History, piety and factional politics in the Arabic chronicle of the Maldives

Ḥasan Tāj al-Dīn’s Ta’rīkh and its continuations

Bibliographic Data

ID19233993
AuthorsA C S Peacock (0000-0002-2225-1279, University of St Andrews, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume74
Issue1
Pages195-220
Publication date2020-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAsiatische Studien – Études Asiatiques (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0004-4717 • E-ISSN: 2235-5871
PublisherDe Gruyter (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/asia-2020-0015
OpenAlexW3115337715
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited12

The Arabic chronicle ( Ta’rīkh ) of the Maldives composed by the qadi Ḥasan Tāj al-Dīn (d. 1139/1727) and continued by his nephew Muḥammad Muḥibb al-Dīn (1118/1706-1199/1785) and his grandson Ibrāhīm Sirāj al-Dīn (d. after 1243/1827) is major but unexploited source for not just Maldivian but also Indian Ocean history more broadly. Covering Maldivian history from the purported date of the islands’ conversion to Islam in 548/1143, the Ta’rīkh is also imbued with a specific pious and ethical agenda. It seeks to situate the Maldives in the broader context of Islamic history stretching back to the Rāshidūn Caliphs, while using the past to impart ethical lessons to its audience, ostensibly the Maldivian sultans. However, its authors were also deeply involved in the Maldives’ tumultuous political life, and their presentation of events is also influenced by their own personal experiences and factional affiliations. This article explores the pious, ethical and political agenda of the Ta’rīkh

Ancient history · Arabic · Archaeology · Context (archaeology) · Islam · Piety · Political science · Politics · Sufism · Theology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · Historical Astronomy and Related Studies · History · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies

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