Tarikh by Khalifa Ibn Khayyat as a source for Dagestan history in the 7th–8th century

Abstract

The article is devoted to the examination of a historical events which took place Dagestan in the 7th -8th centuries during the reign of khulafa ar-rashudun and the Umayyad governors of the Eastern Caucasus in the Arabic historical source Ta’rikh by Khalifa ib Khayyat (d. 240/854 г). He was a Muslim historian and expert in Arabic literature living in Basra. The article is based on the content analysis of the most popular written work in the Arabic literary genre, known as a chronicle. The author highlights the creative activity of Maslama ibn ‘Abdulmalik who was the first among the rulers of Derbent and undertook to repair the defensive wall that was damaged during the Muslim-Khazar wars. The article provides a thorough description of the Arabic manuscript and analyses its thematic content. Refs 13.