[Sidenote: Abú ‘Ubayda.] [Sidenote: Aṣma‘í.] Abú ‘Ubayda Ma‘mar b. al-Muthanná was of Jewish-Persian race, and maintained in his writings the cause of the Shu‘úbites against the Arab national party, for which reason he is erroneously described as a Khárijite.[647] The rare expressions of the Arabic language, the history of the Arabs and their conflicts were his predominant study--"neither in heathen nor Muḥammadan times," he once boasted, "have two horses met in battle but that I possess information about them and their riders"[648]; yet, with all his learning, he was not always able to recite a verse without mangling it; even in reading the Koran, with the book before his eyes, he made mistakes.[649] Our knowledge of Arabian antiquity is drawn, to a large extent, from the traditions collected by him which are preserved in the _Kitábu ’l-Aghání_ and elsewhere. He left nearly two hundred works, of which a long but incomplete catalogue occurs in the _Fihrist_ (pp. 53-54). Abú ‘Ubayda was summoned by the Caliph Hárún al-Rashíd to Baghdád, where he became acquainted with Aṣma‘í. There was a standing feud between them, due in part to difference of character[650] and in part to personal jealousies. ‘Abdu ’l-Malik b. Qurayb al-Aṣma‘í was, like his rival, a native of Baṣra. Although he may have been excelled by others of his contemporaries in certain branches of learning, none exhibited in such fine perfection the varied literary culture which at that time was so highly prized and so richly rewarded. Whereas Abú ‘Ubayda was dreaded for his sharp tongue and sarcastic humour, Aṣma‘í had all the accomplishments and graces of a courtier. Abú Nuwás, the first great poet of the ‘Abbásid period, said that Aṣma‘í was a nightingale to charm those who heard him with his melodies. In court circles, where the talk often turned on philological matters, he was a favourite guest, and the Caliph would send for him to decide any abstruse question connected with literature which no one present was able to answer. Of his numerous writings on linguistic and antiquarian themes several have come down to us, _e.g._, 'The Book of Camels' (_Kitábu ’l-Ibil_), 'The Book of Horses' (_Kitábu ’l-Khayl_), and 'The Book of the Making of Man' (_Kitábu Khalqi ’l-Insán_), a treatise which shows that the Arabs of the desert had acquired a considerable knowledge of human anatomy. His work as editor, commentator, and critic of Arabian poetry forms (it has been said) the basis of nearly all that has since been written on the subject. [Sidenote: Ibnu ’l-Muqaffa‘ († _circa_ 760 A.D.).] [Sidenote: Ibn Qutayba († 899 A.D.).] [Sidenote: Jáḥiẓ († 869 A.D.).] [Sidenote: Ibn ‘Abdi Rabbihi († 940 A.D.).] [Sidenote: Abu ’l-Faraj al-Iṣfahání († 967 A.D.).] [Sidenote: Tha‘álibí († 1037 A.D.).]