of  the  Assemblies  written  by  the  hand  of  Hariri,  and
on  the  cover  of  them  a  declaration  that  he  had  composed
them  for  the  Wazir  Jelal  ad  Din  'Amid  ad  Dowlat  ibn
Sada^ah,  who  was  also  Wazir  of  Mustarshid.  But  this,
which  rests  only  on  the  doubtful  genuineness  of  a  hand-
writing, cannot  outweigh  the  general  tradition  that  is
opposed  to  it,  and  Ibn  Ehallikan  himself  seems  to  feel
this,  for  he  adds,  ^^  God  knows  the  truth.^'  It  is  reason-
able then  to  conclude  that  Ani&shirwan,  having  read  the
first  composed  Assembly,  and  perceiving  that  Hariri  had
rivalled  in  it  his  predecessor,  Badf  az  ZemS.n,  urged  the
author  to  add  others  to  it,  and  that  Hariri  obeyed,  with
less  unwillingness  and  modesty  than  he  pretends.  The
tradition  is,  that  he  composed,  from  time  to  time,  forty
Assemblies,  each  of  them,  as  we  see,  recounting  an  ad-
venture of  AbA  Zayd,  but  without  any  connection  with  *
any  other.  His  performances  obtained  for  him  the
friendship  '  of  AnAshirwan,  and  he  frequently  visited
Bagdad  and  payed  his  court  to  his  patron.  From  a  copy
of  verses  preserved  by  *Imad  ad  Din,  it  would  seem  that
the  author  was  somewhat  importunate  in  his  devotion,
for  he  complains  not  only  of  his  separation  from  AnA-
shirwan,  but  also  of  the  latter's  neglect  in  not  answering
his  letters.  But  such  was  the  style  of  the  poets  of  the
time,  who  carried  the  besetting  sins  of  servility  and
adulation  further  than  any  of  their  race  before  or  since.
The  friendship  of  AnAshirwan  could  not,  however,
prevent  Hariri  from  being  endangered  both  in  life  and
property  by  the  calamities  which  came  upon  his  city.
