Rediscovering al-Azd and the Fut al-Shm Narrative

The Fut al-Shm (The Conquests of Greater Syria), usually attributed to Ab Isml Muammad b. Abdallh al-Azd al-Bar, is one of the primary sources used for historians studying the early Muslim expansion into Greater Syria. This study revaluates the Fut al-Shm 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-Azds life and the Fut al-Shm narratives text. It thus offers an overview of the history of Oriental and Islamic Studies on the basis of one work.