Topoi and Topography in the Histories of al-Ḥīra

Topoi and Topography in the Histories of al-Ḥīra

Department

Arab & Islamic Civilizations Department

Description

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

Topoi and Topography in the Histories of al-Ḥīra

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