The History of al-Tabari

08

Dawud, Sulayman, and the kings

داود وسليمان

Between Musa and Isa, Tabari walks the kings of the Children of Israel and the kings of Persia. Sulayman’s wind, his ants, his death upon the staff — the Quran has the signs. The Tarikh adds palaces and tallies. Take the signs. Leave the palaces if the chain is only a storyteller.

فَفَهَّمْنَاهَا سُلَيْمَانَ ۚ وَكُلًّا آتَيْنَا حُكْمًا وَعِلْمًا

And We gave understanding of it to Sulayman, and to each We gave judgement and knowledge.

Quran 21:79

How to weigh this

Persian and Roman synchronisms in Tabari are the skeleton of a world-history. They are not a third revelation. Use them as a map of how the early ummah ordered time.