'AMR IBN KULTHUM

flourished 6th century pre-Islamic Arab poet whose qasidah (ode) is one of the seven that comprise the celebrated anthology of pre-Islamic verse al-Mu'allaqat. Little is known of his life; he became chief of the tribe of Taghlib in Mesopotamia at an early age and according to tradition killed 'Amr ibn Hind, the Arab king of al-Hirah, c. 568. 'Amr ibn Kulthum lived to a very advanced age, highly respected for his noble character, for a poem, allegedly his, praising a Taghlib victory over the Bakr tribe, and for his successfully independent stance against the Lakhmid kings of al-Hirah. 'Amr's qasidah, as it appears in al-Mu'allaqat, was probably altered by a later poet. It violently attacks 'Amr ibn Hind for an insult addressed to the poet's mother.