AMIRAT AL-ANDALUS DE AHMAD SAWQI

By: MARÍA SOL CABELLO GARCÍA

The fall of Muslim Spain has become a symbol frequently alluded to in modern Arabic
literature. A representative example in this regard is found in the work Amirat al-andalus (The
Princess of al-Andalus) by the Egyptian poet and playwright Ahmad Sawqi (1868-1932) (1).

Amjrat al-Andalus is one of the six historical dramas that this author composed on Egyptian,
Arab and Islamic themes (2). Like most of his theatrical production, he wrote it in the last stage
of his literary career, although it seems that it was during his stay in Spain that Sawqi had the
opportunity to gather some of the material with which he would later create this work (3).

The action takes place in five acts and covers from the last years of the reign of al-Mutamid to
his exile in Agmat, after the capture of Seville by the Almoravids.

To construct the argument, the author has based, as we have been able to verify, on the
historical data and anecdotes collected by al-Maqqarí and has recreated the biography of this
king with a clear Romanesque style.

The rest of the characters are also inspired by historical figures that were part of the life and
legend of al-Mutamid.Among all of them, the one of the princess Butayna, protagonist of the
history of love that narrates in this drama and character that gives title to the work has been
treated with special attention.

To create the literary character of Butayna, Sawqi is based on a brief news transmitted to us by
al-Maqqarí. This author tells us that he remembered his mother Rumaykiyya for her intelligence,
her beauty, and her ability to compose verses.And then he describes the situation in which he
saw himself after the fall of Seville:

When the Almoravides took over the city, the princess thought to flee, but it fell into the hands of
a man who, ignoring his condition, sold it to a merchant. He thought to offer her as a concubine
to his son, but the young woman, seeing the honesty of those who had picked her up, decided
at last to say who she was and to demand a marriage contract to cohabit with him. As for this,
the authorization of his parents was needed, he asked his owners to take some verses to Agmat
and wait for the answer. When the verses of Butayna reached al-Mutamid, he and Rumaykiyya
were happy to know their daughter alive and they consented to the marriage saying that, given
the circumstances, it was the best that Butayna could wish for (4).

From this story about the wedding of Princess Butayna, Sawqi has built the love intrigue of his
work. Undoubtedly, this same historical news was also used by the author to create the
character of Hassün, a young man Butayna falls in love with in the souk of the books of
Córdoba, and that of his father, the Sevillian merchant Abu-I- Hasan.

Along with these main characters, others appear, also historical, among which are al-Zafir,
eldest son of al-Mutamid and Rumaykiyya, whose full name was Abbad Siráy al-Dawla (5); the
hero Hariz, who corresponds to the historical character of Hariz ibn Ukasa, who, according to
the chronicles, took Cordoba in 1075 on behalf of al-Mamun of Toledo; the Jew Ibn Salib, tax
collector of King Alfonso VI;and al-Bazi ibn al-Ashab, whom sources cite as a famous bandit
from al-Andalus who has become part of his legend.

We also find, throughout the drama, some references to historical events such as the battle of
Zaláqa, the rebellions in the Maghreb, or the taking of Toledo. However, the author does not
describe these events at any time or make exact reference to the place and time in which they
happened.Other times, even, it departs from the historical reality and distorts it by giving a
personal interpretation to the facts it describes. Thus, for example, Sawqi does not resign, as in
Antara (6), to give a tragic end to his hero and creates the last act to add a happy ending: al-
Mutamid is forgiven by Ibn Tasufin and ends his days living free in Agmat.

In contrast to this lack of attention to historical events, theauthor has taken pains to faithfully
reflect the environment and society of the Taifa kingdoms. It gathers the love of the rulers for
astrology, and for this it quotes the astrologer al-Dabbi, who, according to al-Maqqarí, lived in
the time of Emir Hisám and was a native of Algeciras (7). It highlights the great moral authority
that the cadíes had in al-Andalus and the honors that the kings gave them, the freedom enjoyed
by the population, their interest in science and culture, etc. Taking as a source the description of
the Andalusian cities provided by the chronicles, it reflects the characteristics of several of them:
Málaga was famous for its wines, Seville for music and Córdoba for books (8).

On this last city adds a funny anecdote about the eagerness that the Cordovans had to dispute
the honor of owning a library (9). Also, several references to place names appear in the work:
Act I refers to the Silver Prairie (Mary al-Fidda), where, according to the legend of al-Muctamid,
he met Rumaykiyya (10). In scene II of this same act Wadi-l-Talh (the Valley of the Acacias) is
mentioned, a walk located in the Aljarafe, to the northeast of Seville, that, according to the
testimony of Ibn Said (XIII century), enjoyed also from the favor of al-Mutamid (11). Another
place of recreation of al-Andalus that is mentioned in this act is Wadi-l-Hawz (or Hawz
Muammal), a valley of poplars located on the banks of the Genil, famous since the 12th century
for the meetings of lovers that the poets described (12)

Sawqi also mentions in the work several of the palaces of al-Mutamid, such as al-Zahi, al-Tay
and al-Badi (13). The rest of the palaces that appear in the drama are, surely, fictitious, since
their names we have not found them documented historically.

Finally, it is worth mentioning the special attention the author has paid to describe typical
scenes of the time, such as the boat trips on the Guadalquivir river (act I, scene III), the
atmosphere of a tavern (Act II), or the festivities in the palaces (act I, scene II). In them we find
numerous references to the customs and tastes of the population, such as liking for liquors,
games of chance, music and dance.

It is, in short, a romantic drama in which, through thehistorical-literary figure of al-Mutamid and
the description of the 11th century Andalusian society, Ahmad Sawqi pays homage to the
glorious past lived by the Arabs in our peninsula.

(*) The translation of this work was the object of my degree memory, presented at the University
of Alicante in October 1986 under the direction of Dr. MB Jesús Rubiera.

(1) The existing bibliography on the life and work of Ahmad Sawqi is very extensive. An
exhaustive account of these studies, in the Arabic language, can be found in Dagir's work, Y.
Masadir al-dirasa al-adabiyya, Beirut, 1956, p. 506-514. And in Western languages, in
Brockelmann, GAL, Suppl. III, pp. 21-48. On the work we are dealing with here, see, for
example, Landau, J. Études sur le théatre et le cinema Arabs, Paris, 1963, pp. 118-122; Dayf,
S. SawqT, S3 "r al-Qasr al-Hadn, Cairo, 1977, pp. 253-266; AbO-l-Naga, Les sources
francaises du theatre egyptien, Algiers, 1972, pp. 271-275 Hanna, S. and Salti, R. "Ahmad
Shawqi, a pioneer of modern arabic drama", AJAS, I, 1973, pp. 90-92 and 100-101.

(2) In the course of his literary career, Sawqi wrote six historical dramas. Three of them inspired
by the history of Egypt: Kliwubátra, Qambiz and Ali Bek al-Kabir, and three Arabic and Islamic
themes: Antara, Maynun Layla and Amirat al-Andalus.

(3) Cf. the testimony of Husayn Sawqi in his book Abi Sawqi (My Father, Sawqi), Cairo, 1947,
pp. 63-64.

(4) Naíh al-Tib, IV, (Ibsa Abbas), pp. 284-285. The main source of al-Maqqarí seems to be al-
Hiyári (12th century).Cf. Emilio García Gómez, The book of the flags of the champions,
Barcelona, 1978, pp. 51 and ss. of the intr.

(5) He was appointed governor of Cordoba when this city was incorporated to Seville in 1070.
On this character and other sons of al-Mu'amid who occupied political positions, see, MJ
Rubiera, Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad. Poetry, Madrid, 1982, pp. 48-54.

(6) See note 2.

(7) al-Maqqari, Nafh al-Tib, IV, pp. 334-335.

(8) Ibd., II, pp. 10-11.

(9) Ibd., P. eleven.

(10) This prairie was located on the banks of the Guadalquivir. Ibn Sahl and Ibn Sai say so. Cf.
Perés, Splendor of al-Andalus, Trad. Mercedes García Arenal, Madrid, 1983, p. 146. However,
it seems that the legend recreates a historical event that took the Silves River as its true
setting. Cf. MJ Rubiera, al-Mutamid ibn Abbad. Poems, pp. 40-41.

(11) This valley had already been taken by Sawqi as the subject of his NOniyya.

(12) Cf. Pérés, Splendor ..., p. 151

(13) On the palaces of al-Mu ° tamid, see MJ Rubiera, al-Mutamid ibn Abbad. Poems,
p. 25; and R. Lledó, "Risala on the Abbadian palaces of Seville by Abu Jafar ibn Ahmad of
Denia. Translation and study », in Sharq al-Andalus, III, 1986, pp. 191-200