Ibn 'abd Rabbihi
IBN 'ABD RABBIHI [Abu 'Umar Ahmad ibn Mahommed ibn 'Abd Rabbihi] (860-940), Arabian poet, was born in Cordova and descended from a freed slave of Hisham, the second Spanish Omayyad caliph. He enjoyed a great reputation for learning and eloquence. No diwan of his is extant, but many selections from his poems are given in the Yatlmat ud-Dahr, \. 412-436 (Damascus, 1887). More widely known than his poetry is his great anthology, the *Iqd ul-Farld (" The Precious Necklace "), a work divided into twenty-five sections, the thirteenth being named the middle jewel of the necklace, the chapters on either side of this being named after other jewels. It is an adab book (see ARABIA: Literature, section " Belles Lettres ") resembling Ibn Qutaiba's 'Uyun ul-Akhbar, from which it borrows largely. It has been printed several times in Cairo (1876, 1886, etc.). (G.W.T.)
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
