Writing Khidma: Dynastic Memory and Princely Counsel in Ibn al-Athīr’s al-Taʾrīkh al-Bāhir

Long overlooked due to its reputation as a less-informative and less-impartial abridgment, Ibn al-Athīr’s al-Taʾrīkh al-bāhir did not achieve the scholarly legacy of the historian’s other major chronicle, al-Kāmil fī al-taʾrīkh, a widely cited source that has been the subject of extensive historiographical study. Nevertheless, al-Taʾrīkh al-bāhir presents a twofold scholarly interest. On the one hand, it provides more detailed information on certain aspects of political life in Mosul, which is of particular value for the study of the Zengid dynasty, though scholars must remain mindful of its explicitly pro-Zengid stance. On the other hand, it sheds light on the courtly khidma (service) relationships between the Banū al-Athīr family and the Zengid rulers. It is this latter dimension on which the present study focuses, demonstrating how khidma could give rise to the writing of history and how it shaped both its form and its content.