This collection of the works of ancient Arabic poets encompasses the original three volumes of the collection by Ahlwardt from 1902 and 1903. The substantial introductions and comments are in German while the works referenced appear in the original Arabic. The three volumes contain material from al-Asma`i, al-`Ajjaj, az-Zafayan, and Ruba bin al-`Ajjaj, poets of the pre-Islamic period. The selections of the poems themselves are essential reading for any historian of Arabic poetry while the comments of the editor add interpretive value to the original material from the hands of the poets themselves. Additional useful tools are included in the collection, such as variant reading or emendation lists, also provide further information to the reader. This edition of seminal Arabic poetry will be greeted with acclaim by students of ancient poetry.

Wilhelm Theodor Ahlwardt (1828-1909) was born into an academic family. He studied oriental philology at Greifswald and Göttingen. Employed as a librarian in Gotha and Paris, he eventually became a Privatdozent at Greifswald University. He wrote several important works on Arabic poetry.