ABSTRACT
The anaphora is constituted by the repetition of :jti/:lib 'the holder of', a weak noun that merely denotes ownership of, or association with, the following element. The figure begins with general elements of good rulership, the 'sword, stratagems and destruction', with which he combats the vicissitudes of poverty and crime, beleaguering his subjects. Military items are the 'call' answering the request for protection, and his constant God-given 'victory'. The list concludes with his official rank, the 'guard' of Baghdad, and his stewardship of the Abbasid insignia, the 'black banner' and the 'lance' of Solomon.6 The anaphora is built with epithetic noun phrases, not full sentences; they are qualified by syndetic relative clauses, which resume the praised item with the definite relative pronoun (alladhflallatf, 122-8).7 Only a few images illustrate these items, such as the metaphor of a protective mountain covered with fruit trees for the patron (122), and his lance's comparison with a spitting viper (128). The beginning of
the anaphora is expanded by intervening verses, an insertion technique that reappears below.
