Abū Dulāma (d. 161/778 or 171-181/787-797), whose real name was Zand b. al-Jawn, was a well-known Kufan poet of the ʿAbbāsid era, black, and a client of the Banū Asad. The origin of his epithet is not certain: It may refer to his dark colour, to Mt. Dulāma in Mecca, or perhaps to his eldest son. His time and place of birth are unknown. According to many sources he grew up in Kufa, where he lived long enough to earn the epithet "Kufan." Eventually