Dananir al Barmakiyya

Dananir al Barmakiyya (Arabic: دنانير البرمكية) (late 8th-century - early 9th-century) was an Arabian Qiyan musician, singer and poet. She is also known as the author of the famous Book of Songs.^[1]

Dananir al Barmakiyya دنانير البرمكية‎
Died	c. 810s Baghdad
Resting place	Baghdad
Occupation	Arabic Poet and Singer
Language	Arabic
Nationality	Caliphate
Period	Islamic Golden Age (Abbasid era)

She was from Medina. She was sold to Yahya ibn Khalid al-Barmaki.^[2]

As a 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.^[3] Among her instructors were Ishaf al-Mausuli, Ibn Jami and Fulaih.

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.

She is most known as the author of the famous Book of Songs.

References

1. Music in the World of Islam: A Socio-cultural Study
2. Hilary Kilpatrick:Making the Great Book of Songs: Compilation and the Author's Craft in Abū L
3. Music in the World of Islam: A Socio-cultural Study