Sayf ibn Umar | |
---|---|
Born | Unknown date Kufa, Iraq |
Died | c. 786–809 |
Occupation | Historian |
Era | Early Abbasid period |
Known for | Being a source for al-Tabari ({839–923) |
Notable work | The Great book of Conquests and Apostasy Wars (Kitāb al-futūh al-kabīr wa-l-ridda) |
Sayf ibn Umar al-Usayyidi al-Tamimi (Arabic: سيف بن عمر) was an 8th-century Islamic historian and compiler of reports who lived in Kufa. He wrote the Kitāb al-futūh al-kabīr wa-l-ridda ('The Great book of Conquests and Apostasy Wars'),[1] which was the later historian al-Tabari's (839–923) main source for the Ridda wars and the early Islamic conquests. It also contains important information on the structure of early Muslim armies and government. According to al-Dhahabi, Sayf died during the reign of Harun al-Rashid (786–809).[2]