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III
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ISLAMIC
KINGSHIP
AND ARABIC
PANEGYRIC
POETRY
21
X1
"the heir of the Mantle, the Staff and the authority of God".5
The line relates the insignia of power to the divine sanction of which
they are a symbol.
The religious nature and the legitimacy of the 'Abbasid Caliphate
are also emphasized by reference to the origin of the dynasty in the
family of the Prophet. Numerous panegyrics bestow praises on al'Abbas and his descendants, asserting the 'Abbasid claim to power.
Thus the Caliph is protrayed as the undisputed ruler of the Islamic
community and subservient only to God. In the words of Abui
Tammam
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22
ISLAMIC
KINGSHIP
POETRY
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ISLAMIC
KINGSHIP
POETRY
23
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24
ISLAMIC
KINGSHIP
POETRY
11)
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1969, 431.
10 Ibid., 164.
11 Psalm LXXII, 1 and 7.
12
13
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ISLAMIC
KINGSHIP
AND ARABIC
PANEGYRIC
POETRY
25
Thus the panegyric of the 'Abbasid court poets depicts the authority
of the Caliphs as resting on the heroic virtues of the ancient Arabs,
the divine sanction of Islam and the mythic power of Near Eastern
Kingship. The last of these three is reflected in the thematic structure
of the poems.
II
Most panegyric poems are divisible into two parts: an introduction
containing a certain number of themes, and a section of praise, the
madib. For the purpose of this study I have called them strophe and
antistrophe, to avoid the notion that one is preponderant over the
other and to point to the contrasting relationships that link the two.
Themesof the Strophe:
In the diagram on page 22 I have listed a number of the themes
which occur in the first part of the panegyric. There are:
1 a)
A spring description with passages on the blessings of rain and
the beauty of spring flowers (wasf al-rabic).
2 a)
A "bacchanal" (khamrtyya): the poet, in the prime of youth,
pursues al-abwd', the physical passions, as he is drinking wine with
friends and flirting with the ganymedes.
3 a)
A desert journey (rabil) where the travellers face hardship and exhaustion which they overcome with perseverance and courage.
4 a)
A description of an unhappy love (nasib). The poet expresses his
passion for a lady he has met in the past. She has rejected his courtship
and they are separated but his attachment is undiminished, and he
gives vent to his grief and his passion for her.
5 a)
A description of the desert encampment (a/ld) where the poet met
his beloved. Wind and rain have altered and destroyed the site, plants
and wild animals have returned to it The spectacle makes the poet
aware of the relentless passage of time and he weeps with sorrow.
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26
ISLAMIC
KINGSHIP
POETRY
6 a)
A description of the poet's hoariness which leads to a gloomy
contemplation of old age (dhikr al-shayb). The women he desires
deride him; he is cast down with sickness and despair, and oppressed
by the thought of death.
7 a)
A contemplation of the inevitability of death which afflicts all
living things (dhikr al-mawt). Sometimes this passage may take the
form of an elegy (rithad), more often it develops out of the theme of
the campsite (5 a) or old age (6 a).
In the poems these themes are combined in many different ways
The nasib is the most frequent single component and may be linked
with any of the other six themes. (e.g. atldl-nasib-khamriyya;nasibshayb-dhikr al-mawt; etc.) Certain poems also possess strophes in
which only one of these themes is treated (e.g. nasib; khamrfyya;
rithd' etc.).
Thus the order in which I have arranged the themes in the diagram
does not correspond to any particular order in the poems. It is obvious
though that the themes of the strophe encompass the major experiences of man's life. Between the spring description which celebrates
the birth of new life, and the contemplation of death, there are descriptions of endurance and despair, and portrayals of youth, love and,
old age.
Themesof the Antistrophe:
These have an equally wide range. They fall into two categories:
themes of peace and themes of war. Peace in the context of the
panegyric means the prosperity the monarch bestows on his loyal
subjects, war means the destruction he inflicts on his enemies.
In the diagram I have tried to arrange these themes in such a way
as to make the relationship between strophe and antistrophe apparent.
Depending on whether the madih theme is one of peace or war, it
can be seen to relate to a theme of the strophe by contrast or congruence.
Again the order of the themes in the diagram is an abstraction
and does not correspond to any order in the poems. Each individual
poem is a free but coherent combination of the themes mentioned.
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ISLAMIC
KINGSHIP
AND ARABIC
PANEGYRIC
POETRY
27
1 b)
The counterpart of the Spring theme recalls the short extract from
the Diwan of al-Buhturi quoted above: "through you the expanses
of the land have become fertile". The action of the monarch is like
the action of Spring as he brings fertility and prosperity to the land.
One line by Abui Tammam sums up the connection between Spring
and Caliph:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~w
~
w
_
jI4jbj
y 4;gr19
"There are innate qualities that face us in Spring like the innate
qualities of the Imam and his fortunate guidance."14
7 b)
The counterpart of waff al-rabic among the strophic themes is
dhikr al-mawt, the contemplation of death. This theme also is balanced
in the antistrophe by the Caliph's power of revival. The prosperity
and justice he brings make life renew itself and the grief of death is
forgotten.
The panegyric Abfi Tammam wrote on the accession of the Caliph
al-Wathiq provides an example. The strophe consists of an elegy on
the previous Caliph al-Mu'tasim which dwells on the omnipotence
of death. In the antistrophe aJ-Wathiq's accession is described and
the people's joy is boundless:
5A;
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"When you called them forth to take their oaths, 'Iraqi and Syrian
were transported with joy, as if one of them had returned from a
long absence and the other had been told of the birth of a son." 15
This image of resurrection and birth poignantly symbolizes the
renewal of life in the rise of the new ruler.
The other two themes of the strophe which form a pair, youth
and old age, are also linked by corresponding themes in the antistrophe.
2 b)
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28
ISLAMIC
KINGSHIP
POETRY
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ISLAMIC
KINGSHIP
AND ARABIC
PANEGYRIC
POETRY
29
5 b)
The ruins of the campsite are contrasted with the state which the
Caliph protects, constructs, or restores to its former greatness. This
action is symbolized by the "House of Glory" (bayt al-majd) which
he "builds" for himself and his subjects.'8
5 b)
The powers of destruction on the other hand are reserved for the
enemies: the Caliph is the "key to every well-defended fortress",
"the emptier of the houses of his enemies". Thus while he constructs
the state, he destroysthe strongholds of his foes.
Since the nasib is the most important strophic theme, its relationships to the antistrophe are multiple and complex. I mention only
those that seem to me the most important.
Among the experiences the poet describes in the nasib, two are
prominent: the frustration of his love and the ultimate separation
between him and his beloved. Both experiences are reflected and
transfigured in the madih.
4 b)
The poet's unrequited love is overcome in the relationship between
him and the monarch. The physical and passionate attachment to
his lady is sublimated by his spiritual and temperate devotion to the
Caliph. In exchange, the sovereign does not reject him as did his
beloved but rewards him by integration into a society of prosperity.
The conclusion here is that the individualistic quest for happiness
in a passionate attachment cannot be successful. Fulfillment is attained by integration into society under the guidance of the monarch,
and by devotion to the ideals of state.
The annulment in the antistrophe of the experience of separation
elucidates this further.
The relationship between poet and beloved remains barren, it is
never consumated since the two are separated. This barrennessis
overcome by the fertility the Caliph brings to his realm. Many poems
describe in lavish imagery the Caliph's generosity which is compared
to the Spring rains and the morning dew, and which revives society,
"making affluence and plenty abound".
The theme is closely related to the counterparts of waif al-rabi' and
dhikr al-mawt in the antistrophe. Al-Mu'tasim's qualities are "like
18
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30
ISLAMIC
KINGSHIP
POETRY
those of Spring", the joy over al-Wathiq's accession is like "the joy
over a newborn child". Both passages point to the resurgence of life
brought to society by the monarch.
In some poems this newly found fertility is expressed by an image
reminiscent of the pagan "hierosgamos" (the sacred marriage of the
ruler): al-khildfa or al-imama appear as females linked to the Caliph
to stay with him faithfully."' The separation between poet and
beloved is overcome in the union between King and Kingship, the
threat of barrenness banished by its life giving force.
4 c)
The recreation of fertility has an equivalent among the themes of
war. Many poems link the Caliph's slaughter of his enemies with the
creation of new life in his realm. Their death is portrayed as an act
of sacrifice which will ensure prosperity for the land.
The idea has been given a most condensed expression by Abui
Tammam. In the poem on the capture of Armorium which explores
the paradox of the emergence of life from the destruction of death,
he says:
"the two deaths brought about by swords and lances are the waterbuckets of two lives containing water and fodder."20
The source of life for the Caliph's subjects is the death brought to
his enemies.
The contrast between barrenness and fertility in strophe and
antistrophe is illustrated by the imagery of the panegyric. Three
liquids are prominent in the imagery of the nasiband the corresponding
war and peace themes of the section of praise: the tears of the abandoned lover, the dew or rain of generosity bestowed by the Caliph,
and the blood of the slain enemies. Blood and water symbolize the
new fertility which the Caliph creates in the land; they overcome the
grief of barrenness expressed in the tears.
A word must be added about those poems that do not begin with
any of the themes of the strophe but embark at once upon praise of
the sovereign. Despite the absence of the strophe, they revolve
around the same thematic elements as the other panegyrics: the
"I Cf. e.g. Abu Tammam, III, 208. The image figures prominently in the
Diwan of MihyAral-Daylami.
20 Abul Tammam, I, 61.
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ISLAMIC
KINGSHIP
AND ARABIC
PANEGYRIC
POETRY
31
LP
LL
13-l
Ij
Iz
4S
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32
f) jc L..J
"We take delight in his rule despite Time. Can anyone oppose an
order spoken by the one enthroned?
Die he will who offers his heart's core to the edge of a spearhead
whose shaft is brought to action by the hand of God." 22
However the relationship between fate and the sovereign has
an "elegiac counterpoint". Even though he assumes its powers the
22
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33
Caliph can never ultimately defeat fate. Like the pre-Islamic hero he
is enmeshed in constant warfare: unceasingly he is forced to reaffirm
the divine order in the face of erupting chaos.
In this constant struggle the panegyric qa.ida has its place. In it,
fate is always defeated anew, the sovereignty of the monarch reasserted, the ultimate victory made tangible.
The relationship between poet and monarch has similar features.
The poet is the protagonist of the strophe and as such the prime
victim of fate's power. By defeating fate, the Caliph saves the poet
from his afflictions. All the ills he has suffered become those of the
enemies, all his virtues are transfigured in the sacred virtue of the
monarch.
The development suggest that poet and Caliph represent human
nature in the stages of imperfection and perfection. The transfiguration of the poet from an imperfect to a perfect being in the character
of the monarch is a reflection of the identity of King and society.
As the poet is saved, strengthened and rejuvenated in the person of
the monarch, so society as a whole exists and survives through him.
The relationship between Caliph and fate, and Caliph and poet
is thus of similar nature: the sovereign defeats fate and as a perfect
ruler assumes the powers of fate; similarly, he saves the poet and as a
perfect human being assumes and heightens the virtues of the poet.
Thus both poet and fate are transfigured in the person of the monarch.
IV
The analysis of the poetic form of the "royal" panegyrics show
that its development is a perfect illustration of the function of Kingship in society. It suggests that this poetry is a liturgical expression
of the basic values and political ideals of the 'Abbasid state. This
conclusion makes it possible to re-evaluate some of the characteristics
of panegyric poetry which in the past have given rise to doubts
about its merit as literature.
The stereotyped structure, the repetitiveness and formalism of the
poems have been seen as the result of a conservative literary public
which stifled poetic genius, or simply as a lack of inventiveness.
The study of the panegyric, however, suggests that these are not
fair judgements. It was not the poet's task to demonstrate his originality by creating new forms, but to re-explore and recast the existing
elements of the qa-ida in order to emphasize the basic meaning of its
structure. How essential this meaning was, has, I believe, been shown.
3
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34
ISLAMIC
KINGSHIP
POETRY
To search for a different one would have been to seek a lesser thing.
Another factor which has impeded the appreciation of panegyric
poetry on its own terms are the doubts critics have felt about the
sincerity of some poets. When a cruel or undeserving monarch was
praised this was seen as flattery and hypocrisy on the part of the poet
whose work, as a result, was considered to be of little merit.
It is clear, however, that the panegyric does not attempt to portray
the character of individual monarchs. Instead, it extolls the role of
Kingship which an individual assumes. Its thematic development,
its liturgical formalism, and the expression it gives to essential social
values all suggest that the public recitation of panegyric poetry was
an act of ritual.
This ritual celebrated the vision of political authority of the
'Abbasid state: a divinely endowed Kingship as the only guarantor
of peace and stability for the realm.
In the panegyric this essential role of Kingship is recreated and
reaffirmed as the development proceeds from chaos and suffering
to order and prosperity. Its recitation amounts to a public renewal
of faith in the state while reminding the sovereign of the duties of
his high office. The sumptuous reward of the court poet is part of
the ceremony: it is a public demonstration of generosity and symbolizes the life-giving function of the King.
V
The preceding conclusions about the form and function of poems
dedicated to the Caliphs can also be applied, with some modifications,
to the other panegyrics which fill the Diwans of Abui Tammam and
al-Buhlturi: those in praise of notables, military leaders or provincial
governors. Their thematic structure scarcely differs from those of
the royal poems, and the human ideal of social responsibility and good
government which they proffer remains essentially the same. The
difference between the addressees of the panegyrics is one of degree
and not of kind: they are all representative of the authority of state,
persons in power, leaders of men.
Neither is the thematic pattern of interaction between strophe and
antistrophe characteristic only of "Abbasid panegyrics. The ancestry
of this form can be traced back to the earliest surviving Arabic poems.
The same applies to the ritualistic character of the panegyrics. The
societal resurrection brought about by the sovereign is as important
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ISLAMIC
KINGSHIP
AND ARABIC
PANEGYRIC
POETRY
35
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>,"1 j;, TJ
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al-Buhtiirl,
IV, 2421.
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