Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Iṣfahānī, also known as Abul-Faraj was an historian of Arab-Quraysh origin who is noted for collecting and preserving ancient Arabic lyrics and poems in his major work, the Kitāb al-Aghānī.
Biography
Abu al-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī was born in Isfahan, Persia but spent his youth and made his early studies in Baghdad. He was a direct descendant of the last of the Umayyad caliphs, Marwan II, and was thus connected with the Umayyad rulers in al-Andalus, and seems to have kept up a correspondence with them and to have sent them some of his works. He became famous for his knowledge of early Arabian antiquities. His later life was spent in various parts of the Islamic world, in Aleppo with its Hamdanid governor Sayf ad-Dawlah, in Ray with the BuwayhidvizierIbn 'Abbad, and elsewhere. Although he wrote poetry, also an anthology of verses on the monasteries of Mesopotamia and Egypt, and a genealogical work, his fame rests upon his Book of Songs.
''Book of Songs'' & Other Works
Kitāb al-Aġānī 'Book of Songs', a collection of Arabic chants rich in information on Arab and Persian poets, singers and other musicians from the 7th - 10th centuries of major cities such as Mecca, Damascus, Isfahan, Rey, Baghdād and Baṣrah. The Book of Songs contains details of the ancient Arab tribes and courtly life of the Umayyads and provides a complete overview of the Arab civilization from the pre-Islamic Jahiliyya era, up to his own time. Abū ‘l-Faraj employs the classical Arabic genealogical devise, or isnad,, to relate the biographical accounts of the authors and composers. Although originally the poems were put to music, the musical signs are no longer legible. Abū ‘l-Faraj spent in total 50 years creating this work, which remains an important historical source.
The first printed edition, published in 1868, contained 20 volumes. In 1888 Rudolf Ernst Brünnow published a 21st volume being a collection of biographies not contained in the Bulāq edition, edited from MSS in the Royal Library of Munich.
