Rediscovering al-Azdi and the Futuh al-Sham Narrative: Manuscripts, Parallel Texts, Research History

The Futuh al-Sham (The Conquests of Greater Syria), usually attributed to Abu Isma'il Muḥammad b. 'Abdallah al-Azdi al-Basri, is one of the primary sources used for historians studying the early Muslim expansion into Greater Syria. This study revaluates the Futuh al-Sham 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-Azdi's life and the Futuh al-Sham narrative's text. It thus offers an overview of the history of Oriental and Islamic Studies on the basis of one work.