Note 216 — Chapter III

See Nöldeke, Fünf Mu‘allaqát, i, p. 51 seq. According to the traditional version (Aghání, ix, 179), a band of Taghlibites went raiding, lost their way in the desert, and perished of thirst, having been refused water by a sept of the Banú Bakr. Thereupon Taghlib appealed to King ‘Amr to enforce payment of the blood-money which they claimed, and chose ‘Amr b. Kulthúm to plead their cause at Ḥíra. So ‘Amr recited his Mu‘allaqa before the king, and was answered by Ḥárith on behalf of Bakr.