Investigating Madā‘inī’s Role in Compiling the Historical Accounts of the Shi‘i Imams

Madā‘inī, one of the historians of the 3rd century AH, was a prolific writer in social, cultural and especially historical fields. His scientific command of the events in the Islamic history caused him to have the most number of writings compared to his contemporaries. Just the titles of those books have been mentioned in lists of sources. Among the subjects compiled by Madā‘inī are his historical writings about the Shiite Imams, some of which complete the works of the previous historians and some others are among his own innovations. This study is based on the historical data in older sources and analyzes and describes monographs compiled by Madā‘inī regarding the biography of the Shiite Imam. This study is seeking to answer the question on the role of Madā‘inī’s written heritage regarding the lives of the Shiite Imams and its effect on the next writings in that regard. Without paying attention to his own religious views, he has compiled extensive historical accounts with special issues regarding the Shiite Imams, especially Imam Ali and some other of the Shiite Imams, which shows his broad views about those great personages.