Primary Source XI: al-Baladhuri and the Arab Invasions of Cyprus

Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Jābir al-Balādhurī was a 9th century Arab (or possibly Persian) historian whose work, "Futūh al-Buldān" (Conquest of Lands) provides us a valuable non-Roman/Byzantine perspective on the Arab invasions of Cyprus. You'll hear al-Baladhuri reference Cyprus' infamous "condominium" where the island's tax revenues were split between the Caliphate and Constantinople until Cyprus was reintegrated into the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine) in the 10th century. Next month, I invite Professor Luca Zavagno from Bilkent University to discuss Cyprus in late antiquity.