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Illustration of a dark-complexioned ninth-century court musician in a long embroidered robe, seated with an oud in a hall of red-and-white horseshoe arches, warm lamplight on the stone
Artist Poet Scholar Umayyad Emirate711–929

Ziryab

Lived c. 790–857 (about 67 years)

Also known as
Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Nafi

Ziryab, born Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Nafi around 790, was a singer, oud player, composer and teacher who trained under the Abbasid court musician Ibrahim al-Mawsili in Baghdad. The nickname means blackbird, a nod to his dark complexion and his voice. He settled in Córdoba in 822 at the court of Abd al-Rahman II and died there around 857.

His trace in the city is indirect. The nearest physical setting is the Mezquita-Catedral, the great mosque the emirs of his day were enlarging while he sang at court. A street, a monument and the city conservatory carry his name around Córdoba.

For the emir who hired him, see Abd al-Rahman II. Ziryab's fifth oud string, his music school and the dining legends are told in full in Ziryab: The Musician Who Invented Your Dinner in Córdoba.

Read the full story.

The full story

In their time

  1. Umayyad Emirate

    711–929

    Muslim forces took Córdoba in 711, and governors ruled al-Andalus from it until Abd al-Rahman I declared an independent emirate in 756. He began the Mezquita in the 780s.

    1. Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba

      785 Monument

      856 columns, 1,300 years of Islamic and Christian history. UNESCO monument in Córdoba, Andalusia. Red-and-white arches, Byzantine mosaics, a Renaissance nave.

    2. Abd al-Rahman I

      731–788 Historical figure

      Abd al-Rahman I (731-788) founded the Emirate of Córdoba in 756 and began the Great Mosque. Where his trace remains in Córdoba today, and where to read more.

    3. Al-Hakam I

      c. 771–822 Historical figure

      Al-Hakam I (c. 771-822), Umayyad emir of Córdoba from 796, crushed the 818 suburb revolt. See where his trace lies near the Roman Bridge and read his story.

    4. Abd al-Rahman II

      792–852 Historical figure

      Abd al-Rahman II (792-852), emir of Córdoba from 822, expanded the Mezquita and patronised the arts. Where his traces still survive in the city today.

    5. Ibn Firnas

      c. 810–887 Historical figure

      Ibn Firnas (c. 810–887), Andalusi polymath and court scholar of Córdoba. Cross the bridge that bears his name and read the full story of his flight legend.

    Undated

    1. Molinos del Río Guadalquivir

      Monument

      The Albolafia wheel turns again on the Guadalquivir, photographed from the Roman bridge against the Mezquita skyline. What's left of Córdoba's Arab mills.

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