to 543 AH / 1128 to 1148 A.D. Ibn al-Furāt preserved important accounts that are not found in other historians, making the publication of his history exceptionally important.