AKHTAL, AL-

born c. 640, , al-Hirah, Mesopotamia, or the Syrian Desert died 710 in full Ghiyath Ibn Ghawth Ibn As-salt Al-akhtal poet of the Umayyad period (661750), esteemed for his perfection of Arabic poetic form in the old Bedouin tradition. Al-Akhtal (The Loquacious) was a Christian but did not take the duties of his religion seriously, being addicted to drink and women. He was a favourite panegyrist and friend of the Umayyad caliph Yazid I and his generals Ziyad ibn Abihi and al-Hajjaj. He continued as court poet to the caliph 'Abd al-Malik but fell in disfavour under Walid I. Together with the poets Jarir and al-Farazdaq, al-Akhtal forms a famous trio in early Arabic literary history. Because they closely resembled one another in style and vocabulary, their relative superiority was disputed. The philologist Abu 'Ubaydah, however, placed al-Akhtal highest of the three because among his poems there were 10 qasidas (formal odes) regarded as flawless and 10 others as nearly flawless, and this could not be said of the other poets.