Ziryab

Ziryab
"زرياب"
أبو الحسن علي بن نافع
Personal details
Born
Abu al-Hasan 'Ali Ibn Nafi

c. 789
In the area of modern day Iraq, possibly Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate[1]
Diedc. 27 January 857 (aged 67–68)
Córdoba, Emirate of Córdoba
Occupationlinguist, geographer, poet, chemist, musician, singer astronomer, gastronomist, etiquette and fashion advisor

Abu al-Hasan 'Ali Ibn Nafi', better known as Ziryab, Zeryab, or Zaryab (Arabic: أبو الحسن علي ابن نافع, زریاب;[2] c. 789–c. 857)[3] was a singer, oud and lute player, composer, poet, and teacher. He lived and worked in what is now Iraq, Northern Africa and Andalusia during the medieval Islamic period. He was also a polymath, with knowledge in astronomy, geography, meteorology, botanics, cosmetics, culinary art, and fashion.

His nickname, "Ziryab", comes from the Persian and Kurdish[4] word for jay-bird زرياب, pronounced "Zaryāb". He was also known as Mirlo ('blackbird') in Spanish.[3] He was active at the Umayyad court of Córdoba in Islamic Iberia. He first achieved fame at the Abbasid court in Baghdad, his birthplace, as a performer and student of the musician and composer Ibrahim al-Mawsili.

Monument of Ziryab represented as a blackbird in Córdoba, Spain

Ziryab was a gifted pupil of Ibrahim al-Mawsili in Baghdad, where he got his beginner lessons. He left Baghdad during the reign of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun and moved to Córdoba, where he was accepted as a court musician in the court of Abd ar-Rahman II of the Umayyad Dynasty.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference SAW was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ The different aspects of islamic culture: The Spread of Islam throughout the World. UNESCO Publishing. 2011. p. 437. ISBN 9789231041532.
  3. ^ a b Gill, John (2008). Andalucia: A Cultural History. Oxford University Press. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-19-537610-4.
  4. ^ The Journal of American Folk-lore. Vol. 120. American Folk-lore Society. 2007. p. 314.