Abu Firas al-Hamdani

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Abu Firas al-Hamdani
1963 Syrian postage stamp with a modern representation of Abu Firas
Born
Al-Harith ibn Abi'l-Ala Sai'd

932/933
probably Baghdad
Died4 April 968 (age 35-36)
Sadad (near Homs)
Occupation(s)Governor, military leader and poet
Years active948–968
Notable workal-Rūmiyyāt

Al-Harith ibn Abi’l-ʿAlaʾ Saʿid ibn Hamdan al-Taghlibi (932–968), better known by his

Arab prince and poet. He was a cousin of Sayf al-Dawla and a member of the Hamdanid dynasty, who were rulers in northern Syria and Upper Mesopotamia during the 10th century. He served Sayf al-Dawla as governor of Manbij as well as court poet, and was active in his cousin's wars against the Byzantine Empire. He was captured by the Byzantines in 959/962 and spent several years at their capital, Constantinople, where he composed his most famous work, the collection of poems titled al-Rūmiyyāt (الروميات). He was ransomed in 966, and was killed in 968, when he raised a revolt against his nephew Sa'd al-Dawla, Sayf al-Dawla's successor. He is considered among the greatest figures of classical Arabic poetry
.

Life

Family tree of the Hamdanids

Abu Firas was born in 932 or 933, probably in

umm walad, freed after giving birth to her master's child). His maternal descent later was a source of scorn and taunts from his Hamdanid relatives, a fact reflected in his poems.[1][2]

Abi'l-Ala Sa'id was killed in 935, during a dispute over possession of Mosul with his nephew, Nasir al-Dawla, and Abu Firas's mother fled to the protection of Nasir al-Dawla's brother, Sayf al-Dawla. When the latter occupied Aleppo and northern Syria in 944/5, Abu Firas was welcomed at his cousin's court.[1][3] There he was raised under the supervision of Sayf al-Dawla, who also married his sister Sakhinah. Aside from being a renowned warrior, Sayf al-Dawla was famous for his patronage of scholars and poets, and the young Abu Firas grew up in a culturally vibrant atmosphere. Some of the finest minds of the Muslim world were assembled at the court of Aleppo: the preacher Ibn Nubata, the philosopher and musician al-Farabi, and the great poet al-Mutanabbi, while the grammarian Ibn Khalawayh served as Abu Firas' tutor.[4]

Map of the Arab–Byzantine frontier zone, where Abu Firas was active

Abu Firas soon gave proof of both his martial as well as his literary ability, and in 947/8, when he was only 16, Sayf al-Dawla appointed him governor of

Mar'ash in the frontier zone.[6]

Abu Firas' captivity by the Byzantines is variously dated by the Arabic sources.[6] According to Ibn Khallikan, he was first captured by the Byzantines in 959, but escaped captivity at the fortress of Kharshana by jumping into the Euphrates; this tale is however dismissed by some modern commentators.[1][5] Most sources place his capture in 962 (in November, according to Ibn al-Athir). The Byzantine general Theodore Parsakoutenos led a raid of 1,000 or 1,300 men in the vicinity of Manbij, and when Abu Firas set out with only 70 men to obstruct their plundering, he was captured. Ibn Shaddad reports the story with slight differences, but states that the event took place in 959/960.[6]

Parsakoutenos tried to have his high-ranking prisoner exchanged for his own brother and father, taken prisoners by Sayf al-Dawla at

Rūm was the Arab name for the Byzantines).[1][7] In the meantime, Abu Firas's mother had died, her passing a source of lamentation in Abu Firas's poetry.[8]

After his release, Abu Firas was restored to his position and was named governor of

Karghawayh. At the news of his death, Sakhinah was reportedly so overcome with grief, that she plucked out one of her own eyes.[1][9]

Work and legacy

Abu Firas enjoys a prominent position among the greats of classical

Imru al-Qays) and ended with a king (i.e. Abu Firas)".[1][10] The corpus of his works was edited after his death by Ibn Khalawayh, who also attached a commentary, largely written by Abu Firas himself. Nevertheless, in later times several manuscript versions of his works with significant variations between them were extant, which indicates that Ibn Khalawayh's edition was not the only one.[1]

Abu Firas's early work comprises poems in the classical

Shia poems attacking the Abbasids.[1][11] Although his early works and the al-Rūmiyyāt inevitably show al-Mutanabbi's influence, Abu Firas was the great poet's rival, encouraged by his tutor Ibn Khalawayh, a bitter opponent of al-Mutanabbi.[12] According to H. A. R. Gibb, the qaṣīda poems "are remarkable for their sincerity, directness, and natural vigour", in contrast to the elaborate style of al-Mutanabbi, while the ʿIrāqī poems are merely "elegant trifles, formal and unoriginal".[1] It is the al-Rūmiyyāt, however, and their "combination [...] of pathos, dignity, and pride" (El Tayib) that have secured Abu Firas's place among the greats of Arabic poetry.[1][10] In addition, according to H. A. R. Gibb, his personal traits helped spread his reputation: from his noble descent and fair appearance, his bravery and generosity, to his tendency to egotism and over-reaching ambition, "he lived up to the Arab ideal of chivalry which he expressed in his poetry".[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Gibb 1960, pp. 119–120.
  2. ^ El Tayib 1990, pp. 315–316.
  3. ^ El Tayib 1990, p. 316.
  4. ^ El Tayib 1990, pp. 315, 317.
  5. ^ a b El Tayib 1990, p. 317.
  6. ^ a b c d PmbZ, Abū Firās al-Ḥāriṯ b. Saʻīd b. Ḥamdān (#20051).
  7. ^ El Tayib 1990, pp. 317–318.
  8. ^ El Tayib 1990, p. 322.
  9. ^ El Tayib 1990, p. 326.
  10. ^ a b El Tayib 1990, p. 327.
  11. ^ El Tayib 1990, pp. 316, 318.
  12. ^ El Tayib 1990, p. 318.

Sources

  • El Tayib, Abdullah (1990). "Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī". In Ashtiany, Julia; Johnstone, T. M.; Latham, J. D.; Serjeant, R. B.; Smith, G. Rex (eds.). ʿAbbasid Belles-Lettres. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 315–327.
    ISBN 0-521-24016-6
    .
  • OCLC 495469456
    .
  • Lilie, Ralph-Johannes; Ludwig, Claudia; Pratsch, Thomas; Zielke, Beate (2013). Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit Online. Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Nach Vorarbeiten F. Winkelmanns erstellt (in German). Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter.
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