Adi ibn Zayd

Adi ibn Zayd al-Ibadi al-Tamimi (عَدِيُّ بْنُ زَيْدٍ العِبَادِيُّ التَمِيمِيُ) (ca. 550-600) was a 6th-century Arab Christian poet from an Ibadi family of al-Hirah.

Life
Like his father, Adi ibn Zayd was influenced by Persian culture and served as the secretary (dabir) for Arab affairs under the Sasanian king Hormizd IV ((r. 579 – 590)). It seems that he went to Constantinople by order of the Sasanian king and brought from there several books. According to Arab sources, he spoke Arabic and Persian and it is likely that as a Nestorian Christian he also spoke Syriac.

He was married to the granddaughter of the Lakhmid ruler al-Nu'man III ibn al-Mundhir ((r. 580 – 602)), and is said to have helped al-Nu'man accede to power as ruler of al-Hirah. He is featured in Adî ibn Zayd and the Princess Hind, a tale in the Arabian Nights.

Around the year 600 he was the victim of a palace intrigue and nothing more is known about him.

Work
Contrary to other poets at the courts of the Arab kings such as Al-Nabigha, no panegyrics by Adi ibn Zayd have been preserved, possibly because his family was already well-known and he therefore did not need to charm the rulers. Preserved are poems on wine, prison, scolding errors of his youth as well as a historical ballad on the defeat of queen Zenobia by the founder of the Lakhmid dynasty, Amr ibn Adi. Among his poems is also one dealing with the biblical creation narrative.