Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz (; 861 – 29 December 908) was the son of the caliph
al-Mu'tazz and a political figure, but is better known as a leading
Arabic poet and the author of the ''Kitab al-Badi'', an early study of
Arabic forms of poetry. This work is considered one of the earliest works in Arabic
literary theory
Literary theory is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for literary analysis. Culler 1997, p.1 Since the 19th century, literary scholarship includes literary theory and considerations of intellectual history, m ...
and
literary criticism
A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's ...
.
Persuaded to assume the role of
caliph
A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...
of the
Abbasid dynasty
The Abbasid dynasty or Abbasids () were an Arab dynasty that ruled the Abbasid Caliphate between 750 and 1258. They were from the Qurayshi Hashimid clan of Banu Abbas, descended from Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The Abbasid Caliphate is divid ...
following the premature death of
al-Muktafi, he succeeded in ruling for a single day and a single night, before he was forced into hiding, found and then strangled in a palace intrigue that brought
al-Muqtadir
Abū’l-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Al-Mu'tadid, Aḥmad ibn Al-Muwaffaq, Ṭalḥa ibn Al-Mutawakkil, Jaʿfar ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn Al-Muqtadir bi'Llāh () (895 – 31 October 932 AD), better known by his regnal name a ...
, then thirteen years old, to the throne.
Life
Born in
Samarra as a prince of the imperial house and the great-great-grandson of
Harun al-Rashid, Ibn al-Mu'tazz had a tragic childhood in the complicated intrigues of the Abbasid caliphate. His grandfather, the caliph
al-Mutawakkil
Ja'far ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (); March 82211 December 861, commonly known by his laqab, regnal name al-Mutawwakil ala Allah (), was the tenth Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid caliph, rul ...
, was assassinated when Ibn al-Mu'tazz was only six weeks old. These events ushered in the nine-year
Anarchy at Samarra
The Anarchy at Samarra () was a period of extreme internal instability from 861 to 870 in the history of the Abbasid Caliphate, marked by the violent succession of four caliphs, who became Puppet ruler, puppets in the hands of powerful rival milit ...
. Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz's father, al-Mu'tazz 13th Caliph of the
Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes ...
, came to power in 866, but in 869 was also murdered. The boy was spared the purge of the palace by fleeing to
Mecca
Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
with his grandmother
Qabiha.
Upon returning to Baghdad soon after, he distanced himself from politics and lived the hedonistic life of a young prince. It was during this time that he wrote his poetry, devoted to the pleasures with which he was so familiar.
After reigning from 5 April 902 to 13 August 908, the 17th Caliph, Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz's cousin
Al-Muktafi, died.
Vizier
A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...
al-Abbas ibn al-Hasan al-Jarjara'i wished to install Al-Muktafi's thirteen-year-old brother
Al-Muqtadir
Abū’l-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Al-Mu'tadid, Aḥmad ibn Al-Muwaffaq, Ṭalḥa ibn Al-Mutawakkil, Jaʿfar ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn Al-Muqtadir bi'Llāh () (895 – 31 October 932 AD), better known by his regnal name a ...
on the throne, clearly intending to be the power behind the throne himself. Despite his reluctance, Ibn al-Mu'tazz was persuaded by the opposition to assume the caliphate instead, in the hope that he would put an end to the intrigues that had plagued the dynasty for decades. He was crowned on 17 December 908, but was overthrown the same day. He fled the palace in
Baghdad
Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
and hid with a friend, but was found on 29 December and strangled. Almost prophetically, he had once written as a poet:
A wonderful night, but so short
I brought it to life, then strangled it.
And another:
Accordingly, Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz was succeeded by the young Al-Muqtadir, who is accounted the 18th Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate.
Works
Al-Mu'tazz's ''Kitab al-Badi'', composed in 888 when he was 27, laid the groundwork for future studies of poetry by Arabic scholars. Its title can be translated as 'the book of the new style', and 'takes its name from its polemical aim, namely to show that the style of the poets called "modern" (''muḥdathūn''), such as Bashshār b. Burd (d. 167 or 168/784-5), Muslim b. al-Walīd (d. 208/823), or Abū Nuwās (d. between 198/813 and 200/815), is not so very "new" and that none of its features was not anticipated in the Quran, the traditions of Muḥammad and his companions, and old poetry.'
In the estimation of Charles Greville Tuety:
Ibn Al-Mu‘tazz is the spontaneous poet, akin in temper to Abu Nuwās. Free-ranging in his choice of subject, he is noted for newness of approach in handling his themes. What makes him essentially new, however, lies on another plane and is not immediately apparent: Carried along by his bold and sensuous imagery, we are satisfied that it is so, until, on pausing, we suddenly glimpse the perspective beyond.
Editions
There are two main editions of Al-Mu‘tazz's ''dīwān'': Muhammad Badī‘ Šarīf (ed.), ''Dīwān aš‘ār al-amīr Abī l-‘Abbās ‘Abdallāh b. Muḥammad al-Mu‘tazz'',
Dahā’ir al-‘Arab (Cairo: Dār al-Ma‘ārif, 1977-78) and Yūnus Ahmad as-Sāmarrā’ī (ed.), ''Ši‘r Ibn al-Mu‘tazz: Qism 1: ad-Dīwān'; Qism 2: ad-Dirāsa'', two parts in four volumes (Baghdad: Wizārat al-I‘lām, al-Ǧumhūrīya al-‘Irāqīa
raqi Ministry of Information 1978). Of the two, the latter is more reliable, but at times the former offers better readings.
[Nefeli Papoutsakis,]
Ibn al-Muʿtazz the Epigrammatist: Some Notes on Length and Genre of Ibn al-Muʿtazz's Short Poems
, ''Oriens'', 40 (2012), 97-132 (pp 100-104).
Another edition i
īwān ibn al-Mu'tazz ed. by (
ar Sader .d..
See also
*
Al-Mufawwid
References
Further reading
* 'Abd Allah ibn al-Mu'tazz, ''Kitāb al-Badī‘'', ed. by Ignatius Kratchkovsky, Gibb Memorial New Series, 10 (London, 1935).
* G.B.H. Wightman and A.Y. al-Udhari, ''Birds through a Ceiling of Alabaster: Three Abbasid Poets'', Penguin Books, 1975 ().
* Charles Greville Tuety (trans.), ''Classical Arabic Poetry: 162 Poems from Imrulkais to Ma‘arri'' (London: KPI, 1985), pp. 247–63.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdallah Ibn Al-Mutazz
861 births
908 deaths
9th-century Arab people
10th-century Arab people
9th-century Arabic-language poets
10th-century Arabic-language poets
People from Samarra
Poets from the Abbasid Caliphate
Baghdad under the Abbasid Caliphate
Sons of Abbasid caliphs