ABSTRACT
During the rule of the remaining Umayyad caliphs, musical performances and court musicians were at times highly favored, especially during the reigns of Sulayman (715–17), Yazid II (720–4), al-Walid II (743–4), and Yazid III (744). If so, however, these performances have all disappeared without a trace, for the extant historical sources about the early years after the conquest focus almost entirely on military and political history. Back in the caliphal court of Damascus, however, during this same period, music and musicians were playing an ever greater role in courtly life. In any case, it seems safe to assume that ‘Abd al-Rahman purchased her exclusively for her musical talent, and not as a concubine, which reveals an interest in music that is not attested in any other historical documents about his reign. In any case, Sulaym is said to have mastered their music, the texts of which would have been either in Romance or in Latin.
