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Yahya ibn al-Hakam al-Ghazal

يحيى بن الحكم الغزال

c. 864 CE · c. 250 AH

Al-Ghazzal (Yahya ibn al-Hakam) — the poet-ambassador: sent past fifty to the Majus king, he told Queen Tud he was 'twenty' and won her bounty by his wit; sent also to the Byzantine king whose queen's beauty he praised in verse. His savage lampoons of Ziryab earned him exile to Iraq; he lived ninety-four years 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Early Abbasid Caliphate
Region
al-Andalus & Europe
Review
Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it

Life in time

775800825850875900925950 c. c.
The Early Abbasid Caliphate · Abbasid Fragmentation · The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era Contemporaries: Abd al-Azim al-Hasani · Ibn Abi Dawud al-Sijistani · Abd Allah ibn Muhammad (Umayyad amir of Cordova) · Abu al-Ayna · Abu Awana, Ya'qub ibn Ishaq

Overview

Yahya ibn al-Hakam al-Ghazal, an Andalusian poet. 2

The embassy

The amir sent him as an envoy to the lands of the Magians when he was nearing fifty. The queen of the king asked him his age, and he said jokingly: "Twenty." He gave her an answer that pleased her. 2

He was also sent to the king of the Romans, who liked his conversation, and he recited verses on the beauty of the queen. 2

The exile

Al-Maqqari says he wrote a bitter satire against Ziryab, and that Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Hakam ordered him exiled, so he went to Iraq. 3

He lived ninety-four years and died around the year 250 AH. 3

Sources

  1. Nafh al-Tib min Ghusn al-Andalus al-Ratib — al-Maqqari , v.2 pp. 259–262
  2. Nafh al-Tib min Ghusn al-Andalus al-Ratib — al-Maqqari , p.259
  3. Nafh al-Tib min Ghusn al-Andalus al-Ratib — al-Maqqari , p.262
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Yahya ibn al-Hakam al-Ghazal”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/al-ghazzal/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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