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Dananir al Barmakiyya

783 – 817

Arab poet of Abbasid period

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About Dananir al Barmakiyya

Lived 783 – 817 (aged 33–34). Dananir al Barmakiyya was a poet, slave, singer and musician.

Dananir al-Barmakiyya (; late 8th-century – early 9th-century) was an Arabian qiyan musician, singer and poet. She is also known as the composer of the famous Kitab mujarrad al-aghani (Abridged Book of Songs).

She was from Medina. A slave, she was sold to Yahya ibn Khalid al-Barmaki. As a young slave, she was trained to become a qiyan. She was a student of the qiyan-musician Badhl, who was known for the number of songs she retained in her memory. Among her instructors were Ibrahim and Ishaf al-Mawsili, Ibn Jami, Fulaih, and Badhl.

Dananir is noted as one of the most famous quian-musicians. She is described as an accomplished poet, musician and singer. As a singer, she was popular with the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809), who visited his minister's house in Baghdad to hear her perform, and gave her extravagant gifts, including a necklace worth 30,000 gold coins.

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Important facts

Born
783
Birth century
Died
817, Baghdad

People in Dananir al Barmakiyya's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Dananir al Barmakiyya's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Dananir al Barmakiyya?

Arab poet of Abbasid period

When was Dananir al Barmakiyya born?

Dananir al Barmakiyya was born in 783.

When did Dananir al Barmakiyya die?

Dananir al Barmakiyya died in 817 in Baghdad.

What was Dananir al Barmakiyya's occupation?

Dananir al Barmakiyya was a poet, slave, singer and musician.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Dananir al Barmakiyya

· Wikidata: Q105805644

· DBpedia: Dananir al-Barmakiyya

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Dananir al Barmakiyya. https://biography.guide/dananir-al-barmakiyya/

MLA: "Dananir al Barmakiyya." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/dananir-al-barmakiyya/.

Chicago: "Dananir al Barmakiyya." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/dananir-al-barmakiyya/.

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