His most famous poem and his most famous patron

While many historical sources mention Ibn al-Musalaya and details about his life, there are only about a dozen sources that record his poetry and letters. Before the discovery of his Collected Poems in 2022, the total number of surviving lines of poetry by him equaled 81. We now have more than 2000 lines of poetry by him. His most famous poem, that is the poem that is cited most frequently in these sources, is a poem in praise of the Seljuq vizier Nizam al-Mulk. As you can see above from the manuscript of the Collected Poems, this poem was sent to the vizier and it is unclear whether it was ever performed in his presence.

Small segments of this 45-line poem are preserved in a variety of biographical dictionaries, chronicles, and anthologies. These include:

As part of this project, we’ve begun working on an edition and translation of this interesting and important text. Here’s a sneak peek:

Longing for love’s lush garden,

I am content.

From the basin of true-friendship

I draw water by the handful.

I desire a white gazelle.

Each time I try to catch it,

Swords and spears shield it

from my grasp.

When it appears,

or scatters scent

Our souls are tormented

as the air turns sweet.