Islam, the Arabs, and the image of the Caliphs in the accounts of the Chronography of Theophanes the Confessor: No. XLIII

„The Chronography” of Theophanes is certainly one of the most important Byzantine sources containing information on the history of the beginnings of Muslim statehood, the Caliphate, in the Byzantine cultural sphere. The work contains many important passages concerning both the very person of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, the Muslims, and the individual representatives of the Caliphate, with its rulers at the forefront. In the context of the information provided by Theophanes about the Prophet, I have tried to confront it with contemporary research on the origins of Islam. In such a way, it is possible to look at this narrative from a somewhat broader perspective, without limiting oneself to merely listing the obvious accusations formulated against Muhammad by the Byzantine chronicler. In the second chapter, I also decided to discuss several themes in which the followers of Allah repeatedly served Theophanes as a reference point for describing the internal history of the Byzantine Empire: the issue of alleged Monophysite, Syriac or Coptic assistance to Muslims in the context of the first invasions, the issue of iconoclasm, the question of Muslim persecution of Christians. In the third chapter I have taken up the subject of Theophanes’ portrayal of individual Caliphs. I have divided the material according to the currently accepted chronology, however I have also noted elements noticeable in the Chronography, but not fitting in with this common scheme.