Ashar Awlad al-Khulafa wa Akhbaruhum

Ashar Awlad al-Khulafa wa Akhbaruhum (The Poetry of the Caliphs' Sons and Their History) is a biographical and poetic anthology by the Abbasid scholar, historian, and court companion Abu Bakr al-Suli (d. 335 AH / 946 CE), forming a distinct section of his encyclopedic historical-literary compendium Kitab al-Awraq Ashar Awlad al-Khulafa wa…+1. The work documents the verse, biographical anecdotes, and courtly narratives of the royal scions and princesses of the Abbasid Caliphate al-Awraq Qism Akhbar al-S…+1.

Context and Scope

In the organizational scheme of Kitab al-Awraq, this text followed the section dedicated to the reigning caliphs themselves Ashar Awlad al-Khulafa wa…+1. As al-Suli states in his introduction, having completed the accounts of the caliphs, he arranged the subsequent material to cover the poetry and biographical reports of the caliphs' direct sons and offspring, followed by other members of the Abbasid house who never held the caliphate, before proceeding to the Talibids and the wider Hashemite clan Ashar Awlad al-Khulafa wa…+1.

According to the bibliographer Ibn al-Nadim, al-Suli left Kitab al-Awraq incomplete, though the portion dealing with the poetry of the caliphs' sons and their forebears reached from the first Abbasid caliph al-Saffah down through the generation of Ibn al-Mu'tazz al-Fihrist+1.

Content and Structure

The book opens with Muhammad ibn Abi al-Abbas al-Saffah, detailing his appointment by the caliph al-Mansur over Basra, his nicknames, and his preserved verses Ashar Awlad al-Khulafa wa…. It proceeds chronologically and genealogically through prominent Abbasid princely figures, including:

• Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi and his son Hibat Allah al-Awraq Qism Akhbar al-S….
• Princess Ulayya bint al-Mahdi, half-sister of Harun al-Rashid, receiving an extensive profile showcasing her poetry and personal history al-Awraq Qism Akhbar al-S…+1.
• Abd Allah ibn Musa al-Hadi and Abu Isa ibn al-Rashid al-Awraq Qism Akhbar al-S….
• The poet-prince Ibn al-Mu'tazz, whose biography and verse occupy nearly two hundred pages of the surviving text, covering almost the entirety of his diwan al-Awraq Qism Akhbar al-S….

The text also incorporates poetry by collateral members of Banu al-Abbas, beginning with Abd Allah ibn Ali and concluding with Abu Ahmad Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Isma'il al-Fihrist+1.

Methodology and Reception

Al-Suli recorded these biographies and poetic compositions using chains of transmission (isnad) alongside firsthand accounts drawn from his intimate standing as a court companion (nadim) to several Abbasid rulers, such as al-Muktafi, al-Muqtadir, and al-Radi Ashar Awlad al-Khulafa wa…+1. The book illustrates how poetry served as a medium for royal self-expression, political maneuvering, private sentiment, and literary refinement al-Awraq Qism Akhbar al-S…+1.

While the historian al-Mas'udi praised al-Suli's historical and literary compilations, Ibn al-Nadim noted a contemporary criticism accusing al-Suli of relying heavily upon or appropriating Ahmad ibn Bishr al-Marthadi's work on Qurayshite poetry Tarikh al-Turath al-Arabi…+1.

Publication

The text was edited from surviving manuscript copies by the British orientalist J. Heyworth-Dunne and published at Matba'at al-Sawi in Cairo in 1355 AH / 1936 CE as part of his multi-volume edition of the extant portions of Kitab al-Awraq al-Awraq Qism Akhbar al-S…+1.