Maqama

Maqama (Arabic, assemblies, pl., maqamat) are an (originally) Arabic literary genre of rhymed prose with intervals of poetry in which rhetorical extravagance is conspicuous. The 10th century author Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadhani is said to have invented the form, which was extended by al-Hariri in the next century. Both men's maqamat center on trickster figures whose wanderings and exploits in speaking to assemblies of the powerful are conveyed by a narrator. Manuscripts of al Hariri's Maqamat anecdotes of abu Zayd were frequently illustrated with miniatures.

Noted Authors of Maqamat

• Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadhani (969–1008)
• al-Hariri (1054–1122)