29 Facts About Ziryab

Ziryab lived and worked in what is Iraq, Northern Africa and Andalusia during the medieval Islamic period.

Ziryab was a polymath, with knowledge in astronomy, geography, meteorology, botanics, cosmetics, culinary art, and fashion.

Ziryab first achieved fame at the Abbasid court in Baghdad, his birthplace, as a performer and student of the musician and composer Ibrahim al-Mawsili.

Ziryab was a gifted pupil of Ibrahim al-Mawsili in Baghdad, where he got his beginner lessons.

Ziryab was trained in the art of music from a young age.

Ziryab then traveled first to Syria and then Ifriqiya in Kairouan, where he lived at the Aghlabid court of Ziyadat Allah.

Ziryab found on arrival in Al-Andalus that prince Al-Hakam I had died, but his son, Abd ar-Rahman II, renewed his father's invitation.

Abd al-Rahman II was a great patron of the arts and Ziryab was given a great deal of freedom.

Ziryab settled in Cordoba in what is Spain with a monthly salary of 200 gold Dinars.

Ziryab introduced standards of excellence in all these fields as well as setting new norms for elegant and noble manners.

Ziryab established a school of music that trained singers and musicians and which influenced musical performance for at least two generations after him.

Ziryab is said to have created a unique and influential style of musical performance, and written songs that were performed in Iberia for generations.

Ziryab was a great influence on Spanish music, and is considered the founder of the Andalusian music traditions of North Africa.

Ziryab was a "major trendsetter of his time" creating trends in fashion, hairstyles, and hygiene.

Ziryab's students took these trends with them throughout Europe and North Africa.

Ziryab became the example of how a courtier, a person who attended aristocratic courts, should act.

Ziryab is said to have improved the oud by adding a fifth pair of strings, and using an eagle's beak or quill instead of a wooden pick.

Ziryab dyed the four strings a color to symbolize the Aristotelian humors, and the fifth string to represent the soul.

Ziryab established one of the first schools of music in Cordoba.

Ziryab started a vogue by changing clothes according to the weather and season.

Ziryab created a deodorant to get rid of bad odors, promoted morning and evening baths, and emphasized the maintenance of personal hygiene.

Ziryab is thought to have invented an early toothpaste, which he popularized throughout Islamic Iberia.

Ziryab had his hair cut with bangs down to his eyebrows and straight across his forehead, "new short hairstyles leaving the neck, ears and eyebrows free,".

Ziryab popularized shaving the face among men and set new haircut trends.

Royalty used to wash their hair with rose water, but Ziryab introduced the use of salt and fragrant oils to improve the hair's condition.

Ziryab is alleged by some to have opened beauty parlors for women of the Cordoban elite.

Ziryab "revolutionized the local cuisine" by introducing new fruit and vegetables such as asparagus.

Ziryab insisted that meals should be served on leathern tablecloths in three separate courses consisting of soup, the main course, and dessert.

Ziryab introduced the use of crystal as a container for drinks, which was more effective than metal.