I examine the poetry of apre-Islamic poetess al-Hujayjah Safiyah bint Tha'labah al-Shaybaniyah that came down to us through the context of the battle of Dhu-Qar between the Banu Shayban, al-Hujayjah’s tribe, and the Sassanid army as found in Harb Bani Shayban ma'a Kisra? Anushirwan narrated by Bishr ibn Marwan Asadi?. I use speech act theory to analyze these poems and treat each poem as an illocutionary act, the purpose or point of which is to incite the poetess’s people to fight the Sassanid army. In addition, I argue, using the dated manuscripts of the book, which the story of the battle of Dhu-Qar as a si?rah or epic is set in the historical Arab-Persian conflict, especially in Iraq. This conflict started due to the pro-Arab reaction against the movement of Shu'biyah in the Abbasid period, continued through to the siege of al-Basrah under the Persian rule of the Zand Dynasty (1750–1794) and, finally, through the Iraq-Iran war (1980-1988). It should be noted that the book was edited by an Iraqi scholar, Muhammad Jasim al-Mashhadani, and published in Baghda?d 1988.
I argue throughout my paper that al-Hujayjah poetry as speech act within the text of Harb Bani Shayban ma'a Kisra Anushirwan worked successfully in inciting Banu Shayban to protect al-Hurqah. Al-Hujayjah poetry within the historical context in Harb Bani Shayban ma'a Kisra? Anushirwan also work allegorically in later periods to incite the Arab against their opponents especially the Persians. The victory of Banu Shayban in protecting their identity has been developed as a source of inspiration to the Arab in some later period
Middle East/Near East Studies