Bibliothèque Nationale,[1] and the other has been autographed by Ahlwardt.[2] Al-Mas‘ûdi[3] quotes al-Balâdhuri's ar-Radd‘ala ash-Shu‘ûbîyah (Refutation of ash-Shu‘ûbîyah),[4] which book is also lost.
Of the works of al-Balâdhuri the one that claims our special attention is Futûḥ al-Buldân.[5] The book shares with other books of Arabic history the advantage of tracing the report back to the source. Being a synopsis of a larger work, its style is characterized by condensation whereby it gains in conciseness but loses in artistic effect an clearness. Certain passages are mutilated and ambiguous. It is free from exaggeration and the flaws of imagination. Throughout the work the sincere attempt of the author to get to the fact as it happened and to record it as it reached him is felt. The chapters on colonization, soldier's pay, land tax, coinage and the like make it especially valuable.
The book does not escape the weaknesses common to Arabian histories. The "ipse dixit" which was a source of strength was also a source of weakness. Once the words supposed to have been uttered by a contemporary or eyewitness are ascertained, the author feels his duty fulfilled, and his function as a historian degenerates into that of a reporter. The personal equation is not only reduced but the personality of the author is almost eliminated, appearing only as a recipient of a tradition. Scarcely an opinion or remark is made. The intellect is not brought to bear on the data.
