Abu Al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn Nafi’ was a musician and singer with a musical voice from Abbasid, Mesopotamia (He was a contemporary of the Caliph Al Mahdi).

Ziryab made great and prominent contributions to the Arab and Eastern music. He was nicknamed as Ziryab due to his melodious voice and dark skin; an Arabic name given to a black bird with a tuneful sound known as the Blackbird.

Ziryab was born in 789 A.D (173 H.G) in Mosul and grew up in Baghdad where he secretly became a pupil of Ishaq al-Mawsili to master the art of singing.

One day, the Caliph Harun al-Rashid ordered Ishaq al-Mawsili to bring with him a new singer who excelled in singing. Thus, Ishaq brought Ziryab who asked for the Caliph’s permission to sing. The Caliph Harun al-Rashid was delighted with joy and marveled at Ziryab, and he recommended the tutor Ishaq to cherish his pupil.

Ziryab spent a long time in the court of Aghlabids at Kairouan (in Tunisia) until he decided to go to Andalusia. Consequently, he sent a letter offering his services to the Emir of Cordoba, Abo al-‘As al-Hakam Ibn Hisham from the Umayyad House who was known as the Ravali. The Emir accepted immediately.

Meanwhile, when Ziryab arrived in Andalusia, al-Hakam Ibn Hisham had already passed away and he was welcomed by the Caliph’s successor, “Abd al-Rahman II”. After Ziryab sang before the Caliph, he became very fond of him and assigned him to be an integral part of his inner circle. Soon Ziryab became his boon companion and one of the closest confidants.

Later, under the Caliph’s directives, Ziryab founded al-Madanyyat House of singing and music, which is considered the first school for teaching music and singing that encouraged experimentation in musical styles and instruments.

[ source: Wikipedia.org ]