Akhtar - Afutar (English spelling) al-Aal

Arab poet. Born in the Two Rivers region of Iraq, he was a Christian throughout his life. His nickname, Ahtar, means "drooping ears." He lost his mother at a young age and was raised by a stepmother, but he was not blessed with true maternal love, so he began to write poems expressing his resentment towards his stepmother and became addicted to alcohol. Later, he composed poems praising the Umayyad dynasty, and the fifth caliph, Abdul Malik, saw them and ordered his subordinates to guide him in a parade through the city of Damascus and pay him the highest tribute. Thus, he established a relationship with the royal court and became poet laureate, but his nomadic blood often drove him to the desert and he threw himself into tribal conflicts. Along with Farazdaq and Jalil, he holds a prominent position as a poet of the Umayyad dynasty.

[Ryoichi Uchiki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

アラブの詩人。イラクの両河地方に生まれ、生涯を通じてキリスト教徒であった。アフタルとはあだ名で「耳の垂れ下がっていること」をいう。幼少のころ母を失い、継母に育てられたが、真の母性愛に恵まれず、この継母を恨む詩を書き始め、飲酒にふけるようになった。のちにウマイヤ朝をたたえる詩をつくり、これに接した第5代カリフのアブドゥル・マリクは、彼を案内してダマスカス市中をパレードし最大級の賛辞を呈するよう部下に命じた。こうして宮廷との関係が生まれ、桂冠(けいかん)詩人となったが、遊牧民としての血は彼をしばしば砂漠へと駆り立て、部族抗争に身を投じた。ファラズダク、ジャリールらとともに、ウマイヤ朝の詩人として傑出した地位を占める。

［内記良一］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例