The role and place of historical science in the intellectual heritage of the Arab East in the 7th–12th centuries

Abstract

Introduction. The article examines the problem associated with the development and formation of medieval Arab-Muslim historical thought. Due to the fact that in domestic historiography there is no single approach and opinion in determining the role of historical science in the intellectual heritage of the medieval Arab East, this topic remains relevant. Based on the analysis of the works and statements of the early Arab scholars themselves, the author quite rightly came to the conclusion that the early Muslim “intelligentsia” approached the study of history with great trepidation and considered history an independent science worthy of study and development.Materials and methods. The study analyzes the works of early historians such as Ibn Ishaq, al-Tabari, al-Balazuri, al-Mas'udi, etc. The work uses the principles of historicism and objectivism and systemic analysis. Methods such as comparative historical and problem-chronological were used.Analysis. In the early Middle Ages, in the Arab-Muslim environment, historical science developed in several directions. An important place in it is occupied by such a genre as “genealogy”. The next no less important direction is such a direction as “Significant days of the Arabs”. A special place is occupied by “Sira” - the biography of the Prophet. Then follow the stories of kings and rulers and military-political achievements.Results. This article notes that already in the early Middle Ages in the Arab environment, history began to emerge as a separate science, making its rather significant contribution to the intel-lectual heritage of the Arab East. Medieval Arab scholars attached great importance to the collection and study of historical facts. Oral traditions, preserved in popular memory, are immortalized in the manuscripts of early Arab historians. The study of this intellectual heritage is of great interest to science today.

Keywords

• arab-muslim culture
• historical information
• islam
• historical science
• genealogies
• biographies