Tarikh Bayhaq/Tarib
- Author died
- 565 AH
- Editions
- Dār Iqra’
Tarikh Bayhaq: Ta'rib (The History of Bayhaq: Arabic Translation) is the Arabic rendering of the regional history and biographical dictionary composed in Persian by the scholar and historian Zahir al-Din al-Bayhaqi, also known as Ibn Funduq (d. 565 AH / 1170 CE) . The work documents the geography, ruling houses, prominent lineages, scholars, and major events of the district of Bayhaq in Khurasan .
Composition and Date
The original work was composed in Persian as a single volume . According to the chronicler Fasihi, al-Bayhaqi initially completed the compilation in Muharram 544 AH at the age of fifty-four . However, the author continued to append updates, including the death dates of contemporaries and historical developments, such as the death of the Abbasid caliph al-Muqtafi li-Amr Allah in 555 AH and the arrival of the Khwarazmshah Il-Arslan ibn Atsiz in Sabzawar in 561 AH . The manuscript colophon states that the author completed copying his final draft on 4 Shawwal 563 AH in the village of Shashtamad .
In preparing his account, al-Bayhaqi drew upon earlier local histories and literary compilations, including an earlier Arabic Tarikh Bayhaq in multiple volumes by Ali ibn Abi Salih al-Khwari al-Bayhaqi (fl. 526 AH), regional chronicles of Nishapur, and now-lost anthologies .
Structure and Contents
The text is divided into six principal parts (aqsam):
- Introduction (Muqaddimat al-mu'allif): Covers the linguistic derivation of the name Bayhaq, its territorial boundaries, historical geography, and general introductory matters .
- Noble Families: A chapter recording the ancient, noble, and ruling lineages established in the district .
- Scholars and Imams: Biographies of religious scholars, jurists, and literary figures who originated in or relocated to Bayhaq, recording for each figure a prophetic hadith narrated through their chain of transmission, alongside selections of their Arabic and Persian poetry .
- Notables and Historical Events: A section devoted to eminent personalities and major political and military events that occurred in the region .
- Special Characteristics and Shrines: An account of the unique and wondrous features distinguishing Bayhaq from other lands, together with a record of the sayyids (descendants of the Prophet) buried in Khusrawjird and neighboring localities .
- Conclusion (Khatimat al-kitab): Concluding observations and thematic indices .
Arabic Translation and Editions
The Arabic translation and critical edition were prepared by Yusuf al-Hadi to restore access to historical, biographical, and literary materials preserved in the Persian text that had been lost from Arabic compilations . The translator deliberately avoided modern idiom, adhering to classical vocabulary derived from al-Bayhaqi's surviving Arabic compositions and the literary norms of sixth-century AH Khurasanian authors . This translation was published in Damascus by Dar Iqra in 1425 AH / 2004 CE .
The original Persian text survives in manuscript form, with the oldest known copy held in the British Museum (Or. 5387, copied in 835 AH), alongside later copies in Tashkent and Berlin; it was printed in Persian editions edited by Ahmad Bahmanyar (Tehran, 1317 AH) and Kalimullah al-Husayni al-Qari (Hyderabad, 1388 AH / 1968 CE) .
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