LE AVVENTURE DEL CORPO IN GUERRA: LA DIMENSIONE DELLA CORPOREITÀ NELLE NARRAZIONI DI BATTAGLIA

In studies of premodern Arabic literature, unlike in research on medieval European culture, the theme of the body-at-war remains relatively underexplored. This essay investigates how early Arabic historiography depicts the bodies of combatants, focusing on al-Ṭabarī’s Ta’rīḫ al-rusul wa ’l-mulūk and other classical historiographical sources. It examines descriptions of the bodies of warriors – living and dead, friend and foe – as well as bodily practices such as hygiene and alimentation, and the sensory dimensions of the battlefield. The body emerges as a protagonist in war narratives, not merely as an instrument and target of violence but also as a key marker of symbolic, political, and identity boundaries. Differences between Muslims and their enemies are reflected in how bodies are portrayed and managed, both in life and after death. The analysis highlights the sources’ taste for de tails and descriptive realism, revealing that war writing in classical Arabic historiography is also writing about bodies, often shaped by literary topoi that serve ideological and legitimizing purposes.