Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi
Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi (Arabic: إبراهيم بن المهدي; 779–839) was an Abbasid prince, singer, composer and poet. He was the son of the third Abbasid caliph, al-Mahdi, and the half-brother of the poet and musician Ulayya.[1]
| Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi إبراهيم بن المهدي | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 779 Abbasid Caliphate | ||||
| Died | 839 Abbasid Caliphate | ||||
| Spouse | unknown | ||||
| Relatives | Al-Hadi (brother) Harun al-Rashid (brother) Al-Amin (nephew) Al-Ma'mun (nephew) Al-Mu'tasim (nephew) | ||||
| |||||
| Dynasty | Abbasid | ||||
| Father | Al-Mahdi | ||||
| Mother | Shakla | ||||
| Religion | Islam | ||||
| Occupation | Singer, Composer, Arabic Poet | ||||
He was not a full brother of al-Mahdi's sons al-Hadi and Harun al-Rashid, since his mother was not al-Khayzuran.
During the Fourth Fitna, Ibrahim was proclaimed caliph on 20 July 817 by the people of Baghdad, who gave him the regnal name of al-Mubarak (Arabic: المبارك) and declared his reigning nephew al-Ma'mun deposed. Ibrahim received the allegiance of the Hashemites.[2] He had to resign in 819, and spent the rest of his life as a poet and a musician. He is remembered as "one of the most gifted musicians of his day, with a phenomenal vocal range",[1] and a promoter of the then innovative 'Persian style' of song, 'which was characterized inter alia by redundant improvisation'.[3]
References
- Kilpatrick, H. (1998). Meisami, Julie Scott; Starkey, Paul (eds.). Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature. Vol. 1. Taylor & Francis. p. 387. ISBN 978-0-415-18571-4.
- Bosworth, C.E., ed. (1987). The History of al-Ṭabarī, Volume XXXII: The Reunification of the ʿAbbāsid Caliphate: The Caliphate of al-Maʾmūn, A.D. 813–33/A.H. 198–213. SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-88706-058-8.
- Imhof, Agnes (2013). "Traditio vel Aemulatio? The Singing Contest of Sāmarrā', Expression of a Medieval Culture of Competition". Der Islam. 90: 1–20 [p. 1]. doi:10.1515/islam-2013-0001.