- Abu Tammam
Abu Tammam (Habib ibn Aus)
Arabic , أبو تمام حبيب بن أوس (c. 805 – c. 845) was a famousArab poet andMuslim convert born toChristian parents. [Ibn Ab̄i Tahir Ṭāyfūr and Arabic writerly culture a ninth-century bookman in Baghdad RoutledgeCurzon Studies in Arabic and Middle-Eastern Literatures: A Ninth-century Bookman in Baghdad, By Shawkat M. Toorawa, pg. 94]Biography
He was born in Jasim (
Josem ),Syria , a place to the north-east of theSea of Tiberias or near Hierapolis Bambyce. He seems to have spent his youth inHoms , though, according to one story, he was employed during his boyhood in selling water in amosque inCairo . His first appearance as a poet was in Egypt, but as he failed to make a living there he went toDamascus , and then toMosul . From there he made a visit to the governor ofArmenia , who awarded him richly. After 833 he lived mostly inBaghdad , at the court of the "caliph "Mo'tasim . From Baghdad he visitedKhorasan , where he enjoyed the favour ofAbdallah ibn Tahir . About 845 he was inMa'arrat un-Nu'man , where he met the poet al-Buhturi (c. 820–897). He died in Mosul.Abu Tammam is best known in literature for his 9th century compilation of early poems known as the "
Hamasah ". The "Hamasah" (Arabic, "exhortation") is one of the greatest anthologies of Arabic literature ever written. Abu Tammam gathered these works together when he was snowbound inHamadan , where he had access to an excellent library. There are ten books of poems in the "Hamasah", all classified by subject. Some of them are selections from long poems. This is one of the treasuries of earlyArabic poetry , and the poems are of exceptional beauty. A later anthology by the same name was compiled by the poet al-Buhturi, and the term has been used in modern times to mean "heroic epic."Two other collections of a similar nature are ascribed to Abu Tammam. His own poems have been somewhat neglected owing to the success of his compilations, but they enjoyed great repute in his lifetime. His poems of valour, often describing historical events, are important as source material. They were distinguished for the purity of their style, the merit of the verse, and the excellent manner of treating subjects. His poems were published in Cairo in 1875.
References
*1911|article=Abu Tammam|url=http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Abu_Tammam
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