MOTANABBI  , strictly AL MUTANABBII (See also:

• ABU

ABU-T-TAYYIB AI MAD See also:

• IBN

IBN AL-IIUSAIN OF See also:

• KUFA

KUFA) (915/6—965), the most famous represen- 1 I.e . " he who plays the See also:

• PROPHET (Irpo4i ri7s)

prophet." tative of the last See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period of Arabic See also:

• POETRY

poetry, was the son of a See also:

• WATER

water-See also:

• CARRIER
• CARRIER, JEAN BAPTISTE (1956-1794)

carrier, and is said to have picked up much of the See also:

• LITERARY

literary knowledge for which he was afterwards famous by haunting the See also:

• BOOK

book-stalls of his native See also:

• CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city . He spent too, some years of his youth among the nomads of the Syro-Arabian See also:

• DESERT

desert, learning their purer See also:

• DIALECT (from Gr. Sia stcror, conversation, manner of speaking, &aXeyec6at, to converse)

dialect, and becoming imbued with their self-reliant spirit . Thus he See also:

• GREW, NEHEMIAH (1641-1712)

grew up a brave proud See also:

• MAN
• MAN, ISLE OF (anc. Mona)

man, a gallant See also:

• WARRIOR

warrior as well as a poet, not easily satisfied either with See also:

• WEALTH

wealth or honours, indifferent to the See also:

• KORAN

Koran and to the fasts and prayers of See also:

• ISLAM

Islam, but untainted by the looseness of morals See also:

• COMMON

common to the poets of those days . At first he essayed a perilous road to distinction, appearing in the See also:

• CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character of a prophet in the desert between the See also:

• EUPHRATES (Babylon. Purattu, Heb. Perath, Arab. Frdt or Furst, Old Pers. Ufratu, Gr. Eb4 parrls)

Euphrates and See also:

• SYRIA

Syria, where he formed a consider-able party, but was arrested by the See also:

• GOVERNOR (from the Fr. gouverneur, from gouverner, O. Fr. governer, Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, to direct, guide)

governor of Emesa (Horns) . A See also:

• PRISON (derived through the Fr. from the Lat. prehensio, seizure)

prison cooled his See also:

• ENTHUSIASM

enthusiasm . The name of al-Mutanabbi clung to him, however, and is that by which he is still commonly known . Regaining his See also:

• LIBERTY (Lat. libertas, from liber, free)

liberty, he had to struggle for a See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time with poverty and neglect . But his poetical talents at length found him patrons, and in 948 he became attached to the See also:

• COURT
• COURT (from the O. Fr. court, Late Lat. cortis, curtis, a popular form of class. Lat. cohors, gen. cohortis; the mod. Fr. form tour is due to the influence of the Lat. curia, the word used in medieval documents to translate " court " in the feudal sense)
• COURT, ANTOINE (1696-176o)

court of the famous warrior and See also:

• PATRON

patron of letters, Saif ad-daula, See also:

• PRINCE
• PRINCE (Lat. princeps, from primus capio, " I am the first to take "; Ital. principe, Fr. prince)

prince of See also:

• ALEPPO (native Haleb)

Aleppo, to whom many of the best fruits of his muse were dedicated, and by whose See also:

• SIDE
• SIDE (mod. Eski Adalia)

side he approved his valour in the See also:

• FIELD (a word common to many West German languages, cf. Ger. Feld, Dutch veld, possibly cognate with O.E. f olde, the earth, and ultimately with root of the Gr. irAaror, broad)
• FIELD, CYRUS WEST (1819-1892)
• FIELD, DAVID DUDLEY (18o5-1894)
• FIELD, EUGENE (1850-1895)
• FIELD, FREDERICK (18o1—1885)
• FIELD, HENRY MARTYN (1822-1907)
• FIELD, JOHN (1782—1837)
• FIELD, MARSHALL (183 1906)
• FIELD, NATHAN (1587—1633)
• FIELD, STEPHEN JOHNSON (1816-1899)
• FIELD, WILLIAM VENTRIS FIELD, BARON (1813-1907)

field . But he had rivals who knew how to inspire See also:

• JEALOUSY (adapted from Fr. jalousie, formed from jaloux, jealous, Low Lat. zelosus, Gr. j'i os, ardour, zeal, from the root seen in '&u', to boil, ferment; cf. " yeast ")

jealousy between him and the prince, and an angry See also:

• SCENE (Fr. scene, Lat. scaena, Gr. oflvil, a tent or booth, a stage or scene)

scene with the grammarian Khalawaih, in which the latter closed a philological dispute by striking Motanabbi, in the very presence of the prince and without rebuke from him, led the poet to leave the court and seek a new career in the See also:

• REALM

realm of the Ikshids (957) . He now took as his patron and the See also:

• OBJECT

object of his eulogies Kafur, the See also:

• REGENT (from Lat. regere, to rule)

regent of See also:

• EGYPT

Egypt—a See also:

• BLACK
• BLACK, ADAM (1784-1874)
• BLACK, JEREMIAH SULLIVAN (1810–1883)
• BLACK, WILLIAM (1841-1898)

black See also:

• EUNUCH (Gr. Evvoi3Xos)

eunuch who knew how to open the poet's lips by See also:

• GREAT

great gifts and honours . Motanabbi, however, sought a higher See also:

• REWARD

reward, the See also:

• GOVERNMENT
• GOVERNMENT (0. Fr. governement, mod. gouvernement, O. Fr. governer, mod. gouverner, from Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, guide, rule; cf. Gr. xv(3epvav)

government of See also:

• SIDON (Phoen. ins, Hebrew 1-rs, Assyr. Sidunnu, Egypt. Diduna)

Sidon, and at length See also:

• BROKE, or BROOKE, ARTHUR (d. 1563)
• BROKE, SIR PHILIP BOWES VERE, BART

broke with Kafur, wrote satires against him, and had to See also:

• FLY (formed on the root of the supposed original Tent. fleugan, to fly)

fly for his See also:

• LIFE

life to Kufa (961) .

His next great patron was `Adod ad-daula of See also:

• SHIRAZ

Shiraz, and on a See also:

• JOURNEY (through O. Fr. jornee or journee, mod. Fr. journee, from med. Lat. diurnata, Lat. diurnus, of or belonging to dies, day)

journey from Shiraz to Kufa he was waylaid and slain by a chieftain of the Asad, whose kinsfolk he had satirized (See also:

• SEPTEMBER (Lat. septem, seven)

September 965) . The poetry of Motanabbi is to See also:

• EUROPEAN

European See also:

• TASTE (from Lat. taxare, to touch sharply; tangere, to touch)

taste much less attractive than the verses of the See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

ancient Arab poets, being essentially artificial and generally unreal, though it has great technical merits and displays lively See also:

• FANCY (a shortened form, dating from the 15th century, of " fantasy," which is derived through the O. Fr. fantasie, modern fantaisie. from the Latinized form of the Gr. cbavraoia, Oavrai'ecv, Oat Pais, to show)

fancy and considerable inventive See also:

• POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power . See also:

• ORIENTAL

Oriental taste places him on a very high See also:

• PEDESTAL (Fr. piedestal, Ital. piedestallo, foot of a stall)

pedestal, as may be judged from the fact that more than See also:

• FORTY

forty commentaries were written on his Diwdn (H . Khal., iii . 306) . Dieterici's edition of the poet (See also:

• BERLIN
• BERLIN, CONGRESS AND TREATY OF
• BERLIN, ISAIAH (1725–1799)

Berlin, 1858-1861), gives the commentary of Midi (d . 1075) ; the See also:

• EGYPTIAN

Egyptian edition of 187o has the commentary of 'Ukbari (d . I219) . A convenient edition is that published with a commentary of Nasif ul-Yaziji at See also:

• BEIRUT

Beirut (1882) . See R . A . See also:

• NICHOLSON, HENRY ALLEYNE (1844-1899)
• NICHOLSON, JOHN (1822-18J7)
• NICHOLSON, WILLIAM (1753-1815)
• NICHOLSON, WILLIAM (1784-1844)

Nicholson, A Literary See also:

• HISTORY

History of the See also:

• ARABS

Arabs (See also:

• LONDON

London, 1907), pp .

304-313 .