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AUTHORITIBS .—D. G. See also:Hogarth, Penetration of See also:Arabia (See also:London, 1904) ; C. See also:Niebuhr, Travels and Description of Arabia (See also:Amsterdam, 1774) ; A. Zehme, Arabien and See also:die Araber seit Hundert Jahren (See also:Halle, 1875) ; J. L. See also:Burckhardt, Travels in Arabia (London, 1829) ; R. F. See also:Burton, See also:Pilgrimage to El Medinah and Meccah (London, 1855), See also:Midian revisited (187 ); W. G. See also:Palgrave, Central and Eastern Arabia (London, 1865); C. Doughty, Arabia Deserta (See also:Cambridge,` 1888), and an abridgment, containing mainly the See also:personal narrative, under the See also:title of Wanderings in Arabia (London, 1908) ; L. See also:van den See also:Berg, Le See also:Hadramut et See also:les colonies arabes, &c. (See also:Batavia, 1885); C. See also:Huber, See also:Journal d'un voyage en Arabie (See also:Paris, 1891); J. Eating, Reise in inner Arabien (See also:Leiden; 1896) ; E. Nolde, Reise nach inner Arabien (See also:Brunswick, 1895) ; L. See also:Hirsch, Reise in Sud Arabien (Leiden, 1897) ; J. T. See also:Bent, See also:Southern Arabia (1895); R. See also:Manzoni, Il See also:Yemen (See also:Rome, 1884) ; A. Deflers, Voyage en Yemen (Paris, 1889); J. See also:Halevy, Journal Asiatique (1872); See also:Lady See also:Anne See also:Blunt, Pilgrimage to See also:Nejd (London, 1881) ; E. See also:Glaser, See also:Petermann's Mitt. (1886, 1888 and 1889); W. B. See also:Harris, See also:Journey through Yemen (See also:Edinburgh, 1893) ; J. R. Wellsted, Travels in Arabia (London, 1838) ; Capt. F. M. See also:Hunter, See also:Aden (London, 1877). Consult also Proc. R.G.S. and Geogr. Journal. For See also:geology see H. J. See also:Carter, " Memoir on the Geology of the See also:South-See also:East See also:Coast of Arabia, Journ. Bombay See also:Branch See also:Roy. Asiat. See also:Soc. vol. iv. pp. 21-96 (1852); Doughty's Arabia Deserta; W. F. See also:Hume, The Rift Valleys and Geology of Eastern See also:Sinai (London, 1901). For See also:ancient See also:geography of Arabia:—A. See also:Sprenger, Alte Gebgraphie Arabiens (Berne, 1875); E. H. See also:Bunbury, See also:History of Ancient Geography (London, 1883) ; D. H. See also: But the experience of all peoples in that memory requires to be helped by See also:form. Sentences became balanced and were made clear by some sort of definite ending. The simplest form of this in Arabian literature is the saj' or rhymed See also:prose, in which the sentences are usually (though not always) See also:short and end in a See also:rhyme or assonance. See also:Mahomet used this form in many parts of the See also:Koran (e.g. Sura, 81). The next step was the introduction of See also:metre into the See also:body of the See also:sentence and the restriction of the passages to a definite length. This in its simplest form gave rise to the rajaz verses, where each See also:half-See also:line ends in the same rhyme and consists of three feet of the measure – v – . Other metres were introduced later until sixteen altogether were re-cognized. In all forms the rhyme is the same throughout the poem, and is confined to the second half of the line except in the first line where the two halves rhyme. While, however, these See also:measures were in See also:early use, they were not systematically analysed or their rules enunciated until the See also:time of Khalil See also:ibn Ahmad in the 8th See also:century. Two other features of Arabian See also:poetry are probably connected with the See also:necessity for aiding the memory. The first of these is the requirement that each line should have a See also:complete sense in itself; this produces a certain jerkiness, and often led among the Arabs to displacement in the See also:order of the lines in a See also:long poem. The other feature, See also:peculiar to the long poem (qasida, See also:elegy), is that, whatever. its real See also:object, whatever its metre, it has a See also:regular See also:scheme in the arrangement of its material. It begins with a description of the old camping-ground, before which the poet calls on his See also:companion to stop, while he bewails the traces of those who have See also:left for other places. Then he tells of his love and how be had suffered from it, how he had journeyed through the See also:desert (this See also:part often contains some of the most famous descriptions and praises of animals) until his beast became thin and worn-out. Then at last comes the real subject of the poem, usually the See also:panegyric of some See also:man of influence or See also:wealth to whom the poet has come in See also:hope of See also:reward and before whom he recites the poem. Poetry.—The influence of the poet in pre-Mahommedan days was very See also:great. As his name, ash-Sha'ir, " the knowing man," indicates, he was supposed to have more than natural knowledge and power. Panegyric and See also:satire (hija') were his See also:chief See also:instruments. The praise of the tribe in well-chosen verses ennobled it throughout the See also:land, a biting satire was enough to destroy its reputation (cf. I. See also:Goldziher's Abhandlungen zur arabischen Philologie, i. pp. 1-105). Before Mahomet the See also:ethics of the Arabs were summed up in muruwwa (See also:custom). Hospitality, generosity, personal bravery were the subjects of praise; meanness and cowardice those of satire. The existence of poetry among the See also:northern Arabs was known to the Greeks even in the 4th century (cf. St Nilos in See also:Migne's Patrologia Graeca, vol. 79, See also:col. 648, and See also:Sozomen's Ecclesiastical History, bk. 6, ch. 38). See also:Women as well as men composed and recited poems before the days of the See also:Prophet (cf. L. Cheikho's Poetesses of the Jahiliyya, in Arabic, See also:Beirut, 1897). The transmission of early Arabic poetry has been very imperfect. Many of the reciters were slain in See also:battle, and it was not till the 8th to the loth centuries and even later that the earliest collections of these poems were made. Many have to be recovered from grammars, dictionaries, &c., where singlelines or See also:groups of lines are quoted to illustrate the proper use of words, phrases or idioms. Moreover, many a reciter was not content to declaim the genuine verses of ancient poets, but interpolated some of his own See also:composition, and the See also:change of See also:religion introduced by See also:Islam led to the See also:mutilation of many verses to suit the doctrines of the new creed.' The See also:language of the poems, as of all the best Arabian literature, was that of the desert Arabs of central Arabia; and to use it aright was the ambition of poets and scholars even in the Abbasid See also:period. For the man of the towns its vocabulary was too copious to be easily understood, and in the See also:age of linguistic studies many commentaries were written to explain words and idioms. Of the pre-Mahommedan poets the most famous were the six whose poems were collected by Asma'i about the beginning of the 9th century (ed. W. Ahlwardt, The Diwans of the Six Ancient Arabic Poets, London, 1870). Single poems of four of these—Amru-ul-Qais, See also:Tarafa, See also:Zuhair and 'Antara—appear in the Mo'allakat (q.v.). The other two were Nabigha (q.v.) and 'Alqama (q.v.). But besides these there were many others whose names were famous; such as Ta'abbata Sharran, a popular See also:hero who recites his own adventures with great gusto; his companion Shanfara, whose fame rests on a See also:fine poem which has been translated into See also:French by de Sacy (in his Chrestomathie Arabe) and into See also:English by G. See also:Hughes (London, 1886); Aus ibn Hajar of the Bani Tamin, famous for his descriptions of weapons and See also:hunting scenes (ed. R. Geyer, See also:Vienna, 1892); Ilatim Ta'i, renowned for his open-handed generosity as well as for his poetry (ed. F. Schulthess, See also:Leipzig, 1897, with See also:German See also:translation); and 'Urwa ibn ul-See also: His poems are discussed by F. Schulthess in the Orientalische Studien dedicated by Th. Noldeke, See also:Giessen, 19(36, and his relation to Mahomet by E. Power in the Melanges de la faculte orientale de l'universite See also:Saint-See also:Joseph, Beirut, 1906). Mahomet's relation to the poets generally was one of antagonism because of their influence over the Arabs and their devotion to the old religion and customs. Ka'b ibn Zuhair, however, first condemned to death, then pardoned, later won great favour for himself by See also:writing a panegyric of the Prophet (ed. G. See also:Freytag, Halle, 1823). Another poet, A'sha (q.v.), followed his example. See also:Labid (q.v.) and See also:Hassan ibn Thabit (q.v.) were also contemporary. Among the poetesses of the time See also:Khansa (q.v.) is supreme. In the scarcity of poets at this time two others deserve mention; See also:Abu Mihjan, who made peace with Islam in 63o but was exiled for his love of See also:wine, which he celebrated in his See also:verse (ed. L. See also:Abel, Leiden, 1887; cf. C. Land-berg's Primeurs arabes, 1, Leiden, 1886), and Jarwal ibn Aus, known as al-IJutai'a, a wandering poet whose keen satires led to his imprisonment by See also:Omar (Poems, ed. by I. Goldziher in the Journal of the German See also:Oriental Society, vols. 46 and 47). Had the simplicity and religious severity of the first four caliphs continued in their successors, the See also:fate of poetry would have been hard. Probably little but religious poetry would have been allowed. But the Omayyads (with one exception) were not religious men and, while preserving the outward forms of Islam, allowed full See also:liberty to the pre-Islamic customs of the Arabs and the beliefs and practices of Christians. At the same time the ' On the subject of transmission cf. Th. NSldeke's Beitrdge zus Kenntniss der Poesie der See also:alien Araber (See also:Hanover, 18o4); and W. Ahlwardt's Bemerkungen fiber die Aechtheit der See also:alten arabischea Gedickte (Greifswald, 1872). circumstances of the poet's See also:life were altered. Poetry depended on patronage, and that was to be had now chiefly in the See also:court of the See also:caliph and the residences of his See also:governors. Hence the centre of attraction was now the See also:city with its interests, not the desert. Yet the old forms of poetry were kept. The qasida still required the long introduction (see above), which was entirely occupied with the affairs of the desert. Thus poetry became more and more artificial, until in the Abbasid period poets arose who See also:felt themselves strong enough to give up the worn-out forms and adopt others more suitable. The names of three great poets adorn the Omayyad period: See also:Akhtal, See also:Farazdaq and Jarir were contemporaries (see See also:separate articles). The first was a Christian of the tribe of Taghlib, whose See also:Christianity enabled him to write many verses which would have been impossible to a professing Moslem. Protected by the caliph he employed the old weapons of satire to support them against the " Helpers " and to exalt his own tribe against the Qaisites. Farazdaq of the Bani Tamim, a See also:good Moslem but loose in morals, lived chiefly in See also:Medina and Kuf a, and was renowned for his command of language. Jarir of another branch of the Bani Tamim lived in See also:Irak and courted the favour of Hajjaj, its See also:governor. His satires were so effective that he is said to have crushed See also:forty-three rivals. His great efforts were against Farazdaq, who was supported by Akhtal (cf. The Naka'id of Jarir and al-Farazdaq, ed. A. A. Bevan, Leiden, 1906 See also:foil.). Among many See also:minor poets one woman is conspicuous. Laila ul-Akhyaliyya (d. 706) was married to a stranger. On the death of her See also:lover in battle, she wrote numerous elegies bewailing him, and so became famous and devoted the See also:rest of her life to the writing of verse. Two poets of the Koreish attained celebrity in Arabia itself at this time. Qais ur-Ruqayyat was the poet of 'Abdallah ibn uz-Zubair (Abdallah ibn Zobair) and helped him until circumstances went against him, when he made his peace with the caliph. His poems are chiefly panegyrics and love songs (ed. N. Rhodonakis, Vienna, 1902). 'See also:Umar ibn Abi Rabi'a (c. 643-719) was a wealthy man, who lived a life of ease in his native See also:town of See also:Mecca, and devoted himself to intrigues and writing love songs (ed. P. See also:Schwarz, Leipzig, 1901-1902). His poems were very popular throughout Arabia. As a dweller in the town he was See also:independent of the old forms of poetry, which controlled all others, but his influence among poets was not great enough to perpetuate the new See also:style. One other short-lived See also:movement of the Omayyad period should be mentioned. The rajaz poems (see above) had been a subordinate class generally used for improvisations in pre-Mahommedan times. In the 7th and 8th centuries, however, a See also:group of poets employed them more seriously. The most celebrated of these were 'Ajjaj and his son Ru'ba of the Bani Tamim (See also:editions by W. Ahh*rardt, Berlin, 1903; German trans. of Ru'ba's poems by Ahlwardt, Berlin, 1904). With the See also:establishment of the Abbasid See also:dynasty, a new See also:epoch in Arabian poetry began. The stereotyped beginning of the qasida had been recognized as antiquated and out of See also:place in city life even in the Omayyad period (cf. Goldziher, Abhandlungen, i. 144 ff.). This form had been ridiculed but now it lost its hold altogether, and was only employed occasionally by way of See also:direct See also:imitation of the See also:antique. The rise of See also:Persian influence made itself felt in much the same way as the See also:Norman influence in See also:England by bringing a newer refinement into poetry. Tribal feuds are no longer the See also:main incentives to verse. Individual experiences of life and matters of human See also:interest become more usual subjects. Cynicism, often followed by religion in a poet's later life, is See also:common. The tumultuous mixture of interests and passions to be found in a city like See also:Bagdad are the subjects of a poet's verse. One of the earliest of these poets, Muti' ibnAyas, shows the new See also:depth of personal feeling and refinement of expression. Bashshar ibn Burd (d. 783), a See also:blind poet of Persian descent, shows the ascendancy of Persian influence as he openly rails at the Arabs and makes clear his own leaning to the Persian religion. In the 8th century Abu Nuwas (q.v.) is the greatest poet of his time. His language has the purity of the desert, his morals are those of the city, his universalism is that of the man of the See also:world. Abu-l-'Atahiya (q.v.), his contemporary, is fluent,See also:simple and often didactic. Muslim ibn ul-Walid (ed. de See also:Goeje, Leiden, 1875), also contemporary, is more conservative of old forms and given to panegyric and satire. In the 9th century two of the best-known poets—Abu Taminam (q.v.) and See also:Buhturi (q.v.) —were renowned for their knowledge of old poetry (see HAMASA) and were influenced by it in their own verse. On the other See also:hand Ibn ul-Mo'tazz (son of the caliph) was the writer of brilliant occasional verse, See also:free of all imitation. In the loth century the centre of interest is in the court of Saif ud-Daula (addaula) at See also:Aleppo. Here in See also:Motanabbi (q.v.) the claims of See also:modern poetry not only to equal but to excel the ancient were put forward and in part at any See also:rate recognized. Abu Firas (932-968) was a member of the See also:family of Saif ud-Daula, a soldier whose poems have all the See also:charm that comes from the fact that the writer has lived through the events he narrates (ed. by R. See also:Dvorak, Leiden, 1895). Many Arabian writers See also:count Motanabbi the last of the great poets. Yet Abu-l--'See also:Ala ul-Ma'arri (q.v.) was See also:original alike in his use of rhymes and in the philosophical nature of his poems. Ibn See also:Farid (q.v.) is the greatest of the mystic poets, and Busiri (q.v.) wrote the most famous poem extant in praise of the Prophet. In the provinces of the See also:caliphate there were many poets, who, however, seldom produced original work. See also:Spain, however, produced Ibn 'Abdun (d. 1126), famous for the See also:grace and finish of his style (ed. with commentary of Ibn Badrun by R. P. A. See also:Dozy, Leiden, 1846). The Sicilian Ibn Hamdis (1048-1132) spent the last fifty years of his life in Spain (Diwdn, ed. Moagada, See also:Palermo, 1883; Canzoniere, ed. See also:Schiaparelli, Rome, 1897). It was also apparently in this See also:country that the See also:strophe form was first used in Arabic poems (cf. M. See also:Hartmann's Das arabische Strophengedicht, See also:Weimar, 1897), and Ibn Quzman (12th century), a wandering See also:singer, here first used the language of everyday life in the form of verse known as Zajal. Anthologies.—As supplemental to the See also:account of poetry may be mentioned here some of the chief collections of ancient verse; sometimes made for the See also:sake of the poems themselves, sometimes to give a See also:locus classicus for usages of See also:grammar or lexicography; sometimes to illustrate ancient See also:manners and customs. The earliest of these is the Mo'allakat (q.v.). In the 8th century Ibn Mofaddal compiled the collection named after him the Mofaddaliydt. From the 9th century we have the Hamasas of Abu Tammam and Bubturi, and a collection of poems of the tribe Hudhail (second half ed. in part by J.G.L.Kosegarten, London, 1854; completed by J. See also:Wellhausen in Skizzen and Vorarbeiten, is Berlin, 1884). The numerous quotations of Ibn Qutaiba (q.v.) in the ' Uyun ul-Akhbdr (ed. C. Brockelmann, See also:Strassburg, 1900 ff.) and the See also:Book of Poetry and Poets (ed. M. J. de Goeje, Leiden, 1904) bring these See also:works into this class. In the loth century were compiled the Jamharat ash'ar at Arab, containing forty-nine poems (ed. Bulaq, 1890), the work al-'Iqd ul-Farid of Ibn'Abdi-r-Rabbihi (ed. See also:Cairo, various years), and the greatest work of all this class, the Kitab ul-Aghdni ( " Book of Songs ") (cf. Asu-L FARAJ). The 12th century contributes the Diwdn Mukhtardt ush-Shu'ara'i with fifty qasidas. The Khizanat ul-Adab of Abdulqadir, written in the 17th century in the form of a commentary on verses cited in a grammar, contains much old verse (ed. 4 vols., Bulaq, 1882). Belles-Lettres and Romances.—Mahomet in the Koran had made extensive use of sal or rhymed prose (see above). This form then dropped out of use almost entirely for some time. In the loth century, however, it was revived, occurring almost simultaneously in the Sermons of Ibn Nubata (946-984) and the Letters of Abu Bakr ul-Khwarizmi. Both have been published several times in the East. The epistolary style was further cultivated by See also:Hamadhani (q.v.) and carried to perfection by Abu-l'Ala ul-Ma'arri. Hamadhani was also the first to write in this rhymed prose a new form of work, the Magama (" See also:assembly "). The name arose from the fact that scholars were accustomed to assemble for the purpose of rivalling one another in orations showing their knowledge of Arabic language, See also:proverb and verse. In the Magdmas of Hamadhani a narrator describes how in various places he met a wandering See also:scholar who in these assemblies puts all his rivals to shame by his eloquence, Each oration forms the substance of a Magama,whiletheMagamas themselves are See also:united to one another by the See also:constant meetings of narrator and scholar. Hariri (q.v.) quite eclipsed the fame of his predecessor in this See also:department, and his Magamas retain their influence over Arabian literature to the See also:present See also:day. As See also:late as the 19th century the sheik Nasif ul Yaziji (1800–1871) distinguished himself by writing sixty See also:clever Maqdmas in the style of Hariri (ed. Beirut, 1856, 1872). While this class of literature had devoted itself chiefly to the finesses of the language, another set of works was given to meeting the requirements of moral See also:education and the training of a See also:gentleman. This, which is known as " Adab literature," is anecdotic in style with much See also:quotation of early poetry and proverb. Thus See also:government, See also:war, friendship, morality, piety, eloquence, are some of the titles under which Ibn Qutaiba groups his stories and verses in the `U}yen ul Akhbar. See also:Jahiz (q.v.) in the 9th century and Baihagi. (The Kitdb al-Mahasin val-Masawi, ed. F. Schwally, Giessen, 1900–1902) early in the loth, wrote works of this class. A little later a Spaniard, Ibn `Abdrabbihi (Abdi-r-Rabbihi), wrote his `Iqd ul-Farid (see See also:section Anthologies). The growth of city life in the Abbasid See also:capital led to the See also:desire for a new form of story, differing from the old tales of desert life. This was met in the first place by borrowing. In the 8th century Ibn Mugaffa`, a convert from Mazdaism to Islam, translated the See also:Pahlavi version of See also:Bidpai's fables (itself a version of the See also:Indian Panchatantra) into Arabic with the title Kalila wa Dimna (ed. Beirut, various years). Owing to the purity of its language and style it has remained a classic work. The Book of the See also:root Nights (Arabian Nights) also has its basis in See also:translations from the Indian through the Persian, made as early as the 9th century. To these stories have been added others originating in Bagdad and See also:Egypt and a few others, which were at first in independent circulation. The whole work seems to have taken its present form (with See also:local See also:variations) about the 13th century. Several other romances of considerable length are extant, such as the Story of `Antar (ed. 32 vols., Cairo, 1869, &c., translated in part by Terrick See also: In yet a third type of history the old method is entirely forsaken and we have a continuous narrative only occasionally interrupted by See also:citation of the authority for some particular point. But the principle still is that what has been well said once need not be told again in other words. The writer, therefore, keeps as See also:close as he can to the See also:letter of his See also:sources, so that quite a late writer often reproduces the very words of the first narrator. From very early times story-tellers and singers found their subjects in the doughty deeds of the tribe on its forays, and sometimes in contests with See also:foreign See also:powers and in the impression produced by the wealth and might of the sovereigns of See also:Persia and See also:Constantinople. The See also:appearance of the Prophet with thegreat changes that ensued, the conquests that made the Arabs lords of half the civilized world, supplied a vast See also:store of new See also:matter for relations which men were never weary of See also:hearing and recounting. They wished to know everything about the apostle of See also:God. Every one who had known or seen him was questioned and was eager to See also:answer. Moreover, the word of God in the Koran left many See also:practical points undecided, and therefore it was of the highest importance to know exactly how the Prophet had spoken and acted in various circumstances. Where could this be better learned than at Medina, where he had lived so long and where the See also:majority of his companions continued to live ? So at Medina a school was gradually formed, where the chief part of the traditions about Mahomet and his first successors took a form more or less fixed. Soon men began to assist memory by making notes, and pupils sought to take written jottings of what they had heard from their teachers. Thus by the close of the 1st century many dictata were already in circulation. For example, See also:Hasan of See also:Basra (d. 728 A.D.) had a great See also:mass of such notes, and he was accused of sometimes passing off as oral tradition things he had really See also:drawn from books; for oral tradition was still the one recognized authority, and it is related of more than one old scholar, and even of Masan of Basra himself, that he directed his books to be burned at his death. The books were See also:mere See also:helps. Long after this date, when all scholars See also:drew mainly from books, the old forms were still kept up. See also:Tabari, for example, when he cites a book expresses himself as if he had heard what he quotes from the See also:master with whom he read the passage or from whose copy he transcribed it. He even ex-presses himself in this See also:wise: "`Omar b. Shabba has related to me in his book on the history of Basra." No independent book of the 1st century from the See also:Flight (i.e. 622–719) has come down to us. It is told, however, that Moawiya summoned an old man named `Abid ibn Sharya from Yemen to See also:Damascus to tell him all he knew about ancient history and that he induced him to write down his See also:information. This very likely formed the See also:nucleus of a book which See also:bore the name of that sheik and was much read in the 3rd century from the Flight. It seems to be lost now. But in the 2nd century (719--816) real books began to be composed. The materials were supplied in the first place by oral tradition, in the second by the dictata of older scholars, and finally by various kinds of documents, such as See also:treaties, letters, collections of poetry and genealogical lists. Genealogical studies had become necessary through Omar's See also:system of assigning See also:state See also:pensions to certain classes of persons according to their kinship with the Prophet, or their deserts during his lifetime. This subject received much attention even in the 1st century, but books about it were first written in the 2nd, the most famous being those of Ibn al-Kalbi (d. 763), of his son Hisham (d. 819), and of Al-Shargi ibn al-Qutami. See also:Genealogy, which often called for elucidations, led on to history. See also:Baladhuri's excellent Ansab al-Ashraf (Genealogies of the Nobles) is a history of the Arabs on a genealogical See also:plan. The See also:oldest extant history is the See also:biography of the Prophet by Ibn Ishaq (d. 767). This work is generally trustworthy. Mahomet's life before he appeared as a prophet and the story of his ancestors are indeed mixed with many fables illustrated by See also:spurious verses. But in Ibn Ishaq's day these fables were generally accepted as history—for many of them had been first related by contemporaries of Mahomet—and no one certainly thought it blameworthy to put pious verses in the mouth of the Prophet's forefathers, though, according to the Fihrist (p. 92), Ibn Ishaq was duped by others with regard to the poems he quotes. The original work of Ibn Ishaq seems to be lost. That which we possess is an edition of it by Ibn Hisham (d. 834) with additions and omissions (See also:text ed. by F. Wiistenfeld, Gottingen, 1858–1860; German translation by Weil, See also:Stuttgart, 1864). The Life of the Prophet by Ibn Oqba (d. 758), based on the statements of two very trustworthy men, `Urwa ibn az-Zubair (d. 713) and Az-zuhri (d. 742), was, still much read in See also:Syria in the 14th century. Fragments of this have been edited by E. Sachau, Berlin, 1904. We fortunately possess the Book of the See also:Campaigns of the Prophet by al-Wagidi (d. 822) and the important Book of Classes of his See also:disciple Ibn Sa'd (q.v.). See also:Waqidi had much more copious materials than Ibn Isbaq, but gives way much more to a popular and sometimes romancing style of treatment. Nevertheless he sometimes helps us to recognize in Ibn Ishaq's narrative modifications of the genuine tradition made for a purpose, and the additional details he supplies set various events before us in a clearer See also:light. Apart from this his chief merits See also:lie in his studies on the subject of the traditional authorities, the results of which are given by Ibn Sa'd, and in his See also:chronology, which is often excellent. A See also:special study of the traditions about the See also:conquest of Syria made by M. J. de Goeje in 1864 (Memoires sur la conquese de la Syrie, and ed., Leiden, 1900), led to the conclusion that Wagidi's chronology is See also:sound as regards the main events, and that later historians have gone astray by forsaking his guidance. This result has been confirmed by certain contemporary notices found by Th. Noldeke in 1874 in a See also:Syriac MS. of the British Museum. And that Ibn Isliaq agrees with Waqidi in certain main See also:dates is important See also:evidence for the trustworthiness of the former also. For the chronology before the See also:year to of the Flight Waqidi did his best, but here, the material being defective, many of his conclusions are pre-carious. Waqidi had already a great library at his disposal. He is said to have had 600 chests of books, chiefly dictata written by or for himself, but in part real books by Abu Mikhnaf (d. 748), Ibn Isbaq (whom he uses but does not name), 'Awana (d. 764), Abu Mashar (d. 791) and other authors. Abu Mikhnaf left a great number of monographs on the chief events from the death of the Prophet to the caliphate of Walid II. These were much used by later writers, and we have many extracts from them, but none of the works themselves except a sort of See also:romance based on his account of the death of Hosain (l usain) of which Wflstenfeld has given a translation. With regard to the history of Irak in particular he was deemed to have the best information, and for this subject he is Tabari's chief source, just as Madaini, a younger contemporary of Wagidi, is followed by preference in all that relates to See also:Khorasan. Madaini's History of the Caliphs is the best, if not the oldest, published before Tabari; but this book is known only by the excerpts given by later writers, particularly Baladhuri and Tabari. From these we See also:judge that he had great narrative power, with much clear and exact learning, and must be placed high as a See also:critical historian. His plan was to See also:record the various traditions about an event, choosing them with critical skill; sometimes, however, he fused the several traditions into a continuous narrative. A just estimate of the relative value of the historians can only be reached by careful comparison in detail. This has been essayed by See also:Brunnow in his study on the Kharijites (Leiden, 1884), in which the narrative of See also:Mubarrad in the Kamil is compared with the excerpts of Madaini given by Baladhuri and those of Abu Mikhnaf given by Tabari. The conclusion reached is that Abu Mikhnaf and Madaini are both well informed and impartial. Among the contemporaries of Waqidi and Madaini were Ibn Khidash (d. 838), the historian of the family Muhallab, whose work was one of Mubarrad's sources for the History of the Kharijites; Haitham ibn 'A& (d. 822), whose works, though now lost, are often cited; and Saif ibn 'Omar at-Tamimi, whose book on the revolt of the tribes under Abu-Bekr and on the Mahommedan conquests was much used by Tabari. His narratives are detailed and often tinged with romance, and he is certainly much inferior to Wagidi in accuracy. Wellhausen has thoroughly examined the work of Saif in Skizzen and Vorarbeiten, vi. Besides these are to be mentioned Abu 'Ubaida (d. 825), who was celebrated as a philologist and wrote several historical monographs that are often cited, and Azraqi, whose excellent History of Mecca was published after his death by his See also:grandson (d. 858). With these writers we pass into the 3rd century of Islam. But we have still an important point to See also:notice in the and century; for in it learned Persians began to take part in the creation of Arabic historical literature. Ibn Muqaffa' translated the great Book of Persian See also:Kings, and others followed his example. Tabari and his contemporaries, See also:senior and junior, such as Ibn Qutaiba, Ya'qubi, Dinawari, preserve to us a goodpart of the information about Persian history made known through such translations). But even more important than the knowledge conveyed by these works was their influence on See also:literary style and composition. Half a century later began versions from the See also:Greek either direct or through the Syriac. The pieces translated were mostly philosophical; but the Arabs also learned something, however superficially, of ancient history. The 3rd century (816–913) was far more productive than the and. Abu 'Ubaida was succeeded by Ibn al-Arabi (d. 846), who in like manner was chiefly famous as a philologist, and who wrote about ancient poems and battles. Much that he wrote is quoted in Tabrzi's commentary on the Ijamdsa, which is still richer in extracts from the historical elucidations of early poems given by ar-Riyashi (d. 871). Of special fame as a genealogist was ibn Habib (d. 859), of whom we have a booklet on Arabian tribal names (ed. Wustenfeld, i85o). Azraqi again was followed by Fakihi, who wrote a History of Mecca in 885,2 and 'Omar b. Shabba (d. 876), who composed an excellent history of Basra, known to us only by excerpts. Of the works of Zubair b. Bakkar d . 870), one of Tabari's teachers, a learned historian and genealogist much consulted by later writers, there is a fragment in the Kopriilii library at Constantinople, and another in Gottingen, part of which has been made known by Wustenfeld (Die Familie Al-Zobair, Gottingen, 1878). Ya'qubi (Ibn Waelih) wrote a , short See also:general history of much value (published by Houtsma, Leiden, 1883). About See also:India he knows more than his predecessors and more than his successors down to Beruni. Ibn Khordadhbeh's historical works are lost. Ibn 'Abdalhakam (d. 871) wrote of the conquest of Egypt and the See also:West. Extracts from this book are given by M'G. de Slane in his Histoire See also:des Berberes, from which we gather that it was a medley of true tradition and romance, and must be reckoned, with the book of his slightly senior contemporary, the Spaniard Ibn IJabib, in the class of historical romances. A high place must be assigned to the historian Ibn Qutaiba or Kotaiba (d. 889), who wrote a very useful Handbook of History (ed. Wustenfeld, Gottingen, 1850). Much more eminent is Baladhuri (d. 893), whose book on the Arab conquest (ed. M. J. de Goeje, Leiden, 1865–1866) merits the special praise given to it by Mas'udi, and who also wrote a large work, the Ansdb al-Ashrdf. A contemporary, Ibn abi Tahir Taifur (d. 894), wrote on the Abbasid caliphs and was drawn on by Tabari. The See also:sixth part of his work is in the British Museum. The universal history of Dinawari (d. 896), entitled The Long Narratives, has been edited by Girgas (1887). All these histories are more or less thrown into the shade by the great work of Tabari (q.v.), whose fame has never faded from his own day to ours. The See also:Annals (ed. M. de Goeje, Leiden, 1879–1901) are a general history from the creation to 302 A.H. (=A.D. 915). As a literary composition they do not See also:rank very high, which may be due partly to the author's years, partly to the inequality of his sources, sometimes superabundant, some-times defective, partly perhaps to the somewhat hasty condensation of his original draft. Nevertheless the value of the book is very great: the author's selection of traditions is usually happy, and the episodes of most importance are treated with most fulness of detail, so that it deserves the high reputation it has enjoyed from the first. This reputation See also:rose steadily; there were twenty copies (one of them written by Tabari's own hand) in the library of the Fatimite caliph 'Aziz (latter half of the 4th century), whereas, when See also:Saladin became See also:lord of Egypt, the princely library contained 1200 copies (Magrizi, 408 seq.). The Annals soon came to be dealt with in various ways. They were published in shorter form with the omission of the names of authorities and of most of the poems cited; some passages quoted by later writers are not found even in the Leiden edition. On the other hand, some interpolations took place, one in the • For details see the introduction to Naldeke's translation of Tabari's Geschichte der Perser and Araber zur Zeit der Sasaniden (Leiden, 1879). 2 Published in excerpt by Wustenfeld along with Azraqi (Leipzig, 1857-1859). author's lifetime and perhaps by his own hand. Then many supplements were written, e.g. by Ferghani (not extant) and by Hamadhani (partly preserved in Paris). 'Arib of See also:Cordova made an abridgment, adding the history of the West and continuing the story to about 975.1 Ibn Mashkawaih wrote a history from the creation to 98o, with the purpose of See also:drawing the lessons of the story, following Tabari closely, as far as his book is known, and seldom recurring to other sources before the reign of Moqtadir; what follows is his own composition and shows him to be a writer of See also:talent .2 In 963 an abridgment of the Annals was translated into Persian by Bal'ami, who, however, interwove many fables.3 Ibn al-Athir (d. 1234) abridged the whole work, usually with See also:judgment, but sometimes too hastily. Though he sometimes glided lightly over difficulties, his work is of service in fixing the text of Tabari. He also furnished a continuation to the year 1224. Later writers took Tabari as their main authority, but sometimes consulted other sources, and so add to our knowledge—especially Ibn al-Jauzi (d. 1201), who adds many important details. These later historians had valuable help from the See also:biographies of famous men and special histories of countries and cities, dynasties and princes, on which much labour was spent from the 4th century from the Flight onwards. The chief historians after Tabari may be briefly mentioned in See also:chronological order. Razi (d. A.D. 932) wrote a History of Spain; Eutychius (d. 940) wrote Annals (ed. L. Cheikho, Paris, 1906), which are very important because he gives the Christian tradition; Suli (d. 946) wrote on the Abbasid caliphs, their viziers and court poets; Mas'udi (q.v.) composed various historical and See also:geographical works (d. 956). Of Tabari's contemporary Hamza Ispahani (c. 940) we have the Annals (ed. Gottwaldt, St See also:Petersburg, 1844); Ibn al-Qutiya wrote a History of Spain; Ibn Zulaq (d. 997) a History of Egypt; 'Otbi wrote the History of Mahmud of Ghazna, at whose court he lived (printed on the margin of the See also:Egyptian edition of Ibn al-Athir); Tha'labi (d. 1036) wrote a well-known History of the Old Prophets; Abu Nu'aim al-Ispahani (d. 1039) wrote a History of Ispahan, chiefly of the scholars of that city; Tha'See also:alibi (d. c. 1038) wrote, inter alia, a well-known History of the Poets of his Time, published at Damascus, 1887; Birfini (q.v.) (d. 1048) takes a high place among historians; Koda'i (d. 1062) wrote a Description of Egypt and also various historical pieces, of which some are extant; Ibn Sa'id of Cordova (d. 1070) wrote a View of the History of the Various Nations. Bagdad and its learned men found an excellent historian in al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (d. 1071), and Spain in Ibn Ijayan (d. 1076), and half a century later in Ibn Khagan (d. 1135) and Ibn Bassam (d. 1147). Sam'ani (d. '167) wrote an excellent book on genealogies; 'Umara (d. 1175) wrote a History of Yemen (ed. H. C. See also:Kay, London, '892); Ibn 'Asaqir (d.' 176) a History of Damascus and her Scholars, which is of great value, and exists in whole or in part in several See also:libraries. The See also:Biographical See also:Dictionary of the Spaniard Ibn Pascual (d. 1182) and that of Dabbi, a somewhat junior contemporary, are edited in Codera's Bibliotheca Arab. Hisp. (1883-1885); Saladin found his historian in the famous 'Imad uddin (d. 1201) (Arabic text, ed. C. Landberg, Leiden, 1888). Ibn ul-Jauzi, who died in the same year, has been already mentioned. Abdulwahid's History of the See also:Almohades, written in 1224, was published by Dozy (2nd ed., '881). Abdullatif or See also:Abdallatif (d. 1232) is known by his writings about Egypt (trans. de Sacy, 181o); Ibn al-Athir (d. 1233) wrote, in addition to the See also:Chronicle already mentioned, a Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries of the Prophet. Qifti (d. 1248) is especially known by his History of Arabic Philologists. Sibt ibn al-Jauzi (d. 1256), grandson of the Ibn al-Jauzi already mentioned, wrote a great Chronicle, of which much the larger part still exists. Codera has edited (See also:Madrid, '886) Ibn al-'Abbar's (d. '26o) Biographical See also:Lexicon, already Of this work the See also:Gotha Library has a portion containing 29o–32o A.H., of which the part about the West has been printed by Dozy in the Bayon, and the rest was published at Leiden in '897. 2 A fragment (198–251 A.H.) is printed in de Goeje, Fragm. Hist. Ar. (vol. ii., Leiden, 187'). ' The first part was rendered into French by Dubeux in '836. There is an excellent French translation by Zotenberg (1874).known by Dozy's excerpts from it. Ibn al-'Adim (d. 1262) is famed for his History of Aleppo, and Abu Shama (d. 1267) wrote a well-known History of Saladin and Nureddin, taking a great See also:deal from 'Imad uddin. Ibn abi Usaibia (d. 1269) wrote a History of Physicians, ed. A. Muller. The History of Ibn al-'Amid (d. 1276), better known as See also:Elmacin, was printed by See also:Erpenius in 1625. Ibn Said al-Maghribi (d. 1274 or '286) is famous for his histories, but still more for his geographical writings. The noted theologian See also:Nawawi (q.v.; d. 1278) wrote a Biographical Dictionary of the Worthies of the First Ages of Islam. Pre-eminent as a biographer is Ihn Khallikan (q.v.; d. 1282), whose much-used work was partly edited by de Slane and completely by Wiistenfeld (1835-1840), and translated into English by the former scholar (4 vols., 1843-1871). Abu 'l-Faraj, better known as See also:Bar-Hebraeus (d. '286), wrote, besides his Syriac Chronicle, an Arabic History of Dynasties (ed. E. See also:Pocock, See also:Oxford, '663, Beirut, 1890). Ibn 'Adhari's History of See also:Africa and Spain has been published by Dozy (2 vols., Leiden, '848-1851), and the Qartas of Ibn abi Zar' by Tornberg (1843). One of the best-known of Arab writers is See also:Abulfeda (d. '331) (q.v.). Not less famous is the great See also:Encyclopaedia of his contemporary Nuwairi (d. 1332), but only extracts from it have been printed. Ibn Sayyid an-Nas (d. 1334) wrote a full biography of the Prophet; Mizzi (d. 1341) an extensive work on the men from whom traditions have been derived. We still possess, nearly complete, the great Chronicle of Dhahabi (d. 1347), a very learned biographer and historian. The geographical and historical Masalik al-Abskr of Ibn Fadlallah (d. 1348) is known at present by extracts given by See also:Quatremere and See also:Amari. Ibn al-Wardi (d. c. 1349), best known by his Cosmography, wrote a Chronicle which has been printed in Egypt. Safadi (d., 1363) got a great name as a biographer. Yafi'i (d. 1367) wrote a Chronicle of Islam and Lives of See also:Saints. Subki (d. '369) published Lives of the Theologians of the Shafi'ite School. Of Ibn Kathir's History the greatest part is extant. For the history of Spain and the Maghrib the writings of Ibn al-Khatib (d. 1374) are of acknowledged value. Another history, of which we possess the greater part, is the large work of Ibn al-Furat (d. 1404). Far See also:superior to all these; however, is the famous Ibn Khaldun (q.v.) (d. 1406). Of the historical works of the famous lexicographer Fairuzabadi (q.v.) (d. 1414) only a Life of the Prophet remains. Magrizi (d. 1442) is the subject of a separate See also:article; Ibn Hajar (d. 1448) is best known by his Biographical Dictionary of Contemporaries of the Prophet, published in the Bibliotheca Indica. Ibn 'Arabshah (d. 1450) is known by his History of Timur (See also:Leeuwarden, 1767). 'Aini (d. 1451) wrote a General History, still extant. Abu'l-Mahasin ibn Taghribirdi (d. 1459) wrote at length on the history of Egypt; the first two parts have been published by Juynboll and Matthes, Leiden, 1855-186'. Fliigel has published Ibn Kotlubogha's Biographies of the Hanifite Jurists. Ibn Shihna (d. 1485) wrote a History of Aleppo. Of Sakhawi we possess a See also:bibliographical work on the historians. The polymath See also:Suyuti (q.v.) (d. 1505) contributed a History of the Caliphs and many biographical pieces. Samhudi's History of Medina is known through the excerpts of Wfistenfeld (1861). Ibn Iyas (d. '524) wrote a History of Egypt, and See also:Diarbekri (d. '559) a Life of Mahomet. To these names must be added Maqqari (Makkari) (q.v.) and Hajji See also:Khalifa (q.v.) (d. x658). He made use of See also:European sources, and with him Arabic historiography may be said to cease, though he had some unimportant successors. A word must be said of the historical romances, the beginnings of which go back to the first centuries of Islam. The interest in all that concerned Mahomet and in the allusions of the Koran to old prophets and races led many professional narrators to choose these subjects. The increasing veneration paid to the Prophet and love for the marvellous soon gave rise to fables about his childhood, his visit to See also:heaven, &c., which have found their way even into sober histories, just as many Jewish legends told by the converted Jew Ka'b al-Ahbar and by Wahb ibn Monabbih, and many fables about the old princes of Yemen told by 'Abid, are taken as genuine history (see, however, Mas'udi, iv. 88 seq.). A fresh See also: J. DE G.; G. W. T.) Geography.—The writing of geographical books naturally began with the description of the Moslem world, and that for practical purposes. Ibn Khordadhbeh, in the See also:middle of the 9th century, wrote a Book of Roads and Provinces to give an account of the high-ways, the posting-stations and the revenues of the provinces. In the same century Ya'qubi wrote his Book of Countries. describing specially the great cities of the See also:empire. A similar work describing the provinces in some detail was that of Qudama or See also:Kodama (d. 922). See also:Hamdani (q.v.) was led to write his great geography of Arabia by his love for the ancient history of his land. Muqaddasi (Mokaddasi) at the end of the loth century was one of the early travellers whose works were founded on their own observation. The study of See also:Ptolemy's geography led to a wider outlook, and the writing of works on geography (q.v.) in general. A third class of Arabian geographical works were those written to explain the names of places which occur in the older poets. Such books were written by See also:Bakri (q.v.) and Yaqut (q.v.)' Grammar and Lexicography.—Arab tradition ascribes the first grammatical treatment of the language to Abu-l-Aswad ud-Du'ali (latter half of the 7th century), but the certain beginnings of Arabic grammar are found a See also:hundred years later. The Arabs from early times have always been proud of their language, but its systematic study seems to have arisen from contact with Persian and from the respect for the language of the Koran. In Irak the two towns of Basra and See also:Kufa produced two rival See also:schools of philologists. Bagdad. soon had one of its own (cf. G. See also:Flugel's Die grammatischen Schulen der Araber, Leipzig, 1862). Khalil ibn Ahmad (718-991), an Arab from Oman, of the school of Basra, was the first to enunciate the See also:laws of Arabic metre and the first to write a dictionary. His See also:pupil See also:Sibawaihi (q.v.), a Persian, wrote the grammar known simply as The Book, which is generally regarded in the East as authoritative and almost above criticism. Other members of the school of Basra were Abu 'libaida (q.v.), Asma'i (q.v.), Mubarrad (q.v.) and Ibn Duraid (q.v.). The school of Kufa claimed to pay more attention to the living language (spoken among the See also:Bedouins) than to written laws of grammar. Among its teachers were Kisa'i, the See also:tutor of See also:Harun a1-Rashid's sons, Ibn Arabi, Ibn as-Sikkit (d. 857) and Ibn ul-Anbari (885-939). In the See also:fourth century of Islam the two schools of Kufa and Basra declined in importance before the increasing power of Bagdad, where Ibn Qutaiba, Ibn Jinni (941–1002) and others carried on the work, but without the former rivalry of the older schools. Persia from the beginning of the Loth century produced some outstanding students of Arabic. Hamadhani (d. 932) wrote a book of synonyms (ed. L. Cheikho, Beirut, 1885). Jauhari (q.v.) wrote his great dictionary the See also:Salta,. Tha'alibi (q.v.) and See also:Jurjani (q.v.) were almost contemporary, and a little later came See also:Zamakhshari (q.v.), whose philological works are almost as famous as his commentary on the Koran. The most important dictionaries of Arabic are late in origin. The immense work, Lisan ul Arab (ed. 20 vols., Bulaq, 1883-1889), was compiled by Ibn Manzur (1232-1311), the Q¢mus by Fairuzabadi, the Taj ul'Arils (ed. ro vols., Bulaq, 189o), founded on the Qamus, by Murtada uz-Zabidi (1732-1790). Scientific Literature.—The literature of the various sciences is dealt with elsewhere. It is enough here to mention that such existed, and that it was not indigenous. It was in the early Abbasid period that the scientific works of See also:Greece were translated into Arabic, ' The chief Arabian geographical works have been edited by M. J. de Goeje in his Bibliotheca Geographorum arabicorum (Leiden, 1874 ff).often through the Syriac, and at the same time the influence of See also:Sanskrit works made itself felt. See also:Astronomy seems in this way to have come chiefly from India. The study of See also:mathematics learned from Greece and India was See also:developed by Arabian writers, who in turn became the teachers of See also:Europe in the 16th century. Medical literature was indebted for its origin to the works of See also:Galen and the medical school of Gondesapur. Many of the Arabian philosophers were also physicians and wrote on See also:medicine. See also:Chemistry proper was not understood, but Arabian writings on See also:alchemy led Europe to it later. So also the literature of the See also:animal world (cf. See also:Damiri) is not zoological but legendary, and the works on minerals are practical and not scientific. See ARABIAN See also:PHILOSOPHY and historical sections of such scientific articles as ASTRONOMY, &c. (G. W. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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