There are civilizations which have no history, or which, at any rate, are as little interested in commemorating the exploits of their ancestors as they are in bequeathing an account of their own to posterity. The reverse is true of those civilizations which, since antiquity, have succeeded one another on the shores of the Mediterranean and in western Asia, whether Semitic or otherwise. Writing, which made its appearance relatively early, obviously facilitated the recording of deeds or customs. Ruins of ancient monuments remind us of the passage of time and of successive peoples. The Qurʾān is full of allusions to this past and, within the framework of a divine plan, presents in its own way an historical view of the world. Arabic poetry, as has been observed elsewhere, preserves and glorifies the memory of the exploits of various small social groups. Arabs who had become Muslims could not but reveal some sense of history, even though at the outset they did not yet write works which could be called historical.

It is not claimed, of course, that a complete catalogue can be given of historiographical literature, of which, in any case, our knowledge is variable in relation to different periods and regions. At the start it is only necessary to emphasize that in the selection of works for mention – and a fortiori:, if such be the case, for publication, the criteria are not quite the same as for purely literary works.