Ziryab ("Blackbird") (789-857)

The Cultural Icon of al-Andalus

He was affectionately known as Ziryab and he revolutionized everything from fashion, to dining, to music, to hairstyles, to hygiene.

He was one of the greatest cultural icons of the Middle Ages and the impact he had is still felt in the world today.

He transformed the way people ate, socialised, and relaxed.

Up until his arrival, al-Andalus was a quite rough and tumble land. Not much emphasis was put on fashionable clothing, or other ways of looking stylish. Ziryab changed all that.

Ziryab ("Blackbird") (789-857)

Chief Entertainer of the Court of Cordoba in 822 AD.

He established an institute to educate people in musical arts and entertainment. At the institute, he took wealthy and poor students alike.

He taught the traditional musical styles and songs of his old home, Baghdad, but also added his own twist to many songs, innovating as he went along.

He even added a fifth string to the traditional instrument, the lute.

This later paved the way for the development of the guitar.

He was respected by all in al-Andalus at the time as the foremost musician of the day.

Ziryab ("Blackbird") (789-857)

Chief Entertainer of the Court of Cordoba in 822 AD.

He opened a Beauty parlour or “cosmetology school” for women near Alcázar, Al-Andalus.

He introduced a "shorter, shaped cut” with bangs on the forehead and the ears uncovered."

He also taught "the shaping of eyebrows”.

He started first time use of chemical depilatories for removing body hair.

He introduced new perfumes and cosmetics.

Ziryab ("Blackbird")

Cultural Icon of the Middle Ages

Like today’s superstar musicians, Ziryab was also a fashion and cultural icon. People looked to him for the latest and greatest forms of dress, hairstyles, and culinary trends.

Ziryab invented an early Toothpaste, which he popularized throughout Islamic Spain it was both "functional and pleasant to taste.

He also invented under-arm deodorants.

He introduced new short hairstyles leaving the neck, ears and eyebrows free," as well as Shaving for men.

He also introduced the three-course meal, insisting that meals should be served in three separate courses consisting of soup, the main course, and dessert. 

Ziryab ("Blackbird")

He dictated that certain colors of clothing should be reserved for certain times of the year. Winter clothes should be of darker color and heavier material, with furs being an important part of outfits. Fall and Spring clothing was supposed to reflect the dominant colors of the seasons.

In Fall one should wear reds, yellows, and oranges, reflecting the changing colors of the leaves.In Spring, he believed brighter colors reminiscent of the blooming flowers should be worn.

In the Summer, whites and other light colors should be worn. This was the origin of the modern rule of “no white clothes after Labor Day (early September)”.

Ziryab ("Blackbird")

Not being a man of only a few tricks, Ziryab changed the way Andalusians looked at hygiene. He was the first to introduce toothpaste to the peninsula .

He was the first to suggest deodorant as a way of smelling nice, even in the hot Andalusian summers.

He brought new hairstyles as well. Before his time, the people of al-Andalus (both men and women) generally had long and disheveled hair.

Ziryab made popular hairstyles that kept men’s hair a little shorter and cleaner, and suggested bangs for women.

These new hairstyles were managed with a new form of shampoo that Ziryab initiated that was made with rosewater and salt, leaving hair healthier than before.

Ziryab ("Blackbird")

As a cultural icon, his self-imposed rules about fashion, hygiene, and food quickly spread throughout the Iberian Peninsula and beyond.

Throughout Medieval Europe and the Muslim world, his styles were imitated and added to existing cultures.

He got rid of the clunky old metal goblets people had been using since before Islamic times and replaced them with lighter, more attractive crystal and glass cups, another innovation that still exists today.

His innovations remain today in the way we eat, dress, and take care of ourselves.

He was truly a cultural icon whose styles lasted well beyond his lifetime.