Asma al-Khulafa wa al-Wulat wa Dhikr Mudadihim (Matbu ma Jami al-Sira)

Asma al-Khulafa wa al-Wulat wa Dhikr Mudadihim (The Names of the Caliphs and Rulers and the Mention of Their Durations) is a concise historical and chronological treatise by the Andalusian scholar Ibn Hazm (384–456 AH / 994–1064 CE), detailing the successions, biographical profiles, and reign lengths of the caliphs down to his own era Rasail Ibn Hazm+1.

Title, Scope, and Structure

The full title given at the beginning of the text is Asma al-Khulafa al-Mahdiyyin wa-al-A'immah Umara al-Mu'minin wa-Asma al-Wulat min Quraysh wa-min Bani Hashim Umur al-Muslimin wa-Dhikr Mudadihim ila Zamanina ("The Names of the Guided Caliphs and the Imams, Commanders of the Believers, and the Names of the Rulers from Quraysh and Banu Hashim over the Affairs of the Muslims, and the Mention of Their Durations Down to Our Time") Asma al-Khulafa wa al-Wul…. Although the title employs the word "rulers" or "governors" (al-wulat), the treatise is restricted to the caliphs themselves rather than provincial administrators Rasail Ibn Hazm.

The work opens with the Rightly Guided Caliphs—beginning with Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, followed by Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, Ali ibn Abi Talib, and al-Hasan ibn Ali—before proceeding to the Eastern Umayyad Caliphate and then the Abbasid Caliphate Asma al-Khulafa wa al-Wul…+1. Under each ruler, Ibn Hazm consistently records:

• The dates of accession and death Rasail Ibn Hazm.
• The precise length of rule calculated in years, months, and days Rasail Ibn Hazm+1.
• The ruler's age at death and the name of his mother Rasail Ibn Hazm+1.
• A concise summary of notable political and military events occurring in that reign, such as pivotal battles or civil strife Rasail Ibn Hazm+1.

Composition and Context

Ibn Hazm composed the treatise after 422 AH (1031 CE), following the accession of the Abbasid caliph al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah in Baghdad Rasail Ibn Hazm. In a second recension of the text, an additional note observes that al-Qa'im had become powerless and unable to execute his commands, likely reflecting the breakdown of order in Baghdad around 426 AH or the upheaval of the Basasiri revolt in 446 AH, with evidence suggesting textual adjustments as late as 452 AH Rasail Ibn Hazm.

The treatise belongs to the early Islamic tradition of concise chronological manuals dedicated to caliphal history, sharing thematic parallels with al-Muhabbar by Ibn Habib, al-Ma'arif by Ibn Qutaybah, and similar chronological registers found in Talqih Fuhum Ahl al-Athar Jawami al-Sira+1. Al-Humaydi mentioned another historical tract by Ibn Hazm on the caliphs of al-Andalus, which scholars consider either a separate tract or a complementary companion to this treatise, though distinct from his Nuqat al-Arus Asma al-Khulafa wa al-Wul…+1.

Manuscript and Publication

The text was preserved in an Indian manuscript from the Habibiyya Library (completed in 1354 AH), appended alongside four other short treatises to Ibn Hazm's biographical work Jawami' al-Sira Asma al-Khulafa wa al-Wul…. It was edited by Ihsan Abbas and Nasir al-Din al-Asad and published as part of Jawami' al-Sira wa-Khams Rasa'il Ukhra by Dar al-Ma'arif in Cairo Ibn Hazm wa Mawqifuhu min…+1. Ihsan Abbas also published it within his multi-volume collection Rasa'il Ibn Hazm Rasail Ibn Hazm+1.