He seems to have been a close friend of the caliphs Mutawwakkil and Musta'in. He studied in Damascus and Emesa, and in Iraq under Ibn Sa'd. Al-Baladhuri is now famous for his two historical works, Futuh al-Buldun and Ansab al-Ashraf . The former is a history of Muhammad beginning with his wars against the Jews, Mecca, Ta'if, and then the subsequent Arab conquests from the Maghrib to Persia. The latter begins with the sira of the Prophet, and continues with the history of the Abbasids, and so forth. He seems to have relied upon Ibn Ishaq and Ibn Sa'd, among others.