Umar ibn al-Khattab's Encounter with an Unnamed Monk : From history to Legend: From History to Legend

The Ambrosian Library in Milan has preserved thirteen very interesting folios written in an archaic semi-Kufi Arabic script, describing an encounter between the second caliph of Islam Umar ion al-Khattab and an unnamed monk. We demonstrate how the anonymous author of this manuscript was familiar with the sulh agreements, the covenants of the Prophet Muhammad, and historical and anecdotal accounts of encounters between Umar and ecclesiastical authorities. We postulate that our author composed his narrative on the basis of his own historical imagination from sources that probably belonged to monastic archives to which he had access. The author aimed to deliver a subtle political message, highlighting the archetypal relationship between a Muslim ruler and a Christian subject living under Islam. Two adaptations of our text have been found in Islamic sources, the first in al-Khatib al-Baghdädi's Al-zuhd wa- al-raqaig, and the second in Ibn 'Asäkir's Tärikh madinat Dimasha, which we argue reflect a later re-working of the original narrative.