Power and Poetry

HIST 10079/27/13

The `Abbasids and Ibn Khaldun’s Four Generational Model

• First Generation– al-Saffah and al-Mansur: Revolution and consolidation

• Second Generation– al-Mahdi and al-Hadi: Grooming bureaucratic families

• Third Generation– Harun al-Rashid: New traditions of hajj and jihad

• Fourth Generation– al-Amin and al-Ma’mun: Belief in absolute power,

changing succession, moving the capital, mihna (Inquisition) – all of which fail!

Language and Religion

• Qur’an and Arabic• Islam and grammar• Sibawayh (760-796):al-Kitab, first grammar of Arabic language• Bedouin and pure Arabic• Pre-Islamic poetry

Pre-Islamic Poetry

• Emphasis on eloquence and wording of the verse• Romantic and/or nostalgic prelude• al-waqfa `ala al-atlal: standing by the ruins• Sha’ir: poet/historian/soothsayer/eulogist• Rawi: reciter (and embellisher)

Antarah b. Shaddad & Abla, common charactersin pre-Islamic poetry

Collection and Connoisseurship

• Diwan: not just bureaucratic offices• Adab: Literature but also manners• Knowledge of poetry, sign of high class• Poetry over visual arts• Eulogies and patronage

Abu Nuwas (756-814)

• Playing with traditional forms• “The Wretch Paused”• Court culture and public image• Wine poetry

Kitab al-aghani (Book of Songs)

• Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani (897-967)• Over 10,000 pages• 100 Best Songs chosen by Harun al-Rashid• Royal composers• al-Isfahani’s favorite songs• Biographies of singers and song writers

Court Patronage

• Poets, musicians, singers, dancers seek out court patronage

• One good performance could equal a fortune

• One bad performance…

Qiyan

• Slave girls• Trained in singing and dancing• Important schools near Medina• The best earned royal affection• Huge money• Establishment of households including more singing girls

Language and Religion

• Akhbar: News, historical anecdotes• Conditions of revelation• Hadith - > Sira -> Maghazi -> Futuh• Tarikh: History, often written in the style of

hadith and sira• Isnad – chain of authority• Collection of oral and written traditions

Abu Ja`far Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari (838-923)

• Tarikh al-rusul wa al-muluk (History of the Prophets and the Kings)• Universal history from the Creation to 915CE• Salvational history• 40 volumes in translation• Combines prophetic history, Persian history, oral traditions, and contemporary history• Tafsir al-Tabari

Tabaqat

• Biographical dictionaries• Biographies of hadith transmitters• Verifying isnad• Dictionaries of poets, musicians, etc.• Some local histories…

Arabic and Translation

• Arabic as lingua franca• Legacies of Greco-Roman and Persian traditions• Traditions from beyond the frontiers• Massive translation projects• Combine knowledge of diverse cultures• Imperial dominance

Bayt al-Hikma (House of Wisdom)• Translation school• Founded in Baghdad by al-Ma’mun• Astronomy, mathematics, medicine, philosophy, etc.• Conversation between traditions• New applications and discoveries• Preserves Greek classics

Bayt al-Hikma• al-Khwarizmi (ca. 780-850), Kitab al-Jabr (algebra)• Hunayn b. Ishaq (809-973), Ten Treatises on the Eye• al-Kindi (c. 801-c. 873), polymath (wrote on philosophy, medicine, pharmacology, mathematics, astronomy, astrology, and optics)

Literature• 1,001 Nights

• Khalila wa Dimna

• Tales migrate from India, Through Iran, and into Islamic world.

Kitab al-Fihrist

• Abu’l-Faraj Ibn al-Nadim (d. 995 or 998)• “an index of books of all nations”• Every book in Arabic available in Baghdad• Biographies of writers• Modern translation runs over 1,200 pages• Like bureaucracy, paper makes it possible!