Al-Hariri of Basra was a poet belonging to the Beni Harram tribe of Bedouin Arabs, who lived and died in the city of Basra, modern Iraq. He was a scholar of the Arabic language and a dignitary of the Seljuk Empire, which ruled Iraq during his lifetime, from 1055 to 1135.
Possible depiction of al-Hariri, in the Maqamat of al-Hariri, 1237 CE edition, probably Baghdad.
Ms Cairo Adab 105, folio 5a. Title and autograph ijaza written by al-Hariri himself, for the copyist, in 1110-11.
"Discussion Near a Village", a miniature illustrating the 43rd maqāmah of a 1237 edition of al-Hariri's Maqamat al-Hariri, painted by Yaḥyā ibn Maḥmūd al-Wāsiṭī. Painting in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. MS Arabe 5847 fol. 138v.
Al-Harith helps Abu Zayd to retrieve his stolen camel. Illustration for the 27th maqamat, from a manuscript in the Bodleian Library, Oxford
The Maqāmāt al-Ḥarīrī is a collection of fifty tales or maqāmāt written at the end of the 11th or the beginning of the 12th century by al-Ḥarīrī of Basra (1054–1122), a poet and government official of the Seljuk Empire. The text presents a series of tales regarding the adventures of the fictional character Abū Zayd of Saruj who travels and deceives those around him with his skill in the Arabic language to earn rewards. Although probably less creative than the work of its precursor, Maqāmāt al-Hamadhānī, the Maqāmāt al-Ḥarīrī became extremely popular, with reports of seven hundred copies authorized by al-Ḥarīrī during his lifetime.
Title "Al-maqāmāt al-Harīriyya", Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Arabe 5847).
The main character Abu Zayd travelling on horse, on his way to Diyar Bakr (Maqama 43, BNF Arabe 3929, 1200-1210).
Ms Cairo Adab 105, folio 5a. Title and autograph ijaza written by al-Hariri himself, for the copyist in 1111 CE.
First page of 1188 CE edition (not illustrated). BNF Arabe 3924
