⚔EP034 Dr. Kevin Blankinship on Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī: the Prince, the Prisoner, the Poet. Part 8 of 12 - Spring of Classical Arabic Poetry

Dr. Kevin Blankinship, BYU Utah, speaks about the life, works and legacy of Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī, prince, prisoner, poet. Al-Ḥārith b. Abū al-ʿAlā Saʿīd ibn Ḥamdān al-Taghlibī, better known by his nom de plume of Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī, was an Arab prince and poet. He was a cousin of Sayf al-Dawla, the ruler of northern Syria, whom we mentioned in episode 33. He best known for the collection of poems titled al-Rūmiyyāt during his time as a prisoner of war with the Byzantines. Timestamps 01:52 Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī was born at a time when the Abbasid caliphate was beholden to de facto autonomous dynasties and facing a Byzantine foe. What do we know about his socio-political context? 06:26 Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī was born a prince, lived a while as a prisoner, and was killed as a provocateur against a rival ruler, his own nephew in fact. What do we do know about his life? 10:14 Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī is best known for the collection of poems titled al-Rūmiyyāt during his time as a prisoner of war with the Byzantines. Tell us about his works. 16:50 Sir Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb, the orientalist, praises Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī’s work for its “sincerity, directness, and natural vigour". How would you characterise Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī’s legacy? 19:45 Finally, let's end with a sample and translation. This is the eighth part of a twelve part series exploring classical Arabic poetry which can be utilised in college-level teaching programmes. For more on our guest, see kblankinship.com. Sponsored by shop.ihrc.org Get 15% off with discount code AHP15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact IHRC Bookshop for details.