The Life and Times of Abu Tammam

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Abū Tammām (d. 231 or 232/845 or 846) is a celebrated Arabic poet, born in Syria to Greek Christian parents before converting to Islam. He gained prominence in the caliphal court of Baghdad, creating a new poetic style that blended abstract imagery with archaic Bedouin language. His work, both controversial and popular, significantly influenced subsequent Arabic poetry and epitomized the “modern style” (badīʻ), reflecting the cultural vibrancy of the Abbasid dynasty. In The Life and Times of Abū Tammām, translated into English for the first time, scholar Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā al-Ṣūlī (d. 335 or 336/946 or 947) defends “modern” poetry and Abū Tammām's importance against critics, while vividly depicting literary life in Baghdad and Samarra. Al-Ṣūlī, from a prestigious Turkish family, served as a courtier and tutor to the Abbasid caliphs and made significant contributions to Arabic literary history through his writings on caliphal history and poetry. His text is groundbreaking, marking a major advancement in Arabic poetics and paving the way for future treatises on poetic innovation.