Akhbār majmūʿa facts for kids

The Akhbār majmūʿa fī fatḥ al-Andalus is a very old history book. Its full name means "Collection of Anecdotes on the Conquest of al-Andalus". This book tells the story of al-Andalus, which was the name for the parts of Spain and Portugal ruled by Muslims from the 8th to the 15th centuries.

This history book was put together by someone whose name we don't know. It was written around the early 1000s. We only have one copy of it, which is kept in a library in Paris, France. Parts of the book are even older, going back to the 700s and 800s. It is the first history of al-Andalus written in the Arabic language. The book covers the time from the Arab conquest in 711 until the rule of Caliph Abd ar-Rahman III (from 929 to 961).

What is the Akhbār Majmūʿa?

Because there is only one copy in Paris, the Akhbār majmūʿa is sometimes called the "Anonymous of Paris". It is also sometimes called the "Anonymous of Córdoba", because people think it might have been written there.

Stories and History in the Book

The Akhbār majmūʿa shares a story about the Abbasid Revolution. It talks about an army of ten thousand soldiers led by a person named Balj. This army marched to al-Andalus to help the Umayyad ruler Abd ar-Rahman I. This story seems to be similar to an old Greek story called the Anabasis.

The person who wrote the Akhbār majmūʿa also used ideas from other old stories. For example, it mentions the story of Roderic supposedly kidnapping the daughter of Count Julian. This part seems to come from famous ancient poems like the Aeneid and the Iliad.

Accuracy and Legends

Even with these added story elements, the Akhbār majmūʿa is mostly free of made-up legends. A Spanish historian named Ramón Menéndez Pidal believed that the unknown author wanted to be very accurate. Because of this, he thought the book should generally be trusted, even the parts that seem a bit doubtful, like the story of Count Julian's daughter. It's interesting to note that the Akhbār majmūʿa does not mention Jews when it talks about the Arab conquest.

Sources for the Book

A scholar named Abū Ghālib Tammām ibn ʿAlḳama, who passed away in 811, might have been an important source for a part of the Akhbār. This part is called the "Syrian chronicle" and it covers the period from 741 to 788.

See also

In Spanish: Ajbar machmúa para niños