of the horses
arising out of the rivalry between the stallion Dahis and the mare
Ghabra.[4] Treachery alone prevented the famous courser from winning the
race, and in his vengeance Qais, chief of the tribe of Abs, waged bitter
war against his enemies. Antar was the rhapsodist as well as a participant
in these contests. Success in war rapidly followed. His kinsmen forgot his
lowly birth and former menial occupation and regarded him as the first
warrior of his day. His deeds of heroism increased his prestige and after
his father's death he became the protector of his tribe and the pattern of
Arabic chivalry.

Meanwhile he had shown such rare poetic gifts that his fame spread
beyond the circle of his clan and in due course of time he was selected
as a contestant in those poetic trials that were peculiar to the Arabs
in the pre-Islamic days. So successful was Antar's effort that he was
acknowledged the greatest poet of his time and one of his odes was
selected as one of the Mu 'Allakat, the seven suspended poems, while
judged by the assemblage of all the Arabs worthy to be written in letters
of gold and hung on high in the sacred Kaabah at Mecca, as accepted models
of Arabian style.[5]

The death of Antar is enshrouded in obscurity. Antar perished about the
year 615 while fighting against the tribe of the Tai. According to one
authority he had grown old and his youthful activity had forsaken him. He
is said to have fallen from his horse and to have been unable to regain
his feet in time. His death was a signal for peace and the end of the
long-drawn hostility. In spite of the tribe's desire to avenge its hero
and its bard, a compensation of 100 camels was accepted for the murder of
one of its scions and the poets celebrated the close of the long struggle.
Another author says the hero, stricken to death by a poison shaft sped by
the hand of a treacherous and implacable foe, remounted his horse to insure
the safe retreat of his tribe and died leaning on his lance. His enemies,
smitten with terror by the memory of his prowess, dared not advance, till
one cunning warrior devised a strategem which startled the horse out of its
marble stillness. The creature gave a bound and Antar's corpse, left
unsupported, fell upon the ground.[6]

His fame as a literary character transcends that of the modern authors of
black blood, such as Pushkin in Russia, and the elder Dumas in France.
After his death the fame of Antar's deeds spread acr