8 vo. 452 pp.of German text + 99 pp of Arabic text, 2 facsimilie illustrations, publishers’ original pictorial wrappers, light foxing to outer edges, otherwise copy in very good condition, Beiruter Texte Und Studien. Band 52, Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart & Beirut, first edition, 1998.

Synopsis

This study examines the various factors which have contributed to the readers’ ambivalence toward al Katib al Isfahani (Imad al-Din a. Abdallah Muhammad b. Muhammad b. Hamid, 519-97/1125-1201) who, despite being regarded as an indispensible source on the Zengid and Ayyubid dynasties and their continual conflict with the crusades, is regarded with unease if not outright rejection by many old and contemporary writers. The study identifies the various factors which have contributed to the readers’ s ambivalence toward the Katib’s works and contrasts them with each other more clearly than has hitherto been done.