In this 1240 CE illustrated page from al-Hariri's 'Maqama', a roadside doctor is 'cupping' a patient's back when they begin to argue over payment. A crowd gathers to watch the spectacle, at which point the doctor and the patient reveal themselves to be actors and beg for alms before vanishing. The 'Maqama' are a collection of picaresque Arabic tales written in the form of rhymed prose in which rhetorical extravagance is conspicuous. The style was invented in the 10th century by Badi al-Zaman al-Hamadhani and extended by Abu Muhammed al-Qasim ibn Ali al-Hariri of Basra the following century. The protagonists in the tales are invariably silver-tongued hustlers, especially the roguish Abu Zaid al-Saruji, who trick the narrator and who live on their wits and dazzle onlookers with displays of acrobatics, acting and by reciting poetry.