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دعبل الخزاعي

دعبل الخزاعي

The Shi'ite poet; he lampooned al-Mu'tasim in his famous qasida — 'the Abbasid kings in the books are seven... like the cave-dwellers, seven plus a dog, and I rate their dog above you' — satirizing Wasif and Ashinas too. Al-Mu'tasim vowed against him; he fled to Egypt, then the Maghreb 1.

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Era
The Early Abbasid Caliphate
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Overview

Di'bil al-Khuza'i, a poet whom al-Suyuti describes as a Shi'i, known for his satires of the Abbasid caliphs. 2

His satire of al-Mu'tasim

He satirised al-Mu'tasim in his well-known poem that opens with "The kings of the Abbasids are seven in the books," and compared him in it to the dog of the People of the Cave. He also satirised Wasif and Ashnas. 2

When al-Mu'tasim learned of this, Di'bil became afraid and fled until he reached Egypt, then went out to the Maghrib. 2

His elegy for the Barmakids

Al-Mas'udi quotes verses in which he mourns the Barmakids, among them "Have you not seen the turn of time against the house of Barmak?" 3

Connections

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Related to
al-Mu'tasim Abu Ishaq ibn al-Rashid

People and things also explored

Conquest of Amorium· Death of al-Mu'tasim· The Fall of Qaliqala, 133, and its Rebuilding· The Garrisoning of Sur man Ra'a (Samarra)· Imran ibn Musa's Sind and the Zutt-Mayd Wars· The Court's Wooing of Transoxania· The Sack of Zibatra and al-Mu'tasim's Retaliation· The Conversion of al-Usayfan's King

Sources

  1. Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p. 521-522
  2. Tarikh al-Khulafa — al-Suyuti (Dar al-Minhaj edition) , p.521-522
  3. Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi , p.369
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “دعبل الخزاعي”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/dib-l-al-khuzai/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-19.

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People

Prophets, companions, scholars, rulers, scientists, poets, travelers: women and men who shaped the story. Related

Conquest of Amorium

Al-Mu'tasim set out campaigning into Byzantine lands in the year 223, though some say his departure was in 224 or 222, after he had killed Babak. According to al-Suyuti, he took it by the sword, killed thirty thousand of its people and took as many captive. The astrologers had judged the ascendant unlucky when he was preparing and that he would be broken; yet his victory exceeded anything feared, and Abu Tammam said that the sword is truer in its reports than books. According to al-Mas'udi, al-Mu'tasim was roused to war, donning a white woollen tunic and the raider's turban, when Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi recited to him, 'O raid of God, you have now beheld it, so break in.' He encamped on the west bank of the Tigris on Monday, two nights into Jumada I in the year 223. He placed Ashnas in the vanguard, Itakh on the right wing, Ja'far ibn Dinar al-Khayyat on the left, Bugha al-Kabir in the rear, and Ajif at the centre. He entered by the Pass of Safety, while al-Afshin entered by the Pass of Hadath; he met the king and defeated him. Lawi the patrician came out to him from Amorium and surrendered it; he took Batis captive, killed thirty thousand, and stayed four days demolishing and burning.