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This article presents a close reading of Ibn 'Asakir's (d. 571/1176) biography of 'Umar II in the Tarikh madinat Dimashq. Although there was an earlier and substantial historiographical tradition, Ibn 'Asakir's biography is distinct from those of his predecessors in two major ways. First, he strategically arranged his biography to emphasize or de-emphasize certain aspects of 'Umar II's life, including his youth, rise to the caliphate, and reputation as a redeemer. Second, Ibn 'Asakir's legitimizing historiography appears to be bi-directional. Namely, where earlier biographers depicted Umar II as the "fifth of the Rashidun," bolstering the later Umayyad's reputation through an association with earlier authorities, in Ibn 'Asakir's account problematic aspects of the early civil wars and fitna-ridden Rashidun period are also elided through the Rashidun's association with the famously pious 'Umar II. The context for this bi-directionality is to be found in the political and social environment in which Ibn 'Asakir compiled his Tarikh, where dual pressure from Crusader and Shiite opponents contributed to his articulation of a particular Sunni vision of political and religious continuity that relied heavily on 'Umar II's unique persona.
The publication of an anthology dedicated to exploring the relevance of Abu 1-Qâsim cAlï b. al-Hasan Ibn cAsäkir (d. 571/1176) to the study of early Islamic Syria opened up new avenues for the analysis of medieval texts, especially biographical dictionaries.1 The compiler and his work, including his Târïkh madinat Dimashq (hereafter TMD), have accordingly been the subject of a number of important recent studies.2 The TMD's daunting length alone has ensured that while many scholars of medieval Syria recognize the value of the biographical work itself, there is much that remains to be learned about individual portions of that text, as well as the many historiographical or political questions it raises. Below I offer a focused reading of one biography, Ibn cAsakir's portrait of the Umayyad caliph cUmar b. cAbd al-cAzïz (cUmar II, r. 99-101/717-720). This study is divided into three parts. Part one addresses Ibn cAsakir's historiographical and political milieu. Part two is a brief analysis of the accession of cUmar II, in which that caliph emerges as a pivotal piece of Ibn cAsakir's argument for uninterrupted Sunni caliphal legitimacy. That theme is elaborated more fully in part three,...