Lives of Patriarchs, Lives of Qadis: Reading the Abbasid Sources of the “History of the Patriarchs” as Islamicate Texts

Abstract This article discusses the literary representation of religious leadership in the Siyar al-bīʿa al-muqaddasa , also known as “History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria”. It suggests reading accounts on early Muslim rule within the frameworks of Islamicate literature from the Abbasid and the Fatimid periods, when the collection was created, also considering successive layers of redaction. This approach contrasts with a more conventional way of reading such texts as historical sources on Christian-Muslim relations and as witnesses of the early Islamic period. By comparing stories of patriarchs and rulers with stories about qadis and rulers, the article highlights the importance of framing early Islamicate Christian sources in relation to a broader cultural context and historical developments, without exaggerating their early dating. Finally, it proposes that there is historical meaning to be found in the display of linguistic and narrative anachronisms.