A vast and informative collection dealing with a variety of adab (etiquette, manners, etc.) subjects, by Ibn Hamdun (495/1102 - 562/1167). 'Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Hamdun was a man of letters and a statesman in the caliphal court in Baghdad. [He is most famous for this work] - a collection of historical notices, pieces of literature, anecdotes, and poems. This work was typical of the genre of adab in that It combined entertainment with education, gaiety with seriousness' Ibn Hamdun was imprisoned because some of his passages were viewed as defamatory against the caliphate authority, where he died soon after. (Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature)