| Sumario: | This article presents a close reading of Ibn 'Asākir's (d. 571/1176) biography of 'Umar II in the Tārīkh madīnat Dimashq. Although there was an earlier and substantial historiographical tradition, Ibn 'Asākir's biography is distinct from those of his predecessors in two major ways. First, he strategically arranged his biography to emphasize or de-emphasize certain aspects of 'Umar II's life, including his youth, rise to the caliphate, and reputation as a redeemer. Second, Ibn 'Asākir's legitimizing historiography appears to be bidirectional. Namely, where earlier biographers depicted 'Umar II as the "fifth of the Rāshidūn," bolstering the later Umayyad's reputation through an association with earlier authorities, in Ibn 'Asākir's account problematic aspects of the early civil wars and fitna-ridden Rāshidūn period are also elided through the Rāshidūn's association with the famously pious 'Umar II. The context for this bidirectionality is to be found in the political and social environment in which Ibn 'Asākir compiled his Tārīkh, where dual pressure from Crusader and Shi'ite opponents contributed to his articulation of a particular Sunni vision of political and religious continuity that relied heavily on 'Umar II's unique persona.
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