The 100 Greatest Muslims (2025): 39: Ziryab, Ninth Century Singer, Musician, Composer, Poet and Teacher

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Ziryab
زرياب
Monument of Ziryab represented as a blackbird in Córdoba, Spain
Personal details
Born	Abu al-Hasan 'Ali Ibn Nafi (Arabic: أبو الحسن علي بن نافع) c. 789 In the area of modern day Iraq, possibly Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate[1]
Died	c. 27 January 857 (aged 67–68) Córdoba, Emirate of Córdoba
Occupation	linguist, geographer, poet, chemist, musician, singer astronomer, gastronomist, etiquette and fashion advisor

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Parallel to the flourishing of music at the eastern centres of Damascus and Baghdad, another important musical centre developed in Spain, first under the survivors of the Umayyad rulers and later under the Berber Almoravids (rulers of North Africa and Spain in the 11th and 12th centuries) and Almohads, who expanded into Spain after the fall of the Almoravids. In Spain, encounter with different cultures stimulated the development of the Andalusian, or Moorish, branch of Islamic music. The most imposing figure in this development is Ziryāb (flourished 9th century), a pupil of Isḥāq al-Mawṣilī, who, because of the jealousy of his teacher, emigrated from Baghdad to Spain. A virtuoso singer and the leading musician at the court of Córdoba, Ziryāb introduced a fifth string to the lute, devised a number of new forms of composition, and developed a variety of new methods of teaching singing in his well-known school of music. Musical activity spread to large towns, and Sevilla (Seville) became a leading centre of musical-instrument manufacture.

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Ziryab – The slave who changed society but still remains anonymous in European History

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Sep 21, 2016 Goran Blazeski

 

"Bayad plays the oud to the lady" Source: Wikipedia/Public Domain

Abul-Hasan Ali Ibn Nafi, nicknamed Ziryab, was Chief Entertainer of the Court of Cordoba in 822AD. He revolutionized medieval music, lifestyle, fashion, hairstyles, furniture and even tableware. He transformed the way people ate, socialized, and relaxed.

Born 789 AD, Ziryab was a significant personality in Islamic culture but remains anonymous in European history in spite of his single-handedness in laying down the groundwork for traditional Spanish music. He was a highly educated North African slave.

He left Baghdad during the reign of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma’mun (d. 833) and moved to Córdoba in southern Iberian Peninsula, where he was accepted as a court musician in the court of Abd ar-Rahman II of the Umayyad Dynasty (822-52).

The province of al-Andalus just after the Islamic conquest, 720. Source: Photo Credit

He was nicknamed Ziryab, probably from a name of a black singing bird in Arabic, a gold hunter or gold digger in Persian, and is also known as Pajaro Negro, meaning blackbird in Spanish.

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Zaryab settled in Cordoba in 822 at the court of the then Caliph Abd-Al-Rahman II. His arrival coincided with a new impetus given by Abd-Al-Rahman II to cultural life, leading Andalusia to one of its major flowering periods. In Cordoba, Ziryab found prosperity, recognition of his art and unprecedented fame. He became the court entertainer, with a monthly salary of 200 golden Dinars in addition to many privileges. This promotion gave him a great opportunity to let his talent and creative spirit break free from any boundaries. He not only revolutionized music, but also made significant improvements to lifestyle and fashion.

In music, he was the first to introduce the lute (Al-U’d) that later became the Spanish guitar. He is credited, with Al-Kindi, with the addition of the fifth bass string to it and substituted the wooden plectrum for the eagle’s quill.

Oud. Source: Photo Credit

He was the first to come up with the revolutionary idea of the seasonal change of clothing – not just more or fewer layers, but various styles; starting the trend of wearing brightly coloured silk robes for spring, pure white clothing in the summer and fine furs and quilted gowns for winter’s cold. Ziryab also suggested different clothing for mornings, afternoons and evenings.

Ziryab is known to have invented an early toothpaste, which he popularised throughout Islamic Spain. The exact ingredients of this toothpaste are not currently known, but it was reported to have been both “functional and pleasant to taste.” He also introduced under-arm deodorants and “new short hairstyles leaving the neck, ears and eyebrows free”, as well as shaving for men.

Ziryab, a gastronome extraordinaire, revolutionized all this seemingly feeding frenzy by inventing the multi-course meal, beginning dinner with a soup course, then an entrée and ending it with dessert, a custom that rapidly caught on in the Iberian Peninsula then spread to the rest of Europe and is still used all over the world today.

“Bayad plays the oud to the lady”

He concocted many new dishes – his most famous being an asparagus dish. Also, even more importantly, he introduced the drinking glass made from glass or crystal instead of the earthenware, copper, gold, or silver drinking utensils used at the time.

He knew over 10,000 songs by heart and was the finest musician and singer of his day. He introduced the passionate songs, music, and dances of the East into the Iberian Peninsula, which in later centuries, influenced by Gypsy entertainment, evolved into the famed Spanish flamenco.

Ziryab revolutionized the court at Cordoba and made it the stylistic capital of its time. Whether introducing new clothes, styles, foods, hygiene products, or music, Ziryab changed al-Andalusian culture forever. The musical contributions of Ziryab alone are staggering, laying the early groundwork for classic Spanish music. Ziryab transcended music and style and became a revolutionary cultural figure in 8th and 9th century Iberia.

 

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Abu al-Hasan 'Ali Ibn Nafi' (Arabic: أبو الحسن علي ابن نافع, زریاب;^[2] c. 789–c. 857^[3]), commonly known as Ziryab, 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.

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.

Early life

790 CE: Ziryab was most likely born in Baghdad.^[1] According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, he was born around 175 AH/790 into a family of mawali of the caliph al-Mahdi.^[5] His ethnic origin is unclear. Based on his appearance and background, different sources suggest him to be of Persian,^[6][7][8] Kurdish,^[9] Sindi,^[10][11] African, or mixed Arab-African descent.^[12]

Ziryab was trained in the art of music from a young age. During that time, Baghdad was an important center of music in the Muslim world.^[13] The musician Ibrahim al-Mawsili was Ziryab's teacher.^[14]

Career

813 CE: Ziryab left Baghdad during the reign of al-Ma'mun some time after the year 813. He then traveled first to Syria and then Ifriqiya (Tunisia) in Kairouan, where he lived at the Aghlabid court of Ziyadat Allah (ruled 816–837).^[15]

There are conflicting accounts of why Ziryab left the court. He may have had a falling out with Ziyadat Allah by offending him or some powerful figure with his musical talent.^[16] One account recorded by al-Maqqari says that Ziryab inspired the jealousy of his mentor by giving an impressive performance for the caliph Harun al-Rashid (d. 809), with the result that al-Mawsili told him to leave the city.^[17][18] Earlier, more reliable sources indicate that he outlived both Harun and his son al-Amin and left after al-Amin's death in 813.^[19]

822 CE: He was invited to Al-Andalus by the Umayyad prince, Al-Hakam I (ruled 796–822). He found on arrival in Al-Andalus that prince Al-Hakam I had died, but his son, Abd ar-Rahman II, renewed his father's invitation.^[19] He was an intimate companion of the prince. Abd al-Rahman II was a great patron of the arts and Ziryab was given a great deal of freedom. Ziryab settled in Córdoba in what is now Spain with a monthly salary of 200 gold Dinars.^[18]

Reputation

Ziryab's career flourished in Al-Andalus. According to Ibn Hayyan, 'Ali Ibn Nafi' was called Blackbird because of his dark complexion, the clarity of his voice, and "the sweetness of his character."^[1]

As the Islamic armies conquered more and more territories, their musical culture spread with them, as far as western China in the east and Iberia in the west. After their 8th-century conquest of nearly all of Hispania, which they renamed Al-Andalus, the Muslims were a small minority for quite some time. Muslims were greatly outnumbered by the majority Christians and a smaller community of Jews, who had their own styles of music. Muslims and Arabs introduced new styles of music, and the main cities of Iberia soon became well-known centers for music within the Islamic world.^[17] During the 8th and 9th centuries, many musicians and artists from across the Islamic world moved to Iberia. In reputation, Ziryab surpassed them all.^[18] Al-Maqqari states in his Nafh al-Tib^[20] (Fragrant Breeze): "There never was, either before or after him (Ziryab), a man of his profession who was more generally beloved and admired".

In Cordoba, he was celebrated as the court's aficionado of food, fashion, singing, and music. He introduced standards of excellence in all these fields as well as setting new norms for elegant and noble manners.^[18] He established a school of music that trained singers and musicians and which influenced musical performance for at least two generations after him.

He is said to have created a unique and influential style of musical performance, and written songs that were performed in Iberia for generations. He was a great influence on Spanish music, and is considered the founder of the Andalusian music traditions of North Africa.

Ziryab was a "major trendsetter of his time" creating trends in fashion, hairstyles, and hygiene. His students took these trends with them throughout Europe and North Africa.^[21] Ziryab also became the example of how a courtier, a person who attended aristocratic courts, should act. According to Ibn Hayyan, in common with erudite men of his time he was well versed in many areas of classical study such as astronomy, history, and geography.

Descendants

According to the main source, Ibn Hayyan, Ziryab had eight sons and two daughters. Five of the sons and both daughters became musicians of some prominence.^[18] These children kept their father's music school alive, but the female slave singers he trained also were regarded as reliable sources for his repertoire in the following generation.^[19]

Contributions

Music

Ziryab is said to have improved the oud (or Laúd) by adding a fifth pair of strings, and using an eagle's beak or quill instead of a wooden pick. Ziryab also dyed the four strings a color to symbolize the Aristotelian humors, and the fifth string to represent the soul.^[17] Ziryab's Baghdadi musical style became very popular in the court of Abd al-Rahman II.^[16]

According to al-Tifashi, Ziryab appears to have popularized an early song-sequence, which may have been a precursor to the nawba (originally simply a performer's "turn" to perform for the prince), or Nuba, which is known today as the classical Arabic music of North Africa, though the connections are tenuous at best.

He established one of the first schools of music in Córdoba. This school incorporated both male and female students, who were very popular amongst the aristocracy of the time.^[19] According to Ibn Hayyan, Ziryab developed various tests for them. If a student did not have a large vocal capacity, for instance, he would put pieces of wood in their jaw to force them to hold their mouth open. Or he would tie a sash tightly around the waist to make them breathe in a particular way, and he would test incoming students by having them sing as loudly and as long a note as they possibly could to see whether they had lung capacity.

Fashion and hygiene

Ziryab started a vogue by changing clothes according to the weather and season.^[18] He suggested different clothing for mornings, afternoons and evenings. Henri Terrasse, a French historian of North Africa, commented that legend attributes winter and summer clothing styles and "the luxurious dress of the Orient" found in Morocco today to Ziryab, but argues that "Without a doubt, a lone man could not achieve this transformation. It is rather a development which shook the Muslim world in general..."^[22]

He created a deodorant to get rid of bad odors,^[18] promoted morning and evening baths, and emphasized the maintenance of personal hygiene. Ziryab is thought to have invented an early toothpaste, which he popularized throughout Islamic Iberia. The exact ingredients of this toothpaste are unknown, but it was reported to have been both "functional and pleasant to taste".^[23]

According to Al-Maqqari, before the arrival of Ziryab, men and women of al-Andalus in the Cordoban court wore their long hair parted in the middle and hung down loose down to the shoulders. Ziryab had his hair cut with bangs down to his eyebrows and straight across his forehead, "new short hairstyles leaving the neck, ears and eyebrows free,".^[17] He popularized shaving the face among men and set new haircut trends. Royalty used to wash their hair with rose water, but Ziryab introduced the use of salt and fragrant oils to improve the hair's condition.^[24] He is alleged by some^[24] to have opened beauty parlors for women of the Cordoban elite. However, this is not supported by the early sources.

Cuisine

Ziryab "revolutionized the local cuisine" by introducing new fruits and vegetables such as asparagus. He insisted that meals should be served on leathern tablecloths in three separate courses consisting of soup, the main course, and dessert.^[25] Prior to his time, food was served plainly on platters on bare tables, as was the case with the Romans.

He also introduced the use of crystal as a container for drinks, which was more effective than metal. This claim is supported by accounts of him cutting large crystal goblets.^[17] He is also said to have popularized wine drinking.^[26]

Notes

1.  Robert W. Lebling Jr (July–August 2003). "Flight of the Blackbird" (PDF). Saudi Aramco World. 54 (4). Illustrated by Norman MacDonald: 24–33.
2.  The different aspects of islamic culture: The Spread of Islam throughout the World. UNESCO Publishing. 2011. p. 437. ISBN 9789231041532.
3.  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.
5.  H.G., Farmer; E., Neubauer. ZIRYĀB. Brill. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_sim_8172.
6.  O'Callaghan, Joseph F. (15 April 2013). A History of Medieval Spain. Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801468711. The most influential courtier was the musician Ziryab, a Persian, who had held high position in the court at Baghdad
7.  Monroe, James T. (30 January 2004). Hispano-Arabic poetry: a student anthology. Gorgias Press LLC. Modernism had been brought from the court of Harun ar-Rashid by Ziryab, the Persian singer who became an arbiter ...
8.  Scheindlin, R. P.; Barletta, V. (24 August 2017). "Al-Andalus, Poetry of". In Greene, Roland (ed.). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics (4 ed.). Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691154916. (...) in the career of Abū al-Ḥassan ʿAlī ibn Nafayni (known as Ziryāb), a 9th-c. ce Iranian polymath who, arriving in Córdoba, used the prestige of his origins to set the court fashions in poetry, music, and manners in accordance with those of Baghdad.
9.  Gill, John (2008). Andalucia A Cultural History. Oxford University Press. p. 81. ISBN 9780199704514.
10.  Zuhur, Sherifa (2001). Colors of Enchantment: Theater, Dance, Music, and the Visual Arts of the Middle East. American University in Cairo Press. p. 324. ISBN 978-977-424-607-4.
11.  Yusuf, Zohra (1988). Rhythms of the Lower Indus: Perspectives on the Music of Sindh. Department of Culture and Tourism, Government of Sindh. pp. 31–32 – via University of Michigan.
12.  Gioia, Ted (2015). Love Songs: The Hidden History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-935757-4.
13.  Deboick, Sophia (7 March 2021). "Baghdad - music's fertile territory". The New European. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
14.  Neubauer, Eckhard (2001b). "Ziryāb". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.31002. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription, Wikilibrary access, or UK public library membership required)
15.  Epstein, Joel (2019). The Language of the Heart. KDP. pp. 234–237. ISBN 978-1070100906.
16.  Constable, Olivia Remie, ed. (1997), Medieval Iberia, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press
17.  Salma Khadra Jayyusi and Manuela Marin (1994), The Legacy of Muslim Spain, p. 117, Brill Publishers, ISBN 90-04-09599-3
18.  Menocal, María Rosa; Raymond P. Scheindlin; Michael Anthony Sells, eds. (2000), The Literature of Al-Andalus, Cambridge University Press
19.  Davila, Carl (2009), Fixing a Misbegotten Biography: Ziryab in the Mediterranean World, vol. 21, Al-Masaq: Islam in the Medieval Mediterranean
20.  texte, Ahmad ibn Mohammad al-Makkari al-Maliki al-Maghribi al-Ashʿari Auteur du (1765–1766). Kitab nafh al-tib min ghousn al-Andalous al-ratib wa dzikr waziriha Lisan al-Din ibn al-Khatib, histoire politique et littéraire de l'Espagne, par Ahmad ibn Mohammad al-Makkari al-Maliki al-Maghribi al-Ashʿari, dont la première partie traite de la géographie et de l'histoire de l'Espagne, et la seconde, de la biographie du vizir Lisan al-Din ibn al-Khatib.
21.  1001 inventions & awesome facts from Muslim civilization. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic. 2012. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-4263-1258-8.
22.  Terrasse, H. (1958) 'Islam d'Espagne' une rencontre de l'Orient et de l'Occident", Librairie Plon, Paris, pp. 52–53.
23.  Robert W., Lebling Jr. "Flight of the Blackbird". Saudi Aramco World.
24.  Lebling Jr., Robert W. (July–August 2003), "Flight of the Blackbird", Saudi Aramco World: 24–33, retrieved 28 January 2008
25.  Susanne Utzt, Sahar Eslah, Martin Carazo Mendez, Christian Twente (30 October 2016). Große Völker 2: Die Araber [Great peoples 2: The Arabs] (Video documentary) (in German). Germany: Terra X via ZDF. Event occurs at 24:05 min. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
26.  Gerli, Michael (2003). Medieval Iberia: an encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 850.

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