Historians of the Formative Period

The First Century BH 50 to AH 50 / CE 570–618

The Companions of the Prophet and the early Tabi'in (first generation) who left written works (some no longer extant, but are cited verbatim elsewhere.)

Suhar Al-Abdi [ar] 25 BH (594 CE) - 60 AH (679/680 CE)
Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn al-As 27 BH (595 CE) - 65 AH (684/685CE) - Al-Sahifah al-Sadiqah
Urwah ibn Zubayr 23 AH (643/644CE) - 94 AH (712/713CE)
Sa'id ibn Jubayr 23 AH (643/644CE) - 95 AH (713/714CE)

Mujahid ibn Jabr 21 AH (641/642CE) - 104 AH (722/723CE)
Aban bin Uthman bin Affan 20 AH (640/641CE) - 105 AH (723/724CE)
Wahb ibn Munabbih 34 AH (654/655CE) - 114 AH (732/733CE)
Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri 49 AH (669/670CE) - 124 AH (741/742CE)

The First Century - AH 50 to AH100 / CE 618–718

Latter Tabi'in and early Tabi' al-Tabi'in

Musa ibn ʿUqba 55 AH (674/675CE) - 141 AH (758/759CE)
Hisham ibn Urwah 61 AH (680/681CE) - 146 AH (763/764CE)
Muhammad ibn as-Sā'ib al-Kalbī 55 AH (674/675CE) - 146 AH (763/764CE)
Awana ibn al-Hakam d. 147 AH (764/765CE)
Ibn Ishaq 80 AH (699/700CE) - 151 AH (768/769CE) Sirah Rasul Allah (The Life of the Apostle of God)
Al-Sharqi bin Al-Qatmi [ar] 80 AH (699/700CE) - 155 AH (771/772CE)
Abu Ma'shar al-Sindi al-Madani 80 AH (699/700CE) - 170 AH (786/787CE)
Abi Mikhnaf d. 170 AH (786/787CE) Maqtal al-Husayn
Isa ibn Yazid ibn Da'b al-Laythi [ar] d. 171 AH (787/788CE)
Ibn Lahi'a 96 AH (714/715CE) - 174 AH (790/791CE)
Malik ibn Anas 93 AH (711/712CE) - 179 AH (795/796CE) - Founder of the Maliki Madhab
Sayf ibn Umar 90 AH (708/709CE) - 180 AH (796/797CE)

Historians of the Classical Period

The Second Century AH 100-200 / CE 718–815

Latter Tabi' al-Tabi'in Historians - Era contemporaneous with Umayyad decline and Abbasid Rise.

Abu Ismail al-Azdi [ar] 110 AH (728/729CE) - 170 AH (786/787CE)
Abu Ishaq al-Fazari d. 188 AH (803/804CE)
Ibn Zabala [ar] d. 199 AH (814/815CE)
Hisham ibn al-Kalbi 110 AH (728/729CE) - 204 AH (819/820CE)
Al-Waqidi 130 AH (747/748CE) - 207 AH (822/823CE) Kitab al-Tarikh wa'l-Maghazi (Book of History and Battles).
Al-Haytham ibn 'Adi d. 207 AH (822/823CE)
Abd al-Razzaq al-San'ani 126 AH (743/744CE) - 211 AH (826/827CE)
Nasr ibn Muzahim [ar] 130 AH (747/748CE) - 212 AH (827/828CE)
Al-Asmaʿi 123 AH (740/741CE) - 216 AH (831/832CE)
Ibn Hisham d. 218 AH (833/834CE)
Ibn Bakkar [ar] 129 AH (746/747CE) - 222 AH (836/837CE)
Ibn Sa'd 168 AH (784/785CE) - 230 AH (844/845CE)

Muhammad bin Aa'idh Al-Qurayshi [ar] 150 AH (767/768CE) - 233 AH (847/848CE)
Muṣʻab ibn ʻAbd Allāh Zubayrī [ar] 156 AH (772/773CE) - 236 AH (850/851CE)
Wathima ibn Musa d. 237 AH (851/852CE)
Khalifa ibn Khayyat 160 AH (776/777CE) - 240 AH (854/855CE)
Ali ibn al-Madini 161 AH (777/778CE) - 234 AH (848/849CE)
Al-Abbas bin Hisham Al-Kalbi [ar] 165 AH (781/782CE) - 240 AH (854/855CE)
Muhammad ibn Habib al-Baghdadi d. 245 AH (859/860CE)
Al-Jahiz 159 AH (775/776CE) - 255 AH (868/869CE)
Ibn Habib 180 AH (796/797CE) - 238 AH (852/853CE)

Muhammad al-Bukhari 194 AH (809/810CE) - 256 AH (869/870CE) Sahih al-Bukhari, The Great History
Al-Zubayr ibn Bakkār 172 AH (788/789CE) - 256 AH (869/870CE)
Ibn Abd al-Hakam 187 AH (802/803CE) - 257 AH (870/871CE) Futuh Misr wa'l-Maghrib wa akhbaruha

The Third Century AH 200-300 / CE 815–913

Omar ibn Shabba d. 262 AH (875/876CE)
Ibn Majah 209 AH (824/825CE) - 273 AH (886/887CE)
Abu Dawud 202 AH (817/818CE) - 275 AH (888/889CE)
Ibn Qutaybah 213 AH (828/829CE) - 276 AH (889/890CE) Uyun al-akhbar, Al-Imama wa al-Siyasa^[1]
Al-Baladhuri 204 AH (819/820CE) - 279 AH (892/893CE)
Al-Dinawari 212 AH (827/828CE) - 282 AH (895/896CE) Akbar al-tiwal
Ibrahim Al-Thaqafi d. 283 AH (896/897CE)
al-Tirmidhi 209 AH (824/825CE) - 279 AH (892/893CE)
Al-Fakihi 215 AH (830/831CE) - 279 AH (892/893CE)
Umara ibn Wathima d. 289 AH (901/902CE)
Aslam ibn Sahl ibn Aslam d. 292 AH (904/905CE)
Ya'qubi d. 284 AH (897/898CE) or 298 AH (910/911CE) Tarikh al-Yaqubi
Al-Nasa'i 214 AH (829/830CE) - 303 AH (915/916CE)
Ibn Fadlan d. after 309 AH (921/922CE)
Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari 224 AH (838/839CE) - 310 AH (922/923CE) History of the Prophets and Kings
Ibn A'tham d. 314 AH (926/927CE) al-Futuh
Ibn Wahshiyya d. 318 AH (930/931CE)
Abu Ahmed Al-Jaloudi d. 332 AH (943/944CE)
Abu al-Arab al-Tamimi 251 AH (865/866CE) - 333 AH (944/945CE)

Sinan ibn Thabit d. 331 AH (942/943CE)
Abū Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdānī 280 AH (893/894CE) - 336 AH (947/948CE)
Abu Bakr bin Yahya al-Suli d. 336 AH (947/948CE)
Abu Saeed ibn al-A'rabi [ar] 245 AH (859/860CE) - 340 AH (951/952CE)
Ali al-Masudi 283 AH (896/897CE) - 346 AH (957/958CE) The Meadows of Gold
Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Kindi 283 AH (896/897CE) - 350 AH (961/962CE)
Ibn Shaban al-Amari [ar] 270 AH (883/884CE) - 355 AH (965/966CE)
Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani 284 AH (897/898CE) - 356 AH (966/967CE)

The Fourth Century AH 300-400 / CE 913–1010

Al-Mutahhar ibn Tahir al-Maqdisi [ar] d. 355 AH (965/966CE)
Qadi al-Nu'man - (Fatimid) d. 363 AH (973/974CE)
Ibn al-Qūṭiyya (Anadalusian) d. 367 AH (977/978CE) Ta'rikh iftitah al-Andalus
Abu Suleiman Al-Rubii [ar] d. 379 AH (989/990CE)
al-Saghani d. 379 AH (989/990CE) one of the earliest historians of science
Al-Muqaddasi 336 AH (947/948CE) - 380 AH (990/991CE) - Aḥsan al-taqāsīm has a detailed description on his birthplace in Palestine and the Levant
Ibn an-Nadīm 320 AH (932/933CE) - 385 AH (995/996CE)
al-Daraqutni 306 AH (918/919CE) - 385 AH (995/996CE)

Ibn Faradi (Anadalusian) 351 AH (962/963CE) - 403 AH (1012/1013CE)
al-Musabbihi (Fatimid) 366 AH (976/977CE) - 420 AH (1029/1030CE), Akhbar Misr^[2]
Ibn Miskawayh 320 AH (932/933CE) - 421 AH (1030/1031CE)
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Jabbar al-Utbi [ar] d. 427 AH (1035/1036CE)
al-Bīrūnī 362 AH (972/973CE) - 440 AH (1048/1049CE) Kitab fi Tahqiq ma li'l-Hind (Researches on India), The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries
Hilal ibn al-Muhassin al-Sabi' 359 AH (969/970CE) - 448 AH (1056/1057CE)
al-Khatib al-Baghdadi 392 AH (1001/1002CE) - 463 AH (1070/1071CE) Tarikh Baghdad (a biographical dictionary of major Baghdadi figures)
Abolfazl Beyhaqi d. 470 AH (1077/1078CE) Tarikh-e Mas'oudi (also known as Tarikh-e Beyhaqi).^[1]

Historians by Region

Arabian Peninsula, Mesopotamia and Persia

Abu'l-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi (d. 1201)
Yaqut al-Hamawi (1179–1229) author of Mu'jam al-Buldan ("The Dictionary of Countries")
Ibn al-Athir (1160–1231) al-Kamil fi'l-Tarikh
Muhammad bin Ali Rawandi (c.1204) Rahat al-sudur, (a history of the Great Seljuq Empire and its break-up into minor beys)
Zahiriddin Nasr Muhammad Aufi (d. 1242)
Sibt ibn al-Jawzi (d. 1256)
Hamdollah Mostowfi (d. 1281)
Ibn Bibi (d. after 1281)
Ata-Malik Juvayni (1283)
Ibn al-Tiqtaqa (d. after 1302)
Ibn al-Fuwati (d. 1323)
Wassaf (d. 1323)
Rashid-al-Din Hamadani (d. 1398) Jami al-Tawarikh
Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi (d. 1454)
Mirkhond (d. 1498) Rauzât-us-safâ

Egypt, Palestine and Syria

Ẓāhir al-Dīn Nīshāpūrī around 1175
Ibn al-Qalanisi (d. 1160)
Ibn Asakir (d. 1176)
Usamah ibn Munqidh (d. 1188)
Imad al-Din al-Isfahani (d. 1201)
Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi (d. 1231)
Baha al-Din ibn Shaddad (d. 1235) al-Nawādir al-Sultaniyya wa'l-Maḥāsin al-Yūsufiyya (The Rare and Excellent History of Saladin)
Sibt ibn al-Jawzi (d. 1256) Mir'at al-zaman (Mirror of the Time)
Ibn al-Adim (d. 1262)
Abu Shama (AH 599–665/CE 1203–68) full name Abū Shāma Shihāb al-Dīn al-Maqdisī^[3]
Ibn Khallikan (d. 1282)
Ibn Abd al-Zahir (d. 1293)
Abu'l-Fida (d. 1331)
al-Nuwayri (d. 1332)
al-Mizzi (d. 1341)
al-Dhahabi (d. 1348) Tarikh al-Islam al-kabir
Ibn Kathir (d. 1373) al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya (The Beginning and the End)
Ibn al-Furat (d. 1405)
al-Maqrizi (d. 1442) al-Suluk li-ma'firat duwwal al-muluk (Mamluk history of Egypt)
Ibn Hajr al-Asqalani (d. 1449)
al-Ayni (d. 1451)
Ibn Taghribirdi (d. 1470) Nujum al-zahira fi muluk Misr wa'l-Qahira (History of Egypt)
al-Sakhawi (d. 1497)
al-Suyuti (d. 1505) History of the Caliphs
Mujir al-Din al-'Ulaymi (d.1522)

al-Andalus and the Maghreb

Ibn Hazm (d. 1063)
Yusuf ibn abd al-Barr (d. 1071)
Ibn Hayyan (d. 1075)
al-Udri (d. 1085)
Abū 'Ubayd 'Abd Allāh al-Bakrī (d. 1094)
Qadi Iyad (d. 1149)
Mohammed al-Baydhaq (d. 1164)
Ibn Rushd (d. 1198)
Abdelwahid al-Marrakushi
al-Qurtubi (d. 1273)
Abdelaziz al-Malzuzi (d. 1298)
Ibn Idhari (d. 1312)
Ibn Battuta (d. 1369))
Ibn al-Khatib (d. 1374)
Ibn Abi Zar (d. ca. 1320) Rawd al-Qirtas
Ismail ibn al-Ahmar (d. 1406)
Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406) al-Muqaddimah and al-I'bar

India

Minhaj-i-Siraj (d. after 1260)
Amir Khusro (d. 1325)
Ziauddin Barani (d. 1357)
Akbar Shah Khan Najibabadi (1875–1938)
Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman Medieval Indian medical historian
Sayyid Shamsullah Qadri (24 November 1885 – 22 October 1953)
Muhammad Asadullah Al-Ghalib (15 January 1948)

Early modern historians

Turkish: Ottoman Empire

Aşıkpaşazade (d. 1481)
Tursun Beg (d. after 1488)^[4]
İdris-i Bitlisi (d. 1520)
Ibn Kemal (d. 1534)
Matrakçı Nasuh (d. 1564)
Hoca Sadeddin Efendi (d. 1599)
Mustafa Âlî (d. 1600)
Mustafa Selaniki (d. 1600)
Katip Çelebi (d. 1647)
İbrahim Peçevi (d. 1650)
Evliya Çelebi (d. after 1682)
Mustafa Naima (1655–1716) Ta'rīkh-i Na'īmā
Silahdar Findiklili Mehmed Aga (d. 1723)
Ahmed Resmî Efendi (d. 1783)
Ahmet Cevdet Pasha (d. 1895)

Arabic: Ottoman Empire and Morocco

Ibn Iyas (d. after November 1522)
Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari (d. 1632)
Mohammed al-Ifrani (d. 1747)
Mohammed al-Qadiri (d. 1773)
Khalil al-Muradi (d. 1791)
Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti (d. 1825) Aja'ib al-athar fi'l-tarajim wa'l-akhbar
Ahmad ibn Khalid al-Nasiri (d. 1897)

Persian: Safavid Empire and Mughal India

Muhammad Khwandamir (d. 1534)
Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak (d. 1602) Akbarnama
Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni (d. 1615)
Firishta (d. 1620)
Iskandar Beg Munshi (d. 1632)
Nizamuddin Ahmad (d. 1621)
Inayat Allah Kamboh (d. 1671)
Muhammad Saleh Kamboh (d. c. 1675)
Abul Fazl Mamuri (c. 1700)
Mirza Mehdi Khan Astarabadi (d. c. 1760)

Historians of the modern period

Mohammad Iqbal (b. 1877)
Joel Hayward (b. 1964)

Chronological list