Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society· 1993Q2
On Some Umayyad Poetry in the History of al-Ṭabarī
- 10citations
- Q2SCImago
- 1993year
Short summary
Contrary to common views, historical poetry quoted in early Islamic histories like al-Ṭabarī's is not without literary merit or historical importance, despite its difficulty and occasional later forgeries.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Historical poetry in early Islamic histories is often considered difficult and of questionable authenticity.
- Some quoted verses may be retrojections from later periods or outright forgeries.
- The paper refutes the notion that this poetry lacks historical importance or literary merit.
- Umayyad-era historical poetry, specifically, is presented as valuable despite these challenges.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Ancient Arabic poetry in general is rightly regarded in Arab circles as one of the paramount monuments of Arabic literature, and it is of course also held in esteem among Western scholars. For the most part, however, this admiration does not, in effect, extend to the specifically historical poetry quoted – sometimes in vast quantities – in the works of such historians as Ibn A‘tham al-Kūfī, al-Balādhurī, and al-Ṭabarī. It is readily apparent that this verse is often of extraordinary difficulty, that some represents retrojections from later times, and that many poems (in particular the later forgeries) are of an inferior quality; but the often-heard views holding that the historical poetry is, as a whole, of no particular historical importance or literary merit are simply false.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1993 · DOI ↗
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Field: Archeology (Arts and Humanities)
ArcheologyArts and Humanities