ˈUbayda al-Ṭunbūriya () (also Obeidet or Ubaida; 830) was an Arabian tunbūr or

pandore The pandura (, ''pandoura'') or pandore, an ancient Greek string instrument, belonged in the broad class of the lute and guitar instruments. Akkadians played similar instruments from the 3rd millennium BC. Ancient Greek artwork depicts such lute ...

player and singer. Ubayda's father was the

mawlā ''Mawlā'' (, plural ''mawālī'' ), is a polysemous Classical Arabic, Arabic word, whose meaning varied in different periods and contexts.A.J. Wensinck, Encyclopedia of Islam 2nd ed, Brill. "Mawlā", vol. 6, p. 874. Before the Islamic Prophet ...

of one of

Abdallah ibn Tahir al-Khurasani Abdallah ibn Tahir (, ) (ca. 798–844/5) was a military leader and the Tahirid governor of Khurasan from 828 until his death. He is perhaps the most famous of the Tahirids. His career spanned twenty-five years under three caliphs, al-Ma'mun, ...

's companions. She was taught the tunbūr by Al-Zabaidi al-Tunburi, a guest in her family's home. Following the death of her parents, she became a public singer. She was purchased by Ali ibn al-Faraj al-Jahhi. They had a son. She took several lovers who spent large amounts of money on her, making her wealthy. She was considered the best instrumentalist of her era and was surnamed ''tunbūrīyya''. Her contemporary, tunbūr player Masdud, would not enter a contest with her as he feared she would win. Musician

Ishaq al-Mawsili Ishaq al-Mawsili (; 767/772 – March 850) was an Arab musician of Persian origin active as a composer, singer and music theorist. The leading musician of his time in the Abbasid Caliphate, he served under six successive Abbasid caliphs: Haru ...

said of her: "In the art of tunbūr playing, anyone who seeks to go beyond Ubayda makes mere noise." He once had himself invited to one of her performances. He arrived incognito at the house where the performance was held; she performed excellently until she learned that he was there. Her tunbūr was inlaid with

ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

with the inscription "Everything may be suffered in love, except treason." An article for Ubayda containing a detailed description of her career was included in

Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Iṣfahānī (), also known as Abul-Faraj, (full form: Abū al-Faraj ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥaytham al-Umawī al-Iṣfahānī) (897–967Common Era, CE / 284–356Islamic calendar, AH) w ...

's 10th-century encyclopedia '' Kitāb al-aghāni''. Ubayda's life history was conveyed to Abu-l-Faraj by Jahza al-Barmakī and Ja'far ibn Qudāma. Both had learned of Ubayda from Ahmad ibn al-Tayyib al-Sarakhsī. Historian Hilary Kilpatrick, in her book ''Making the Great Book of Songs'', writes that Abu-l-Faraj may have created a composite account of the two stories, one of which was a fuller account.

References

9th-century Arab people 9th-century women musicians Tanbur players Qiyan 9th-century women from the Abbasid Caliphate 9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate Slaves in the Abbasid Caliphate Medieval Arabic-language singers 9th-century slaves Women slaves in the Abbasid Caliphate {{Asia-musician-stub