Travels of Ibn Baṭṭūṭa
Baghdad (baġdād)
Title
King and wazīr on a boat with two other boats with musicians
Short description
The king and his wazīr on a boat on whose sides stood two other boats carrying musicians. Abū Saʿīd Bahādur Khān (r. 716–36/1316–35), son of Öljeitü, was the last Īlkhān to hold effective rule. His reign was the longest and most stable of any of the Īlkhāns and is remembered fondly by writers who outlived it (see Īlkhānids, EI-3). According to d'Ohsson, under the early Khāns of the Īlkhānid dynasty, a royal prince was allowed kettledrums and a drum, whilst a wazīr had a kettledrum. The commander-in-chief was given drums, and an amīr of 10,000 (?) men, as well as tributary princes were allowed a [kettle] drum (see Ṭabl-Khāna, EI-2).
Text on source
رأيتهما يومًا بحرافة في الدجلة وتسمى عندهم الشيارة وهي شبه سلورة وبين يديه دمشق خواجة ابن الأمير جوبان المتغلب على أبي سعيد، وعن يمينه وشماله شبارتان فيهما أهل الطرب والغناء [١٦٢]
English translation
I saw both [the sultan and his wazīr] one day on the Tigris in a launch (which they call shabbāra, and is like a sallūra); in front of him was Dimashq Khwāja, son of the amīr al-Jūbān who held the mastery over Abu Saʿīd, and to right and left of him were two shabbāras, carrying musicians and singers [ahl al-ṭarab wa al-ġināʾ].
Folios/Pages
336-337
Date
1327 circa
Observations on the events description
Here the author uses two different terms: "ṭarab" and "ġināʾ", the first being usually in text a synonym for music, the second, lit. "singing". The latter term may refer only to singing or sometimes to secular music (Faruqi, 1985).
The dots on the map indicate the places where sound and music events were described. They don't represent travel stages.
Participants
Name
Role
Notes
Edit
Delete
Khwāja, Dimashq
Viewer
Vizier
Bahādur Ḫān, Abū Saʿīd
Viewer
King
Sounds
0
How to quote
Pintimalli A., "King and wazīr on a boat with two other boats with musicians" (Event description), Echos. Sound Ecosystems in Travelogues. Published 2024 05 20.doi: 10.25430/echos.travels.130
This work is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0 
