Ghiyath ibn Ghawth ibn al-Salt ibn Tariqa al-Taghlibi () commonly known as al-Akhtal () (The Loquacious), was one of the most famous

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

poets of the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

period. He belonged to the

Banu Taghlib The Banu Taghlib (), also known as Taghlib ibn Wa'il, were an Arab tribe that originated in Jazira. Their parent tribe was the Rabi'a, and they thus traced their descent to the Adnanites. The Taghlib were among the most powerful and cohesive no ...

tribe, and was, like his fellow-tribesmen, a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Biography

Al-Akhtal al-Taghlibî was one of the great panegyrists of the Umayyad period. He became famous for his satires and panegyrics in a period when poetry was an important political instrument. Al-Akhtal was introduced to

Yazid I Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan (; 11 November 683), commonly known as Yazid I, was the second caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from April 680 until his death in November 683. His appointment by his father Mu'awiya I () was the first ...

by Ka'b ibn Ju'ayl and became a close friend of the heir apparent to Caliph

Mu'awiya I Mu'awiya I (–April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and immediately after the four Rashid ...

(). Yazid, when he acceded to the throne, was generous to al-Akhtal. Despite his

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, he was favored by leading Umayyad caliphs. Throughout his life, al-Akhtal was a supporter of the ruling Umayyad dynasty. He was a friend of

John of Damascus John of Damascus or John Damascene, born Yūḥana ibn Manṣūr ibn Sarjūn, was an Arab Christian monk, priest, hymnographer, and apologist. He was born and raised in Damascus or AD 676; the precise date and place of his death is not know ...

until the latter decided to give up his position at the Umayyad court and become a monk. He lauded in his panegyrics Yazid,

Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam (; July/August 644 or June/July 647 – 9 October 705) was the fifth Umayyad caliph, ruling from April 685 until his death in October 705. A member of the first generation of born Muslims, his early life in ...

and

al-Walid I Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (; – 23 February 715), commonly known as al-Walid I (), was the sixth Umayyad caliph, ruling from October 705 until his death in 715. He was the eldest son of his predecessor, Caliph Abd al-Malik (). As ...

and in his satires attacked all the opponents of the caliphs. Al-Akhtal became the official court poet of Abd al-Malik, to whom he dedicated a number of panegyrics. But he fell into disfavour under al-Walid. The pre-Islamic

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

tradition is always apparent in the poems of al-Akhtal and his panegyrics show the continued vitality of this tradition. The panegyrics of al-Akhtal acquired a classical status. His poetry was accepted by critics as source of pure Arabic. Few details are known about al-Akhtal's personal life, save that he was married and divorced, and that he spent part of his time in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, part with his tribe in the

Jazira Jazira, al-Jazira, Jazeera, al-Jazeera, etc. are all transcriptions of Arabic language, Arabic meaning "the island" or "the peninsula". The term may refer to: Business *Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait Locations * Al-Jazir ...

(Upper Mesopotamia). In the Taghlib–Qays war he participated on the battlefield, as well as by his

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

s. In the literary strife between his contemporaries

Jarir ibn Atiyah Jarir ibn Atiyyah al-Khatafi Al-Tamimi () () was an Umayyad-era Arab poet and satirist from Najd. He was born during the reign of Rashidun caliph Uthman ibn Affan, and was a member of the tribe Kulaib, a part of the Banu Tamim. He was a native ...

and

al-Farazdaq Hammam Ibn Ghalib Al-Tamimi (; born 641 AD/20 AH died 728– 730 AD/110-112 AH), more commonly known as Al-Farazdaq () or Abu Firas (), was a 7th-century Arab poet and orator who was born in the Rashidun Caliphate of Umar and flourished durin ...

, Akhtal was induced to support the latter poet. Al-Akhtal, Jarir and al-Farazdaq form a trio celebrated among the Arabs, but as to superiority there is dispute. Abu Ubayda placed him highest of the three on the ground that among his poems there were ten flawless ''

qasida The qaṣīda (also spelled ''qaṣīdah''; plural ''qaṣā’id'') is an ancient Arabic word and form of poetry, often translated as ode. The qasida originated in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry and passed into non-Arabic cultures after the Arab Mus ...

s'' (Arabic poetic odes), and ten more nearly so, and that this could not be said of the other two.

Works

''The Poetry of al-Akhtal'' has been published at the Jesuit press in Beirūt, 1891. A full account of the poet and his times is given in H. Lammens’ ''Le chantre des Omiades'' (Paris, 1895) (a reprint from the ''Journal Asiatique'' for 1894).

References

Bibliography

External links

Posts about al-Akhtal
- including poems and ancient accounts at Roger Pearse. 710 deaths 7th-century Arab people 8th-century Arab people Arab Christians in Mesopotamia Banu Taghlib Syriac Orthodox Christians Poets from the Umayyad Caliphate Year of birth unknown Christians from the Umayyad Caliphate {{MEast-poet-stub