In its 1909 Cairo edition, the tale comprises 70 sections in seven volumes and 5,084 pages. The subject matter of the epic draws from the long history of Arab–Byzantine wars under the Umayyad and early Abbasid caliphs, until the reign of al-Wathiq in the mid-9th century, with elements from later events, focusing on the exploits of two rival Arab tribes, the Banu Kilab, who furnish the main characters, and the Banu Sulaym.