Maqāmāt Al-Ḥarīrī

The ''Maqāmāt al-Ḥarīrī'' (Arabic: مقامات الحريري) is a collection of fifty tales or '' maqāmāt'' written at the end of the 11th or the beginning of the 12th century by al-Ḥarīrī of Basra (1054–1122), a poet and government official of the Seljuk Empire. The text presents a series of tales regarding the adventures of the fictional character Abū Zayd of Saruj who travels and deceives those around him with his skill in the Arabic language to earn rewards. Although probably less creative than the work of its precursor, '' Maqāmāt al-Hamadhānī'' (whose author lived 968–1008 CE), the ''Maqāmāt al-Ḥarīrī'' became extremely popular, with reports of seven hundred copies authorized by al-Ḥarīrī during his lifetime.

The first known manuscripts date from the 13th century, with eight illustrated manuscripts known from this period. The most famous manuscripts include one from 1237 in Baghdad (now in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France) and one from 1334 in Egypt or Syria (now in the National Library of Austria).

Altogether, more than a hundred manuscripts of the work are known, but only thirteen are illustrated. They were mainly produced over a period of about 150 years. A first phase consists in manuscripts created between 1200 and 1256 in areas between Syria and Iraq. This phase is followed by a 50-year gap, corresponding to the Mongol invasions ( invasion of Persia and Mesopotamia, with the Siege of Baghdad in 1258, and the invasion of the Levant). A second phase runs from around 1300 to 1337, during the Egyptian Mamluk period, with production probably centered around Cairo.

Manuscripts of the ''Maqāmāt al-Ḥarīrī'' belong to the category of "secular Arabic manuscripts", as opposed to religious works such as illustrated Qur'ans.

List of stories

After a preface by al-Hariri himself, there are 50 stories altogether, generally entitled on the format "Encounter at....", with the name of a different city for each story. The chapters are in order:

1-10 "Encounter at San'a", Holwan, Kayla, Damietta, Kufa, Maraghah (or "The Diversified"), Barkaid, Ma'arrah, Alexandria, Al-Rahba

11-20 "Encounter at Saweh", Damascus, Baghdad, Mecca, "Encounter called "The Legal"", "Encounter of the West", "Encounter called "The Reversed"", Sinjar, Nasibin, Mayyafariqin

21-30 "Encounter at Rayy al-Mahdiyeh", Euphrates, "Encounter of the Precinct", "Encounter called "Of the Portion"", Kerej, "The Encounter of the address", "The Encounter of the Tent-dwellers", Samarkand, Wasit, Sur

31-40 "Encounter at Ramlah", Tayleh, Tiflis, Zabid, Shiraz, Maltiyah, Sa'dah, Merv, Oman, Tabriz

41-50 "Encounter at Tanis", Najran, Al-Bakriya, "The Encounter called "The Wintry"", Ramlah, Aleppo, Hajr, Harmamiyeh, Sasan, Basra.

Manuscripts

Early, non-illustrated copies

Several early non-illustrated editions of the ''Maqāmāt al-Ḥarīrī'' are known, starting from the lifetime of al-Ḥarīrī himself (1054–1122), when he was about 56 years old. The earliest known manuscript is Cairo, National Library of Egypt, MS Adab 105, dated 504/1110–11 through an ''ijaza'' certificate of authenticity by al-Ḥarīrī himself. It is by far the earliest the earliest known manuscript, and it was copied the same year al-Ḥarīrī completed his work.

Other early manuscripts are known, such as London, British Library, Or. 2790 (557 AH/1161–62 CE); Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Sbath 265 (583 AH/1187 CE); Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Arabe 3924 (584 AH/1188 CE); Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Arabe 3926 (611 AH/1214 CE); and Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Arabe 3927 (611 AH/1214 CE).

After this initial non-illustrative phase, illustrated ''Maqamat'' manuscripts started to appear, corresponding to a broader "explosion of figural art" in the Islamic world, from the 12th to 13th centuries, despite religious condemnations against the depiction of living creatures "because it implies a likeness to the creative activity of God".

Pictorial tradition

The origins of the pictorial tradition of Arabic illustrated manuscripts are uncertain. The first known decorated manuscripts are some Qur'ans from the 9th century CE. They were not illustrated, but were "illuminated" with decorations of the frontispieces or headings. The tradition of illustrated manuscripts started with the Graeco-Arabic translation movement and the creation of scientific and technical treatises often based on Greek scientific knowledge, such as the Arabic versions of ''The Book of Fixed Stars'' (965 CE), ''De materia medica'' or ''Book of the Ten Treatises of the Eye''. The translators were most often Arab Syriac Christians, such as Hunayn ibn Ishaq or Yahya ibn Adi, and their work is known to have been sponsored by local rulers, such as the Artuqids.

An exposition of artistic artistry towards the illustration of manuscripts occurred in the 12th and 13th century. Throughout the 13th century in the area of Syria and Iraq, there is a lot in common stylistically between the Christian Syriac illustrated manuscripts, such as Syriac Gospels (British Library, Add. 7170), and Arab illustrated manuscripts such as the ''Maqamat al-Hariri''. This synthesis seems to point to a common pictorial tradition that existed since circa 1180 CE in the region, which was highly influenced by Byzantine art.

Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Arabe 3929 (1200-1210)

Arabe 3929 was probably produced in Amid, modern-day Diyarbakır, Turkey, ca. 1200×1210. This manuscript probably belongs to the " Artuqid school" of painting, together with an early 1206 edition of the ''Automata'' of Ibn al-Razzaz al-Jazari, devoted to the depiction of mechanical devices ( Ahmet III 3472, Topkapı Sarayı Library, securely dated to 1206 and displaying many design similarities).

This illustrated manuscript is considered the most ancient illustrated ''Maqāmāt'' known. The illustrations are rather simple and literal, which leads most specialists to attribute it to the early 13th or even late 12th century.

The first pages are lost: the manuscript starts from the second story (second ''Maqamah'').

File:Arabe 3929, 7v.jpg, Maqama 06: Abu Zayd gratified by the Governor of Maraghah. Arabe 3929, 7v
File:Arabe 3929, 117r.jpg, Maqama 30: Marriage procession. Arabe 3929, 117r
File:Maqamat Arabe 3929, Abu Zaid before the Cadi (detail) 157r.jpg, Maqama 43: the Sheikh of Diyar Bakr in Turkic dress, wearing the ''sharbūsh'' with tall cap.Picture from Maqamat 43 "Encounter at Al-Bakriya

"Al-Bakriya" = Diyar Bakr according to Maqamat 43, Arabe 3929, 157r.
File:Arabe 3929, 151, Jariya.jpg, Maqama 18: the beautiful slave maiden of Abu Zaid, a " jāriya".
File:Maqama 06 the Governor of Maraghah.jpg, Maqama 06: the Governor of Maraghah in Iran
File:Maqama 38 Abu Zayd before the Governor of Merv (Governor detail).jpg, Maqama 38: the Governor of Merv, Iran
File:Maqama 37 Abu Zaif before the Qadi of Saa'da, Yemen (Qadi detail).jpg, Maqama 37: the Qadi of Sa'dah in Yemen
File:Maqama 09 Abu Zayd and his wife before the Kadi of Alexandria, Egypt (Kadi detail).jpg, Maqama 09: the Qadi of Alexandria in Egypt

Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Arabe 6094 (1222)

Arabe 6094 was made in the Jazira region, and is the earliest securely dated illustrated ''Maqāmāt'' by al-Hariri. The style and numerous Byzantine inspirations in the illustrations suggest it might have been drawn in the area of Damascus in Syria, under the rule of the Ayyubids. The date appears in several places (on the hull of the boat in folio 68, or a plate held by a schoolboy in folio 167, in the format "made in the year 619" (i.e. 1222 CE).

File:Maqamat 1222 6r.jpg, Mqama 01: Abu Zayd and listeners in San'a. Folio 6r
File:Maqamat 1222 31r.jpg, Maqama 10: Abu Zayd and his son before the governor of Rabba. 1222, folio 31r
File:Maqamat 6094, folio 133v (ruler).jpg, Maqama 38: the Governor of Merv, wearing the Turkic ''sharbūsh''.
File:Maqamat 6094, folio 167r (students detail).jpg, Maqama 46: Abu Zayd teacher in Aleppo. Students, some wearing the Arab turban, others Turkic caps. Folio 167r

Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Arabe 5847 (1237)

Arabe 5847, also known as the ''Schefer Ḥarīrī'', is a copy created by Yahya ibn Mahmūd al-Wāsitī and is probably the most applauded copy of the ''Maqāmāt''. According to its colophon, the manuscript was copied in the year 634 AH (1237 CE). It may have been created in Baghdad, based on some stylistic parallels with the '' Kitab al-baytarah'', which securely emanated from this city, and the fact that the name of the Abbasid Caliph al-Mustansir appears in one of the paintings ( 15th maqama, fol. 164v); but this attribution remains quite conjectural. The Bibliothèque Nationale de France, holder of the manuscript, simply presents it as "Mesopotamian".

The twin frontispieces show one individual in Arab dress, who may be the author himself, and a majestic ruler in Seljuk-type Turkic military dress (long braids, fur hat, boots, fitting coat), who may be the potentate the manuscript was dedicated to. This potentate seems like a Turkic emir, and may be one of the ''Atabegs'' who ruled in the region, particularly Badr al-Din Lu'lu', who ruled in the Mosul region and Upper Mesopotamia with the approval of the Abbasid caliph at the time.

The book is written in red and black ink, and supplemented by 99 miniatures. These miniatures depict a wide variety of scenes from the ''Maqāmāt'' and from everyday life. Most are decorated with gold.

This ''Maqamat'' is particularly noted for its ability to depict various "types", according to they ethnic or social characteristics. Officials and "men of the sword" wear the ''sharbush'' hat, coat and boots, and are often armed with a spear, reflecting Turkic styles. "Men of the pen" such as judges, literary figures, musicians or merchants wear turbans, tunic and baggy trousers, with low black shoes, reflecting Arab practices. The few women in the manuscript often wear veils and have henna markings on their hands. Servants and slaves are often scantily clothed and tend to have darker skin.

File:Ruler in Turkic dress (long braids, fur hat, boots, fitting coat), in the Maqamat of al-Hariri, 1237 CE, probably Baghdad.jpg, Left frontispiece (1 v): ruler in Turkic dress (long braids, ''Sharbush'' fur hat, boots, fitting coat), in the Maqamat of al-Hariri, 1237 CE, possibly Baghdad.
File:Possible depiction of al-Hariri, in the Maqamat of al-Hariri, 1237 CE, probably Baghdad.jpg, Right frontispiece (2 r): possible depiction of the author al-Hariri himself, in the Maqamat of al-Hariri, 1237 CE, possibly Baghdad.
File:Turkic soldiers in BNF Arabe 5847 (Frontispieces).jpg, Turkic soldiers wearing the '' aqbiya turkiyya'' coat, ''tiraz'' armbands, boots and ''sharbush'' hat. (Second frontispiece detail)
File:Slaves_Zadib_Yemen_BNF_Paris.jpg, Maqama 34: Slave-market in the town of Zabid in Yemen
File:Maqamat 5847, f.119v- maqama 39 Abu Zayd and al-Harith sailing.jpg, Maqama 39: ''A ship bound for Oman''.
File:Yahyâ ibn Mahmûd al-Wâsitî 003.jpg, Maqama 39: the Queen of Oman giving birth.
File:Yahyâ ibn Mahmûd al-Wâsitî 001.jpg, Maqama 10: Ayyubid Governor of Rahba, with Abū Zayd and his son.
File:Turkic guard in Preaching scene at Rayy in maqāma 21 (fols. 58v–59r, douvle-page spread as a unit), Maqamat al-Harari 1237.jpg, Maqama 21: Amir ("the Prince of that region") with guards, wearing the Turkic headgear ''Sharbush'', in the preaching scene at Rayy, Iran,: "Official" Turkish figures wear a standard combination of a sharbūsh, a three-quarters length robe, and boots. Arab figures, in contrast, have different headgear (usually a turban), a robe that is either full-length or, if three-quarters length, has baggy trousers below, and they usually wear flat shoes or (...) go barefoot (...) P.127: Reference has already been made to the combination of boots and ''sharbūsh'' as markers of official status (...) the combination is standard, even being reflected in thirteenth-century Coptic paintings, and serves to distinguish, in Grabar's formulation, the world of the Turkish ruler and that of the Arab. (...) The type worn by the official figures in the 1237 Maqāmāt, depicted, for example, on fol. 59r,67 consists of a gold cap surmounted by a little round top and with fur trimming creating a triangular area at the front which either shows the gold cap or is a separate plaque. A particular imposing example in this manuscript is the massive ''sharbūsh'' with much more fur than usual that is worn by the princely official on the right frontispiece on fol. 1v."

Istanbul, Suleymaniye Library, Esad Efendi 2961 (1242-1258)

This manuscript is badly damaged and all the faces were erased. Its colophon bears a dedication to Abbasid Caliph Al-Musta'sim (1243–1258), but the location of its production is unknown.

File:Suleymaniye Library, Esad Efendi 2916 folio a.jpg, Suleymaniye Library, Esad Efendi 2916
File:Suleymaniye Library, Esad Efendi 2916 folio b.jpg, Suleymaniye Library, Esad Efendi 2916
File:Suleymaniye Library, Esad Efendi 2916 folio c.jpg, Suleymaniye Library, Esad Efendi 2916
File:Suleymaniye Library, Esad Efendi 2916 folio d.jpg, Suleymaniye Library, Esad Efendi 2916

London, British Library, Ms. Or. 1200 (1256)

This manuscript has a colophon describing the date of its manufacture as 1256. It was made by an artist named Umar ibn Ali ibn al-Mubarak al-Mawsili ("from Mosul"). The manuscript is quite damaged, and miniatures often have been clumsily repainted.

File:British Library, Ms. Or. 1200 folio 1.jpg, British Library, Ms. Or. 1200
File:British Library, Ms. Or. 1200 folio 2.jpg, British Library, Ms. Or. 1200
File:British Library, Ms. Or. 1200 folio 3.jpg, British Library, Ms. Or. 1200
File:Abū Zayd in the children's school (al-Ḥarīrī, Maqāmāt, 654.1256). The British Library Board, or. 1200, fol. 156v.jpg, Abū Zayd in the children's school. British Library, Ms. Or. 1200

London, British Library, Ms. Or. 9718 (late 13th century)

The manuscript is quite damaged, and many of the miniatures were repainted in rather recent times. The original artist was from Damascus (folio 53r mentions "Work of Ghazi ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Dimashqi", who is known to have been born in 1232–3 and died in 1310 at the age of 80, and apparently lived in Damascus all his life).

File:Maqamat, Syria, late 13th-century, British Library, Ms. Or. 9718 Two camel riders in Arab bedouin costumes.jpg, Two camel riders in Arab bedouin costumes. Maqamat, Syria, late 13th-century, British Library, Ms. Or. 9718.
File:Abū Zayd in the children's school. Britiah Library 9718.jpg, Abū Zayd in the children's school. British Library, Ms. Or. 9718.

Saint Petersburg, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ms. S.23 (13th century)

This manuscript (also sometimes labelled Ms. C-23), although in rather poor condition, has many elaborate illustrations. It is undated, and the place of origin is unknown.

File:Abu Zayd before the governor of Merv (thirty-eighth maqāma). Al-Hariri, Maqāmāt, thirteenth century. Saint-Petersburg Ms. S.23.jpg, Abu Zayd before the governor of Merv (Maqāma 28). Saint Petersburg Ms. S.23.
File:Irakischer Maler um 1230 002.jpg, ''A ship bound for Oman'' (Maqāma 39). Saint Petersburg, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ms. S.23.
File:Irakischer Maler um 1230 003.jpg, Assembly
File:Irakischer Maler um 1230 004.jpg, Travelers

London, British Library, Ms. Or. Add. 22114 (early 14th century)

This manuscript may have been made in Syria, in the early 14th century. The first and last pages are lost. Many miniatures are well preserved, but they are dull and repetitive, suggesting a copy without much invention. A governorial figure wearing typically Seljuq or Turkic costume, particularly the ''sharbush'' headgear, and quite similar to the figure of Badr ad-Din Lu'lu' in other manuscripts, appears on several of the folios (such as maqama 21).

File:MS add 22114 folio 96r, Maqamat of al-Hariri.jpg, MS Or. Add. 22114, folio 96r
File:Syrischer Maler um 1300 001.jpg, MS Or. Add. 22114, folio 94
File:Manuscript British Library, Ms. Or. Add. 22114 folio a.jpg, British Library, Ms. Or. Add. 22114
File:Manuscript British Library, Ms. Or. Add. 22114 (Turkic governor at Rayy).jpg, Maqama 21: Turkic governor at Rayy, with ''sharbush''. British Library, Ms. Or. Add. 22114.

London, British Library, Ms. Or. 7293 (1323)

This manuscript has a colophon describing the date of its manufacture as 1323. It is beautifully made, and suggests a luxury copy. Still, many of the miniatures are left blank and were never completed. It may have been copied from Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Arabe 5847. The manuscript was acquired by a tax collector in Damascus in 1375–1376, according to an inscription on the first page.

File:Maqamat, British Library, Ms. Or. Add. 7293.jpg, Maqāmāt, British Library, Ms. Or. Add. 7293
File:Maqamat, British Library, Ms. Or. Add. 7293 (detail).jpg, Maqamat, British Library, Ms. Or. Add. 7293 (detail). Abū Zayd and his audience (''maqāma'' 3)

Vienna, National Library of Austria, AF9 (1334)

This copy is dated to the Egyptian Mamluk era, and was produced in Egypt or Syria, most probably in Cairo. The fronstispiece shows an enthroned Prince at his court. The style is Turkic: "In the paintings the facial cast of these ulingTurks is obviously reflected, and so are the special fashions and accoutrements they favored". The ruler may be the Mamluk Sultan An-Nasir Muhammad.

File:Maqamat of al-Hariri. Enthroned Prince. Probably Egypt 1334.jpg, Frontispiece with Mamluk court scene. Probably Egypt, dated 1334. ''Maqamat of Al-Hariri''.
File:Maqamat of al-Hariri, Vienna manuscript AF 9, 1334 CE Folio 42v.jpg, ''Maqamat of al-Hariri'', Vienna manuscript AF 9, 1334 CE Folio 42v
Arabischer Maler um 1335 003.jpg, ''Maqamat of Al-Hariri'', 1334
File:Arabischer Maler um 1335 002.jpg, Abū Zayd pleads before the ''qāḍī'' of Ma'arra, ''Maqamat al-Hariri'', (1334), Austrian National Library

Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Marsh 458 (1337)

Only a few pages of this manuscript remain. The colophon indicates that it was manufactured in 1337 for an official at the Mamluk court, the Mamluk amir Nasir al-Din Muhammad, son of Husam al-Din Tarantay Silahdar, in Cairo, Egypt.

File:Ms. Marsh 458 Frontispiece.jpg, Ms. Marsh 458, Frontispiece
File:Ms. Marsh 458 Folio 7b.jpg, Ms. Marsh 458, Folio 7b
File:Ms. Marsh 458 Folio 29b.jpg, Ms. Marsh 458, Folio 29b
File:Ms. Marsh 458 Folio 77b.jpg, Ms. Marsh 458, Folio 77b

Figures of local potentates

Figures of ''Qadis'', ''Sheikhs'', Princes or Governors appear recurrently in the various manuscripts of ''Maqamat al-Hariri'', from the 13th century miniatures of North Jazira down to those of the Mamluk period. These are characteristic of the figures of princely cycle and courtly life in early Islamic art. These figures are generally similar to Seljuq depictions of authority, wearing typically Seljuq or Turkic costumes, particularly the ''sharbush'' headgear, with distinctive facial features, and sitting cross-legged on a throne with one hand on the knee and one arm raised. These figures are also similar to those in the frontispieces of the ''Kitab al-Aghani'' and '' Kitab al-Diryaq'' of the mid-13th century. In all manuscripts, these figures of power and authority in Seljuk style are very different from the otherwise omnipresent figures in Arabic style with their long robes and turbans. Snelders summarizes the situation in socio-political terms:

See also

* ''Maqamat Badi' az-Zaman al-Hamadhani''

Notes

Sources

*
*
** Translated as
*
*
*
*
*

Al Maqamat: Beautifully Illustrated Arabic Literary Tradition – 1001 Inventions

External links

*

Les Makamat de Hariri; exemplaire orné de peintures exécutées par Yahya ibn Mahmoud ibn Yahya ibn Aboul-Hasan ibn Kouvarriha al-Wasiti.
online digitisation of the BnF manuscript



Arabic manuscripts
Islamic illuminated manuscripts
1237 works
{{Arabic manuscripts