Echoes of the First Encounters - Syriac Testimonies on Islam’s Emergence (EFE) - VI - The Chronicle of 724: Empire and Memory in the Age of Transition
The Chronicle of 724: Empire and Memory in the Age of Transition
As the Umayyad empire continued to solidify its rule over the many peoples of the Near East, Syriac Christian chroniclers began a new phase of historical writing: no longer only lamenting conquest or predicting an imminent Roman comeback, they increasingly treated Muslim rule as a permanent political reality, among the earliest and most important examples of this shift is the Chronicle of 724, a short but revealing Syriac text listing the early Arab rulers — from Muhammad ﷺ to Yazīd II — and the lengths of their reigns.
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It uses lunar regnal years, matching Muslim rather than Christian chronologies.
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It contains Arabic loanwords like rasul ("messenger") and fitna ("civil strife") transliterated directly into Syriac.
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It reflects a detailed, if slightly confused, knowledge of Islamic traditions about Muhammad’s emigration (Hijrah) and reign.
As Penn notes, the Chronicle preserves a striking moment of Christian-Muslim cultural encounter: although the Syriac translator rendered rasul faithfully, later Christian scribes attempted to erase the word, uncomfortable at allowing Muhammad the title of God's Messenger.
Sebastian Brock also stresses the Chronicle’s value: it shows that, as early as 724 CE, Syriac Christians knew that Muhammad had ruled for ten years after his move to Medina. This challenges earlier apocalyptic frameworks where Arab rule was seen as temporary — by this point, Muslim kingship was being recorded seriously, alongside earlier Roman and Persian monarchies.
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Preserved uniquely in British Library Add. 14,643, a mid-8th-century Miaphysite codex.
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Written likely between 724–743 CE, soon after Yazīd I’s death but before Hishām’s reign.
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The Chronicle appears at the very end of a manuscript otherwise containing older Christian material, perhaps indicating its slightly controversial nature among Christian scribes.
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Although chronologically imperfect, the Chronicle offers key insights into how early Syriac Christians understood the Arab rulers.
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It normalizes Arab rule without sacralizing it: the caliphs are called malkē (kings), not commanders of the faithful.
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It omits ‘Alī, treating the first Muslim civil war (fitna) as a chaotic interregnum, revealing an external Christian perspective on early Islamic dynastic legitimacy.
In sum, the Chronicle of 724 provides a crucial early Christian window into the memory of Muhammad’s reign, the succession of the Umayyad caliphs, and the evolving perception of Islam — from temporary disruption to lasting empire.
Text
"A notice concerning the life of Muhammad, the messenger of God—from his first year, after he had entered his city and three months before he entered [it]; and how long each subsequent king who rose up over the Hagarenes lived after they began to reign; and how long there was dissension among them."
Commentary
1. Muslim Historiography — Before Ibn Isḥāq
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Michael Philip Penn, Robert Hoyland, and Andrew Palmer all confirm:
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The text uses the lunar calendar, typical of Muslims, not Syriac Christians.
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It preserves Arabic loanwords: rasul (messenger) and fitna (civil war).
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It marks Muhammad's arrival in Medina in Rabiʿ al-Awwal (the 3rd lunar month)—a precision also found in Ibn Isḥāq and Khalīfa ibn Khayyāt:
قَدِمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ الْمَدِينَةَ يَوْمَ الاثْنَيْنِ حِينَ اشْتَدَّ الضُّحَاءُ لِاثْنَتَيْ عَشْرَةَ لَيْلَةً خَلَتْ مِنْ شَهْرِ رَبِيعٍ الأَوَّلِ.
"The Messenger of God ﷺ arrived at Medina on a Monday, when the sun had risen high, on the twelfth night of the month of Rabīʿ al-Awwal."
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2. The "Messenger of God" — A Loyal Translation
Shockingly, the Syriac text faithfully translated the Arabic phrase "Muhammad, the Messenger (rasul) of God" — without qualification.
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Syriac Christians by the 8th century universally rejected Muhammad’s prophethood.
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No Christian would voluntarily call him "Messenger of God" unless copying from a Muslim source.
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This proves the original Arabic document was Muslim, documenting caliphal succession systematically.
Michael Penn highlights:
"The surprise for modern readers is the willingness of an eighth-century Christian to describe Muhammad as God’s messenger."
But it did shock the ancient reader too—one so affronted that they violently erased the word rasul in the manuscript, leaving only "Muhammad ... of God."
3. The Double Erasure: A Silent Protest
Even more cleverly:
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The same reader erased part of another word, subtly rewriting the sentence.
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Originally: "A notice concerning the life of Muhammad, the messenger of God."
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After the erasure: "The notice that Muhammad is of God is rejected."
4. What This Tells Us
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Early Muslim historiography existed in Arabic, structured around Muhammad's mission and the caliphs.
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The Chronicle of 724 is not a Christian invention — it is a translation of an early Islamic regnal list.
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Muslims were already recording history by reigns and years very early, paralleling how Romans and Persians recorded royal lists.
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The transmission across confessional lines shows the cross-pollination of historical memory, even under tension.
In short:
Text
"Three months before Muhammad came.
And Muhammad lived ten [more] years."
Commentary
This line continues the notice about the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
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The "three months before Muhammad came" again reflects the Islamic calendar beginning three months before the actual Hijrah (emigration) to Medina, because the Islamic lunar year was backdated to the start of Muharram, while the Prophet’s physical arrival occurred in Rabīʿ al-Awwal (the third month).
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"Muhammad lived ten [more] years" accurately matches Islamic tradition: the Prophet ﷺ lived in Medina from 622 CE until his passing in 632 CE — a full ten years.
This shows that the Arabic original underlying the Chronicle of 724 preserved authentic Islamic knowledge about the Prophet's timeline, even if later Syriac translators or readers misunderstood parts of it.
Text
"Abū Bakr, son of Abū Quhāfa: two years and six months."
Commentary
This entry correctly records the reign of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (may Allah be pleased with him), the first Caliph after the Prophet ﷺ.
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Muslim tradition holds that Abū Bakr ruled from 632 to 634 CE, which is indeed two years and a few months — typically cited as two years and three months, but some reports round it slightly differently.
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The Chronicle gives two years and six months, a minor discrepancy, but remarkably close, especially for a text translated across languages and cultures.
This slight variation shows the limitations of memory or translation but still reflects an accurate understanding of early Islamic chronology compared to the wild distortions in earlier Christian apocalyptic texts.
Text
"'Umar, son of al-Khaṭṭāb: ten years and three months."
Commentary
This entry refers to ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (may Allah be pleased with him), the second Caliph of Islam.
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According to Muslim sources, ʿUmar ruled from 634 to 644 CE, generally recorded as ten years and six months.
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Here, the Chronicle of 724 slightly understates his reign as ten years and three months.
Text
"ʿUthmān, son of ʿAffān: twelve years."
Commentary
This entry refers to ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (may Allah be pleased with him), the third Caliph of Islam.
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Muslim sources consistently report that ʿUthmān ruled for twelve years (644–656 CE).
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Here, the Chronicle of 724 perfectly matches the Islamic historical record in both name and length of reign.
This precise alignment demonstrates that the Syriac chronicler (or his Arabic source) had reliable information about the duration of ʿUthmān’s caliphate, despite the religious and cultural differences.
Text
"After ʿUthmān, dissension: five years and four months."
Commentary
The "dissension" here clearly refers to the First Fitna (656–661 CE)—the first major civil war among the Muslims after the murder of Caliph ʿUthmān.
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Instead of recognizing ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as the fourth Caliph, this Chronicle, like the Chronicle of 705, collapses his rule into a general period of chaos.
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Five years and four months matches the traditional length of ʿAlī’s leadership (656–661 CE), but the chronicler deliberately avoids naming him.
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This silence reflects a Syro-Umayyad environment, where support for ʿAlī was weak, and early non-Muslim chroniclers followed the dominant political memory shaped by the Umayyads.
Thus, the Chronicle mirrors the sectarian and political atmosphere of Umayyad Syria, offering a glimpse into how early Christians perceived Muslim internal struggles.
Text
"Muʿāwiya, son of Abū Sufyān: nineteen years and two months."
Commentary
This entry marks the start of the Umayyad dynasty with Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān (r. 661–680 CE).
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The Chronicle states nineteen years and two months, which slightly differs from the traditional Muslim calculation that Muʿāwiya reigned around twenty years (specifically 19 years and several months depending on the counting method).
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Despite the minor discrepancy, the recognition of Muʿāwiya’s reign shows that the chronicler resumes listing individual rulers after the period of "dissension"—but starting with Muʿāwiya, not ʿAlī.
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Again, ʿAlī is omitted, reinforcing that the chronicler (or his source) reflects a pro-Umayyad or Syrian Christian memory, where ʿAlī’s caliphate was delegitimized.
Muʿāwiya’s long reign was critical for stabilizing Muslim rule and transitioning from the Rāshidūn period to the hereditary Umayyad monarchy, a shift non-Muslim observers were beginning to acknowledge.
Text
"Yazīd, son of Muʿāwiya: three years and eight months."
Commentary
This entry refers to Yazīd I ibn Muʿāwiya (r. 680–683 CE), the son and successor of Muʿāwiya I.
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The Chronicle lists three years and eight months, which matches quite closely with Islamic sources: Yazīd’s reign traditionally lasted from Rajab 60 AH (April 680 CE) to his death in Rabiʿ al-Awwal 64 AH (November 683 CE)—roughly three years and eight months.
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This accurate duration confirms that the chronicler’s source was well-informed about the timeline of early Umayyad rulers.
Notably:
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The Chronicle, like earlier parts, uses only political titles, not religious titles like "Commander of the Faithful," continuing the pattern of viewing Arab rulers as secular kings (malkē).
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Yazīd’s reign, despite being highly controversial among Muslims due to events like the Battle of Karbalāʾ, is neutrally recorded here, without moral or religious judgment.
Text
"After Yazīd, dissension: nine months."
Commentary
Following the death of Yazīd I in November 683 CE, the Chronicle notes a period of "dissension" (fitna) lasting nine months.
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This refers to the chaotic aftermath in Umayyad Syria after Yazīd’s death, during which Muʿāwiya II, his son, briefly reigned (some Islamic sources say 40 days to a few months) before either dying or abdicating.
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The Chronicle omits Muʿāwiya II’s name entirely, just like it omitted ʿAlī earlier.
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Instead of acknowledging contested rulers, it frames the period as political instability ("dissension") rather than legitimate kingship.
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Historical context:
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After Yazīd’s death, the Umayyad regime in Damascus temporarily collapsed.
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In many Muslim accounts, ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr in Mecca declared himself caliph, creating a power vacuum in Syria before the Umayyads regrouped under Marwān I.
Thus, the Chronicle:
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Focuses only on strong, unified kingships, skipping ephemeral or disputed rulers.
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Reinforces its vision of Arab rule as sequential but vulnerable to internal strife.
Text
"Marwān, son of al-Hakam: nine months."
Commentary
The Chronicle of 724 now records Marwān I, son of al-Ḥakam, reigning for nine months.
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This is broadly accurate:
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Islamic sources generally report that Marwān’s reign lasted about nine months to a year (684–685 CE).
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He became caliph during the Second Fitna (civil war), stabilizing the fragmented Umayyad cause in Syria.
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Key points:
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The Chronicle counts Marwān’s reign independently after the "dissension" following Yazīd's death.
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This is significant because it breaks the "dissension" phase only when the Umayyad dynasty reasserts real control under Marwān.
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Again, the Chronicle does not mention ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Zubayr, the rival claimant from Mecca, maintaining focus exclusively on the Syrian Umayyad succession.
Historical background:
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Marwān I fought and defeated the supporters of Ibn al-Zubayr and former Umayyad rivals in Syria at the Battle of Marj Rāhiṭ.
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His short reign paved the way for his son, ʿAbd al-Malik, to consolidate and rebuild the caliphate.
Thus, the Chronicle highlights Marwān’s role as the restorer of Umayyad power without bogging down in internal conflicts elsewhere.
Text
"ʿAbd al-Malik, son of Marwān: twenty-one years and one month."
Commentary
The Chronicle records ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān as reigning for twenty-one years and one month — and this is remarkably close to Islamic records.
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Islamic sources typically state that:
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ʿAbd al-Malik reigned from 685 CE (after Marwān’s death) until 705 CE.
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His reign lasted approximately 20 years, depending on exact lunar or solar reckoning.
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Some Muslim sources, accounting for lunar calendars, bring the reign to slightly over 20 years, so 21 years and 1 month is very plausible.
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Key historical background:
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ʿAbd al-Malik was one of the most important Umayyad caliphs:
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He restored Umayyad authority over the entire Islamic world after the chaos of the Second Fitna.
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He introduced critical reforms:
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Arabicization of administration.
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Creation of an Islamic coinage system.
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Strengthening the central caliphal authority.
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He completed the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem (691/692 CE) — a major religious and political statement.
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Chronicle pattern:
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Again, the Chronicle of 724 continues its strict focus on the Umayyad line, omitting figures from the rival Ibn al-Zubayr camp in Hijaz.
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ʿAbd al-Malik's reign is presented as stable and uninterrupted, highlighting the reassertion of strong caliphal leadership after civil war.
Thus, this entry is one of the most historically accurate ones in the Chronicle and reflects a good understanding of Umayyad political restoration.
Text
"Walīd, son of ʿAbd al-Malik: nine years and eight months."
Commentary
The Chronicle reports that al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ruled for nine years and eight months, which matches closely with Islamic historical records.
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According to Muslim historians:
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Al-Walīd I reigned from October 705 CE until his death in February 715 CE.
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That covers roughly nine years and a few months, depending on whether one uses lunar or solar reckoning.
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Historical importance of al-Walīd’s reign:
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His caliphate marked the apex of Umayyad power:
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Major conquests occurred under his rule:
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Spain (al-Andalus) was conquered starting 711 CE.
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Sindh (modern Pakistan) was brought under Muslim rule by Muhammad ibn Qāsim.
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Further advances into Central Asia.
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Massive infrastructure projects:
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Completion of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.
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Extensive patronage of architectural and religious works.
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Chronicle pattern:
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The Chronicle faithfully tracks the major Umayyad caliphs without interruption or dispute.
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Like earlier entries, it uses the title "son of", emphasizing the dynastic legitimacy and family continuity of Umayyad rule.
Thus, this entry accurately reflects both the chronological duration and political stability of al-Walīd’s caliphate, supporting the idea that even a Christian scribe preserved early Islamic political history quite faithfully when translating from Arabic.
Text
"Sulaymān, son of ʿAbd al-Malik: two years and nine months."
Commentary
The Chronicle states that Sulaymān ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, brother of al-Walīd, reigned for two years and nine months.
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Islamic sources confirm:
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Sulaymān ruled from February 715 CE (after al-Walīd’s death) until his death in September/October 717 CE.
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His reign lasted around 2 years and 7–8 months (depending on the precise lunar/solar reckoning), so two years and nine months is very close and reasonably accurate.
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Key events during Sulaymān's reign:
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He renewed aggressive military campaigns against the Roman Empire.
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He initiated the massive Muslim siege of Constantinople (717–718), although it ultimately failed shortly after his death.
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He emphasized justice and fair governance more than his predecessor and shifted internal court policies slightly away from harshness.
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Sulaymān was known for appointing ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (his cousin) as his successor on his deathbed — a major turning point toward a more pious and reformist Umayyad rule.
Patterns in the Chronicle:
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As with previous entries, the Chronicle sticks to a simple regnal formula:
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Name of caliph.
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Patronymic (“son of…”).
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Length of reign.
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This demonstrates minimal ideological coloring — focused on chronology and lineage, not theological or polemical interpretations.
Thus, once again, the Chronicle of 724 shows surprising accuracy and restraint, even as a Christian translation of an earlier Arabic caliphal list.
Text
"ʿUmar, son of ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz: two years and five months."
Commentary
The Chronicle notes that ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, the famous Umayyad caliph often called the "Fifth Rightly-Guided Caliph," ruled for two years and five months.
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Islamic sources confirm:
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ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ruled from September/October 717 CE to February 720 CE.
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His reign lasted approximately 2 years and 5 months, which matches exactly what the Chronicle states.
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Key points about ʿUmar’s reign:
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He is renowned for major reforms: curbing Umayyad extravagance, strengthening justice, and emphasizing Islamic piety.
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He reduced heavy taxation on non-Muslims and encouraged more equitable governance.
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He is also remembered for recalling injustices done by previous rulers and striving to reunite a fragmented ummah (Muslim community).
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His early death is widely regarded as suspicious, possibly due to poisoning by political opponents unhappy with his radical reforms.
In the Chronicle:
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No editorializing — the chronicler simply records the reign length.
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Again, it treats Muslim rulers like secular kings (malkē), focusing on rule length, not religious or moral judgments.
Text
"Yazīd, son of ʿAbd al-Malik: four years, one month, and two days."
Commentary
The Chronicle reports that Yazīd II, son of ʿAbd al-Malik, ruled for four years, one month, and two days.
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Islamic sources confirm:
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Yazīd II ruled from February 720 CE to January 724 CE.
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His reign lasted almost exactly four years — slightly over four solar years, and the Chronicle’s detail of one month and two days fits remarkably well with the lunar calendar reckoning Muslims used.
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Key points about Yazīd II:
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His reign was a period of relative stability, but also witnessed:
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Continuing tensions with Rome.
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Internal revolts, especially in Iraq.
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He is also remembered for reviving Umayyad religious policies, including his strong stance against Christian imagery (the so-called Iconoclasm Edict).
In the Chronicle:
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The chronicler continues to present the caliphate as a dynasty, with each ruler’s reign measured just like the emperors of Rome or Persia.
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No judgment about Yazīd II’s reign — just the bare historical facts.
This shows the Chronicle’s increasing sophistication: it offers fairly accurate data, respecting Islamic chronological traditions (lunar reckoning), and does not inject Christian apocalyptic commentary, unlike earlier Syriac sources.
Final Calculation and Calendrical Analysis: The Chronicle of 724's Closing Statement
The Chronicle of 724 closes with the following line:
"All the years come to one hundred and four, five months, and two days."
This statement offers a fascinating glimpse into early Islamic time-reckoning as seen through a Syriac Christian lens.
Sebastian Brock, one of the foremost Syriac scholars, comments:
"We may assume that the list was made between AD 724 and 743, during the reign of Hisham, probably shortly after the death of Yazid in 724. But there is something wrong with the arithmetic: 104 years and 5 months after Muhammad’s arrival in Medina (24 September, AD 622), brings us to the end of February, AD 727, three years after Yazid’s death."
Let’s examine this more carefully.
1. Understanding the Timeline: Lunar vs Solar Calendars
First, Muslim tradition and modern astronomical data confirm:
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The Hijrī calendar began 16 July 622 CE (1 Muharram 1 AH) — based not on physical arrival but on the initiation of the Hijrah.
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The Prophet ﷺ actually arrived in Medina on Monday, 20 September 622 CE, on the 12th of Rabiʿ al-Awwal 1 AH — two to three months after the start of 1 AH.
Thus, the Chronicle’s comment that Muhammad’s "first year" began "three months before he entered" is remarkably accurate by Islamic standards.
Note: Some confusion arises because early Muslim sources report that on arrival, the Prophet ﷺ encountered the Jewish community fasting (on ʿĀshūrāʾ, the 10th of Muharram), leading some later scholars to associate this with Passover themes. However, Passover actually falls months later, in March–April.The fasting the Prophet witnessed was likely connected to ʿĀshūrāʾ, observed in September/October, soon after the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).
Thus, the Prophet ﷺ’s arrival in Medina fits cleanly around 20 September 622 CE — exactly the historical framework the Chronicle of 724 silently preserves.
2. Why the Arithmetic “Mismatch”?
The Chronicle states that 104 years, 5 months, and 2 days elapsed from Muhammad’s entry to the death of Yazīd II.
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104 solar years and 5 months after 20 September 622 CE would land us around February–March 727 CE,but Yazīd II died in 724 CE (AH 105).
Thus, there is a 3-year discrepancy if you use a solar calendar.
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A lunar year is about 354–355 days, roughly 10–11 days shorter than a solar year.
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Over 100 years, this shortfall adds up to about 3 full solar years.
Thus, counting 104 lunar years from 16 July 622 would place the end around 724–725 CE, perfectly matching the time of Yazīd II’s death.
Conclusion:The Chronicle’s final calculation is entirely accurate if we assume it is using the Islamic lunar calendar, not the Christian Julian solar one.
3. The Syriac Erasure and Resistance
Another small but telling drama occurs within the manuscript:
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The Syriac translator faithfully wrote "Muhammad the rasūl (messenger) of God" — a direct transliteration of Arabic terminology.
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But a later Christian reader, scandalized, tried to erase the word rasūl ("messenger"), leaving only traces of the letter r.
This subtle manuscript violence shows the tension:
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In the early 8th century, Christian scribes could transmit Islamic vocabulary accurately.
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But later generations, as theological boundaries hardened, found even such passive acknowledgment intolerable.
Thus, the Chronicle of 724 preserves not only historical information but also a record of cultural, religious, and political shifts in the early Islamic centuries.
4. The End of Roman Hopes
Sebastian Brock notes that the scribe did not update the Chronicle’s account of Roman rulers beyond Heraclius:
"The scribe did not even trouble to bring his reader up to date on the Byzantine empire... This would mean that he either did not think of Byzantium as relevant to Syrian history anymore, or else he no longer wished to continue the pretense that a return of Byzantine power was just around the corner."
This silence is as meaningful as the Chronicle’s Islamic focus:
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By 724–743 CE, Christian Syrians realized the Umayyad Caliphate was not a temporary phenomenon.
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The memory of Roman rule in Syria was beginning to fade.
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The Arab rulers were being recorded in the same way the Romans and Persians had been: as legitimate kings (malkē).
In this sense, the Chronicle of 724 marks a profound acceptance of the new political reality.
Final Implication
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A faithful Syriac translation of an early Islamic Arabic source.
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Accurate in its use of the Hijrī lunar calendar.
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Careful in its early recognition of Islamic titles like rasūl.
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Aware of the realities of Arab sovereignty over Syro-Palestine.
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A snapshot of a time when Muslim historiography had already begun, well before Ibn Ishāq and the later compilers.
Far from undermining Muslim memory, it confirms the early precision and vigor of Muslim historical consciousness.
Concluding Reflections on the Chronicle of 724
The Chronicle of 724 is far more than a dry caliph-list.
It stands as a testament to a pivotal moment in Near Eastern history — a moment when:
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Muslim political power had stabilized and was now seen as a kingdom in its own right.
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Muslim historical memory had already begun to systematize its past, using lunar years, precise regnal lengths, and titles like rasūl.
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Christian scribes, even if reluctantly, began to acknowledge the durability of Muslim rule by recording it in the same terms once reserved for Caesars and Sasanian shahs.
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Religious tensions were brewing — not in original translations, but in later acts of textual erasure and polemical resistance, as seen in the defacement of rasūl.
Rather than exposing a "confused" or "apocalyptic" memory, the Chronicle of 724 highlights:
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Sophisticated cross-cultural contact,
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Early Muslim administrative maturity,
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And a Christian community grappling with its new reality, recording Arab rule as a lasting historical fact, not a passing nightmare.
The Chronicle of 724 is thus a bridge between two worlds:
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The fading echoes of Roman dreams,
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And the rising certainty of an Islamic era that would shape the future of the Middle East.
THE END
Works Cited
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Primary Sources
al-Balādhurī, Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā. Futūḥ al-Buldān [The Conquest of the Lands: A New Translation of al-Balādhurī’s Futūḥ al-Buldān]. Translated and annotated by Hugh Kennedy, I.B. Tauris, 2022.
al-Dīnawarī, Aḥmad ibn Dāwūd. al-Akhbār al-Ṭiwāl [The Lengthy Reports]. Edited by ʿAbd al-Munʿim ʿĀmir, reviewed by Jamāl al-Dīn al-Shayyāl, Egyptian Ministry of Culture, 1960. Originally published by Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Kutub al-ʿArabiyya.
al-Dhahabī, Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad. Tārīkh al-Islām wa-Wafayāt al-Mashāhīr wa-al-Aʿlām [The History of Islam and the Deaths of the Famous and the Great]. Edited by ʿUmar ʿAbd al-Salām al-Tadmurī, 2nd ed., Dār al-Kitāb al-ʿArabī, 1993. 52 vols.
al-Khallāl, Khalīfah ibn Khayyāṭ. Tārīkh Khalīfah ibn Khayyāṭ [The History of Khalīfah ibn Khayyāṭ]. Edited by Akram Ḍiyāʾ al-ʿUmarī, 2nd ed., Dār al-Qalam & Muʾassasat al-Risālah, 1977.
Brooks, E. W., editor. Chronica Minora Pars Secunda. Translated by I.-B. Chabot, Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium, vol. 4, series tertia tomus IV, Typographeo Reipublicae / Otto Harrassowitz, 1904.
Harrak, Amir, translator. The Chronicle of Zuqnīn, Parts III and IV: A.D. 488–775. Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1999. Mediaeval Sources in Translation, vol. 36.
Hoyland, Robert G., translator. Theophilus of Edessa’s Chronicle and the Circulation of Historical Knowledge in Late Antiquity and Early Islam. Liverpool University Press, 2011. Translated Texts for Historians, vol. 57.
Ibn al-Athīr, ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad. al-Kāmil fī al-Tārīkh [The Complete History]. Dār al-Kitāb al-ʿArabī, 1997. 10 vols.
Ibn Aʿtham al-Kūfī, Aḥmad. Kitāb al-Futūḥ [Book of Conquests]. Edited by ʿAlī Shīrī, Dār al-Aḍwāʾ, 1991.
Ibn Kathīr, Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUmar. al-Bidāyah wa-al-Nihāyah [The Beginning and the End]. Dār ʿĀlam al-Kutub, 2003. 20 vols.
Kaʿbī, Nasir Al, editor and translator. A Short Chronicle on the End of the Sasanian Empire and Early Islam: 590–660 A.D. Gorgias Press, 2016.
Levy-Rubin, Milka, editor. The Continuatio of the Samaritan Chronicle of Abū l-Fatḥ al-Sāmirī al-Danafī: Annotated Translation. Gerlach Press, 2021.
Palmer, Andrew, translator. The Seventh Century in the West-Syrian Chronicles. With translations and annotations by Sebastian Brock and historical commentary by Robert Hoyland, Liverpool University Press, 1993. Translated Texts for Historians, vol. 15.
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