Arabic Poetry as Mediator in early Abbasid Society (second half of the 8th – early 10th CE)

• Applicant: Maxim Yosefi, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Islamic Studies, Arabian Studies, Semitic Studies
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 524368093

The project examines how Arabic poetry in the formative period of the Abbasid empire (second half of the 8th – early 10th century CE) mediated the development of perspectives on virtuous leadership. This development played a key role in the ethical self-formation of medieval Islamicate society, which has not been sufficiently studied yet. The poetic corpus that dates to the Abbasid period and is accessible to us was produced to a large extent in, and around, the courts of rulers. Therefore, the identity formation process within the Abbasid empire included the development of notions of virtuous leadership, which became part of early Abbasid society’s conception of itself. A comprehensive analysis of how early Abbasid poetry mediated this ethical self-formation is however lacking. The study will address the following questions: What perspectives on virtuous leadership were conveyed by the Arab poets of the early Abbasid period? What are the social origins of these ideas? What audiences did they have in mind? With the help of an original methodology that combines literary, historical and anthropological approaches, the project will address this gap. In this way, it will contribute, among other things, to the study of medieval thought about rulers and leadership, to the study of ethical self-formation, and to debates about the emergence of Islamicate societies.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants