).

THE GOLDEN AGE OF ARAB AND ISLAMIC CULTURE

",AT THE coNFLUENcE oF Two cuLTUREs, Aramaean and Greek, became,in the tenth century, the intellectual center of the world." As capital of the caliphate,Baghdad rvasalso to becomethe cultural capitalof the Islamic world. Our purposeis to show,as briefly aspossible, the role that this region played in the transmissionof the knowledge of antiquity, in the evolution of religious attitudes,and in the flowering of literature.We shall no[ try to flnd out, any more than did the caliphs of the period, whether the actorsrvere Iranians, , Moslems,Christians, or |ews. Mcn of lettersand of sciencehad gatheredin this city either through cultural affinityor becausethey had beensummoned to the caliph'scourt for their worth or their competence. An effort was made to keep the languageand the religion at an indispensablecultural level.In reality, there was but a single aim: It was necessary to study the structureand the rules of the language of the Koran in order to have the languagerespected and understood.We shall not spendtoo much time on the grammaticalwork, sincewe want to fol- low the more universal tendencies,especially in their in- fluenceon medievalEurope. We shall mention only Khalil, the inventor of Arabic prosody,the first author of a diction- 64 THE GOLDEN AGE ary, and especiallyhis pupil Sibawaih, who has the dis- tinction of having codified definitively all the problems of grammar. Later, Mubarrad wrote a work which is not only didactic but a valuablecollection of poetic quotations. He also shareswith his rival and contemporary,Tha'lab, the honor of having contributedto the philological training of severalpoets. Some authors wrote the biography of Mohammed in the broad sense,by including the literature of the hadith, "The Conversationsof the Prophet."The namesof two of the first authorsin this categoryshould be remembered:Muhammad ibn Ishaqand Ibn Hisham. Two of the foundersof the four schoolsof jurisprudence lived in Baghdad and exerteddecisive influence there for a long time. Abu Hanifa is alreadyknown to us becauseof his material participation in the founding of the city. He had the merit of integrating into the formalism of the law a living element,which consistedof both an analogicalmeth- od and, when necessary,personal common sense.His tomb is still veneratedin Baghdad.Opposed to this type of thought stands Ibn Hanbal, whose followers were talked about a great deal during the early centuriesof the Mesopotamian city. This austeretraditionalist was perhapsthe victim of his own work, which is nothing more than a collectionof. hadith. Indeed,he cameto considertradition, after the Koran, as the only sourceof law. A fierce enemy of all innovation, Ibn Hanbal createda puritan schoolwithin , which still in our day inspiresthe peopleof the Saudi kingdom. His tomb rvasin Baghdadtoo, but it has disappeared. The first commentarieson the Koran were written in Baghdadbut we shall not spendmuch time on them. Reli- gious circles were affectedby a contemplativemovement begun by the Mutazilites, etymologically"those who keep 65 BAGHDAD to themselves,"as they did during the political quarrels which divided the Moslemsthe century before.The Mutazi- lites, preachingessentially that God was a Perfect Being took no attributesother than his unity into account.This conviction led the believersto deny the eternity of God's lvord; thus,for them,the text of the Koran becamea creation of the Divinity. This doctrine,with its appealto reason,is particularly important becausethree caliphs imposed it officially upon the people in a particularly unpleasant way. The religious spirit, moreover,was to be undermined by lahiz and, even more violently, by Razi. It was during this time that the doctor of laws, Ash'ari, sprang up from the Mutazilite ranks. He dominatedand definitively unified all the future beliefsof Islam. He is mentionednow becausehe lived during this period,but his influencewill be seenin the discussionof the Seljuk period when his ideas had official approval. During the two hundredyears after ^,D.75o,theintellectual ferment did not lessenfor a single moment. Even limited to the namesof thosescholars, writers, and poetswho abso- lutely should be known, the list is an impressiveone. Even beforethe founding of Baghdad,whose well-earned fatne grew for at leastfour centuries,the caliph Mansur sul- lied his own reputationby having Ibn Muqaffa', the creator of secularArabic prose,put to deathfor what were probably political reasons.The writer was only thirty-six years old when he wasexecuted in 757.The caliph thus did away with the reputed translator of the Fables of Bidpai, known today under the title of.Kalila and Dimna.It is a masterpieceof Arabic prose,whose literary qualitieshave never been denied by Arab writers. Mamun was the caliph who was largely responsiblefor cultural expansion.An Arab historian statesthe following: 66 THE GOLDEN AGE

"He lookedfor knowledgewhere it was evident,and thanks to the breadth of his conceptionsand the power of his intel- ligence,he drew it from placeswhere it was hidden. He en- tered into relationswith the emperorsof Byzantium, gave them rich gifts, and askedthem to give him booksof philoso- phy which they had in their possession.These emperors senthim thoseworks of Plato,Aristotle, Hippocrates, Galen, Euclid, and Ptolemy which they had. Mamun then chose the most experiencedtranslators and commissionedthem to translatethese works to the bestof their ability. After the translatingwas done asperfectly as possible, the caliph urged his subjectsto read the translationsand encouragedthem to study them. Consequently,the scientific movement be- camestronger under this prince'sreign. Scholarsheld high rank, and the caliph surroundedhimself with learnedmen, legal experts,traditionalists, rationalist theologians,lexicog- raphers, annalists,rnetricians, and genealogists.He then ordered instrumentsto be manufactured." Astronomical observationwas begun in Baghdad in an observatoryin the Shammasiyasection, on the left bank of the , eastof Rusafa.The stafl set to work measuring the ecliptic angle and fixing the position of the stars.In addition, the caliph ordered that two terrestrial degreesbe calculatedin order to determinethe length of the solaryear. (This work was not to be taken up again for sevencen- turies.) The engineerIbrahim Fazari, who helped plan the founding of Baghdad,was the first in the Arab world to make astrolabes.(The BibliothbqueNationale in Paris has perhapsthe oldestinstrument of this type, one dating from the year 9o5.It was probably made in Baghdad,since it has on it the name of an heir apparentto the caliphate,a son of the caliphMuktafi.) Peopleof the West shouldpublicly expresstheir gratitude 67 BAGHDAD to the scholarsof the Abbasidperiod, who were known and appreciatedin Europe during the Middle Ages.There were the astronomer al-Khwarizmi (85o), from whose name comes the word "algorithm"; Farghani, whom we call Alfraganus(about 85o) ; the physicianYahya ibn Masawayh, calledMesua in the West; the astronomerAbu Ma'shar,the Albumasar of the Europeans (about 996). The caliph Mamun was responsiblefor the translationof Greek works into Arabic. He founded in Baghdad the Academv of Wisdom. which took over from the Persian universiiy of Jundaisapurand soon becamean active sci- entific center.The Academy'slarge library was enrichedby the translationsthat had been undertaken.Scholars of all racesand religions were invited to work there. They were concernedwith preservinga universalheritage, which was not specificallyMoslem and was Arabic only in language. The sovereignhad the best qualified specialistsof the time colne to the capitalfrom all parts of his . There was no lack of talentedmen. The rush toward Baghdad\.vas as impressiveas the horsemen'ssweep through entire lands during the Arab conquest.The intellectualsof Baghdad eagerlyset to lvork to discoverthe thoughtsof antiquity. Harun al-Rashid,Mamun's father, was particularly inter- estedin the physiciansbrought to his capital.The physicians rvho had becomejustly famous under the firsc caliphs of tsaghdadhad been studentsat the Persian school of fun- daisapur.The first representativeof the famous Bakhtyashu family came from this school,too. The family furnished physiciansto the Abbasidcourt for more than z5oyears. The biographyof one of them indicatesthat the examinationof urine was a common practice. The Nestorian Christian, Yahya ibn Masawayh, wrote malry works on fevers,hygiene, and dietetics.His was the 68 THE GOLDEN AGE first treatiseon ophthalmology,but he was soon surpassed in this field by his famous pupil, Hunain ibn Ishaq. Their booksare of specialvalue sincethere is no Greek treatiseon the subject. Particular mention should be made of the man to whom Arab scienceowes so much, the man who could be called the father of Arab medicine,Hunain ibn Ishaq,also a Chris- tian.In medievalLatin translationshe was known as Johan- nitius. For him the caliph Mutawakkil restoredthe transla- tion bureau, which had been originally establishedby Mamun. Not only did Hunain work at translations,but he directeda team of scholars.His enthusiasmwas responsible for great progress.FIe can be credited with having gready increasedthe scientificknowledge of the Arabs. By inventing medicaland philosophicalterms, he waslargely instrumental in forming a scientificlanguage. Thanks to him and his col- laborators,Arab writers formed the cultural avant-gardefor a centuryor two. In the field of morals,this schoolwas the first to translatethe Hippocratic Oath. Razi, the physicianof genius known in medievalEurope asRhazes, profited greatlyfrom theseworks. His own medi- cal work was extensive.This fine clinician, who had uni- versalinterests, had his differenceswith the Moslem religion becausehe was opposedto all dogmatism.For this reason extremelyviolent diatribeswere directedagainst him. The way in which the caliph Mamun kindled the enthu- siasmof othersis admirable.Three brothers,the sonsof Musa ibn Shakir, sought to distinguish themselvesby giving fab- ulous sums of money to collect manuscriptsand to bring translatorstogether. The Banu Musa were themselvesschol- ars who made advancesin mathematicsand astronomy. Kindi, who was to be known to posterityby the honorary title "philosopherof the Arabs," lived in Baghdad in this 69 BAGHDAI) richly intellectualmilieu. Becauseof his Mutazilite convic- tions,he attainedthe threefoldposition of translator,teacher, and astrologer.With him, "Arab intelligence rises to the level of philosophy."Of the role he played,it is enough to saythat he was the creatorof a doctrinethat was to flourish in Arab philosophy, the idea of conciliation between the positionsof Aristotle and Plato. Kindi's successor,Farabi, who lived in later yearsat the court of the Hamdanid princes in Aleppo, had his early training in Baghdad. Without detracting from Kindi's merit, a pre-eminentplace must be given to Farabi, who, with his more scientificmind, was the true creatorof Arab peripateticism.This "second master," after Aristotle, con- tinued along Kindi's path, too, in affirming the similarity of Aristotle'sand Plato'sviews. In addition, he adoptedthe platonic theory of emanation.His Model City is an adapta- tion from Greek philosophyin which he describeshis con- ception of the perfect city. This scholar,who was also an excellent music theorist, contributed to the evolution of philosophicallanguage. This master of logic also createda harmonioussystem that was a credit to his merit, his rigor, and his knowledge. In the meantime,the industry rvasborn. After the battle of in the Ili Valley at the end of the Umayyad period, a Chinese prisoner of war had been broughr to .There he began a paper industry using linen and hemp, imitating what he had seenin his own country. In 7gS,mention is made of the creationof the firsr paper factory in Baghdad.For a long time Samarkandremained the centerof the industry,but, in addition to Baghdad,paper rn'asmanufactured in Damascus,Tiberias, Tripoli in Syria, , the , and . The city of ]ativa in Spainwas famousfor its thick, glazedpaper. THE GOLDEN AGE

After the appearanceof paper,the number of manuscripts multiplied from one end of the Moslem empire to the other. This prosperousperiod for the publishing and selling of books was essentialfor cultural development.Paper was, therefore,of prime importancein the ninth century. From then on the book businesswas establishedin the Orient. However, we do not know whetherthe publishingwas done by the author, a specializedmerchant, or both at the same time. Well-stockedbookshops were often set up around the main mosque.Scholars and writers met in them, and copy- ists were hired there.In addition to the public librariesopen to everyone,Jean Sauvaget, quoting an Arab source,spoke of "reading rooms where anyone,after paying a fee, could consultthe work of his choice." Readers squabbled over works copied by well-known calligraphers,whose names were scrupulouslyrecorded in the chronicles.The main librarieshad their official copyists and their appointedbinders. Wealthy writers had teamsof such people. As is well known from monuments and manuscripts, calligraphywas an important art in Moslem countries.The most famousof the calligraphersof the time was Ibn Muqla, who was unfortunate enough to have been the vizier of three caliphs,an honor that earned him the cruel punish- ment of having his right hand amputated.It is said that he attacheda reed pen to his arm and wrote so well that there was no differencebetween the way he wrote beforeand after helost his hand. Baghdad had become an intellectual metropolis, an achievementwhich was to overshadowthe efforts made by its two rival cities, and .The work of the en- thusiastictranslators was only the beginning; there was a very intimate rapport betweenthe Arab writers and Greek 7r BAGHDAD thought, and the attempted assimilationwas often quite successful. A little later, therealso developed in Baghdadthe famous quarrel betweenthe partisansof culture stemmingfrom the text of the Koran and the pre-Islampoets and their adver- saries,the writers of Persianorigin who controlled the ad- ministration of the caliphate.The writers' leader,Sahl ibn Harun, was director of the Academy of Wisdom, which played a considerablerole in literature. The discussions, rvhich were very violent at times,were favorableto the de- velopmentof Arab literature.The "Arab" part/r if it can be called that, defendeditself stubbornlyand glorified as well as it could its religious position which made of the Koran a revelationin the Arabic language.It also exaltedits an- cient poems,which were not really under attack.Both sides carried on the entire campaignin Arabic. Thus adversaries and partisansof Arab intellectual life agreedin honoring Arabic. In two of his letters,Ibn Muqaffa' freely usedthe Arabic word adab, a term which needssome explanationsince it coversa wide variety of ideas,such as to conform to the dictatesof a strict religiousspirit, to adhereto the customsof polite society.The term is somewhatsimilar to the ancient arete,with the omissionof military courage.There are the same elementsof practical morals, the feeling for justice, strength of soul, and piety. Good manners and courtesy becamealmost a technique and were, together with pure rnorality, the basisof Moslem education.But under the in- fluenceof the desirefor cultural attainment, the term ac- quired a figurative senservhich necessarilyincluded the knowledgeof Arab philosophy,of poetryand ancientstories, and of stylisticelegance. Under the Abbasids.there was also the social advance- THE GOLDEN AGE ment of administrativesecretaries, which enabledthem to succeedthe poets of an earlier period, who had been the only onesto earntheir living in the field of letters.Thereafter the scholars,mathematicians, astronomers, astrologers, and translatorsof the works of Greek antiquity were supported by the first caliphs of Baghdad. The political history of this period is rather bleak. If only the successionof eventswere to be taken into consideration, we would havea falseview of the cultural civilization under theAbbasids. Moreover,the Iranization of the empire had an influence on the way of thinking, feeling, and writing. The discovery of Sassanianantiquity and Hellenic thought at the sametime added fresh impetus.In the field of literature, there was a somewhat co-ordinatedIranophile movement called shu- 'ubiya.It consistedof a reaction,not alwayscalm or tender, against Arab domination, both political and cultural. The promoter of this anti-Arab oppositionwas Sahl ibn Harun, director of the Academy of Wisdom, but in all fairnessit should be said that even before him there were members of the fabulous Barmekid family who were prominent dur- ing Harun al-Rashid'sreign becauseof their omnipotence and their tragicfate. They realizedthat poetsplayed the same role asmodern journalists.Poets should not, therefore,be led to opposethe regime.These great ministerswere alsofamous for their broad tolerance;that the underlying motive was either coolnesstoward Islam or faithfulnessto Iranian be- liefs doesnot alter the facts.We know, for example,that a number of famous disputants among Islamic theologians, free-thinkers,and doctorsof different sectsmet at the home of the educatedand enlightened Yahya, the grandson of Barmek. Thus, in ninth-century Baghdad a fertile literary center 73 BAGHDAD was formed which lighted the way for Arab letters.Poetry continuedto be cultivatedwith the samecare. The poetsof the Abbasid period were worthy of their grear ancesrorsof pre-Islamictimes and of the Umayyad courr. A list of the poetsof geniuswould include:Bashshar ibn Burd, who died in 783,the standard-bearerof the shu' ubiya and an eroric poet of great talent and robustnesswhose capabilitieswere rather disturbing from a religiouspoint of view; Muti' ibn Iyas, who died in 787,as famous for his debaucheryas for his blasphemy,as skillful in praising as in attacking; Saiyid Himyari, who died in 789,a more or lesssincere panegyrist, rvho sought protection in the traditional way, who is par- ticularly praisedby the criticsfor his simplicity of style,and, as far as we are concerned,who escapedbanality by his Shi'ite convictions,by the variety of his poeticthemes, and by his artisticqualities; Abbas ibn Ahnaf, who died in 8o8, who speaksof the "power of lover" always expressedhis thoughts delicately and thus stands in opposition to the licentiouspoets who surrounded him, which explains his successin Spain; Abu Nuwas, who died in 8r3, the singer of the joy of living, the greatestBacchic poet in the Arabic language,a sensual,debauched devil who becamea hermit toward the end of his life and left a number of religious Poems. Muti' ibn Iyas and Abu Nuwas, two great lyric poets,had a pronouncedtaste for scandaland blasphemy.It would be an exaggerationto claim that they representedfairly accu- rately a certain aspectof Baghdad society.Yet, the smutty talesof the Booft of Songsprove that the upper bourgeoisie was hardly overcome with moral scruples.Drunkenness was common,it seems,and perhapseven more violent thrills were sought.These poems,however, should be taken into

74 THE GOLDEN AGE accountas a reflectionof a part of societywhich was hungry for pleasure. Our honorslist alsoincludes Muslim ibn Walid, who died in 823,author of love poemsand drinking sorlgs;Abu Tam- mam (843) and (SqZ),famous {or their original odesand their anthologiesof poetryi Dibil (g6o), who lived in peril becausehe associatedwith robbersand wrote satires in truculenc and unpolished language; Ibn Rumi (8g6), whoseverses include philosophicalideas and a closelook at reality and whose satiresare fine and cruel without being vulgar; Ibn Mu'tazz (9o8), who was caliph for one day and paid for it with his life, who, as a poet of transition,painted the societyaround him, describingthe caliph's palacesin a rather delicatestyle, and who, in a moving poem, gave a glimpseof the future decadenceof the caliphate;Ibn Dawud (9to), leaderof the schoolof courtly love and early ancestor of our troubadoursland, aboveall, the peerlessAbul-Atahiya (Br5), the earliestArab philosopher-poet,who wrote of suf- fering in versesthat proclaim the vanity of the joys of this world. The anthologiesof thesepoets were compiled perhapsto combat the Iranian spirit of the shu'ubiyain an artempt to conservethe masterpiecesof the pre-Islamicperiod. Songsand music are perhapsmore important in Baghdad than in other regionsof the Moslem world. There are great names in the field of theory, Farabi for example, and in composition,the Mausilis,father and son, and Ibrahim ibn Mahdi, the ephemeralcaliph. During the reigns of several Abbasid caliphs,the Mausilis delighted the court of Bagh- dad. Ibrahim (8o4) had been the favorite of the caliphs Mahdi, Hadi, and Harun al-Rashid; he was the hero of some rather racy adventures.He led his musicianswith a BAGHDAD

baton and was perhapsthe first orchestraconductor. The great historianIbn Khaldun wrote, "The beautiful concerts given at Baghdadhave left mernoriesthat still last." Severalpoets gave accountsof the lives of the gay blades and the tough characterswho frequentedthe cabaretsof the capital.One small work, by Washsha,contains a sketchof the worldly manners and customsof the refined classof Baghdadand is a veritablemanual of the life of the dandies of the period.It alsogives minute detailson dress,furniture, gold and silver utensils,cushions, and curtains, with their appropriateinscriptions. Another writer, Azdi, who is reminiscentof Villon, de- scribesthe societyof debauchedparty-goers. His poemsare difficult to translatebecause of their truculence,their strong language,and their defianceof decentmorals. We shouldnot be too surprisedat the contrastbetween the studiousworld of the translatorand the medical specialists and that of the writers of licentiouspoetry who sang,with some talent, of pleasureand debaucheryand bragged of overtly displayedcorruption. The Abbasid golden age gave rise to a capableand im- posinggroup of translators,who tried successfullyto regain the heritageof antiquity. Men of letters took advantageof this substantialcontribution. They entered into passionate and fruitful discussions,which were dominated by the astonishingpersonality of lahiz (d.868).He is probably the greatestmaster of prose in all Arab literature. FIe was a prolific writer with a vast field of interest.In addition, his Mutazilite convictionsmade him a literaryleader. In order to describereality, he broke with a tradition which was bound to the past.He laid the foundationsof a humanism which was almost exclusivelyArab and hostile to Persian

?6 THE GOLDEN AGE interferenceat the beginning,and which took on more and more Greek colorationlater on. His love of knowledge and his greatintellectual honesty are evidenton everypage of his works. ]ahiz is outstandingbecause of his exceptionalgenius, his qualitiesof originality, and his art in handling an often cruel and sometimesdisillusioned irony, in which he was more successfulthan any writer before him. Jahiz pushed sarcasmto the point of mocking irreverencetoward Divinity, more in the styleof Lucian than of Voltaire. It is due to the tremendoustalent of this prodigiousartist that Arabic prose becamemore important than poetry. Another great writer, Ibn Qutaiba, ranks high, immedi- ately after Jahiz, whom he survived by about twenty years (d.889). He too had an intellectuallycurious mind which made him a grammarian, a philologist, a lexicographer,a literary critic, a historian, and an essayist.In literature, he is an advocateof conciliation,through conviction and not lassitude,and a partisan of the golden mean. FJ.isBooft of Poetry,which showshim to be a creatorof the art of poetrlr containsjudgments of great value. is worthv of mention becauseof the role re- cently attributed to him by an Arab critic as creatorof the Maqanta,of the Seance,which will be discussedlater. This philologist is one of the last contestantsin a battle which, during his lifetime, interestedvery few men of letters,the battleagainst Iranophilia. Mas'udi must certainly not be neglected,not only because he was born in Baghdadbut becausethis tirelesstraveier has left us a most interesting account of the history of the Abbasidcaliphate. The lvriter of memoirs, Suli, is of interest becausehe speaksof eventsof which he was a sad and, at times, in- BAGHDAD

dignant witness.His contemporary,Mas'udi, says,"He re- ports detailswhich haveescaped others and things which he alonecould have known." The dateof Tanukhi's death (994) placeshim in the Buyid period, as doeshis style,but in one of his works he speaks especiallyof the upheavalduring Muqtadir's reign.Although it was meant to entertain,this book, written in a lively style, containsa good deal of solid judgment. Another short work consistsof a seriesof amusing,merry storieswhich, if taken too seriously,might give a disturbing pictureof the Baghdad bourgeoisie.It is dangerousto generalize,since the book is probably about a circle of party-goersand unscrupulous revelers.In short, reading Tanukhi is quite amusing. It is impossibleto mention all the prosewriters who added to the glory of the ninth century in the Arabic language. Those who spent severalyears in Baghdad profited from the extraordinarily feverish atmosphereof the place. We must not omit Ya'qubi, the geographer,who left us exciting pageson the founding of Baghdad,and Ibn Hauqal who usedBaghdad as the point of departurefor his voyages. Tlie object of this r6sum6is to show the splendorof the literary milieu of the time. Profiting from circumstances rvhich revealedthe secretsof Hellenism to them, the writers becamethe "keepersof Greek wisdom" and humanistsof a cultural scopeto be envied by future generations. The cultured residentsof Baghdad liked their pleasure. They gatheredsecretly in cabarets,and someof them met in Clrristianmonasteries on the outskirtsof the city. The Booft of Conuentsby Shabushtiis really a descriptionof the city's taverns.Wine was certainly drunk in these places.The Bacchicpoets of the time were there to testify to that. Snow sherbetswere eaten.Concerts were given in rooms cooled by punftahs.Abu Nuwas exclaims,"In how many taverns 78 THE GOLDEN AGE did I land during the night cloakedin pitchJikeblacknesst The cabaretowner kept on servingme asI kept on drinking with a beautiful white girl closeto us." Gambling houses were alsopopular. Chess,especially, was highly favored and backgammonwas secondin popularity. It is probablethat the shadow-theaterwas a form of entertainmentalso. The privileged at the caliph'scourt were probablyinvited to play polo or go hunting. Horse racing for the aristocratic public and cock-fights and ram-fights for a lower level of societywere common pastimes. Popular entertainmentwas ofiered in public places.First there were the preachers,who not only deliveredhomilies. Perhapsthey also told stories,such as the oneswhich were theorigin of.The Thousandand One Nights.Mas'udi writes, "In Baghdad,there was a streetstoryteller who amusedthe crowd with all sortsof talesand funny stories.FIis name was Ibn Maghazili. He was very amusingand could not be seen or heard without provoking laughter.As he told his stories, he added many jokes which would have made a mourning mother laugh and would haveamused a seriousman." There rverealso street hawkers who offeredextraordinary products to their gaping customers.There was even a man with diseasedeyes who sold passers-bya cure for ophthalmia. We should have liked to gather archaeologicalevidence about the city's past. There would have been a great deal of it; the remainsof Samarracould have suppliedinforma- tion not very long ago.We should haveliked to learn about the quality of an artistic civilization that we know only through commentsin books. Our enthusiasmis somewhat satisfiedby the beautiful descriptivepoems by Buhturi, but it is risky to dependupon poetry to anaJyzea piece of architectureor even to enjoy its decorativeaspects. 79 BAGHDAD

We haveno authenticdocuments from the earlierperiods on the art of the city of Baghdaditself, but we do have sev- eral vague but enthusiasticdescriptions by writers. They speakof porticoesand cupolas;they go on at length about the luxuriously rich furniture in the various palaces,as we have seenin the descriptionof the Byzantine ambassador's reception.Mural paintings are especiallymentioned. At this point it is appropriateto add two quotationsthat containa good dealof information.The first is from the poet Bashsharibn Burd, who was blind. He had ordered a vase frorn a Basra potter and questionedthe artisan about its decoration.The potter answered,"Flying birds." The poet, thinking of the pouncing animal motif which was popular at the time, said, "You should have put a predator above, readyto swoopdown on them." The great artist Abu Nuwas also clearly indicates the tastesof the time. "Wine flows among us in an ornategoblet in which the Persianshad carvedall sortsof figures.Florse- men, at Khosrau'sside, aim at an antelopewith their arrows." Fortunately,the art of Samarramakes up in part for the gaps.This decorationon plasteris bold, marked with holes, and is elegantlywinding with deep, sinuous grooves.The paintingsof the palaceof Samarradisappeared during World War I, and we know them only through the publicationby E. Herzfeld, who brought them to light. Some have re- rnained famous and appearin all the works dealing with Moslem frescoes.There are two women dancerswho ap' proacheach other and pour wine into a goblet.The flowers and the variousanimals recall the classicart of the Hellenic east.But of particular interestis a solemnfigure, draped in a robe decoratedwith a wheel motif, whose shouldersare coveredwith a stripedhood. This could very well represent a monk. If so, it brings to mind the painting with which 8o THE GOLDEN AGE

Mutawakkil, the inveterate drunkard and persecutor of Shi'itesand non-Moslems,had his palacedecorated. It was of an assemblyof monks in a church choir and was a copy of a frescothat he had admired in a monastervin the suburbs of tsaghdad In the third quarter of the tenth century, Mesopotamian painterswere invited to Egypt to paint frescoes.The story is told by Maqrizi, who refers to a History of Painters, which can be placedin the eleventhcentury. The passageis remi- niscentof Mesopotamia.The paintings of lapis lazuli, ver- milion, verdigris, and other colors were coveredover with varnish.We are told that the relief of thesefrescoes was re- markably executedin the style of the Basra painters. Samarrasent for glassmakersand pottersfrom Basra,and for more potters and color mixers from Kufa. A Chinese text insists that Chinese artists taught painting in Akula (the Syriac name for Kufa), in Lower Mesopotamia.The problem, which has not been solved,is an interesting one sinceit concernsa region which later becamefamous for its book decorations. Although we do not know exacrlywhere theseindustries and crafts were locatedin the earlier period, we know that Mesopotamiawas much advancedin weaving and ceramic techniquesand in brick and wood sculpture. Fortunatelyt an Arabic rexr tells of the quality of the ceramicmural tiles that were sent from the Mesopotamian capital,along with other materials,to decoratethe mihrab of the Great Mosque of Qairawan: "These preciousfaience panelswere importedfor a receptionroom thar the Aghlabid emir wanted to build, and also beams of teakwood from which to make lutes. He had the pulpit for the Great Mosquemade of it. The mihrab was brought in the form of marble panelsfrom Iraq. He placedthe faiencetiles on the 8r BAGHDAD faEadeof the mihrab.A man from Baghdadmade tiles which he added to the first ones."And, indeed,Georges Margais, who studied this decorationcarefully, wrote, "Two origins can be distinguished.One, with a more skillful and a richer design using enamel of various colors, consistedof exotic pieces;the other,of simpler,larger decorationsin one color, consistedof locally manufacturedpieces." We find "a very wide decorationcomposed of very simple geometric com- binationsinterlaced with floral forms, as in the linear groove decorationof columns and carvedwood." Many specimensof piecesof ceramicvessels were found in the Samarraexcavations. These too are of yellow and green giazedpottery. When the Arab historiansdescribe the famous Cupola of the Donke/, with its gently rising ramp, they speakalso of the rninaretwith the spiral ramp in the Samarramosque. All the briefly mentioned documentsgive evidenceof a great unity of style, and Baghdad can be credited with a floral decorationwhich, although alreadyconventional, was not yetgeometric. Great admiration should be expressedfor this civilization born in Baghdad.In this center of universal culture were f

8z