Poems of love and battle by Arabias legendary warrior From the sixthcentury highlands of Najd in the Arabian peninsula on the eve of the advent of Islam come the strident cries of a legendary warrior and poet. The black outcast son of an Arab father and an Ethiopian slave mother Antarah ibn Shaddad struggled to win the recognition of his father and tribe. He defied social norms and despite his outcast status loyally defended his people. Antarah captured his tumultuous life in uncompromising poetry that combines flashes of tenderness with bloodcurdling violence. His war songs are testaments to his lifelong battle to win the recognition of his people and the hand of Ablah the freeborn woman he loved but who was denied him by her family. War Songs presents the poetry attributed to Antarah and includes a selection of poems taken from the later Epic of Antar a popular storycycle that continues to captivate and charm Arab audiences to this day with tales of its heros titanic feats of strength and endurance. Antarahs voice resonates here for the first time in vibrant contemporary English intoning its eternal truths commitment to ones beliefs loyalty to kith and kin and fidelity in love.An Englishonly edition.