Dananir al-Barmakiyya
Arab female poet of Abbasid period
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Dananir al-Barmakiyya (Arabic: دنانير البرمكية; late 8th-century – early 9th-century) was an Arabian qiyan musician, singer and poet. She is also known as the composer of the famous Kitab mujarrad al-aghani (Abridged Book of Songs).[1][2]
Dananir al-Barmakiyya دنانير البرمكية | |
|---|---|
| Died | c. 810s |
Resting place | Baghdad |
| Occupations | Arabic poet and singer |
| Writing career | |
| Language | Arabic |
| Period | Islamic Golden Age (Abbasid era) |
She was from Medina. A slave, she was sold to Yahya ibn Khalid al-Barmaki.[3] As a young slave, she was trained to become a qiyan. She was a student of the qiyan-musician Badhl, who was known for the number of songs she retained in her memory.[4] Among her instructors were Ibrahim and Ishaf al-Mawsili, Ibn Jami, Fulaih, and Badhl.[1]
Dananir is noted as one of the most famous quian-musicians. She is described as an accomplished poet, musician and singer. As a singer, she was popular with the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809), who visited his minister's house in Baghdad to hear her perform, and gave her extravagant gifts, including a necklace worth 30,000 gold coins.[1]