# al-Buhturi
**al-Buhturi** (البحتري), in full Abu Ubada al-Walid ibn Ubayd, was an Arab poet of the Abbasid caliphate, born at [Manbij](https://www.edgepedia.org/manbij) in northern Syria and died there in 897, who served as court panegyrist to six Abbasid caliphs from al-Mutawakkil to al-Mu'tamid (r. 870–892).[1](https://arab-ency.com.sy/details/4233) • [2](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Buhtur%C4%AB) • [3](https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/jais/volume/docs/vol6/v6_1_MahdyAli.htm) He is counted among the leading poets of the Abbasid era, and, according to *Singing Samarra* (861–956): Poetry and the Burgeoning of Historiography upon the [Murder of al-Mutawakkil](https://www.edgepedia.org/murder-of-al-mutawakkil), his elegy for the murdered caliph al-Mutawakkil helped shape how that regicide was remembered.[1](https://arab-ency.com.sy/details/4233) • [3](https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/jais/volume/docs/vol6/v6_1_MahdyAli.htm)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Abu Ubada al-Walid ibn Ubayd, known by an ancestor named Buhtur[1](https://arab-ency.com.sy/details/4233) |
| Dates | Died 897[2](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Buhtur%C4%AB) • [3](https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/jais/volume/docs/vol6/v6_1_MahdyAli.htm) |
| Origin | Manbij, between Aleppo and the Euphrates; tribe of Tayyi[2](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Buhtur%C4%AB) |
| Caliphs praised | al-Mutawakkil, al-Muntasir, al-Musta'in, al-Mu'tazz, al-Muhtadi, al-Mu'tamid[4](https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2034225) • [3](https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/jais/volume/docs/vol6/v6_1_MahdyAli.htm) |
| Principal works | The al-Hamasa anthology[5](https://kon.lisanarb.com/2023/11/pdf_39.html) • [6](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/buhturi) |
| Famous patron | The vizier Fath ibn Khaqan, who presented him to al-Mutawakkil in AH 234 (848)[4](https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2034225) • [6](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/buhturi) |
| Best-known ode | The Iwan Kisra ode, on the Sasanian ruins at Ctesiphon[7](https://www.academia.edu/188129/Reinterpreting_al_Buhturi_s_Iwan_Kisra_Ode_Tears_of_Affection_for_the_Cycles_of_History) • [8](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-of-the-school-of-oriental-and-african-studies/article/abs/crossing-enemy-boundaries-albuhturis-ode-on-the-ruins-of-ctesiphon-reread-in-the-light-of-virgil-and-wilfred-owen/70EB1FE69A8AE9FDF7669347EA4C5968) |
## Origins and family
Al-Buhturi descended from an ancestor named Buhtur and belonged to the tribe of Tayyi.[1](https://arab-ency.com.sy/details/4233) His birthplace was Manbij, though one encyclopedia records that some biographers place it in a nearby village called Khurdfunna.[9](https://lib.eshia.ir/23019/1/523)
As a young man he stayed at Homs and presented his poetry to the poet [Abu Tammam](https://www.edgepedia.org/abu-tammam), who recognized his talent and became his mentor; Abu Tammam also commended him to the authorities at Maarrat al-Nu'man, who granted him a pension of 4,000 dirhams (about £90) a year.[2](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Buhtur%C4%AB)
## Career
He attached himself to the caliph al-Mutawakkil, praising him and staying with him as his court poet.[1](https://arab-ency.com.sy/details/4233) • [12](https://doi.org/10.21608/bfalex.2018.154617) The decisive introduction came through the vizier Fath ibn Khaqan, to whom al-Buhturi dedicated his anthology al-Hamasa;[6](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/buhturi) Fath presented him to the caliph in AH 234 (848), and the poet entered the court.[4](https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2034225)
In the winter of 861 al-Mutawakkil was assassinated by his Turkic guards in a plot that implicated his heir apparent al-Muntasir.[4](https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2034225) • [7](https://www.academia.edu/188129/Reinterpreting_al_Buhturi_s_Iwan_Kisra_Ode_Tears_of_Affection_for_the_Cycles_of_History) Al-Buhturi, who was present, lamented al-Mutawakkil and Fath ibn Khaqan in his famous elegiac qasida (classical Arabic ode form with set structure).[1](https://arab-ency.com.sy/details/4233) According to al-Masudi, quoting the poet himself, al-Buhturi was accused of complicity in the murders and withdrew to Manbij in AH 247 (861–862), returning to Baghdad after composing a panegyric for al-Muntasir.[9](https://lib.eshia.ir/23019/1/523)
He praised al-Mutawakkil, al-Muntasir, al-Musta'in (d. 866), al-Mu'tazz (d. 869), al-Muhtadi (d. 870), and al-Mu'tamid (d. 892).[4](https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2034225) • [3](https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/jais/volume/docs/vol6/v6_1_MahdyAli.htm) According to a DergiPark article on al-Buhturi's panegyric career, under al-Mu'tazz he regained the wealth and standing he had enjoyed under al-Mutawakkil; his connections extended beyond caliphs and viziers to governors, princes, army commanders, heads of the chancery, and heads of the estates diwan.[1](https://arab-ency.com.sy/details/4233) His patronage network included the viziers al-Hasan ibn Makhlad, Ibrahim ibn al-Mudabbir (d. 893), and Isma'il ibn Bulbul al-Shaybani.[4](https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2034225) In love poetry he often mentioned Alwa, a singer of Aleppo.[2](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Buhtur%C4%AB) • [10](https://quran-uni.com/quran_sciences_author/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%8A/)
Afterward he left Iraq and for a time was court poet to [Khumarawayh](https://www.edgepedia.org/khumarawayh) ibn Tulun, the Tulunid ruler of Egypt and Syria (d. 896).[9](https://lib.eshia.ir/23019/1/523) • [4](https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2034225) One reference work dates his return to Manbij to 892.[6](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/buhturi)
## Political influence
Al-Buhturi's influence lay in shaping how the Abbasid dynasty was seen after the catastrophe of 861. In the years following al-Mutawakkil's murder, at least three caliphs suffered overthrows or violent deaths, and al-Buhturi used his stature as a poet to build and maintain the public image of the Abbasids as sacred and generous rulers, answering the political claims of the Alids.[3](https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/jais/volume/docs/vol6/v6_1_MahdyAli.htm) His verse was recited in the literary salons that served as a social institution for transmitting political memory to later generations, and modern scholarship credits him with turning the Samarran era into a myth of nostalgia within the classical qasida.[3](https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/jais/volume/docs/vol6/v6_1_MahdyAli.htm) Even al-Muhtadi, known for his dislike of poets, called him "the orator of our family and the poet of our dynasty."[3](https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/jais/volume/docs/vol6/v6_1_MahdyAli.htm) His diwan is considered a valuable historical source for the period, recording full names of figures, descriptions of buildings, and events the chroniclers passed over.[9](https://lib.eshia.ir/23019/1/523)
## Death and successors
Al-Buhturi remained closely attached to Manbij, visited it constantly, and died there after a long illness.[1](https://arab-ency.com.sy/details/4233) • [9](https://lib.eshia.ir/23019/1/523) His death year is given as 897 by several references[2](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Buhtur%C4%AB) • [3](https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/jais/volume/docs/vol6/v6_1_MahdyAli.htm) and as AH 284 (897–898) by the Arab Encyclopedia[1](https://arab-ency.com.sy/details/4233); one biographical article adds that he was buried at al-Bab rather than Manbij.[10](https://quran-uni.com/quran_sciences_author/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%8A/) His diwan, left unarranged at his death, was collected and edited twice in the 10th century: [Abu Bakr](https://www.edgepedia.org/abu-bakr) al-Suli arranged it alphabetically, and Ali ibn Hamza al-Isfahani arranged it by genre, including panegyric, elegy, invective, description, and love poetry.[1](https://arab-ency.com.sy/details/4233) • [2](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Buhtur%C4%AB)
## Historians' assessment
Classical critics weighed al-Buhturi against his master Abu Tammam in two dedicated books: al-Suli's Akhbar Abi Tammam, which favored Abu Tammam, and al-Amedi's al-Muwazana bayna Abi Tammam wa-l-Buhturi, which favored al-Buhturi.[9](https://lib.eshia.ir/23019/1/523) His panegyrics form the majority of his diwan and include detailed descriptions of the palaces his patrons built.[11](https://tezara.org/theses/930775) His al-Hamasa is an anthology drawing on 600 poets from the Jahiliyya to his own time, in 1,454 pieces arranged in 174 chapters.[6](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/buhturi)
## Legacy
The Iwan Kisra ode, composed at the ruins of the Sasanian palace at [Ctesiphon](https://www.edgepedia.org/ctesiphon), 24 miles south of Baghdad, abandons the conventional tripartite ode structure, and while scholars have conventionally read it as an anti-imperial lament on Abbasid decline, one re-examination argues it worked to redeem the Abbasids and avert civil strife.[7](https://www.academia.edu/188129/Reinterpreting_al_Buhturi_s_Iwan_Kisra_Ode_Tears_of_Affection_for_the_Cycles_of_History) The ode is still compared in current scholarship with Virgil's Aeneid and with a poem by [Wilfred Owen](https://www.edgepedia.org/wilfred-owen) on war and ruins.[8](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-of-the-school-of-oriental-and-african-studies/article/abs/crossing-enemy-boundaries-albuhturis-ode-on-the-ruins-of-ctesiphon-reread-in-the-light-of-virgil-and-wilfred-owen/70EB1FE69A8AE9FDF7669347EA4C5968) His diwan was printed in Istanbul in 1882 and later,[9](https://lib.eshia.ir/23019/1/523) and al-Hamasa appeared in facsimile in Leiden (1909), Beirut (1910), and Cairo (1929).[6](https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/buhturi) A separate scholarly dispute concerns al-Mutawakkil's favored heir: Matthew Gordon, using numismatic analysis by Michael Bates, contends the caliph favored al-Mu'tazz, while Tayeb El-Hibri, following al-Tabari, concludes he supported al-Muntasir but shifted under pressure.[7](https://www.academia.edu/188129/Reinterpreting_al_Buhturi_s_Iwan_Kisra_Ode_Tears_of_Affection_for_the_Cycles_of_History)
## References
1. الموسوعة العربية: البحتري (206–284هـ/821–898م), https://arab-ency.com.sy/details/4233
2. Buhturī, 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica (Wikisource), https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Buhtur%C4%AB
3. Singing Samarra (861–956): Poetry and the Burgeoning of Historiography upon the Murder of al-Mutawakkil, Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies, https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/jais/volume/docs/vol6/v6_1_MahdyAli.htm
4. El-Buḥturî'nin methiyeleri (DergiPark), https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/2034225
5. ديوان البحتري (تحقيق حسن كامل الصيرفي), listing page, https://kon.lisanarb.com/2023/11/pdf_39.html
6. BUHTÜRÎ, TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/buhturi
7. Reinterpreting al-Buhturi's Iwan Kisra Ode, Journal of Arabic Literature, https://www.academia.edu/188129/Reinterpreting_al_Buhturi_s_Iwan_Kisra_Ode_Tears_of_Affection_for_the_Cycles_of_History
8. Crossing enemy boundaries: al-Buhturī's ode on the ruins of Ctesiphon, BSOAS, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-of-the-school-of-oriental-and-african-studies/article/abs/crossing-enemy-boundaries-albuhturis-ode-on-the-ruins-of-ctesiphon-reread-in-the-light-of-virgil-and-wilfred-owen/70EB1FE69A8AE9FDF7669347EA4C5968
9. دانشنامه جهان اسلام، ج 1، ص 523, https://lib.eshia.ir/23019/1/523
10. البحتري – الجامع لعلوم القرآن الكريم, https://quran-uni.com/quran_sciences_author/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%8A/
11. El-Buḥturî'nin methiyeleri ve hâmîlik geleneği bağlamında değerlendirilmesi (thesis), https://tezara.org/theses/930775
12. خاقانیات البحتری (journal article, Alexandria University), https://doi.org/10.21608/bfalex.2018.154617
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › Other history › Middle East and North Africa › Early Abbasid period (750 to 945) › Literary figures and works*
*Initially written Sep 24, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license