Witnesses to a World Crisis: Historians and Histories of the Middle East in the Seventh Century

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James Howard-Johnston provides a sweeping and highly readable account of probably the most dramatic single episode in world history - the emergence of a new religion (Islam), the destruction of two established great powers (Roman and Iranian), and the creation of a new world empire by the Arabs, all in the space of not much more than a generation (610-52 AD). Warfare looms large, especially where operations can be followed in some detail, as in Iraq 636-40, in Egypt 641-2 and in the
long-drawn out battle for the Mediterranean (649-98). As the first history of the formative phase of Islam to be grounded in the important non-Islamic as well as Islamic sources Witnesses to a World Crisis is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand Islam as a religion and political force,
the modern Middle East, and the jihadist impulse, which is as evident today as it was in the seventh century.

Witnesses to a World Crisis: Historians and Histories of the Middle East in the Seventh Century Review

Some books prompt the question: 'how can no one have done it before?' The novelty of Howard-Johnston's book on the history of the seventh century is in its use of the material, not in the sources themselves, which have been available for a while. Indeed, the problem solved by Howard-Johnston, a Byzantinist, seems to have been one of academic compartmentalisation.

The issue with the history of the seventh-century Middle East is that it was always reliant on the Islamic tradition, and that this tradition was put in writing in the late eight, ninth, and tenth centuries, long after the event. Arabic-language authors such as Ibn Ishaq, al-Baladhuri, and al-Tabari relied on stories passed down the generations by poets, public speakers, and the historical actors' own descendents. In scholarly fashion, these authors used chains of references, known as isnads, to identify the origin of their information and anecdotes (so-and-so told me that he had it from sheik so-and-so that he heard from his father that...), and they also used the occasional written document. But any history written long after the fact is difficult to credit. At the same time, the seventh century is a historically crucial period for the Middle East and indeed the world: it saw the birth of Islam, the astonishingly rapid Muslim-Arab conquest, and the end of what is commonly termed the late-antique period. It also included such dramatic episodes as the last Roman-Persian war, and Heraclius' stunning final campaign and victory.

Witnesses to a World Crisis first reconstructs the sources (the witnesses), then the narrative itself. It builds from the ground up, starting with Greek, Armenian, and Syriac sources, the aim being to build a chronology of events of which the historian can be confident. The book then cross-checks the Islamic tradition against that skeleton chronology. Its finding is that authors such as al-Tabari are surprisingly reliable, give or take the occasional chronological slippage. Howard-Johnston's onion layering works, starting from a core of events attested by several contemporary sources and expanding step by step into a richer but still well substantiated history. This is a model lesson in source analysis. At the same time, it is a very readable account, articulate and entertaining. And while the book no doubt targets an academic public primarily, this is accessible and indeed recommended to anyone.

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