Ibn Hayyus | |
|---|---|
| Born | Al-Amir Muṣṭafa ad-Dawla Abī al-Fityān Muhammad December 1003 |
| Died | January/February 1081 Aleppo, Syria |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Language | Arabic |
| Nationality | Syrian |
| Period | Medieval |
| Genre | Panegyric |
| Notable works | Panegyrics to theMirdasids ofAleppo |
Al-Amir Muṣṭafa ad-Dawla Abī al-Fityān Muhammad,[1][note 1] better known asIbn Ḥayyûs (Arabic:ابن حيوس) (December 1003–January/February 1081),[2] was anArab poet fromSyria. He was well known for writingpanegyrics to theemirs and nobility of Syria, particularly theMirdasids ofAleppo.
Ibn Hayyus was born inDamascus in December 1003.[2][3] He received his name from his grandfather, Hayyus.[2] Ibn Hayyus was styledal-amir (prince/commander) because his father,[2] Sultan,[4] was a commander of theBedouin.[4][2] The family descended from theBanu Ghani, aQaysi tribe.[3] Ibn Hayyus's home was located in theZuqaq-Attaf neighborhood of Damascus.[5] In 1016, the Fatimid officer,Anushtakin al-Dizbari, resided in the family's home for roughly a year; Ibn Hayyus later dedicated numerouspanegyrics to Anushtakin,[5] who had become governor of Fatimid Syria in 1029.
In the course of his writing career, Ibn Hayyus became acquainted with several local rulers, Fatimid officials and other dignitaries.[2] He dedicated to thempanegyrics and in turn, was rewarded by them with riches.[2] In the process, he gained the surname "Mustafa ad-Dawla" (the chosen of the state).[4] He became particularly associated with theMirdasid emirs ofAleppo, where he moved in 1072.[2] One of the Mirdasid emirs,Mahmud ibn Nasr, once rewarded him with one thousand golddinars.[2] Following Mahmud's death in 1075, Ibn Hayyus developed a close friendship with his son,Nasr ibn Mahmud.[2] In one of his poems, Ibn Hayyus wrote "Mahmud gave me one thousand pieces of gold out of his treasury; I know for certainty his son Nasr will do the same."[2] Nasr was honored by the elegy and exclaimed "if he [Ibn Hayyus] had said Nasr would double the sum several times over, I should certainly have done it!"[2]
The wealth Ibn Hayyus accrued from the Mirdasids of Aleppo enabled to build a residence for himself in the city.[2] On a panel atop the house's doorway, he inscribed the following ode:
We built this abode and in it we resided, enjoying the bounty of the Mirdasids, a family which delivered us from adversity and the tyranny of fortune. Say to the sons of Earth: 'Let men act thus towards their fellow-men'.[6]
In 1079, theUqaylid emir ofUpper Mesopotamia,Muslim ibn Quraysh, granted Ibn Hayyus aniqtaʿ (fief) inMosul in gratitude for an elegy Ibn Hayyus wrote for him.[7] Ibn Hayyus died in his home in 1081.[2]
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