Iraq: Detail of a scribe. Miniature painting from the 'Maqam' or 'Assembly' of Al-Hariri of Basra, c. 1225-1235. Maqāma (literally 'assemblies') are an (originally) Arabic literary genre of rhymed prose with intervals of poetry in which rhetorical extravagance is conspicuous. The 10th century author Badī' al-Zaman al-Hamadhāni is said to have invented the form, which was extended by al-Hariri of Basra in the next century. Both authors' maqāmāt centre on trickster figures whose wanderings and exploits in speaking to assemblies of the powerful are conveyed by a narrator.

---

Size: 3500px × 4910px
Photo credit: © Pictures From History / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 1225, 1225-1235, 1235, 13th, al-hariri, al-safa, al-wasiti, arab, arabian, arabic, art, arts, asia, asian, assembly, basra, brethren, century, east, eastern, historical, history, ibn, ikhwan, image, images, iraq, iraqi, islam, islamic, mahmud, maqam, maqama, middle, miniature, miniatures, muslim, painting, paintings, pictures, purity, religion, scribe, turban, world, yahya