Levi ben Jacob ibn al-Tabban (), also known with the Arabic surname Abu l'Fihm, was a Jewish grammarian and poet who lived at

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

in the beginning of the twelfth century. He was the friend and elder contemporary of

Judah Halevi Judah haLevi (also Yehuda Halevi or ha-Levi; ; ; c. 1075 – 1141) was a Sephardic Jewish poet, physician and philosopher. Halevi is considered one of the greatest Hebrew poets and is celebrated for his secular and religious poems, many of whic ...

, who styled al-Tabban "King of Song." He is also alluded to by

Abraham ibn Ezra Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (, often abbreviated as ; ''Ibrāhim al-Mājid ibn Ezra''; also known as Abenezra or simply ibn Ezra, 1089 / 1092 – 27 January 1164 / 23 January 1167)''Jewish Encyclopedia''online; '' Chambers Biographical Dictionar ...

in the preface to "''Moznayim''."

Works

He was the author of a grammatical work in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

, called "''Miftaḥ''" (The Key), of which only the title has been preserved. Of his liturgic poems a number are extant in the festival liturgies of

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

, and Algeria, and can usually be easily identified by his customary

acrostic An acrostic is a poem or other word composition in which the ''first'' letter (or syllable, or word) of each new line (or paragraph, or other recurring feature in the text) spells out a word, message or the alphabet. The term comes from the Fre ...

, or . The spirit of melancholy which pervades his penitential poem in the Tripoli

prayer-book A prayer book is a book containing prayers and perhaps devotional readings, for private or communal use, or in some cases, outlining the liturgy of religious services. Books containing mainly orders of religious services, or readings for them are ...

(page 63a), "To you, men, I call" (Hebrew: ), as well as the

dirge A dirge () is a somber song or lament expressing mourning or grief, such as may be appropriate for performance at a funeral. Often taking the form of a brief hymn, dirges are typically shorter and less meditative than elegy, elegies. Dirges are of ...

-like recital of

abuse Abuse is the act of improper usage or treatment of a person or thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, ...

and misery which it contains, shows the poem to have been produced in an age of

persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

and

tyranny A tyrant (), in the modern English language, English usage of the word, is an autocracy, absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurper, usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defen ...

practiced against the Jews. Others of his literary products, which are marked by distress and gloom, also point to such circumstances. The allusions in them are to the devastation of the province of Zaragoza carried on by the Christians under

Alfonso VI Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. I ...

, whose triumphant advance

Yusuf ibn Tashfin Yusuf ibn Tashfin, also Tashafin, Teshufin, (; reigned c. 1061 – 1106) was a Sanhaja leader of the Almoravid Empire. He cofounded the city of Marrakesh and led the Muslim forces in the Battle of Sagrajas. Yusuf ibn Tashfin came to al-And ...

was called from Africa to check.
''Jewish Encyclopedia'' bibliography: *

Sachs Sachs is a German surname, meaning "man from Saxony". Sachs is a common surname among Ashkenazi Jews from Saxony, in the United States sometimes adopted in the variant Zaks, supposedly in reference to the Hebrew phrase ''Zera Kodesh Shemo'' (ZaKS), ...

, ''Die Religiōse Poesie der Juden in Spanien''
p. 290
* Blumenfeld, ''Oẓar Neḥmad'', ii. 81 et seq.; *

Edelmann Edelmann (German for "nobleman") is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Heinz Edelmann (1934–2009), German illustrator and designer * Jean-Frédéric Edelmann (1749–1794), French classical composer * Otto Edelmann (1917–2003 ...

and

Dukes Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

, ''Treasures of Oxford'', p. 23, London, 1850; *

Steinschneider Moritz Steinschneider (; 30 March 1816 – 24 January 1907) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist, and an important figure in Jewish studies and Jewish history. He is credited as having invented the term ''antisemitism.'' Education Mo ...

,
col. 1616
* idem, in '' Jew. Quart. Rev.''
xi. 621
translates the name Al-Tabban as "straw-merchant"; *

Zunz Zunz (, ) is a Yiddish surname: * (1874–1939), Belgian pharmacologist * Sir Gerhard Jack Zunz (1923–2018), British civil engineer * Leopold Zunz (Yom Tov Lipmann Tzuntz) (1794–1886), German Reform rabbi and writer, the founder of academi ...

, ' pp
217
et seq.; * Grätz, ', 2d ed., vi. 120; *

Bacher Bacher is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Adam Bacher (born 1973), South African cricketer *Ali Bacher (born 1942), South African cricketer and cricket official *Dominik Bacher (born 2002), German footballer *Edvard Bacher (187 ...

, ''Abraham ibn Esra als Grammatiker'', p. 187; * Kokowzoff, ''Kitâb-al Muwâzana'', p. 8, St. Petersburg, 1893; *

, ''Jewish Literature'' (1857); * Berliner's ''Magazin'', iv. 103; * Michael, Heimann Joseph, (1891) ''Or ha-Ḥayyim'', Frankfort-on-the-Main (in Hebrew), No. 46; *

Fürst ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German language, German word for a ruler as well as a princely title. ' were, starting in the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ...

, ' ii. 289, note to Sol. Franco.

References

12th-century non-fiction writers 12th-century Spanish poets Grammarians from Spain Jewish liturgical poets Jewish non-fiction writers Male non-fiction writers Male poets Medieval Jewish poets People from Zaragoza Place of birth unknown Place of death unknown Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown {{Judaism-bio-stub