Kharijites in Early Islamic Historical Tradition

Why are stories told about the Kh?rijites? The Islamic tradition portrays Kh?rijism as a heretical movement of militantly pious zealots, a notion largely reiterated by what little there is of modern scholarship on the Kh?rijites. Hannah-Lena Hagemann moves away from the usual studies of Kh?rijite history 'as it really was' and instead examines its narrative function in early Islamic historiography. From the Kh?rijites' origins at the Battle of ?iff?n in 657 CE until the death of the caliph ?Abd al-Malik b. Marw?n in 705 CE, Hagemann's literary analysis provides a fresh perspective on Kh?rijite history and highlights the need for a serious reassessment of the historical phenomenon of Kh?rijism as it is currently understood in scholarship.