Ascribed to the Egyptian scholar Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (1445-1505), this medieval Arabic history was translated into English by the orientalist James Reynolds (1805-66). An outstanding Islamic polymath, al-Suyuti produced a large body of work in such fields as grammar, rhetoric, theology, medicine and history. The present work may have been compiled from his earlier General History and Critical History of Traditions. It contains rich descriptions...