‘Abbasid Poetry Flashcards
Umayyad power collapsed in —s in the face of
coalition of opposition movements (— battle.
The Umayyad caliph ——- was killed).
750
Zab
Marwan
Main impetus for change came from ———,
with alliance of Arab settlers and Iranian mawali.
Khorasan
Leadership provided by descendants of ‘—-,
uncle of the Prophet
Abbas
——– sent to Khorasan, formed army and
marched westward and defeated Umayyads
Abu Muslim
Change of leadership marked by shift of capital
from ——— to ———–.
Damascus
Baghdad
——– was nominated the first
caliph (Amīr al-Mu’minīn) from the abbasids, —- ruler
Abu ’l-‘Abbas
weak
Abu Muslim killed 754 CE, enabling ———- to consolidate authority of new
dynasty.
alManṣūr
Baghdad was founded by?
alManṣūr
Shift of centre of gravity from Damascus to
Baghdad leads to increase in ———- influence
Persian
Increased trade (especially via -------), as far as ----- (by 850), also -----------, --------.
Basra
China
Southern Europe
Russia
From Chinese prisoners taken at the Battle of
——— in 751 Muslims learn the art of ————: the mass production of paper
revolutionizes the transmission of knowledge
throughout the Islamic empire
Talas
papermaking
‘Abbasid society best known to Westerners
through ————– fiction but rooted in contemporary society
Alf Layla wa-Layla (‘Arabian Nights’),
————— (786-809 C.E.) contemporary
of Charlemagne, typifies height of ‘Abbasid
culture
Hārūn al-Rashīd
Early ‘Abbasid period ‘—————-’ of classical
Arab civilisation
Golden Age
Which culture drew on cultures of adjoining civilisations?
abbasid culture
Practical requirements in abbasid culture included ——-,——–,——–,———- (e.g.
beginning and end of Ramadan, direction of
the qibla etc)
medicine
mathematics
geography
astronomy
In abbasid culture, Translation movement into Arabic of works in ——,———-,——-,——–
Greek,
Syriac
Persian
Sanskrit
830 CE caliph ——— founds Bayt alHikma (‘House of Wisdom’), a translation
institute placed under directorship of ———- (d. 873)
al-Ma’mūn
Hunayn ibn Isḥāq
Death of Abu Muslim sparked off series of
‘————–’
peasant revolts
——– revolt (black slaves) under ‘Ali ibn
Muhammad in southern Iraq, captured ——–
871 CE, came within 17 miles of Baghdad.
Rebellion suppressed and ‘Ali killed 883 CE
Zanj
Basra
Political unity of Islamic Empire starts to crumble very
early:
– 756 CE, Umayyads in ——- break away from
‘Abbasids
– 868 CE ———— establishes himself as
independent ruler of Egypt, Syria and Palestine
– 930 CE ———– (Isma’ili sect) in Arabian peninsula,
sack Mecca
– 969 CE ——— (Isma’ilis) in North Africa capture
Cairo and make it capital of independent dynasty; 972
CE, foundation of al-Azhar
– ———- now new ‘centre of gravity’ to rival Baghdad.
Spain Ahmad ibn Tulūn Qarāmiṭa Fatimids Cairo
———- flowering of classical Arabic poetry in
‘Abbasid period
Second
Shift of capital to Baghdad 762 CE opens
door to ——— influences
Persian
Abbasid Poetry marked by tensions:
– —- vs —— (shu‘ubiyya)
– ———– vs ———-
arab vs persian
traditional desert environment vs urban values
Remains structurally ———— (eg metres
and rhyme).
conservative
Increasing importance of ‘———–’ in abbasid poetry.
patronage
What are the two schools in Abbasid poetry?
Neo-classical and modernist
Which school is tradition oriented? give examples.
neo-classical school
Abu Tammam and al-Mutanabbi
Which school turned away from the
rigid style of the Qasida? Give examples
modernist school
Most of them are half-Arabs or non-Arabs: : Abu
Nuwas, Bashshar b. Burd, Ibn al-Rumi,
Abu al-‘Atahiyya
Who was the Caliph al-Mu’tasim
poet?
Abu tammam
————– was very famous at the court
of the Hamdanid ruler of Aleppo Sayf alDawlah
Al-Mutanabbi
Who joined the court of Harun alRashid and his son al-Amin?
Abu Nuwas
Who had part persian distraction and was a blind poet? and from which school?
Bashshar b.Burd
modernist school
Bashshar b.Burd’s poetry often express ——-
sentiments, drawing contrasts between
uncouth Arabs and Persians as heirs of
ancient civilization.
shu‘ubi
Abū Nuwās (d. 810): half———, raised in
———-, Abū Nuwās is synonymous with classical
Arabic ——– poetry (khamriyya) and is widely
regarded as its greatest exponent. From which school is he?
Persian
Basra
wine
modernist school
Abu Nuwas also displays an ——– attitude towards
the time–honoured conventions of the classical
————, frequently mocking the motifs of the
traditional nasīb.
iconoclastic
qasīda
————(d. 965): generally regarded as one of the
greatest Arab poets of the classical era. From which school?
Al-Mutanabbī
neo-classical school
His poetry is much admired for its ———-, ———– and ———–, though some find
objectionable his tendency towards extreme ——-or
self-glorification.
forcefulness
inventive imagery
technical virtuosity
fakhr
Al-Mutannabi is synonymous with the court of his chief
patron, ———— (Syria), for whom he composed a
long series of panegyrics
Sayf al-Dawla
Al Mutannabi:
– later associated with court of —— (Egypt)
– made enemies through his arrogance
– killed by ——— near Baghdad. (in keeping with his
motto: ‘live honourably or die heroically.’)
Kāfūr
brigands
Who was the blind poet, rationalist, with
pessimistic outlook?
Al-Ma‘arri
Al Ma’ arri was Best known for his ———–, a collection of ————- on the nature of —— and ———. His view of existence is epitomised in the
epitaph that al-Ma‘arri asked to be engraved on his
———-
Luzūmiyyāt bleak meditations life human folly tombstone
What year did the Abbasid caliphate end?
1258
The ‘Abbasid caliphate ended in 1258 with the
sacking of ———- by the ———- under the
command of ———-.
Baghdad
Mongols
Hulagu Khan
