Articles on Songs, Events and Relationships

Anyone leafing through the Aghānī is bound to notice the division of the material into sections or, as they are referred to in this study, articles. Each section is introduced by a song with the name of its poet and composer and the indications for its performance, ¹ and this is followed generally by a title indicating the main subject of the subsequent akhbār. ² When both the poet and the composer are treated, two articles follow a single song. The titles of these articles treating of people are of the type “Khabar fulān wa-nasabuh” (The account and genealogy of X), “Akhbār fulān” (The accounts about X), “Nasab fulān wa-akhbāruh” (The origin and accounts of X), or “Dhikr khabar fulān” (The mention of the account about X). ³