Topoi and Topography in the Histories of al-Ḥīra
Files
Department
Arab & Islamic Civilizations Department
Abstract
This chapter examines the Arabic poetry dealing with the city of Ḥīra in south-west Iraq. Much of this poetry is filled with longing for a fleeting era of glory, when Ḥīra was ruled by its Christian kings. The chapter suggests that much of this material had its origins in the Ḥīra court itself. When this poetic tradition was inherited by Muslim Arabs, it caused them to view the Islamic conquests as a time of loss, as well as victory, and it acted as a reminder of the temporary nature of all political authority
Publication Date
2013
Document Type
Book Chapter
Book Title
History and Identity in the Late Antique Near East
Editors
Philip Wood
ISBN
9780199915408
Publisher
Oxford University Press
City
Oxford
First Page
123
Last Page
147
Keywords
Sasanian, poetry, memory, Ubi sunt motif, Ḥīra, Lakhmid, Dhimmi, Christian Arabs
Recommended Citation
APA Citation
Talib, A.
(2013).Topoi and Topography in the Histories of al-Ḥīra. Oxford University Press. , 123-147
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/faculty_book_chapters/771
MLA Citation
Talib, Adam
Topoi and Topography in the Histories of al-Ḥīra. Oxford University Press, 2013.pp. 123-147
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/faculty_book_chapters/771