Hamasat al-Buhturi

Hamasat al-Buhturi (The Hamasa of al-Buhturi) is an anthology of classical Arabic poetry compiled by the Abbasid poet al-Buhturi (206–284 AH / 821–897 CE) in emulation of the famous Hamasa of his predecessor Abu Tammam Hamasat al-Buhturi+1.

Composition and Transmission

Al-Buhturi compiled the work at the request of or for al-Fath ibn Khaqan, the vizier of the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil, modeling it as a counterpart (mu'arada) to Abu Tammam's compilation Hamasat al-Buhturi+1. The text was transmitted through the narration of Abu al-'Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad, known as Ibn Abi Khalid al-Ahwal, from his father, from al-Buhturi Hamasat al-Buhturi+1.

Scope and Structure

The anthology contains selections from over 500 poets—reaching approximately 630 poets—many of whom are little known or unmentioned in other extant sources Hamasat al-Buhturi+1. Al-Buhturi drew primarily from the pre-Islamic (Jahiliyya), early Islamic, and Umayyad periods, halting his selections with early Abbasid figures such as Bashshar ibn Burd, Muti' ibn Iyas, and Salih ibn 'Abd al-Quddus, while omitting later Abbasid poets such as Muslim ibn al-Walid, Abu al-'Atahiya, and Abu Tammam Manahij al-Talif Inda al-…+1. He incorporated forty-five pieces by Salih ibn 'Abd al-Quddus alone Manahij al-Talif Inda al-….

Unlike Abu Tammam, who organized his Hamasa into ten broad thematic categories (aghrad), al-Buhturi structured his anthology around detailed poetic motifs and concepts (ma'ani), dividing the material into 174 chapters (reported in another source as 164) Fi Tarikh al-Adab al-Jahi…+1. He expanded the theme of valor itself across the first fifteen chapters, opening with verses by 'Amr ibn al-Itnaba al-Khazraji Manahij al-Talif Inda al-…+1. The anthology favors short fragments (muqatta'at) and moral, wisdom-oriented verse (hikma), while omitting love poetry (ghazal) and lighthearted themes Fi Tarikh al-Adab al-Jahi…+1. The final chapter is dedicated to elegies composed by women Hamasat al-Buhturi+1.

Reception and Manuscripts

Hamasat al-Buhturi did not attain the widespread acclaim or circulation of Abu Tammam's anthology, and classical scholars did not compose commentaries on it Fi Tarikh al-Adab al-Jahi…+1. Although listed among al-Buhturi's works by bibliographers and historians such as Ibn al-Nadim, Yaqut al-Hamawi, and Ibn Khallikan, Abd al-Qadir al-Baghdadi expressed skepticism regarding its existence in Khizanat al-Adab Hamasat al-Buhturi+1. Later compilations, notably al-Tadhkira al-Hamduniyya and the anonymous Majmu'at al-Ma'ani, drew heavily on its contents and chapter arrangements Hamasat al-Buhturi+1.

The work survives in a unique manuscript preserved at the Leiden University Library Fi Tarikh al-Adab al-Jahi…+1. It was published in Beirut in 1910 by Louis Cheikho and in Cairo in 1929 by Kamal Mustafa, alongside studies by the Orientalists Theodor Nöldeke and Rudolf Geyer in the journal of the German Oriental Society Fi Tarikh al-Adab al-Jahi…+1. Modern editions also include those by Muhammad Ibrahim Huwwar and Ahmad Muhammad 'Ubayd, as well as Muhammad Tarifi Hamasat al-Buhturi+1.