28 Сходознавство, 2017, № 80 ISSN 2415-8712 (on-line); ISSN 1682-671Х (print) Shodoznavstvo, 2017, No. 80, pp. 28–47 UDC 94(4):94(5) InformatIon of ‘tarіkh al-BaB wa-Sharwan’ aBout the alanS and ItS authentIcIty O. Bubenok DSc (History), Professor A. Yu. Krymskyi Institute of Oriental Studies, NAS of Ukraine 4, Hrushevskoho Str., Kyiv, 01001, Ukraine helgebub@i.ua D. Radivilov PhD (History), Senior Fellow A. Yu. Krymskyi Institute of Oriental Studies, NAS of Ukraine 4, Hrushevskoho Str., Kyiv, 01001, Ukraine radivilovda@ukr.net Up to now the Arab sources have not been suffciently attracted to cover the history of the Alans of the Caucasus. Quite common is the opinion that this Iranian-speaking community in the Middle Ages lived in the Caucasus only in its central part. However, the involvement of Muslim sources allows to a certain degree to change the established stereotypes. Among them, the infor- mation of the Arabic-language work ‘Tarikh al-Bab wa-Sharwan’ should be highlighted. This work was published and translated into English and Russian by V. F. Minorsky. In its fnal version, the frst part of the chronicle is dedi- cated to the rulers of Sharwan, and the second – to the rulers of al-Bab. Both of them contain several references to the Alans, that need an explanation. Thus, the earliest information on Alans is contained in the fragment that is dated between the years 851 and 856. It is a question of the campaign of the Muslim commander Bugha against the Alans and Khazars, whom he de- feated and taxed the jizya. As is known, jizya is a tax that the Muslims im- posed on the ahl al-dhimma (in particular, monotheists). However, it is well known that the Alans of the Central Ciscaucasia became Christians only at the beginning of the 10th century, and before that they were pagans. All this makes us think that in this case we are talking about the temporary capture by Muslims of Southern Dagestan, where Monophysite Christianity took root already in the 7th century. As for the name ‘Alans’, it is quite possible that these are the local Maskuts, sometimes called Alans.