was such that he could adapt to the untuned strings and play the pieces regardless. Al-Isfahani attributed this story to Ishaq al-Mawsili (776–856)—a renowned minstrel under Harun al-Rashid—who purportedly relayed the story to friends. Among the most popular legends about Barbad involves Khosrow's beloved horse Shabdiz. In this story, Khosrow declared that when Shabdiz died, anyone who announced the news would be executed. Upon Shabdiz's death, no members of the court wished to risk conveying the news. To resolve the issue, Barbad sang a sad song, and Khosrow, understanding the purpose of the song, stated "Shabdiz is dead"; Barbad responded "Yes and it is your majesty who announced it", thereby preventing any possibility of death. This story was relayed earliest by the poet Khaled ibn Fayyaz ( ), with later accounts by al-Tha'alibi and the 13th-century writer Zakariya al-Qazwini. Many similar ancient stories originated in Iran, Turkey and Central Asia that pertain to musicians using music to express the death of a ruler's horse, as to avoid the ruler's wrath against the announcer. Various pieces for the Khwarazm dutar, Kyrgyz komuz and Kazakh dombra relay equivalent stories. Tafazzoli asserts that the story demonstrates Barbad's unique influence on Khosrow, while musicologist Lloyd Miller suggest that this and similar stories suggest that music and musicians in general exerted a significant influence on their political leaders. Death Like his birthplace, there are conflicting accounts surrounding the final years of Barbad's life. According to Ferdowsi, upon the murder of Khosrow by Kavad II, Barbad rushed from Jahrom to the capital of Ctesiphon. After arriving he sang elegies, cut off his fingers and burned his instruments out of respect. Al-Tha'alibi's account holds that Sarkash, who had remained at the court since being ousted from the chief minstrel position, poisoned Barbad. The 9th-century geographer Ibn Khordadbeh's Kitāb al-lahw wa-l-malahi, however, records the opposite, stating that Barbad poisoned Sarkash but was spared from Khosrow's punishment by way of a "witty remark". The 9th-century scholar Ibn Qutaybah's ‘Uyūn al-Akhbār and the 10th-century poet Ibn Abd Rabbih's al-ʿIqd al-Farīd state that Barbad was killed by a different musician, variously recorded as Yošt, Rabūst, Rošk and Zīwešt. Music and poetry Barbad was active as a poet-musician, lutenist, music theorist and composer. His compositions included panegyrics, elegies and verses. These were performed by himself at festivals such as Nowruz and Mehregan, as well as state banquets and victory celebrations. While none