Ziryab

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Monument to Ziryab, depicted as a blackbird , in Cordoba

Abu l-Hasan ʿAli ibn Nafiʿ ( Arabic أبو الحسن علي بن نافع, DMG Abū l-Ḥasan ʿAlī b. Nāfiʿ ) or Ziryab (Arabicزرياب / Ziryāb ; born 789, died January 27, 857 in Córdoba ;) was a singer , oud player, composer , poet and teacher who lived and worked in Iraq , North Africa and al-Andalus . He is considered the greatest musician in al-Andalus and is also known as a polymath with knowledge of astronomy , geography , meteorology , botany , cosmetics , culinary arts and fashion . Ziryab was mainly active at the Umayyad court in Cordoba. He became known at the Abbasid Court in Baghdad , his birthplace, as an artist and student of the great Persian musician and composer Ishaq al-Mawsili , who comes from Kufa .

Ziryab left Baghdad during the reign of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mūn and moved to Cordoba in the south of the Iberian Peninsula , where he was accepted as a musician at the court of the Umayyad Abd ar-Rahman II .

origin

Ziryab's career flourished in al-Andalus. According to the Encyclopedia of Islam , he was born into a Mawla family of the caliph al-Mahdi around 175 according to the Islamic calendar (around 790 AD) . His ethnic origin is disputed; various sources refer to him as African, Arab, Kurdish or Persian.

The word ziryab is translated as blackbird or black thrush. Ziryab is known for his dark skin color and agile tongue, from which he owes his nickname.

Historical context - early years

In the course of the Islamic expansion , Arabic music spread to western China in the east and the Iberian peninsula in the west, which was renamed al-Andalus by the Muslims in the 8th century. Here they were initially a small minority facing the majority of Christians and a smaller Jewish community that had their own musical styles. With their arrival, the Muslims introduced new styles of music and the main cities of the peninsula soon became well-known centers for music in the Islamic world. During the 8th and 9th centuries, many musicians and artists from all over the Islamic world came to the Iberian Peninsula. While many were talented, Ziryab surpassed them all.

Ziryab was most likely born in Baghdad, although Arabic sources indicate Mosul as his place of birth and that he was taught the art of music from a young age. At that time, Baghdad was an important music center in the Muslim world. All sources agree that the accomplished and talented musician Ishaq al-Mawsili was Ziryab's teacher. There is some debate about how he got to al-Andalus, possibly after offending his patron or a powerful person with his musical talent.

A report by al-Maqqarī says that Ziryab aroused the jealousy of his mentor by giving an impressive demonstration to Caliph Harun al-Rashid (died 809), with the result that Mawsili asked him to leave the city. Older and more reliable sources indicate that he survived both Harun and his son al-Amin and did not leave until after al-Amin's death in 813.

So Ziryab left Baghdad during the reign of al-Ma'mun sometime after 813. He first traveled to Syria , then to Ifriqiya (Tunisia), where he in the court of Aghlabids I. Ziyadat Allah (reigned 816-837) lived. Ziryab fell out with Ziyadat Allah, was expelled in 821, but then invited to al-Andalus by the Umayyad prince al-Hakam I (ruled 796-822). On his arrival in Algeciras in 822 he learned that the prince had died, but his son and successor Abd ar-Rahman II renewed the invitation. Ziryab settled in Cordoba, he was honored with a monthly salary of 200 gold dinars and soon became the court's darling in terms of food, fashion, singing and music. In all these areas he introduced quality standards and set new standards for elegant and noble manners. Ziryab thus became a prominent cult figure and a trusted companion of the prince, who received a huge living from Abd al Rahman II: "5640 dinars a year, 300 mudd grain, property worth 40,000 dinars".

Al-Maqqarī says in his Nafh at-Tib : "There was neither before nor after him (Ziryab) a man of his profession who was more loved and admired."

music

Ziryab is said to have improved the oud by adding a fifth pair of strings and using an eagle's bill or feather instead of a wooden stake as a pick . Ziryab also colored the four strings one color to symbolize the Aristotelian temperaments and the fifth string to represent the soul. He is believed to have created a unique and influential style of musical performance, writing songs that have been performed in the Iberian Peninsula for generations. "He had an enormous memory: supposedly he knew the text and melody of 10,000 songs". He had a great influence on Spanish music and is considered to be the founder of the Andalusian music traditions in North Africa.

Ziryab's Baghdad style of music became very popular at the court of Abd ar-Rahmans II. He also became a model for how a courtier should act. According to Jabir ibn Hayyan , he was very familiar with the scholars of his time in many areas of classical research such as astronomy, history and geography.

According to Ahmad at-Tifaschi , Ziryab appears to have popularized an early song sequence that may have been a forerunner of the nūbāt (singular nūbā ) (originally just the sequence of an interpreter for the prince) or Nuba from Andalusia , which is now considered the classical Arabic music of North Africa is known, although the connections are rather poor.

Abd al-Rahman II was a great patron of the arts, and many freedoms were given to Ziryab. He founded one of the first music schools in Cordoba that trained singers and musicians who influenced musical performance for at least two generations after him. This school had both male and female students and was very popular with the aristocracy of the time. According to Ibn Hayyan, Ziryab developed various tests for his students: for example, if someone did not have a great vocal capacity, he would stick pieces of wood between his jaws to force him to keep his mouth open; or he tied a sash tightly around his waist to let her breathe in a certain way. He tested new students by making them sing as loud and long as possible to see if they had adequate lung capacity.

family

According to the main source, Ibn Hayyan, Ziryab had eight sons and two daughters. Five of the sons and both daughters became famous musicians. His children kept their father's music school going; the slave singers trained by them were also considered reliable sources for his repertoire in the following generation.

Fashion and hygiene

Ziryab introduced the fashion trend of dressing according to the season and weather. He suggested different clothes for the morning, afternoon, and evening. Henri Terrasse, a French North Africa historian, reports that the legend ascribes winter and summer fashion, as well as the “luxurious clothing of the Orient” that can be found in Morocco today , to Ziryab, but also explains: “Without a doubt, a single person could do them Do not achieve transformation. It is more of a development that shook the Muslim world in general ... "

He created a new type of deodorant to get rid of bad odors, also promoted morning and evening baths, and emphasized the maintenance of personal hygiene. It is believed that Ziryab invented an early toothpaste that he made popular throughout al-Andalus. The exact ingredients of this toothpaste are unknown, but it has been reported that it was both "functional and pleasant to the taste".

According to Al-Maqqari, all the residents of al-Andalus before Ziryab's arrival at the court of Cordoba wore their hair long and parted in the middle, hanging loosely to the shoulders, men and women alike; Ziryab had his hair cut with bangs up to his eyebrows and across his forehead: "New short hairstyles leave the neck, ears and eyebrows free". He also made shaving popular among men. Royalty used to wash their hair with rose water, but Ziryab introduced the use of salt and fragrant oils to improve the condition of the hair.

He is also said to have opened beauty salons for the women of Cordoba's elite, but this is not confirmed by early sources.

culinary arts

Ziryab was a promoter of culinary fashion and taste who also "revolutionized local cuisine" by introducing new fruits and vegetables such as asparagus and the three-course meal served on leather tablecloths by insisting that Meals should be served in three separate courses, consisting of soup , main course and dessert . He introduced the use of crystal glass for drinks, which was better suited to this than metal. This claim is supported by reports that he cut large crystal goblets. Before his time, food was simply served on plates on empty tables, as was the case with the Romans.

legacy

Ziryab revolutionized the court in Cordoba and made it the style capital of its time. Whether new clothes, hairstyles, food, hygiene products or music - he changed the Andalusian culture forever: Ziryab's musical contributions form the basis for classical Andalusian music.

literature

swell

Remarks

  1. ↑ John Gill, p. 81.
  2. ↑ Singer (1993): “born. before 785, year of death unknown. "
  3. ↑ Singer
  4. ↑ a b Farmer / Neubauer
  5. ↑ a b Grajter
  6. ^ Sardar / Yassin-Kassab
  7. ↑ Ziryāb PERSIAN MUSICIAN
  8. ↑ O'Callaghan: “The most influential courtier was the musician Ziryab, a Persian, who had held high position in the court at Baghdad”
  9. ↑ Monroe: "Modernism had been brought from the court of Harun ar-Rashid by Ziryab, the Persian singer who became an arbiter ..."
  10. ↑ a b c d e Jayyusi / Marin, p. 117.
  11. ↑ a b c d e f Menocal / Scheidlin / Sells
  12. ↑ a b Constable
  13. ↑ Singer
  14. ↑ a b c d Davila
  15. ↑ Epstein pp. 234-237.
  16. ↑ Singer
  17. ↑ Singer
  18. ↑ Singer
  19. ^ Singer: twelve sons and three daughters, four sons were born before 822, the daughters were married to important personalities
  20. ↑ Terrasse, pp. 52–53.
  21. ↑ a b van Sertima, p. 267.
  22. ↑ a b c Lebling
  23. ↑ Utzt / Eslah / Carazo / Twente
personal data
SURNAME Ziryab
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Abu l-Hasan 'Ali Ibn Nafi'
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Islamic musician and composer
DATE OF BIRTH 789
PLACE OF BIRTH Baghdad
DATE OF DEATH January 27, 857
Place of death Cordoba