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EL-MAS'UDf  S 

f\ 

HISTORICAL  ENCYCLOPAEDIA, 


ENTITLED 


MEADOWS  OF  GOLD  AND  MINES  OF  GEMS" 


TRANSLATED   FROM   THE  ARABIC 


BY 


ALOYS  SPRENGER,  M.D. 


VOL.  I. 


LONDON: 
PRINTED  FOR  THE  ORIENTAL  TRANSLATION  FUND 

OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  IRELAND. 

SOLD    BY 

JOHN  MURRAY,  ALBEMARLE  STREET; 

AND 

PARBURY,  ALLEN,  AND  Co.,  LEADENHALL  STREET. 

MDCCCXLI. 


5)17 


LONDON : 

HARRISON  AND  CO.,  PRINTERS, 
ST.  MARTIN'S  LANE. 


THIS  WORK 


IS 


RESPECTFULLY   DEDICATED 


TO    THE 


RIGHT  HONOURABLE 


THE  EARL  OF  MUNSTER, 


BY 


THE  TRANSLATOR, 


790984 


PREFACE. 


"SOME  authors  treat  in  their  works  exclu- 
sively on  history,  as  el-Mas' udi  in  his  book 
entitled  THE  MEADOWS  OF  GOLD  ;  in  which 
he  describes  the  state  of  the  nations  and 
countries  of  the  East  and  West,  as  they 
were  in  his  age,  that  is  to  say,  in  330  (332), 
A.H.  He  gives  an  account  of  the  genius  and 
usages  of  the  nations,  a  description  of  the 
countries,  mountains,  seas,  kingdoms,  and 
dynasties  ;  and  he  distinguishes  the  Arabian 
race  from  the  Barbarians.  El-Mas'udi  be- 
came, through  this  work,  the  prototype  of 


Uf 


fAx»l>* 


VI  PREFACE. 

all  historians  to  whom  they  refer,  and  the 
authority  on  which  they  rely  in  the  critical 
estimate  of  many  facts,  which  form  the 
subject  of  their  labours. 

"Then  came  el-Bekri,  who  followed  the 
example  of  el-Mas'udi,  but  only  in  geogra- 
phy, and  not  with  respect  to  other  subjects 
(ethnography  and  history) ;  for  the  changes 
which  had  taken  place  in  his  time,  since 
el-Mas'udi,  in  the  relative  position  and  state 
of  nations,  and  in  the  spirit  of  times  (literally, 
the  generations)  were  not  material.  But, 
at  present,  at  the  end  of  the  eighth  cen- 
tury, a  complete  revolution  has  taken  place 
with  the  Maghrib,  where  we  live. 

"I  take  advantage,  in  this  book,  of  all 
the  opportunities  of  collecting  information 


PREFACE.  VII 

which  are  at  my  command  here  in  the 
Maghrib,  to  give  an  idea  (of  human  society 
and  its  history),  and  a  systematical  and 
full  account  (of  the  facts  referring  to  this 
subject).  But  my  particular  object  is  to 
describe  the  Maghrib,  and  the  condition  of 
the  inhabitants  of  this  part  of  the  globe  in 
different  periods  (literally,  the  condition  of 
the  generations)  and  of  its  various  nations, 
and  to  give  a  narrative  of  the  kingdoms 
which  flourished  here,  and  of  the  dynasties 
which  ruled  over  it.  I  must  exclude  the 
history  of  other  countries,  for  I  do  not  know 
the  condition  and  circumstances  in  which 
the  Eastern  countries,  and  the  nations  who 
live  there,  are ;  and  mere  report,  however 
exact  it  may  be,  does  not  enable  me  to 
accomplish  the  task  which  I  have  in  view. 
El-Mas'udi  has  fully  accomplished  this  task, 
having  made  very  extensive  journeys,  and 


PKEFACK. 


examined  almost  all  countries,  as  we  learn 
from  his  book  ;  but  where  he  speaks  of  the 
Maghrib,  his  account  is  too  short/'  (Ibn 
Khaldun,  Proleg.) 

The  frequent  quotations  and  extracts 
from  el-Mas'udi,  in  other  Arabic  authors, 
show  that  Ibn  Khaldun'  s  opinion  of  our 
author  was  universal.  And  we  cannot  hesi- 
tate to  compare  him  with  the  Jonian  histo- 
rian :  If  it  is  the  warmth  for  his  own 
nationality  and  tenets  without  prejudice 
against  what  is  foreign;  the  elasticity  of 
mind  to  receive  impressions,  and  to  appre- 
ciate opinions,  without  want  of  firmness  and 
principles  ;  the  thirst  for  correctness  of 
information  without  preconceived  criticism, 
which  rejects  what  is  unknown,  if  it  differs 
from  known  facts  ;  the  vastness  of  experi- 


c  .s 


MS.  of  Leyden, 
No.  1350,  foL  12;  addit.  MS.  of  the  British 
Museum,  No.  9574,  fol.  23. 


PREFACE.  IX 


ence  and  deep  learning  acquired  through 
extensive  journeys,  frequent  intercourse 
with  men  of  all  nations  and  opinions,  with- 
out neglecting  that  self-knowledge  which  is 
acquired  in  solitary  self- contemplation  and 
the  basis  of  history ;  and  if  it  is  that  ex- 
tensive knowledge  and  enlarged  mind  which 
embraces  all  the  past,  reflecting  on  the 
present;  and  that  sound  criticism,  which, 
entering  into  the  feelings  of  nations,  and 
penetrated  by  those  ideas,  imaginations, 
and  tendencies,  which  mankind  feel  at  all 
times,  selects  what  is  national  and  charac- 
teristic although  it  may  not  always  bear  the 
stamp  of  logical  reasoning  ;  if  it  is  for  these 
merits  that  Herodotus  has  acquired  the 
name  of  Father  of  History,  and  of  the  great- 
est of  all  Historians, — el-Mas'udi  has  a  just 
claim  to  be  called  the  Herodotus  of  the 
Arabs.  Combining,  like  Herodotus,  ethno- 
graphy and  geography  with  history,  and 
learning  with  experience  and  oral  informa- 
tion, he  distinguishes  between  the  various 
nations  of  the  East,  and  gives  us  a  picture  of 
their  innate  character ;  then  he  follows  up 
those  ideas  and  principles,  which,  under  the 


X  PREFACE. 

form  of  religion  for  the  uneducated,  and  as 
philosophy  or  as  an  instrument  to  lead  the 
great  mass,  for  men  in  power,  have  grown  up 
from  the  character  of  each  nation,  or  were 
embraced  by  the  nation,  if  they  had  been 
first  pronounced  by  one  man  or  a  prophet. 
He  shows  us  particularly,  in  the  second 
part,  how  such  opinions  served  as  a  spiritual 
link  to  connect  man  with  man,  to  strengthen 
the  ties  of  blood  and  language,  and  to  cover 
interests  with  the  veil  of  sacredness ;  and 
how  religious  opinions  brought  nations  into 
conflict  with  each  other. 

El-Mas' iidi  has  the  merit  of  treating  the 
tenets  of  all  sects  with  equal  attention;  and 
ancient  traditions  which  had  existed  in  the 
East  for  thousands  of  years,  seem  to  have 
been  melted,  as  it  were,  in  his  mind,  into 
one  original  idea,  as  they  had  flowed  from 
one  common  source.  In  this  respect,  even 
his  History  of  the  Creation  is  of  interest ; 
for  he  unites  the  traditions  respecting  cos- 
mogony which  were  kept  up  in  the  East, 
together  with  the  documents  of  Moses  and 
Sanchoniaton,  with  the  Scriptural  accounts*. 

*  This  may  be  shown  by  the  classification  of  the  fruit  trees 


PREFACE.  XI 

Although  the  praise  which  Ibn  Khaldun 
gives  to  El-Mas'udi,  considering  him  as  the 
Imam  of  all  Arabic  historians,  does  not 
apply  to  the  first  period  of  Arabic  literature ; 
yet  he  may  indeed  be  considered  as  the  re- 
presentative of  the  learning  of  the  second 
period :  the  importance  of  his  work  must 
therefore  be  identified  with  that  of  Moham- 
medan literature  generally.  But  the  useful- 
ness of  Oriental  studies  has  been  questioned 
by  a  class  of  men  whose  opinions  deserve 


which  el-Mas'udi  gives,  p.  60  infra,  which  is  a  tradition  of 
the  Guebres,  and  agrees  as  well  with  the  Zend-Avesta,  as  if  it 
were  a  translation:  "  Tout  arbre  qui  vient  dans  les  deux  Mondes, 
(dont)  le  bois  (est)  sec  ou  humide,  et  qui  est  cultive  (par  la  main 
de  1'homme),  porte  des  fleurs  et  des  fruits,  est  de  trente  especes. 

Dix  (de  ces)  especes  (portent  des  fruits)  dont  on  peut  manger 
le  dedans  et  le  dehors,  comme  le  figuier,  le  pommier,  le  coignas- 
sier,  1'oranger,  la  vigne,  le  murier,  le  dattier,  le  myrthe,  et  les 
autres  arbres  de  cette  espece. 

Dix  (especes  portent  des  fruits),  dont  on  peut  manger  le  de- 
dans, comme  le  dattier,  le  pecher,  1'abricotier  blanc,  et  les  autres 
arbres  de  cette  espece. 

Ceux-ci  (les  dix  dernieres  especes,  portent  des  fruits),  dont 
on  peut  manger  le  dedans,  et  dont  on  ne  doit  pas  manger  le  dehors, 
s^avoir,  le  noyer,  1'amandier,  le  grenadier,  le  cocotier,  le  noisetier, 
le  chateignier,  le  pistachier  sauvage,  le  noyer,  dont  le  fruit  a  la 
coquille  tendre.  II  y  a  encore  beaucoup  d'arbres  fruitiers  de  cette 
espece."  (Boun  Dehesch  xxvii.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  406.) 


Xll  PREFACE. 


respect.  These  dry  grammatical  studies, 
being  mostly  a  task  for  memory,  enslave  the 
mind,  and  contract  its  horizon,  instead  of 
enlarging  it ;  whereas,  all  pursuits  which 
have  no  practical  use  should  contribute  to 
raise  the  energies  of  man,  to  enlarge  his 
views  on  the  condition  of  mankind,  and  to 
make  him  more  free.  This  is  their  language. 
It  is,  therefore,  the  best  introduction  for  the 
reader  to  our  author,  and  for  our  author  to 
the  reader,  to  devote  this  Preface  to  some 
considerations  on  the  relation  of  Oriental 
studies  to  the  present  state  of  European 
knowledge.  It  is  the  more  necessary  to 
speak  on  this  point,  that  the  reader  may 
know  the  tendency  of  the  notes  of  the  trans- 
lator, otherwise  he  might  be  blamed  for  his 
endeavour,  because  it  cannot  be  denied,  that 
the  senseless  learning  displayed  by  some 
philologists,  of  all  denominations,  in  their 
notes,  full  of  useless  quotations,  are  the 
overflowings  of  a  weak  brain,  but  industrious 
hand,  and  as  offensive  to  common  sense  as 
the  eructations  of  a  weak  but  overloaded 
stomach,  with  which  they  may  be  compared. 
It  may  be  presumed  that,  if  we  had  an 


PREFACE.  Xlll 

exact  picture  of  the  rise,  progress,  height,  and 
downfall  of  a  nation,  we  might,  by  compari- 
son, come  to  the  result,  that  there  are  cer- 
tain laws  in  the  growth  of  nations,  as  we 
observe  them  in  individuals,  which  develope 
certain  faculties  and  feelings  at  certain 
periods  of  historical  life.*  And  how  should 
it  be  otherwise, — since  we  find  that  certain 
tendencies,  wants,  and  ideas,  are  as  con- 
stantly met  with  in  the  mind  of  man,  under 
every  climate  and  circumstance,  as  the  laws 
of  nature  are  in  matter  ?  So,  for  instance, 
there  is  no  human  being  who  has  not  a  ten- 
dency to  rise  above  others,  as  there  is  no  mat- 
ter without  gravity.  The  spirited  feels  this 
tendency  as  ambition,  the  idle  as  vanity,  the 
weak  as  fashion,  the  affectionate  mother  as 
love  and  foresight  for  her  child,  and  only  the 
self-conceited  carries  his  vanity  so  far  as  to 
think  that  he  is  free  from  it.  In  a  society 


*  Ibn  Kaldun,  who  started  this  idea  four  or  five  centuries 
before  Herder  and  Lessing,  devotes  a  chapter  of  his  Prolego- 
mena to  it,  which  is  inscribed  3UxA>Jb  j\£\  l$!  J^jJJ  /.^J  ^ 
(jolacvJi  $£  "  that  ruling  nations  go  through  natural  periods 
of  life  like  individuals." 


XIV  PREFACE. 

where  all  are  equal,  every  one  will  strive 
to  raise  himself  above  the  rest,  and  to|rule; 
and  if  one  man  stands  so  high  that  he  cannot 
be  outdone,  it  will  appear  a  worthy  prize  of 
exertion  to  approach  him,  and  to  gain  his 
favour  by  servility.  The  ambition  of  youth 
consists  in  noble  enthusiasm;  but  as  soon  as 
man  has  been  taught  by  disappointment  to 
be  wise,  and  as  soon  as  he  is  rooted  and  fet- 
tered to  life  by  wife  and  children,  his  objects 
are  morematerial.  There  is  no  great  action, 
good  or  bad,  to  which  youth  cannot  be  led 
by  imagination,  as  there  is  no  baseness  and 
dishonesty  to  which  a  married  man  is  not 
ready,  provided  it  promises  a  safe  profit  for 
himself  and  his  race.  We  find  exactly  the 
same  in  nations.  What  high  actions  were  per- 
formed by  the  Arabs  when  they  first  came  forth 
from  their  deserts ;  and  to  what  baseness  did 
they  sink  when  their  state  had  become  old 
and  rotten !  The  Greek  and  Roman  history 
presents  us  with  more  known,  but  not  more 
decided,  examples ;  for  the  rest  there  is  no 
need  of  going  so  far;  we  find  examples  at 
home.  The  history  of  modern  Europe  dates 
since  the  Crusades,  when  the  sceptre  of  the 


PREFACE.  XV 

world  was  wrested  from  the  hands  of  the 
Arabs,  who  had  pushed  their  conquests  over 
Europe  as  far  as  they  wished.  Is  not  the 
enthusiasm  which  then  enlivened  nations 
compared  with  the  tendency  of  our  age,  in 
which  wealth  alone  gives  claim  to  the  honours 
and  privileges  of  the  Peerage,  like  the  noble 
impetuosity  of  youth  in  comparison  with 
senile  avarice  ?  Ibn  Khaldun  believes,  there- 
fore, that  the  following  are  the  periods  of 
life  through  which  a  nation  that  has  arrived 
at  power  will  go: — 

"  On  the  phases  of  the  dynasty  and  the 
changes  of  its  state  and  condition.  The 
nomadic  manners  of  the  members  of  the 
dynasty  (who  have  subjected  the  country 
through  their  nomadic  bravery^  in  the  va- 
rious phases. 

"  Know  that  the  dynasty  passes  through 
various  phases  and  revolutions ;  and  the 
members  of  the  dynasty  (the  men  in  power) 


XVI  PREFACE. 

show  in  every  phase  a  different  character 
which  is  consistent  with  the  circumstances 
of  the  respective  phase,  and  different  from 
that  of  every  other  phase,  for  we  are  crea- 
tures of  circumstances  (literally,  for  the  cha- 
racter of  man  follows  in  its  nature  the  crisis 
of  the  circumstances  under  which  he  is 
placed).  The  conditions  and  phases  of  a 
dynasty  may  generally  be  reduced  to  five. 

"  The  first  is  the  phase  of  conquest,  by 
invading  the  country,  overcoming  resistance 
and  any  difficulties  which  may  be  opposed, 
and  by  making  one's  self  master  of  the  sove- 
reign power,  and  wresting  it  from  the  hand 
of  the  preceding  dynasty.  In  this  phase  the 
man  (or  family)  who  stands  at  the  head  of 
the  dynasty  (i.  e.  conquerors)  will  be  on  a 
level  with  the  rest  of  the  conquering  nation, 


*AJ  yfc  g&l 
^ilaJi     ;£>     b$\    j\J 
J30,\ 


PREFACE.  XVI 

and  be  distinguished  neither  by  majesty  nor 
by  a  greater  share  in  the  revenue,  nor  will 
his  person  be  particularly  protected  and 
sacred.  He  will  not  enjoy  any  privilege 
before  the  rest,  as  a  natural  consequence  of 
patriotism,  which  alone  gives  conquest,  and 
which  does  not  (immediately)  cease  after 
victory. 

"In  the  second  phase  the  man  who 
stands  at  the  head  of  the  dynasty,  ac- 
quires the  sovereignty  over  his  own  nation  : 
he  appropriates  to  himself  exclusively  the 
royalty  (over  the  conquered  nation),  and 


*  By  rendering  the  word  XxXAaxJI,  I  change  an  Arabic  idea 
into  an  European  notion.  The  Arab  loves  his  family,  his  tribe, 
and  his  nation:  they  are  his  parents,  his  brothers,  his  children. 
But  the  free  Bedouin  is  not  attached  to  the  soil.  We  have  a 
similar  predilection  for  our  native  soil.  Compare  the  note  to 
page  176,  infra. 

C 


Xviii  PREFACE. 

keeps  his  tribe  at  a  distance,  instead  of  allow- 
ing them  an  equal  share  (in  the  emoluments 
of  the  conquest),  and  of  associating  with 
them.  The  characteristics  of  this  phase  are, 
that  the  sovereign  will  connect  a  great  num- 
ber of  men  with  his  personal  interests,  by 
office  and  adoption,  with  whom  he  sur- 
rounds himself  to  counteract  the  overbearing 
character  of  his  countrymen  (relations)  who 
have  assisted  him  in  the  conquest  ;  and  who, 
having  equal  claims  by  birth,  demand  an 
equal  share  in  power.  He  excludes  them 
from  the  administration,  keeps  them  at  a 
distance  from  his  person,  and  repels  them 
if  they  should  intrude,  to  the  end  that  the 
power  may  remain  in  his  hands,  and  that 
his  family  may  be  distinguished  by  the  ma- 


jUii,  3U4UJ5 

(UU-o)  Uxx^j^UJ  *«k£  ^  XJ^xJt 


PREFACE.  XIX 

jesty  of  which  he  has  laid  the  foundation. 
He  is  now  as  anxious  to  keep  them  off, 
and  to  subdue  them,  as  the  first  conquerors 
were  in  their  contest  for  the  kingdom :  and 
he  goes  still  further  than  they  did ;  for  they 
had  to  do  with  foreigners,  so  that  the  differ- 
ence between  the  two  parties  was  distinctly 
marked,  for  they  were  all  connected  by 
patriotism  in  their  wars,  whereas  he  has  to 
contend  with  his  relations;  and  his  assistants 
in  his  manoeuvres  are  the  minority,  consisting 
of  strangers :  he  must  therefore  brave  diffi- 
culties. 

"  In  the  third  stage  he  gives  himself  up  to 
comforts,  for  he  has  attained  his  object,  and 
is  now  enjoying  the  fruits  of  the  supreme 
power,  indulging  in  pleasure,  for  which  the 


XX  PREFACE. 

human  mind  has  a  natural  inclination  :  as  to 
increase  the  revenue,  to  found  lasting  monu- 
ments, to  have  great  fame.  The  sovereign, 
therefore,  directs  his  intentions  towards  the 
revenue  department  and  increases  it  j  he  keeps 
the  balance  between  income  and  expend- 
iture; he  calculates  the  expenses  and  the 
object  which  he  gains  by  them  ;  he  erects 
numerous  buildings,  great  fabrics,  extensive 
cities,  and  lofty  public  monuments  ;  he  re- 
ceives the  nobles  of  the  nation  and  the  chiefs 
of  the  tribes  who  come  as  envoys  to  his 
court  to  do  him  homage  ;  and  he  is  kind  to 
those  who  are  in  his  service.  His  favourites 
and  suite  enjoy  at  the  same  time  great  wealth 
and  importance  ;  his  standing  army  is  kept 


*.«> 


PREFACE.  XXI 

in  good  order ;  they  have  ample  pay,  which 
is  regularly  received  every  new  moon ;  the 
consequences  of  this  regularity  are  to  be 
seen  in  their  dress,  uniform,  and  appearance, 
on  parade  days.  The  allies  of  the  sovereign 
in  this  phase  boast  of  his  friendship,  and  his 
enemies  are  filled  with  fear.  This  is  the 
last  phase  of  the  sovereignty  of  those  who 
stand  at  the  head  of  the  dynasty  (i.e.  the 
conquerors),  for,  hitherto,  the  conquerors 
have  had  absolute  power  to  follow  their 
views ;  they  were  distinguished  by  grandeur, 
as  luminaries  to  posterity. 

"The  fourth  phase  is  that  of  being 
contented^  and  of  conservatism.  The  man 
who  stands  at  the  head  of  the  conquerors 


XX11  PREFACE. 

will  content  himself  with  keeping  up  what 
his  predecessors  have  done ;  (he  is  no  longer 
the  mere  Emir  of  the  conquering  tribes,)  but 
he  is  equal  to  any  other  king,  being  an  auto- 
crat :  he  confirms  what  his  predecessors  have 
done  and  imitates  them  step  by  step  (lite- 
rally, he  follows  their  slippers  and  shoes 
with  his  shoes).  He  acts  in  all  instances 
after  precedents,  considering  any  deviation 
from  their  institutions  as  destructive,  for 
he  thinks  they  must  have  best  understood 
the  principles  upon  which  they  built  his 
majesty. 

"The  fifth  phase  is  that  of  prodigality 
and  extravagance  (and  reform).  The  sove- 
reign will  squander  away  in  this  phase  what 
his  predecessors  have  gathered ;  giving  him- 
self up  to  pleasure  and  lust,  and  by  prodigality 


PREFACE.  XX111 

towards  his  intimates  and  courtiers,  by  pa- 
tronising favourites  of  bad  character,  and  a 
numerous  rabble  without  principles,  whom 
he  appoints  to  the  most  important  offices, 
which  they  are  unable  to  manage ;  for  they 
know  neither  what  they  have  to  do,  nor 
what  they  have  to  avoid.  Thus  the  great 
men  who  guide  the  (ruling)  nation  (by  moral 
influence)  and  those  who  had  come  to  impor- 
tance through  the  favour  of  former  sove- 
reigns, are  injured;  hence,  they  take  a 
dislike  to  the  sovereign,  and  refuse  to  lend 
him  their  assistance :  his  army  will  thus  be 
ruined,  for  the  luxurious  court  spends  the 
means  in  pleasures,  instead  of  giving  them 
their  pay;  he  excludes  them  from  every 
office  in  the  administration,  and  does  not 
show  them  any  attention.  Thus  he  destroys 


XXIV  PREFACE. 

what  his  predecessors  have  built.  In  this 
phase  the  symptoms  of  the  decline  of  the 
dynasty  manifest  themselves,,  and  it  suffers 
under  a  chronic  disease,  of  which  it  can- 
not be  cured:  it  hastens  to  dissolution.  " 

The  English  reader  will  be  surprised  to 
find  in  the  last  two  phases  the  outlines  of 
the  history  of  the  present  state  of  his  own 
country,  —  the  struggle  between  conservatism 
and  reform,  —  written  by  an  author  who  lived 
more  than  four  centuries  ago,  in  Africa, 
and  hardly  knew  the  name  of  England. 
Thus,  his  idea,  "  That  ruling  nations  go 
through  natural  periods  of  life,  like  indivi- 
duals," is  confirmed;  and  this  is  the  indivi- 
dual life,  or  historical  career,  of  nations, 
and  the  result  and  object  of  particular  his- 
tory. 

By  comparing  a  great  number  of  biogra- 
phies of  such  nations  as  succeeded  each  other 


l$J      &j£t      $3        MS.       Of 

Leyderi,  No.  1350,  i.,  fol.  66,  verso.  MS. 
of  the  British  Museum,  No.  9574,  fol.  100, 
verso. 


PREFACE.  XXV 

on  the  stage  of  history  in  the  rule  of  the 
world,  and  in  whom  all  the  activity  of  man- 
kind was  concentrated  and  represented  as  at 
present  in  Europe,  it  might,  perhaps,  be 
proved  by  facts,  what  philosophers  presume, 
that  there  are  even  certain  laws  as  to  when 
and  how  different  nations  enter  on  the  stage 
of  history,  and  what  part  they  are  to  per- 
form ;  for  although  certain  qualities  are 
universal  to  all  men,  every  nation  has  an 
innate  national  character  which  constitutes 
its  individuality,  and  predestines  it  to  a  cer- 
tain career,  just  as  a  woman  is  destined  to  a 
different  vocation  from  that  of  a  man. 

This  is  by  no  means  to  be  taken  in  a 
mystical  sense,  for  nothing  can,  for  instance, 
be  more  natural  than  that  the  sober  and 
simple  Arab,  who  used  thousands  of  years 
ago  to  make  inroads  upon  Persia,  should 
be  so  successful  as  to  plant  the  standard  of 
the  doctrine  of  the  unity  of  God  upon  the 
graves  of  the  Khosraws,  at  the  period  when 
the  Parthian  rulers  had  outlived  their  time, 
their  minds  being  corrupted  by  the  vices  of 
the  most  luxurious  court,  by  the  most  artificial 
religion,  and  the  grossest  superstition.  The 


XXVI  PREFACE. 

Arabs  were  the  liberators  of  the  subjects  who 
suffered  under  an  artificial,  over-refined  state 
of  society,  and  under  the  arbitrary  spoliations 
of  an  insatiable  and  innumerable  nobility.  In 
the  same  way,  it  is  not  less  natural  that  the 
stage  of  history  should,  in  its  origin,  have 
been  in  the  south  (in  Asia),  and  that  modern 
European  civilization  should  have  begun  in 
the  congenial  climate  of  Italy  and  Spain, 
than  it  is,  that  those  countries  have  their 
spring  in  advance  of  the  more  northern 
regions. 

If  the  general  road  which  nations  have 
to  go  could  be  laid  down  and  deduced  from 
incontrovertible  facts,  the  results  would  be 
more  valuable  than  all  other  human  know- 
ledge. They  would  give  us  an  insight  into 
the  condition  and  object  of  mankind.  "  Be- 
hold the  tales  of  the  time,"  says  an  Arabic 
author,  "and  when  thou  knowest  where 
we  come  from,  see  where  we  are  going  to." 
They  would  prove  that  the  fate  of  nations 
does  not  depend  upon  chance  or  the  arbi- 
trary actions  of  a  few  individuals.  Men  who 
are  the  actors  in  a  great  crisis  are  the  pro- 
duct of  time,  and  not  time  the  product  of 


PREFACE.  XXV11 

their  talents ;  they  will  not  succeed  if  they 
act  against  the  spirit  of  the  age.  A  history 
in  this  sense  would  also  point  out  the 
sphere  of  individual  activity  in  public  life  ; 
for  if  the  periods  of  the  life  of  nations  are 
laid  down  in  certain  laws,  and  if  the  attempts 
of  the  privileged  cannot  change  their  course, 
it  would  follow  that  the  grievances  of  man- 
kind arise  from  those  desperate  attempts  of 
men  in  power  to  interfere  wTith  the  course  of 
things,  and  to  retard  their  natural  progress, 
or  from  those  men  of  a  destructive  character 
who,  misled  by  enthusiasm,  mean  to  accele- 
rate events  beyond  their  natural  course;  and 
if  we  could  determine,  by  such  a  view  of  his- 
tory, for  a  given  period  (for  instance  for  the 
present  moment),  what  is  the  unalterable 
course  which  a  nation  will  pursue,  the  men  who 
do  their  best  to  smooth  the  way  could  be  po- 
sitively distinguished  from  those  who,  under 
pretence  of  principle,  attempt  to  interfere 
with  the  course  of  the  nation,  turning  it  to 
their  own  advantage ;  and  history  would 
show  the  final  triumph  of  the  former  over 
the  latter,  pointing  out,  that  talent  counter- 
balances wealth,  that  reason  stands  against 


XXV111  PREFACE. 

prejudice,  energy  against  the  power  of  public 
opinion  and  inherited  privileges,  persuasion 
and  faith  against  hypocrisy  and  ecclesiastical 
tyranny,  enthusiasm  against  fashion,  and 
freedom  against  the  power  of  interest  and 
servility,  and  that  the  struggle  between  these 
different  tendencies  is  decided  by  eternal 
laws,  by  Providence,  in  favour  of  moral 
power.  Individual  stands  against  individual, 
and  he  is  victorious  who  goes  with  the  spirit 
of  the  times  :  he  may  be  a  prince  or  a  beggar. 
European  history,  however,  will  lead  us 
neither  to  a  correct  idea  of  the  individual 
life  of  nations,  nor  of  their  mutual  succession 
on  the  stage  of  history,  without  a  knowledge 
of  the  East.  There  is  not  one  nation  in 
European  history  whom  we  can  follow  from 
the  moment  it  entered  upon  the  stage  of  ac- 
tion down  to  its  fall.  The  period  of  existence 
of  modern  nations  is  not  yet  elapsed.  The 
origin  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  is  fabulous; 
and  the  documents  which  we  possess  respect- 
ing them  do  not  reach  higher  up  than  the 
time  of  their  power.  There  are  only  one  or 
two  great  revolutions  related  in  European 
history,  in  which  the  rule  over  the  world 


PREFACE.  XXIX 

passed  from  one  race  to  another  under  the 
rise  of  new  ideas,  which  exemplify  the  suc- 
cession of  nations.  The  few  accounts  of 
Greek  authors,  of  the  ancient  dynasties  of 
Babylon  and  other  countries  of  the  East, 
derive  their  value  only  if  they  are  illustrated 
by  the  history  of  later  parallel  facts  from 
more  modern  Eastern  history,  of  which  we 
possess  exact  and  numerous  accounts  in 
Arabic  authors.  Lest  it  should  be  denied 
that  the  history  of  the  Greeks  is  very  imper- 
fect, and  that  their  ideas  and  institutions  are 
secondary,  and  mere  fragments  of  a  more 
ancient  nation,  it  will  be  necessary  to  enter 
into  some  details  before  it  can  be  shown 
that  the  study  of  the  East  furnishes  us  with 
materials  both  for  ascertaining  the  natural 
periods  of  the  individual  life  of  a  nation,  and 
the  succession  of  nations  on  the  stage  of 
history. 

The  Greeks  had  escaped  from  the  tyranny 
of  a  priest  caste  which  kept  their  northern 
and  southern  neighbours  in  ignorance,  mo- 
nopolizing knowledge.  Freedom  inspired 
them  with  love  for  their  native  country  and 
fame ;  and  patriotism  brought  them  to  the 


XXX  PREFACE. 

highest  perfection  that  mankind  has  yet 
attained.  Worship  of  arts  was  their  religion, 
sublime  poetry  their  code  of  laws,  refined 
taste  their  moral  guide,  and  freedom  their 
tie  of  union.  But  although  their  originality 
of  conception  cannot  be  disputed,  the  mate- 
rial of  their  science,  as  well  as  of  their  arts, 
is  not  their  own  :  they  derived  it  either  from 
imperfect  recollections  of  their  former  home, 
or  imported  it  from  the  East,  and  gave  to  it 
a  more  popular  form.  Creuzer  has  lately 
collected  some  passages  of  Greek  authors 
in  proof  of  this  assertion.  Facts  are  a 
stronger  proof  than  testimony ;  and  as  scat- 
tered fragments  of  a  vessel,  for  instance,  are 
posterior  to  the  whole,  and  the  germ  anterior 
to  the  plant,  so  we  may  rest  satisfied  that  a 
country  in  which  we  find  all  ideas  coherent, 
understood  and  derived  from  one  source, 
although  less  developed,  is  anterior  to  ano- 
ther in  which  we  find  them  sacredly  preserved, 
but  not  understood,  and  numerous  beyond 
measure .  In  order  to  show  that  this  is  the 
relation  of  the  East  and  Greece,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  anticipate  a  theory  of  the  nine 
spheres  of  the  heaven,  which  may  be  consi- 


PREFACE.  XXXI 

dered  as  the  creed  of  the  esoteric  in  Babylon, 
and  in  many  other  Eastern  countries,  and 
the  basis  of  the  religious  notions  of  the 
Greeks,  although  they  never  understood 
it. 

The  origin  of  existence  is  the  great  pro- 
blem of  all  philosophy  ;  for  the  Lord  of  life 
and  death  is  the  God  whom  the  mortal  feels 
bound  to  worship.  It  is  certainly  the  most 
natural  idea,  that  all  life  should  be  derived 
from  an  ultimate  male  and  female  principle. 
The  male  principle  was  the  fifth  and  divine 
element,  the  ether*,  of  which  the  stars  are 
only  the  concentrations ;  the  female  principle 
was  the  earth,  which  rests  quiet  and  passive 
in  the  centre  of  the  circumvolving  ether, 
according  to  the  ideas  of  the  ancients.  Hence 
Aristotlef  says,  "  The  principle  of  motion, 
which  gives  the  first  impulse  to  generation, 


*  On  the  ether  see  the  note  to  page  179  infra)  and  the  Fih- 
rist  apud  Hottinger,  Historia  Orientalis,  edit.  alt.  p.  283. 

f  De  Generations  Animalium,  lib.  L,  cap.  2.  The  Chinese 
have  the  same  idea,  but  apply  it  particularly  to  their  emperor  as 
the  representative  of  the  creation,  (see  the  note  to  page  326, 
infra).  Respecting  the  change  which  this  idea  underwent  among 
the  Semites.  See  the  note  to  page  58,  infra. 


XXX11  PREFACE. 

is  called  male  (and  father),  and  the  (passive) 
principle  which  yields  the  material,  is  called 
mother  .  .  .  Hence  the  earth  is  considered 
as  female,  and  the  mother  (of  all  that  exists), 
and  the  heaven  (ether)  as  the  male,  and  the 
father."  If  motion  is  the  characteristical 
quality  of  Divinity,  the  planetary  sphere 
which  is  most  remote  from  the  earth  has  the 
greatest  claim  to  divinity,  for  its  revolutions 
are  the  most  rapid.  Saturn  will,  therefore, 
be  the  highest  and  oldest  god;  he  is  the 
Sator.  Opposite  him  stands  his  wife  and 
sister  the  Earth,  which  is  eternal  and  un- 
created like  him ;  and  from  them  proceed 
all  other  beings,  Festus  seems,  therefore, 
to  be  correct  in  deriving  the  name  of  this 
planet  a  satu.  He  was,  however,  dethroned 
as  soon  as  this  theory  was  further  developed, 
as  the  reader  will  soon  perceive. 

As  soon  as  these  two  poles  were  once 
defined  as  the  male  and  female  principle,  the 
poets  in  their  imagination,  and  philosophers 
in  their  abstraction,  knew  no  bounds  in 
commenting  upon  them.  The  principle  of 
motion,  or  the  male  pole,  was  conceived  to 
be  active,  possessed  of  the  supreme  intellect; 


PREFACE.  XXX111 

the  female  pole  passive,  but  feeling,  mild, 
and  affectionate,  whilst  the  male  principle 
was  thought  to  be  harsh  and  selfish.  About 
forty  million  miles  above  the  female  pole, 
and  nearly  as  many  under  the  male  pole, 
in  the  middle  between  both,  there  must  be 
perfect  equilibrium.  This  was,  therefore, 
the  place  of  the  sun,  according  to  the  ideas 
of  the  ancients,  although  he  is  in  reality 
about  nine  times  more  distant  from  Saturn 
than  from  the  earth.  Ptolemy's  agreeing 
with  this  wrong  computation  shows  us 
whence  he  derived  his  information.  The 
sun  is,  therefore,  the  son  and  mediator  be- 
tween heaven  and  earth ;  for,  in  him,  the 
nature  of  both  is  combined;  in  him  rests 
the  affection  of  his  parents,  which,  in  a  phy- 
sical sense,  is  warmth,  and,  in  mysticism, 
the  law  of  love ;  and  he  is  indeed  the  source 
of  heat.  In  all  ancient  religions,  the  sun 
is  the  regenerator  and  redeemer,  not  the 
creator ;  but  this  has  been  frequently  mis- 
understood by  the  exoteric. 

Having  now  developed  the  trinity  of  the 
ancients,  we  may  proceed  to  state  whence 
the  qualities  attributed  to  the  planets,  which 

d 


XXXIV  PREFACE. 

were  the  souls  or  individuals  (J2>\*£\  of  the 
ether,  took  their  origin ;  for  the  insignifi- 
cant peculiarities  which  may  be  observed  in 
them,  and  some  of  which  have  been  noticed 
in  the  notes  to  page  222,  infra,  cannot  sa- 
tisfactorily account  for  the  same  attributes 
being  given  to  the  planets  throughout  all 
the  world. 

In  Oriental  psychology,  of  which  the 
reader  will  find  farther  details  in  another 
part  of  this  work,  all  the  qualities  of  men  are 
said  to  be  based  either  on  sympathy  sAil,- 
which  is  female  and  passive,  or  on  antipathy 
and  selfishness  s^UxM,  which  is  male  and 
active  :  they  are  both  neither  good  nor  bad 
in  themselves.  These  two  fundamental  qua- 
lities are  manifested  either  with  warmth  and 
violence  *\x£j|,  or  with  system,  and  tempered 
by  justice  XM«X*H,  or  with  coolness  and  re- 
flexion £&\.  The  female  qualities,  based  on 
sympathy,  must  be  predominant  under  the 
sun,  according  to  what  has  been  said,  and 
the  male  qualities,  founded  on  antipathy, 
above  this  luminary.  Now,  as  the  sun  is  at 
the  same  time  the  source  of  warmth  in  a 
mystical  as  well  as  physical  sense,  we  may 
form  the  following  scale  : 


PREFACE.  XXXV 

Antipathy  with  coolness  =  the  ill-natured  SATURN. 

Antipathy  tempered  =  the  royal*  JUPITER. 

Antipathy  with  warmth  =  the  pugnacious  MARS. 

The  SUN. 

Sympathy  with  warmth  =  the  enamoured  VENUS. 

Sympathy  tempered  =  the  meek  MERCURY. 

Sympathy  with  cool  reflection  =  the  tender  MOON. 

The  Arabic  astrologers  allude  to  this 
theory,  for  they  had  been  the  initiated  before 
Mohammed;  and  when  they  found  it  more 
expedient  to  serve  as  companions  to  the 
khalifs,  professing  the  Islam,  than  as  priests 
in  their  temples,  they  gave  to  their  doctrines 
a  different  shape.  This  theory  is  the  soul  of 
all  ancient  religions,  and  pervades  their  phi- 
losophical sciences  and  those  of  the  Arabs. 

The  testimony  of  authors,  in  proof  that 
this  has  been  the  theory  of  the  initiated 
in  the  East,  and  the  farther  development 
of  the  changes  which  new  discoveries  pro- 
duced in  it,  and  of  the  political  revolutions 
which  were  occasioned  by  such  changes, 
will  be  explained  in  another  volume  of  this 


*  It  must  be  observed  that  the  sovereign  is  considered  in  the 
East  as  the  moderator  c.  \\ ^Jl,  and  as  prohibiting  for  the  sake  of 
his  own  selfishness  ;  for  he  is  the  head  of  the  soldier  caste  XL«xH  , 
so  that  Jupiter  stands  in  his  right  place. 

ds 


XXXVI  PREFACE, 

work.  Our  purpose  here  is  to  show,  that 
the  Greek  history  of  mythology  consists 
of  misunderstood  fragments,  of  a  more 
ancient  system ;  and,  therefore,  that  Greek 
history  has,  without  the  knowledge  of  the 
East,  no  beginning,  and  does  not  lead  to 
those  results  of  the  study  of  history  which 
gives  it  an  infinite  importance. 

The  Greeks,  uninitiated  in  the  myste- 
ries of  the  priest  class,  and  superior  to  the 
lower  classes,  continued  to  attribute  to  the 
planets  these  characters,  without  knowing 
why.  They  personified,  therefore,  the  idols,* 
and  invented  fables,  in  explanation  of  the 
worship,  being  ignorant  of  the  reasons. 
From  these  fables  grew  up  their  poetry; 
from  the  personifications  their  fine  arts ;  and 
this,  as  we  have  said,  was  the  object  of  their 
life.  But  even  in  their  fables  they  remained 
faithful  to  eastern  notions,  which  tradition 
had  preserved,  contenting  themselves  with 
giving  to  them  a  more  pleasing  form. 

In  the  same  way,  every  theory  of  the 
natural  philosophy  of  the  Greeks  had  been 

*  See  note  to  page  218,  infra. 


PREFACE.  XXXV11 

previously  known  in  the  East.  If  Aristotle, 
in  whom  all  the  knowledge  of  antiquity 
on  this  head  is  concentrated,  who  sub- 
jected to  the  laws  of  reasoning  what  the 
uninitiated  believed  on  authority,  and  who 
profaned  the  mysteries  of  the  initiated  as 
far  as  he  had  a  knowledge  of  them,  quotes 
mostly  Greek  authors,  in  speaking  of  sub- 
jects connected  with  natural  philosophy, 
and  alludes  but  seldom  to  the  wisdom  of 
the  Chaldeans  and  Egyptians,  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind,  that  most  of  their  opinions 
had  been  imported  into  Greece  long  before 
the  Stagirite,  and  had  thus  become  Greek, 
or  they  had  been  inherited  from  the  first 
Greek  settlers,  and  thus  always  been  in  the 
nation;  and  that  he  has  followed  the  dia- 
lectic system  of  didactics,  in  which  every- 
thing is  founded  on  reason,  authority  being 
named  only  of  well-known  opinions  which 
are  rejected,  and  form  the  subject  of  pole- 
mics, in  order  to  explain  and  exemplify 
those  which  are  defended  as  laws  of  reason, 
not  of  authority, — which  is,  therefore,  not 
named. 

The  doctrine  of  the  ether,   of  the  five 


XXXV111  PREFACE. 

elements,  and  other  central  theories  of  Aris- 
totle's natural  philosophy,  are  found  in  Ta- 
tary,  China*,  Persia,  Egypt,  and  all  other 
nations  of  the  East.  Nearly  half  of  the 
names  of  medicines  in  Dioscorides  and 
Galen  may  be  derived  from  the  Persian, 
Arabic,  and  other  Oriental  languages,  and 
the  use  of  those  exported  from  India  must 
naturally  have  first  been  known  in  their 
native  country  before  they  were  exported. 

When  Alexander  had  opened  the  East, 
not  only  Greek  science  but  even  Greek  arts 
took  a  more  decided  Eastern  character. 
Their  poetry  became  more  romantic;  their 
sculpture  less  grotesque ;  in  former  times 
their  gods  had  been  represented  as  men,  and 
now  they  received  the  character  of  genii ; 
their  schools  of  astronomy  and  medicine 
partook  more  and  more  of  Eastern  ideas,  as 
they  proceeded,  and  they  proceeded  as  they 
were  guided  by  these -new  materials.  Pto- 
lemy adopts  even  the  chronology  of  the 
Babylonians.  And  the  temperaments  of 


*  See  Visdelou,   apud  D'Herbelot,  Bibl.   Orient.  Suplem. 
and  the  note  to  page  179,  infra. 


PREFACE.  XXXIX 

Galen  are  as  ancient  as  the  world;  they 
are  connected  with  star  worship*,  and 
pervade  the  whole  of  Galen's  or  rather 
Eastern  ideas  on  anatomy,  physiology,  and 
pathology  f;  even  in  materia  medica  the 
same  idea  is  followed,  and  every  medicine 
has  its  crasis  (or  temperament). 

The  Greeks  had  the  merit  of  bringing 
the  materials  which  they  collected  in  the 
East  (I  doubt  whether  from  books)  into  a 
system,  to  compare  them  with  experience, 
and  to  found  them  upon  reason;  whereas, 
they  had  existed  as  faith  or  mystery  amongst 
Eastern  nations.  When  the  East  was  re- 
vived by  the  Arabs,  the  works  of  the  Greeks 
were  so  very  welcome,  because  the  Eastern 
nations  found  in  them  their  own  ideas  sys- 
tematically arranged. 

These  few  hints  may  be  sufficient  to  show 
that  the  ancient  history  of  Europe  is  incohe- 
rent and  incomplete  in  itself.  Even  many 


*  Compare  page  206,  infra. 

•f  In  the  literary  history  of  the  Arabs,  down  to  el-Mas'udi,some 
curious  eastern  theories  from  Ibn  Jauzi,  of  which  the  translator 
possesses  a  beautiful  manuscript,  which  is  probably  the  only  one 
in  Europe,  will  be  given,  to  confirm  what  is  asserted  here. 


XL  PREFACE. 

forms  of  Greek  grammar  cannot  be  explained 
without  the  assistance  of  the  Sanscrit  and 
Zend  languages.  The  Roman  history  is  still 
more  in  the  dark.  The  fables  with  which  it 
is  headed  by  Roman  historians  are  a  confes- 
sion that  their  institutions  want  an  historical 
explanation  ;  but  that  they  did  not  find  any 
either  in  their  annals  or  in  their  popular 
traditions.  There  is,  therefore,  no  nation 
in  Europe,  nor  has  there  ever  been  any,  of 
which  we  have  a  complete  account,  from  the 
moment  when  it  entered  upon  the  stage  of 
history  to  the  end  of  its  career,  and  from 
the  progress  and  fall  of  which  we  could 
draw  a  picture  of  the  life  of  nations  :  and 
it  can  still  less  be  expected  that  the  history 
of  Europe  should  give  us  an  idea  of  the 
succession  of  nations  on  the  stage  of  history. 
The  periods  of  life  are  much  slower  in  the 
North. 

The  East,  on  the  contrary,  is  rich  in 
experience  :  the  periods  of  life  rapidly  suc- 
ceed each  other,  and  are  decided  in  their 
character;  the  revolutions,  so  violent,  that 
they  cannot  remain  unobserved ;  one  empire 
was  founded  upon  the  ruins  of  another  ; 


PREFACE.  XL1 

dynasties  rose  and  faded  with  the  rapidity  and 
splendor  of  meteors.  Towns,  like  Bagdad, 
el-Kufah,  el-Kahirah,  were  built  like  camps  ; 
and  on  the  Oxus,  for  instance,  we  see  the 
Tatars,  Persians,  Greeks,  Parthians,  Arabs, 
and  Uzbeks,  as  rulers,  within  the  compara- 
tively short  period  of  three  thousand  years. 
On  account  of  these  frequent,  rapid  and  de- 
cided changes,  the  idea  of  the  mutual  rela- 
tion and  succession  of  nations  was,  at  least 
with  reference  to  Iran,  known  to  the  ancient 
Persians,  and  forms  one  of  the  theories  of 
the  Zend-Avesta;  and  a  perfectly  correct 
division  of  the  then  known  human  races  in 
the  Semitic,  Negroes  (Hamites),  and  Tatars, 
including  the  Caucasian  race  (Japhetites),  is 
even  found  in  Genesis.  We  cannot  better 
illustrate  and  confirm  what  has  been  said 
above,  than  by  following  up  the  ideas  of 
the  Zend-Avesta.  Such  an  inquiry  enters 
the  more  into  the  plan  of  this  preface  as  it 
will  enable  the  reader  to  form  a  correct 
judgment  respecting  the  place  which  the 
history  of  the  Arabs  occupies,  with  reference 
to  other  nations. 

First,  we  must  have  a   clear  notion  of 


XL11  PREFACE. 

Iran,  or  rather  Khunnerets,  as  connected 
with  irrigation.  "If  the  water/'  says  our 
author*,  who  gives  us  some  precious  notices 
on  this  subject,  "retires  four  hundred  cubits 
from  its  original  place,  this  place  will  be 
waste."  He  exemplifies  his  statement  by 
the  different  state  in  which  el-Hirah  was  in 
his  time,  and  that  in  which  it  had  been  a 
few  centuries  previously.  The  country  in 
which  Niniveh  was  situated  is  now  a  desert, 
and  the  gardens  of  the  khalifs  are  covered 
with  sand.  As  the  sun  produces  the  most 
luxuriant  vegetation,  if  his  rays  fall  on  wa- 
tered ground  (the  female  element),  so  are 
they  destructive  if  they  meet  no  humidity. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  sun  is  represented 
in  these  two  opposite  characters  in  Siwa. 
There  is,  therefore,  no  cultivation  of  the 
ground  possible  without  irrigation.  To  keep 
up  the  irrigation  is  nothing  less  than  to  con- 
trol enormous  rivers,  to  dig  new  ones,  and  to 
drain  countries  ;  it  is  a  much  more  gigantic 
work  than  all  the  railroads  of  Europe. 
Hence,  an  almost  infinite  number  of  hands 

*  Page  254,  infra. 


PREFACE.  XL111 

must  be  employed  for  this  purpose  ;  and 
this,  in  the  infancy  of  society,  can  only  be 
done  by  a  powerful  government  which  rules 
extensive  countries,  and,  as  a  great  govern- 
ment can  never  be  free — by  a  despot.  This 
is  borne  out  by  the  system  of  gathering  the 
taxes  of  these  countries  Abu  Yusof  says, 
in  a  letter  to  Hariin  er-Rashid  which  must 
be  considered  as  an  official  document, 
66  Such  land  as  was  waste  and  is  now  cul- 
tivated and  irrigated  by  the  water  of  the 
heaven  (rain),  or  from  wells  or  brooks,  or 
large  rivers,  which  are  nobody's  property, 
(like  the  Tigris,  the  Euphrates,  the  Oxus,  or 
Saihun)  pays  only  the  Tithes  ;  but  if  the  land 
is  watered  by  the  canals  which  were  dug  by 
the  ancient  Persians,  as  the  Nahr  el-Melik, 
or  Nahr  Yezdejerd,  the  Kheraj  is  to  be  paid 
for  it,  although  it  may  be  cultivated  by  a 
Moslim."  As  these  regulations  have  been 
copied  from  the  Persians  *,  it  is  evident  that 


*  Whenever  the  Arabs  conquered  a  town  or  province  of 
Persia,  they  called  the  Dihkans,  asked  them  what  taxes  had  been 
paid  under  the  Khosraws,  and  confirmed  generally  the  ancient 
regulations.  En-Nowa'iri  (MS.  of  Leyden  N.  2  D.)  gives  us,  in 
the  History  of  the  Sasanians,  an  account  of  their  regulations  of 


XL1V  PREFACE. 

the  land  tax  was  levied  for  the  irrigation, 
since  those  lands  which  did  not  require  arti- 
ficial irrigation  were  exempt. 

This  formed  the  character  of  the  popu- 
lation of  such  countries  (deltas),  amongst 
which  Babylonia  (Khunnerets)  at  present 
claims  our  attention.  As  the  cultivation  of 
the  soil  was  dependent  upon  a  powerful 
monarch,  the  very  existence  of  the  culti- 
vators was  connected  with  despotism.  No 
wonder,  therefore,  if  servility  is  so  deeply 
impressed  on  the  character  of  all  nations 
who  live  in  deltas.  The  king  is  the  god  of 
fertility,  who,  by  directing  his  attention  to 
irrigation,  may  double  the  number  of  inha- 
bitants in  less  than  twelve  years,  as  they 
perish  by  thousands  if  it  is  neglected.  It 
has  been  asserted,  that  the  climate  forms 
the  character  of  a  nation,  and  Oriental 


the  land  tax,  which  agrees  literally  with  what  Abu  Yusof  con- 
siders as  law  under  the  'Abbaside  khalifs.  And  as  the  Sasanians 
had  been  the  restorers  of  the  ancient  state  of  things,  to  what 
they  were  before  Alexander,  we  may  trace  the  same  institution  to 
the  ancientPersians. 

Lands,  under  artificial  irrigations,  are  called  cU£,  which 
has  been  rendered  in  this  translation  by  estates. 


PREFACE.  XLV 


despotism  has,  for  this  reason,  become  pro- 
verbial. History  shows,  however,  that  now 
monks  celebrate  their  processions  in  the 
streets  through  which  the  triumphant  Ro- 
man citizens  marched,  and  that  the  slavish 
Babylonian  lives  between  the  Bedouin — the 
freest  and  happiest  man  on  earth — and  the 
independent  Kurd.  The  national  charac- 
ter depends  upon  institutions  and  education. 
A  rich  country  will  soon  produce  men  of 
talent  and  cunning,  who  earn  their  living  by 
teaching  or  deceiving;  and  they  are  the 
priests,  who  will  form  a  caste  as  soon  as  a 
man  rises  amongst  them  who  unites  their 
doctrines  into  one  system,  which,  in  order 
to  be  adopted  by  the  nation,  must  of 
course  be  in  harmony  with  their  institutions, 
and  will  therefore  be  kept  sacred  as  long  as 
those  institutions  last.  Thus,  we  have  the 
three  fundamental  classes  of  society  of  the 
population  of  deltas,  fat  and  slavish  cul- 
tivators, cunning  priests,  and  a  luxurious 
court  and  soldiery ;  or,  applying  it  to  Baby- 
lon, the  Nabateans,  Magi,  and  the  Daulat 
X!_5*xM  (dynasty).  The  first  of  these  three 
classes  are  fixed  to  the  soil ;  the  third  is 


XLV1  PREFACE. 

constantly  changing,  passing  through  the 
phases  and  revolutions  which  Ibn  Khaldun 
describes  in  the  passage  quoted  above ;  and 
the  priest  caste  is  intermediate  between 
both.  The  priests  were  the  masters  of  the 
king  and  kingdom,  as  long  as  the  state  was 
founded  upon  their  theories ;  and  they 
formed  an  amusing  society  of  savans  round 
the  courts  of  the  Khalifs  when  their  doc- 
trines no  longer  found  faith. 

When  such  a  monarchy  (daulat*)  is  in  the 
height  of  its  activity,  it  will  extend  its  grasp 
after  conquests,  as  it  will  be  the  aim  of 
conquerors  when  it  is  in  decay.  The  nearest 
object  to  excite  the  avarice  of  Babylonia  are 
the  fertile  banks  of  the  Oxus,  as  a  Bac- 
trian  monarch  can  find  no  worthier  object 
of  his  ambition  than  Babylonia.  These  two 
countries  were,  therefore,  united  under  one 
ruler  at  all  periods  when  Western  Asia  was 
in  a  flourishing  state,  and  they  form  Iran, 
in  its  greatest  extent,  the  stage  of  history 
of  Western  Asia,  and  the  object  of  our 
present  observations. 

*  The  primary  meaning  of  the  root  of  Daulat  is,  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  fortune. 


PREFACE.  XLV11 

South-west  of  Iran  extend  the  deserts  of 
Arabia,  which  are  bounded  on  the  south  by  a 
fertile  mountainous  country.  This  may  be 
considered  as  the  native  soil  of  the  Semitic 
race.  History  has  recorded  several  success- 
ful Arabic  invaders  who  have  subdued  Iran. 
Scripture  names  Nimrod ;  from  the  third 
volume  of  el-Mas'udi  we  shall  learn  the 
names  of  Sheddad  Ben  'Ad  and  many 
others;  and  in  Persian  traditions  Zohak  is 
mentioned  as  a  Semitic  conqueror,  previous 
to  the  Mohammedan  conquests.  In  the 
same  manner  it  is  reported  by  Herodotus, 
by  Mongolish  traditions  and  Persian  poets, 
that  the  Tatars,  who  have  their  original  seats 
in  the  steppes  north-east  of  Iran,  conquered 
this  country  in  ancient  times,  previous  to 
the  Seljuks,  Jingiz-Khan,  and  Tai'mur. 

These  two  nations  stand  like  the  two 
magnetic  poles,  opposite  each  other,  with 
reference  to  Iran,  in  their  national  character 
as  well  as  in  their  geographical  position. 
Both  were  originally  nomades :  and  the  main 
body  of  the  nation,  continuing  wandering 
habits,  remained  at  all  times  in  the  primitive 
condition  of  man.  But  the  Tatars  are  pas- 


XLV111  PREFACE. 

turing  soldiers,  whilst  the  Arabs  are  warlike 
shepherds.  The  Tatars  are  used  to  blind 
obedience  and  discipline.  The  basis  of  all 
their  social  institutions  is  hereditary  aristo- 
cracy. A  Tatar  magnate  has,  amongst  other 
privileges,  that  of  committing  nine  crimes. 
To  be  a  slave  is  the  pride  of  a  Tatar  ;  and 
they  have  acted  as  such  at  all  periods,  at 
Eastern  courts.  If  they  become  masters, 
they  dig  their  own  graves  by  imbecility, 
idleness,  and  cruelty.  An  example  of  their 
passive  obedience  are  the  Cossacks.  Jingiz- 
Khan  may  be  considered  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  national  character  of  the 
Tatars.  His  strict  discipline,  order  in  the 
camp,  and  simple  regulations,  render  him 
one  of  the  greatest  generals  recorded  in 
history,  and  the  extent  of  his  conquests, 
and  the  valorous  opposition  of  some  of 
his  enemies,  fill  the  reader  of  his  life  with 
astonishment ;  but  no  man  ever  shed  more 
blood,  laid  waste  more  countries,  and 
committed  greater  cruelties,  than  Jingiz 
Khan.  The  captive  enemies  had  to  serve 
him  as  shields  against  their  brothers,  and 
were  forced  to  fight  against  them  before 


PREFACE.  XL1X 

they  were  slaughtered.  When  he  took  a 
town  (Balkh,  for  instance),  the  lives  of  the 
inhabitants  were  spared  until  their  temples 
were  profaned,  their  wives  and  daughters 
ravished,  and  their  houses  burnt ;  and  when 
he  had  thus  tortured  their  feelings,  men  and 
women  were  promiscuously  put  to  the  sword. 
The  Tatars  were  called  the  nation  of  Mars 
by  the  Iranians. 

The  Bedouin,  who  is  the  prototype  of 
the  Semitic  race,  on  the  contrary,  is  per- 
fectly free  and  independent  *.  He  is  capable 

*  Harith  Ben  Keldah  described  the  character  of  the  Arabs 
before  Khosraw  Anusharwan,  in  the  following  terms: — "Their 
minds  are  liberal,  their  hearts  cheerful ;  their  language  is  expres- 
sive, their  tongues  are  eloquent,  their  pedigrees  pure  and  genuine, 
their  ancestors  noble ;  the  words  flow  from  their  mouths  like 
arrows  from  the  bow,  but  milder  than  the  breezes  of  spring,  and 
sweeter  than  honey;  (literally,  the  water  of  a  certain  spring  of 
Paradise ;)  they  feed  the  hungry  in  the  time  of  need;  they  fight  the 
strong  in  war;  they  do  not  permit  that  their  high  feelings  should  be 
hurt,  that  their  neighbour  should  be  injured,  that  their  wives  or 
daughters  should  be  profaned,  or,  that  the  noble  should  be  hum- 
bled." 


PREFACE. 


of  the  noblest  enthusiasm,  but  he  has  less 
imagination  than  any  other  nation,  hence 
his  poetry  is  lyric*  ;  the  long- winding  epos 
and  drama  are  unknown  to  him  ;  his  reason- 


Ibn  Abi  Osaibiah,  MS.  of  the  Brit.  Museum,  No.  7340,  fol. 
44  verso.  The  variants  are  from  a  MS.  of  the  Royal  Library 
at  Paris. 

*  Nothing  can  better  illustrate  the  peculiar  character  of 
Arabic  poetry  than  the  verses  of  the  Koran,  given  in  the  follow- 
ing page.  (Sura,  91,  translation  of  Sale.)  God  swears: 

"  By  the  sun  and  its  rising  brightness ;  by  the  moon,  when 
she  followeth  him ;  by  the  day,  when  it  showeth  its  splendour ; 
by  the  night,  when  it  covereth  him  with  darkness;  by  the  heaven 
and  Him  who  built  it ;  by  the  earth  and  Him  who  spread  it  forth; 
by  the  soul  and  Him  who  completely  formed  it,  and  inspired  into 
the  same  wickedness  and  piety ;  now  is  he  who  has  purified  the 
same  happy." 

Heaven  and  earth  are  too  narrow  for  the  spirit  of  Mohammed, 
whilst  the  hero  of  Homer  swears  by  so  trifling  an  object  as  a 
stick,  which  he  paints  in  several  verses: 

"  Yes,  by  this  sceptre,  which  will  no  longer  shoot  either  leaves 
or  rind,  for  it  once  left  its  stem  on  the  mountains,  nor  will  it  ever 
blossom  again ;  the  sharp  knife  has  pruned  around  both  the  leaves 
and  bark.  Now  this  sceptre  is  intrusted  into  the  hands  of  the 
judging  sons  of  Greece,  Jove's  delegates,  from  whom  all  wise 
laws  emanate,— thus  I  utter  a  great  and  solemn  oath  to  you." 

As  the  rhyme  of  the  Arabic  original  is  as  characteristic  for 
sublime,  and  romantic  poetry  as  the  grave  Hexameter  for  the 
apos,  the  original  is  here  added: — 


PREFACE.  LI 

ing  is  clear  and  logical ;  and  thus  the 
Bedouins  were  the  founders  of  the  spirit  of 
the  middle  ages.  The  Arab  is,  therefore, 
not  the  tool  of  dreams  and  hopes  ;  his  object 
is  to  enjoy  the  moment,  and  to  be — to  be 
good,  to  be  wise,  to  be  free,  to  be  happy ; 
whilst  the  endeavour  of  other  nations  is  to 
have,  and  to  be  possessed — to  have  goods, 
to  be  possessed  of  knowledge,  to  have 
power,  to  have  the  means  of  rendering  them- 
selves happy — and  thus  they  are  possessed, 


U  j,  Ul&b  ttl  JJJJ  j 


Nai  /ia  ToSc  (ncrjirTpov,  TO  KCV   ovirorf  <^uXXa   KOL  o£ovf 

firireidfj    TrpStra  TO/JLTJV   ei/  op€o-<rt 
dvaOrjXrja-fi'  ire  pi   yap   pa   «   ^aX/cot 

<cai   <p\oioV    vvv   avre   p,iv  vies  ' 
Ej/   7ra\dp,r)s   (popeovcri   diKa(rrr6\oi,   otre 
Upos  Albs  elpvarai'    6   Se  rot    peyas  f(TO"erat   opKos. 

Iliad,  L,  234-239, 


LU  PREFACE. 

and  fettered  in  their  own  golden  chains. 
The  Arab  is  as  anxious  to  obtain  wealth  as 
other  men,  because  he  is  active ;  but  it  is 
against  his  nature  to  store  up  wealth.  If  he 
wishes  to  have  great  means,  it  is  in  order  to 
entertain  his  friends,  to  be  more  liberal  and 
hospitable  than  others,  and  to  give  riches 
away  as  fast  as  he  obtains  them.  These 
habits  of  prodigality  became  a  law  of  reli- 
gion (the  alms),  and  continued  even  to  the 
time  of  the  Khalifat,  however  adverse  they 
were  to  civilized  society  and  ruinous  to  the 
state.  The  Arab  obeys  no  one ;  he  has 
no  wants ;  a  few  dates  suffice  for  his  meal. 
What  he  takes,  he  takes  by  force — the 
native  right  of  the  stronger;  but  he  gives 
out  of  charity.  Thus  he  feels  himself  greater 
than  the  rest  of  mankind,  and  despises 
them.  What  can  make  a  man  a  slave  who 
has  no  wants  ?  His  only  master  is  honour 
and  conviction :  hence,  a  sound  religion 
alone  could  unite  the  nation.  His  obe- 
dience to  the  Sheikh  is  that  of  a  son  to  his 
father;  it  cannot  be  enforced;  and  the 
orders,  or  rather  advice,  of  a  Sheikh  is  the 
expression  of  the  will  of  the  tribe.  The 
only  social  tie  which  guarantees  the  life  of 


PREFACE.  Llll 

the  inhabitants  of  the  desert  is  the  blood 
revenge  founded  on  the  love  of  relations. 
If  a  man  is  slain,  the  family  of  the  deceased 
will  not  rest,  if  they  should  perish  to  the 
last  man,  before  they  have  retaliated  the 
death  of  their  relation  on  the  tribe  of  the 
murderer.  Atrocities  are  therefore  avoided 
out  of  love  to  one's  own  relations. 

As  the  character  of  the  Semites  and 
Tatars  is  opposed,  so  are  their  tongues; 
for  language,  like  a  faithful  wife,  follows  the 
character  of  the  mind,  and  gives  birth  to  its 
children.  The  Tatar  forms  compound  ex- 
pressions as  he  has  received  joint  ideas  ;  for 
the  different  modifications  of  one  notion  and 
its  relation  appear  to  his  shallow  mind  like 
several  ideas ;  thus  he  uses  compound  ex- 
pressions like  "lordship,"  (i.e.  the  shape  of 
a  lord,)  and,  1  have  said,  although  he  has 
only  one  idea  to  express.  In  Tatar  languages, 
compounding  words  and  heaping  grammati- 
cal terminations  and  suffixed  syllables  is 
carried  to  such  an  extreme,  that  the  words 
which  express  the  objects  are  buried  under 
them.  The  riches  of  the  Semitic  lan- 
guages, on  the  contrary,  do  not  consist  in 
compounding  ideas  which  have  no  natural 


L1V  PREFACE. 

relation  to  each  other,  but  in  organizing  the 
roots ;  so  the  Arab  would  say  teeth,  and  not 
many  *  tooth ;  I  saw^  and  not  I  have  seen. 
The  Arabic  language  has  no  compound 
words,  and  hardly  any  grammatical  termina- 
tions. Words  are  formed  and  grammatically 
construed  by  changing  the  vowels  of  the 
root;  by  internal  organisation,  and  not  by 
juxta-position.  Such  a  language  can  only 
be  spoken  by  a  nation  which  expresses  more 
the  sentiments  and  ideas  of  its  heart,  and 
which  gives,  even  in  describing  objects,  the 
feeling  which  they  produced  in  the  mind, 
than  a  narration  of  the  surrounding  world. 
The  Semitic  languages  are  what  the  Germans 
would  term  subjective  tongues,  whilst  the 
Tatar  languages  are  objective.  The  reader 
may  now  easily  guess  that  the  Arab  will 
apply  the  same  root  to  quite  different  ob- 
jects, if  they  produced  a  similar  impression 
on  his  mind  ;  thus  the  root  jara,  which  has 
primarily  the  signification  of  to  flow,  means 
also,  if  pronounced  with  different  vowels 

*  The  s,  which  forms  the  plural  in  most  Hindo-Germanic 
languages,  as  well  as  the  lar,  which  forms  the  plural  in  Tatar 
tongues,  is  to  be  considered  as  a  corruption  of  some  ancient 
word  meaning  many,  or  a  number. 


PREFACE.  LV 

and  accents,  a  brave  young  man,  a  lively 
girl,  a  ship,  and  the  sun.  As  the  Bedouin 
calls  the  sun  the  Runner,  if  his  attention  is 
exclusively  directed  to  its  motion,  in  the 
same  manner,  he  may  call  it  the  White 
(l>^A>J!),  or  the  Luminary  (j^jtH  or  ^V^O*  if 
the  impression  of  its  colour  or  splendour  is 
prevalent  in  his  mind, — and  so  with  other 
notions.  The  reader  will  find,  for  the  same 
reason,  numerous  hysteron-proterons  in  Ara- 
bic expression  which  have  been  preserved  in 
this  translation ;  for,  as  the  Arab  expresses 
even  facts  as  sentiments,  he  says^r^jf  what 
makes  the  greatest  impression  upon  him. 
Thus  we  read&  first,  that  Zakariya  was  put 
to  death3  and  then  it  is  described  how  he 
was  killed. 

As  long  as  the  government  of  Iran  was 
in  the  vigour  of  life,  these  two  nomadic 
nations  assisted  it  against  other  powers.  We 
find  them  in  the  account  by  Herodotus  of 
the  army  of  Xerxes;  and  under  Khosraw 
Anusharwan  fifty  thousand  Tatar  troops 
came  on  the  Persian  frontier,  demanding  to 
be  taken  into  his  service:  "For,"  said 
they,  "we  gain  our  living  by  the  sword; 

*  See  page  122,  infra. 


LV1  PREFACE. 

and,  as  our  country  cannot  give  us  food,  we 
must  be  thy  enemies,  if  thou  wilt  not  re- 
ceive us  as  friends,  and  provide  for  us  and 
our  families."  It  appears  from  el-Wakedi's 
genuine  account  of  the  Mohammedan  con- 
quests, as  quoted  by  early  authors,  that  the 
inhabitants  of  Yemen  were  driven  by  a  si- 
milar motive  to  join  the  banners  of  the 
Islam.  The  population  was  too  dense,  and  so 
they  came,  uncalled  for,  to  Medinah,  and 
asked  'Omar  to  send  them  against  some 
enemies  of  the  faith. 

When  the  rulers  of  Iran  had  passed 
through  the  periods  of  life  described  by  Ibn 
Khaldun,  and  sunk  under  their  own  weight, 
the  Arabs  and  Tatars  made  predatory  incur- 
sions upon  the  unprotected  cultivators,  as 
they  did  under  the  successors  of  Anushar- 
wan.  For,  dependent  as  nomades  in 
some  measure  are  upon  civilized  nations, 
they  are  always  on  the  alert  for  making 
plunder.  The  Arabs  and  Tatars  are  like 
two  reservoirs  of  water  over  Iran ;  if  a 
breach  is  opened,  they  will  naturally  come 
down  upon  Iran,  and  make  the  breach 
wider,  to  irrigate  it  if  guided,  and  to  inundate 
it  if  not  controlled.  Success  fills  them  with 


PREFACE.  LV11 

self-confidence  ;  the  prospect  of  rich  booty 
attracts  new  invaders,  and  unites  them.  And 
what  can  resist  them  if  they  are  united  ? — A 
tradition  is  related  of  Mohammed,  that  he 
expressed  sanguine  hopes  of  the  rise  of  the 
Arabic  power,  on  the  occasion  of  a  victory 
of  a  predatory  corps  of  the  Temimites  over 
the  Persians ;  so  that  it  is  very  likely,  that 
his  religious  enthusiasm  was  heightened 
by  the  prospect  of  victory  and  political 
ascendancy;  the  more  so  as  he  exhorts  the 
Koraishites,  in  one  of  the  last  Surahs  of 
the  Koran,  to  be  united, — for  union  would 
give  to  them  wealth  and  power. 

The  conquests  of  Iran  by  these  nations 
appear  to  have  been  alternate.  Thus,  under 
'Omar,  the  Arabs  poured  over  Iran,  and 
pushed  their  conquests  to  other  countries, 
until  the  surplus  population*  of  Arabia  was 
exhausted.  When  the  storm  had  subsided, 
they  passed  as  Daulat  XJ^j  of  the  country 
[that  is  to  say,  as  the  soldier  caste  and 
nobility,  as  the  Normans  were  in  England], 
through  the  periods  of  life  described  by  Ibn 

*  Ibn  Khaldun,  who  defends  this  idea,  gives  an  estimate  of 
the  number  of  conquering  Arabic  populations  of  that  time.  But 
it  does  not  seem  very  correct. 


LV111  PREFACE. 

Khaldun*.  In  the  mean  time,  the  Tatar 
steppes  were  over  populous  and  full  of 
vigour,  whilst  the  Semitic  rulers  were 
drowned  in  luxury.  Thus  it  was  their  turn  to 
inundate  Iran,  after  the  Arabs  had  possessed 
it  four  centuries  f. 

We  find  on  the  banks  of  the  Tigris  a 
pure  Semitic  population  ;  and  as  Babylon 
was  the  seat  of  Semitic  learning  and  civili- 
zation, so  the  name  of  Bokhara  is  derived 
from  a  Mongolish  word  meaning,  according 
to  Abulghazi-Khan,  "wisdom,"  because  it 
was  the  centre  of  Tatar  civilization:]:;  and 
the  main  population  on  the  banks  of  the 
Oxus  seem  at  all  times  to  have  been  Tatars. 
From  whence  came  the  Persians,  and  other 
Hindo-Germanic  nations,  who  are  of  a  race 
distinct  from  the  Tatars  and  Semites,  and  to 
whom  no  delta  is  left  in  western  Asia  ?  It 
seems  they  are  the  product  of  the  mixture 
of  those  two  opposite  nations,  as  their  lan- 
guage combines  the  character  of  the  tongues 
of  both,  having  compositions  and  internal 
organization ;  so  that  it  must  be  posterior 

*  Page  xv.,  supra. 

f  The  Seljuks  came  in  432  A.H. 

%  Page  46  of  the  Tatar  edition. 


PREFACE.  L1X 

to  the  Tatar  and  Semitic  languages,  for  a 
more  perfect  development  is  naturally  pos- 
terior to  a  more  simple  structure.  Although 
I  could  not  defend  this  theory  of  the  origin 
of  the  Hindo-Germanic  nations,  so  much  is 
certain,  that  they  are  the  nations  of  civiliza- 
tion, and  that  civilization  will  no  more  rise 
without  the  intercourse  of  opposite  nations, 
than  one  sex  alone  can  give  birth  to  a  child. 
These  alternate  conquests  of  the  Arabs  and 
Tatars  must  be  considered  as  having  given 
birth  to  civilization.  They  illustrate,  there- 
fore, the  succession  and  mutual  relation  of 
nations  in  history  better  than  anything  else. 

Our  author*,  Hamza  of  Ispahan,  and 
the  Zend-Avesta  mention  four  other  nations, 
—the  Semites,  Tatars,  and  Iranians  included 
— which  answer  to  the  seven  Kishwars  or 
climates  f ,  and  which  surround  the  passive 
inhabitants  of  Iran,  like  six  stamina  the 
pistillum,  invading  and  reviving  it  in  their 
turn. 

South  of  Iran  live  the  Hindus.  A  suc- 
cessful inroad  of  some  Hindu  conqueror  is 

*  In  his  Tauluh ;  and  after  him  Haji  Khalfa,  in  his  Bibliog. 
Diction. 

f  Compare  page  1 98,  infra. 


LX  PREFACE. 

recorded  in  the  eighteenth  chapter  of  this 
work ;  and  they  were,  even  at  the  time  of 
Anushirwan,  so  strong,  that  he  expresses 
his  fears  of  them  in  his  last  speech.  As  the 
Germans, fortheirhighintellectual  character, 
their  tendency  to  mysticism,  their  political 
passiveness  and  insignificance,  bear  a  resem- 
blance to  the  character  of  the  slavish  culti- 
vators of  Iran,  so  India  may  be  compared  in 
its  geographical  position  and  character  with 
Italy.  The  Italians,  like  the  Hindus,  are 
buried  under  the  ruins  of  their  former  gran- 
deur, and  vegetate,  in  unmanly  occupation, 
in  the  plundered  temples  of  their  Benares, 
on  the  Tiber.  The  French  bear  a  resem- 
blance to  the  Arabs ;  both  have  shown 
themselves  equally  capable  of  fighting  for 
principles,  and  of  being  united  by  enthu- 
siasm, and  not  by  the  fear  of  a  master.  The 
Russians  are  the  Tatars  of  Europe,  and  the 
main  body  of  the  subjects  of  the  Autocrat 
are  of  Tatar  origin.  South-east  of  Iran 
lie  Thibet  and  China,  which  have  been 
compared  with  the  Turks  by  Hager  in  a 
learned  article  in  the  Fundgrubens  des 
Orients.  Egypt  is  situated  in  the  West, 
from  whence  the  Persians  have  experienced 


PREFACE.  LX1 

several  invasions.  Tyrus  and  the  empire  of 
Croesus,  whose  attack  upon  the  Persian 
empire  failed,  were  north-west  of  Iran,  and 
may  be  called  the  Great  Britain*  of  the 
ancient  world.  Subsequently,  the  Byzan- 
tine empire  succeeded,  and  was  at  constant 
war  with  the  rulers  on  the  Tigris — both  the 
Khosraws  and  Khalifs.  The  struggles  of 
these  six  nations,  but  particularly  of  those 
of  the  Arabs  and  Tatars,  their  mutual 
relation,  and  their  power  over  Iran,  offer  a 
wide  field  for  studying  the  succession  of 
nations  in  the  stage  of  history ;  whereas  the 
contests  of  India,  China,  Egypt,  and  Asia 
Minor,  against  Iran,  and  among  themselves, 
are  less  important ;  for  here  doulat  fights 
against  doulat.  Their  conflicts  do  not  give 
us  a  view  of  the  connexion  of  the  first  prin- 
ciples from  which  states  grow  up,  but  only 
of  the  opposition  of  the  interest  of  states 
and  monarchs. 

Thus  far  as  to  the  relative  position  of 
nations  to  each  other,  and  their  succession 
on  the  stage  of  history.  We  may  nowpro- 

*  This  comparison  of  the  nations  of  Asia  with  those  of  Europe 
could  be  carried  much  futher  into  detail ;  for  similar  circumstances 
have  similar  effects,  and  similar  processes  of  life  produce,  in  physi- 
ology, similarly  organized  formations. 


LX11  PREFACE. 

ceed  to  show,  that  the  history  of  the  power 
of  the  Arabs  furnishes  us  with  better  mate  - 
rials  for  studying  the  individual  life  of  nations 
than  that  of  any  European  country.  Their 
history  is  complete,  and  we  have  trustworthy 
accounts  from  the  moment  when  they 
entered  upon  the  stage  of  action,  to  the  time 
when  they  went  back  into  their  deserts 
again. 

Their  own  poetry  and  traditions,  as  well 
as  foreign  authors,  show  us  the  Arabs  before 
Mohammed  exactly  in  the  same  condition  as 
they  are  now.  They  have  no  state,  but  sim- 
ply families ;  and  they  make,  therefore,  no 
progress,  nor  are  they  subject  to  decay  as  a 
nation.  Their  endeavour  is,  as  we  have  said, 
not  to  possess,  but  to  be  :  existence  ends 
with  the  life  of  the  individual,  whilst  his 
possession  remains.  The  Bedouin  history  is 
the  genealogy  only  of  those  to  whom  they 
owe  their  existence ;  they  cannot  point  to 
changes  in  state,  nor  to  progress  in  arts  and 
literature,  nor  to  any  beneficial  influence  in 
society  which  their  fathers  have  made,  for 
all  these  things  are  connected  with  posses- 
sion ;  and  revolutions  in  states  are  effected 
because  rights  and  property  are  transferred 


PREFACE.  Lxiii 


from  one  class  to  another  by  the  change  of 
ideas.  The  ideas  of  nomades  can  make  no 
progress,  for  the  natural  feelings  of  man  are 
at  all  times  the  same ;  and  knowledge  is  a 
possession  which  changes  with  new  discove- 
ries, and  is  useless,  if  not  applied  to  life  and 
and  property.  When  the  Persians  and 
Byzantines  were  enervated  by  luxury,  and 
drowned  in  the  forms  of  civilization,  the 
spirit  of  which  was  gone,  the  constant 
inroads  of  the  Arabs  were  more  successful, 
and  a  too  dense  population  had  made  them 
more  reflective ;  for  necessity  is  the  mother 
of  invention.  Prophets  arose  in  all  parts  of 
Arabia ;  and  the  Mohammedan  doctrine  of 
the  unity  of  God  was  crowned  with  success 
six  centuries  after  the  introduction  of  the 
Christian  religion,  and  about  three  after 
Arius  had  first  declared  himself  against  the 
trinity. 

The  Koraishite  tribe  stood  first,  as  the 
head  of  the  Arabs,  and  they  thought  it 
safer  for  their  freedom  to  have  the  Oma'i- 
yides  as  their  Khalifs  than  the  Alites,  who 
raised  their  claims  by  divine  grace.  The 
Oma'iyides,  who  were  merely  Emirs,  went 
through  the  five  phases  of  life,  but  in 


XL1V  PREFACE. 

them  the  first  two  were  particularly  de- 
veloped. Hejjaj  Ben  Yusof  drowned  the 
spirit  of  freedom  in  el-Kufah  and  el-Basrah 
in  their  own  blood.  The  baptism  of  mo- 
narchy— the  mild  and  fatherly  form  of  go- 
vernment— cost  the  lives  of  twenty-one  thou- 
sand men.  Their  death  did  not  give  so 
much  alarm;  for  they  did  not  fall  in  the 
open  field,  but  under  the  hand  of  the  exe- 
cutioner, in  prison, — and  the  servile  part  of 
the  population  was  well  fed.  The  victims 
who  fell  in  the  open  field  were  innumerable. 
Hejjaj  was  the  precursor  of  the  '  Abbasides, 
although  he  was  their  enemy.  This  new 
dynasty  went  through  the  five  phases.  They 
were  'Alites  and  Kings  (no  longer  Emirs), 
supported,  in  spite  of  the  Kora'ishites  and 
their  allies,  by  the  Nizar  tribes,  who  lived 
near  the  Tigris,  and  who  were  more  used 
to  a  master  by  divine  right,  and  by  the 
Khorasanians ;  for  the  first  want  which  they 
felt  after  they  had  recovered  from  the  shock 
of  the  Arabic  conquest,  was  that  of  having 
a  monarch,  to  counteract  the  rapacity  of  the 
governors,  and  to  promote  irrigation.  The 
'Abbasides  represent  particularly  the  third 
and  fourth  phases.  At  the  beginning  of  the 


PREFACE.  LXV 

fourth  century,  the  'Abbaside  power  was  at 
an  end;  physical  force  and  money*  now 
alone  gave  right  to  power,  and  every  gover- 
nor made  himself  independent  in  his  pro- 
vince. Each  of  these  moluk  et-Tawa'if  went 
through  the  above  periods  of  life  ;  but  they 
represented  particularly  the  last  phase — that 
of  reform  and  dissolution.  Till  now  the 
power  of  the  kings  was  owing  to  the  Arabic 
conquests,  although  some  were  Tatars ; 
whereas  the  sovereignty  of  the  Seljukians, 
Jingiz-Khanians,  and  Ta'imurians,  rested  on 
the  success  of  the  Tatar  arms.  The  Arabs, 
by  degrees,  turned  back  into  the  deserts, 
or  were  humbled  to  the  state  of  cultivators. 
Their  original  character  vanished,  and  they 
became  like  the  Nabatheansf,who  had  been 
deposited  there  by  the  Bedouins  thousands 
of  years  ago,  and  so  they  remain  at  present. 
Thus  the  periods  of  life  are  distinctly 
marked  in  Arabic  history,  and  nothing  can 
exceed  the  fidelity  of  their  historians.  They 
believe  till  they  are  persuaded  of  the  contrary, 

*  Thus  the  Ghaznewides  and  Khowarezmshahians  owed  their 
power  entirely  to  the  treasures  of  India. 

•j-  The  Nabatheans  were  looked  on  with  such  contempt  by 
the  Bedouins,  that  their  name  had  become  a  nickname,  at  the 
time  of  the  author  of  the  "  Nabathean  Agriculture." 


LXV1  PREFACE. 

and  adhere  closely  even  to  the  terms  of  the 
source  whence  they  derive  their  information, 
naming  the  whole  series  of  persons  through 
whom  they  have  received  traditions.  Orien- 
talists should  study  the  lives  and  characters  of 
the  traditionists  before  they  enter  into  his- 
tory, for  this  alone  can  enable  them  to  form  an 
estimate  of  the  critical  value  of  the  accounts. 
El-Mas'udi  gives  us  only  one  instance  of 
such  a  way  of  treating  history,  in  the  first 
volume*;  but  many  in  the  last.  An  Arabic 
historian  will  relate  a  fact  without  changing 
it,  although  it  may  be  against  his  views. 
An  instance  is  found  in  our  author,  where 
he  relates  the  ridiculous  ideas  of  el-Jahit 
respecting  the  unicornf .  How  much  more 
valuable  such  simplicity  is,  in  history,  than 
modern  criticism,  may  be  shown  in  an  ex- 
ample. Goethe,  the  German  poet,  speaks, 
in  his  Westwstlichen  Diwan,  on  the  march 
of  the  Israelites  from  Egypt  to  Syria,  and 
means  to  prove  that  they  would  not  have 
been  longer  in  the  desert  than  two  years ; 
the  reasons  which  he  alleges  are  too  ridi- 
culous to  be  recounted  here.  Ibn  Khaldun, 
adhering  to  the  text  of  Scripture,  thinks 

*  Page  57,  infra.      f  Page  392,  infra. 


PREFACE.  LXV11 

that  the  Israelites,  debased  by  the  slavery 
which  they  had  endured  in  Egypt,  were 
unable  to  oppose  the  Philistines,  until  the 
old  generation  had  died  off,  and  a  new  one 
grown  up  in  the  hardy  life  of  the  desert. 

It  has  been  our  endeavour  to  show,  that 
the  fruits  of  the  study  of  history  ought  to 
be,  to  obtain  a  view  of  the  individual  life  of 
nations;  and  to  ascertain,  by  connecting 
these  particular  histories,  the  laws  of  the 
succession  of  nations  in  the  rule  of  the 
world.  European  history,  it  has  been  as- 
serted, does  not  lead  to  these  results ;  for 
modern  nations  have  not  yet  arrived  at  the 
end  of  their  career;  and  the  Greeks  and  Ro- 
mans, (as  it  has  been  shown  at  some  length, 
for  fear  of  the  prevailing  Helenomania 
among  the  learned  of  Europe,)  borrowed 
their  institutions  and  the  material  of  their 
science  and  arts  from  the  East :  hence  the 
study  of  the  East  alone  can  lead  us  to  the 
above-mentioned  results.  We  attempted 
to  illustrate  the  succession  of  nations  by  a 
few  hints  bearing  on  this  subject  as  far  as 
Iran  is  concerned ;  for  this  is  the  stage  of 
the  history  related  by  our  author;  and, 
finally,  we  meant  to  intimate,  that  the  his- 


LXvifi  PREFACE. 


tory  of  the  power  of  the  Arabs  is  the  only 
complete  biography  of  a  nation  which  can 
serve   as  the   standard  in  judging   others. 
Now  this  would  be  the  place  to  show  how 
far  our  author  contributes  towards  these  two 
objects.   It  is,  however,  much  better  for  the 
reader  to  peruse  The  Meadows  of  Gold,  and 
judge  for  himself.     It  may  suffice   to   say, 
that  he  treats,  besides  history,  on  almost 
all  the  branches  of  Arabic  science,  poetry, 
and   common   life.      It   seemed,   therefore, 
well,  occasionally,  to   supply,   from   other 
authors,  what  is  wanting,   to   give  to   the 
reader  a  perfect  insight  into  the  life  of  the 
Arabs  at  the  time  of  their  power ;  to  show 
whence    el-Mas'udi   derived  his    historical 
information;    to   assist    the    reader   in   the 
criticism  of  facts ;   and  to  throw  some  light 
on  the  time  and  manner  in  which  the  Arabs 
cultivated  various  sciences  and  arts.     The 
first   will  be   done   in  additional  notes,  or 
little  memoirs,  which  were  first  intended  to 
be  added  at  the  end  of  each  volume ;  but 
for  want  of  time  they  must  be  postponed  to 
the  end  of  the  last  volume  of  each  of  the 
two  sections  of  which  the  whole  work  con- 
sists, and  the  latter  will  be  done  in  a  sepa- 


PREFACE.  LX1X 

rate  volume,  which  will  form  the  last  part 
of  this  work,  and  contain  the  literary  his- 
tory of  the  Arabs,  down  to  the  time  of  el- 
Mas'udi,  together  with  our  author's  own 
life*  and  literary  connections.  I  have 
already  collected  for  this  purpose  notices 
on  the  lives  and  works  of  several  thousand 
authors,  partly  from  their  own  writings,  and 
partly  from  extracts  and  notices  found  in  later 
authors,  where  the  original  works  are  lost. 

I  have  seen,  and  partly  perused,  nearly 
twenty  copies  of  the  whole  or  part  of  The 
Meadows  of  Gold,  preserved  in  public  or 
private  collections,  at  Paris,  Leyden,  Oxford, 

*  The  reader  may  find  an  excellent  Memoire  on  the  life  and 
writings  of  el-Mas'udi,  written  by  M.  Quatremere  de  Quincy,  in 
the  Journal  Asiatique,  (Ille  serie,  tome  vii.,  No.  37,  Janvier, 
1839,  p.  5  to  31,)  with  which  he  may  compare  D'Herbelot,  article 
Massoudi;  Abulfeda,  Ann.  Mosl.  vol.  ii.,  adnot.  208,  p.  118,  adn. 
hist.;  Deguignes,  not.  et  extr.,  vol.  i.;  Silvestre  de  Sacy,  ibid.,  tome 
viii.,  p.  132;  idem,  Chrestom.  Arabe;  Langles,  Voyage  en  Egypte 
et  Nubie  de  Norden,  tome  iii.,  p.  292,  note  1;  Hamaker,  Spec. 
Catalogs  pp.  46,  48 ;  d'Ohson,  Des  Peuples  du  Caucase,  pref. 
iii.,  viii.;  Fraehn,  Ibn  Fozlan;  Charmoy,  Sur  les  Slaves,  in 
the  Memoirs  of  the  Academy  of  St.  Petersburgh,  t.  vii.,  Nov. 
1832  and  5  July  1833;  Nicolls,  catal.  Bibl  Bodleyana-,  Gilde- 
meister,  de  Indis,  Bonn,  1836.  Mr.  Gildemeister  has  translated 
into  Latin,  and  published  the  whole  of  the  seventh  chapter  of 
el-Mas'udi.  I  have  to  regret  that  I  could  not  take  advantage  of 
his  excellent  work,  having  been  in  the  country  when  my  translation 
of  that  chapter  went  through  the  press.  The  difference  of  the 
MSS.  will  account  for  the  difference  of  the  translation  of  some 
passages. 


LXX  PREFACE. 

Cambridge,  and  London.  Including  the  ex- 
tracts found  in  other  authors,  the  number  of 
copies  of  which  I  possess  some  knowledge 
may  be  calculated  to  be  above  fifty.  They 
all  agree  in  certain  faults  ;  the  variants  are 
material  and  innumerable.  It  seems  that  the 
autograph  was  written  in  a  bad  hand :  per- 
haps it  was  the  bad  state  of  the  MSS.  of  the 
first  edition  of  The  Meadows  of  Gold  which 
induced  the  author  to  publish  a  second 
edition,  of  which  he  speaks  in  the  Tanbih ; 
but  as  this  edition  is  nowhere  to  be  found, 
criticism  on  the  work  is  rendered  difficult,  if 
not  impossible.  The  reader  will  do  better  to 
consider  what  has  been  done  in  this  trans- 
lation, than  what  remains  to  be  done. 

The  translation  of  this  volume  has  been 
made  from  a  manuscript  of  Ley  den  (No. 
537,  a),  which  ends  with  the  thirty-second 
chapter.  It  is  very  ancient,  made  by  a 
man  of  great  learning,  and  therefore  very 
correct.  Sometimes,  however,  when  he 
found  a  corrupt  passage,  he  gave  a  wrong 
sense  to  it  in  his  corrections.  But  it  is,  at 
all  events,  the  best  copy  in  existence.  On 
the  margin  one  sometimes  finds  valuable 
^ariants,  written  by  a  later  hand.  I  am 


PREFACE.  LXX1 

indebted  for  the  perusal  of  this  copy  to  the 
kindness  of  Professor  Weijers,  D.D.,  and 
the  liberal  institutions  of  the  library  of  the 
University  of  Leyden  :  hence  it  has  resulted 
that  nowhere  in  Europe  has  so  much  been 
done  for  Oriental  literature  as  in  Holland ; 
and  yet  not  one  MS.  of  the  rich  collection 
of  that  university  has  been  lost  or  damaged. 
How  many  useful  works  would  be  saved 
from  the  worms,  and  how  much  credit 
would  it  throw  on  the  literary  character  of 
the  University  of  Oxford,  if  they  would 
follow  this  example!  Before  I  sent  the 
translation  to  press,  I  compared  it  with 
several  other  copies  :  as, 

A  manuscript  of  my  esteemed  friend,  M. 
de  Gayangos,  who,  although  he  is  enriching 
Oriental  historiography  with  his  own  labours, 
throws  open  his  valuable  collection  of  Orien- 
tal manuscripts  to  his  friends  with  as  much 
liberality  as  if  he  had  collected  them  solely 
for  their  use.  This  copy  is  modern  and 
carelessly  written,  but  complete. 

A  manuscript  of  the  Asiatic  Society  of 
Paris,  which  contains  only  the  first  chapters, 
and  those  not  complete. 

The  manuscript  of  Leyden  marked  No. 


LXX11  PREFACE. 

282,  A,  which  contains  the  whole  of  the  first 
part,  that  is  to  say,  the  first  sixty-nine  chap- 
ters. It  is  better  than  most  other  copies  of 
el-Mas'udi,  however  numerous  its  faults  are. 

A  manuscript  of  Cambridge,  which  had 
been  imperfect ;  but  Mr.  Burckhardt,  its  for- 
mer owner,  took  care  to  have  it  completed. 
Besides,  I  had  several  extracts  from  the  MSS. 
of  the  Royal  Library  at  Paris,  and  others. 

Lord  Munster  had  the  kindness  to  go 
over  the  whole  translation,  to  correct  faults 
against  the  English  idiom.  But  as  it  is  im- 
possible to  reconcile  the  Arabic  style  with 
the  genius  of  the  English  language,  without 
working  over  sentence  after  sentence  afresh, 
the  mistakes  which  may  still  be  found  in 
this  translation  in  English  diction,  must  not 
be  ascribed  to  his  Lordship, — whereas  the 
translator  has  to  avow,  that  he  had,  in  many 
difficult  expressions  of  the  original,  recourse 
to  his  Lordship,  and  derived  a  great  deal  of 
information  from  him  for  the  notes,  and  a 
lucid  understanding  of  the  text.  In  many 
instances,  aliteral  translation  has  been  prefer- 
red to  an  idiomatical  English  expression,  for 
reasons  which  the  reader  will  easily  discover. 

Brighton,  April,  1841. 


EL-MAS'UDI'S  MEADOWS  OF  GOLD,  AND 
MINES  OF  GEMS. 


IN  the  name  of  God,  the  Merciful,  the  Clement ! 
Praise  be  to  God,  to  him  is  due  all  praise  and 
glory!  Blessed  be  Mohammed,  the  highest 
of  the  Prophets,  and  his  pure  family. 

FIRST  CHAPTER. 
The  Object  of  this  Work. 

El-Mas'udi  says:  We  have  described,  in  the  in- 
troduction to  our  work,  called  Aklibdr  ez-zemdn1 
(on  the  history  of  time),  the  figure  of  the  earth,  its 
towns,  wonders,  and  seas,  its  heights  and  depths, 
mountains  and  rivers,  the  produce  of  the  mines; 
the  various  waters,  marshes,  and  the  islands  of  the 
sea  and  of  lakes.  We  have  also  given  descrip- 
tions and  historical  sketches  of  large  edifices  and 
lofty  temples,  an  account  of  the  beginning  and  last 
origin  of  things,  and  notices  of  inhabited  districts, 
and  of  such  tracts  as  had  been  land  and  became 
sea,  or  which  had  been  sea  and  became  land ; 
together  with  the  causes  of  those  changes,  both 
proceeding  from  sidereal  and  natural  influences. 
We  proceeded  then,  in  that  work,  to  divide  the 


2  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

climates  according  to  the  stars  which  preside  over 
them,  and  the  lines  on  the  globe,  and  the  extent 
of  the  districts.  We  also  entered  into  details  on 
the  discussions  on  history,  and  on  the  different 
opinions  of  its  beginning,  and  on  the  priority  of 
the  Hindus  and  other  pagans.  We  have  men- 
tioned the  accounts  of  sacred  and  other  books,  and 
the  traditions  of  the  Rabbis2.  After  this  intro- 
duction 5;  we  have  related  in  that  work  the  history 
of  ancient  kings,  former  nations,  and  distinguished 
men,  and  of  tribes  of  past  times,  according  to  their 
different  origin,  classes,  and  religion.  We  have 
given  an  account  of  all  their  wise  institutions, 
the  sayings  of  philosophers,  and  of  the  history  of 
their  kings  and  emperors  (Csesars3)  who  have  passed 
on  the  wings  of  time.  In  another  chapter  we  have 
followed  up  the  history  of  the  prophets,  holy  men 
and  devotees,  until  God  completed  his  bounty  by 
sending  MOHAMMED  his  prophet.  We  continued 
our  history  in  relating  his  birth,  youth,  and  pro- 
phetic mission,  his  flight,  his  military  expeditions, 
both  those  commanded  by  himself,  and  those  com- 
manded by  his  leaders4,  down  to  his  death. 

Thus  we  have  followed  up  the  history  of  the 
Khalifs  and  of  their  empire,  which  grew  up  attended 
with  constant  disputes  and  wars  with  the  Talebites 


*M  plural  of 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  O 

who  descended  from  Fdtimah5,  down  to  the  time 
when  we  write  this  book,  which  is  during  the  reign 
of  el-Mottaki  Lilian,  in  the  year  332,  A.  H. 

After  the  Akhbar  ez-zeman,  we  wrote  our  book 
the  Kitdb  el-ausat',  which  is  also  a  historical  work, 
chronologically  arranged  from  the  creation  down  to 
the  time  when  we  concluded  our  great  work,  and 
the  Kitab  el-ausat  which  follows  it.  Subse- 
quently we  thought  it  useful  to  reduce  into  a 
smaller  compass  what  is  said  in  detail  in  the  larger 
work,  and  to  shorten  what  we  have  related  in 
the  Kitab  el-ausat,  so  that  we  may  give  the  essence 
of  the  contents  of  those  two  works  in  a  less 
voluminous  book,  in  which  we  shall  mention, 
besides,  different  sciences  which  are  not  noticed 
in  those  two  works.  We  have  to  excuse  ourselves, 
if  it  should  be  found  too  short,  and  to  apologize, 
as  our  mind  got  disturbed  and  our  strength  reduced 
by  the  privations  of  travelling,  and  by  crossing 
seas  and  deserts.  The  object  of  these  journeys 
has  been  to  satisfy  our  thirst  for  knowledge,  and  to 
learn  the  peculiarities  of  the  various  nations  and 
parts  of  the  world,  by  witnessing  them,  and  the 
state  of  foreign  countries,  by  seeing  them  ;  in  this 
way  we  travelled  to  INDIA  7,  Ez-ZiNj8,  ES- 


UiH  ^AAxJlkJl.        LUM^I  VUT  The  middling  work. 
7  A.   &  B.  Jsi^Ji;    C.  Js^JI.  8   go^JU 

9  A.  c^u^ll;    B.  cJuaM;    C.  jJuflJl;    C.  adds  fj 
and  China."  B  2 


4  EL-MAS*Ul>i'S  MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

EZ-ZANIJ*.  We  have  also  traversed  the  East 
and  the  West.  Sometimes  we  were  in  the  ex- 
tremity  of  KHORASAN,  other  times  in  the  centre  of 
ARMENIA11  and  ADHERBUANIS!,  ER-RiN13  and  EL- 
BAILKAXU,  then  again  in  EL-'!RAK  and  in  ESH-SHAM 
(Syria).  We  went  from  one  quarter  of  the  earth  to 
the  other  as  the  sun  makes  his  revolutions.  As 
some  poet  says: — "  We  rambled  through  the  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  country,,  sometimes  we  were  in 
the  extreme  east  and  other  times  in  the  west,  like 
the  sun,  the  ardour  of  the  mind  which  remains 
unimpaired,  is  unsatisfied  until  it  reaches  the  region 
(the  other  world,)  which  cannot  be  approached  by 
travelling." 

Then  we  had  intercourse  with  kings  of  different 


10  A.  &  c.  ^Jj;  B. 

13  A.  &  B.   ^yi;    C. 

14  A.  &  B.  ^ 


*  Arabic  Geographers  seem  not  to  have  been  very  well 
acquainted  with  this  name  from  the  various  ways  of  spelling  it. 
Jaubert's  translation  of  Edrisi  (vol.  I.  page  59,  et  seq.)  alone 
presents  us  with  four  varieties;  er-Rdnij,  ez-Zdlij,  ez-Zdnij,  and 
er-Rabij.  The  MSS.  of  Mas'udi  add  to  this  list  er-Rdbih,  ^\A\ 
and  ez-Zdbih.  The  reading  adopted  by  most  authors  is  er-Ranij 
g\j\\  I  preferred  "  ez-Zanij"  on  the  authority  of  a  most  ancient 
and  carefully  written  MS.  of  the  British  Museum,  (N.  7496, 
add.  MSS.)  which  seems  to  be  an  extract  from  Beladori's  Kitdb 
el-bolddn  and  the  autograph  of  the  abbreviator. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  5 


usages  and  politics,  and  by  comparing  them  we 
have  come  to  the  result,  that  illustrious  actions 
have  faded  in  this  world,  and  its  luminaries  are 
extinguished.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  wealth  but 
little  intellect.  You  will  find  the  self-sufficient 
and  ignorant,  illiterate  and  defective,  contented 
with  opinions,  and  blind  to  what  is  near  them. 
Subsequently,  this  sort  of  knowledge  did  not  appear 
to  us  a  worthy  task,,  nor  did  we  consider  it  worth  our 
while  to  devote  ourselves  to  these  pursuits,  so  we 
wrote  rather  our  works  on  the  different  opinions 
and  various  beliefs,  as  the  book  on  the  "  Exposition 
of  the  Principles  of  the  Religion15/'  and  the  "  Tracts 
on  the  Principles  of  the  Religion16,"  the  work  on 
"  The  Secret  of  Life 17,"  and  another  on  the  "  Argu- 
ments of  the  Principles  of  Dogmatics  (philoso- 
phically) arranged/' 

The  last-mentioned  book  contains  the  principles 
of  jurisdiction  and  the  rules  of  passing  decisions : 
as  defence  against  argumentation,  and  deciding  on 
one's  own  authority;  rejecting  opinion  and  grace; 
the  knowledge  of  what  is  abrogated  (in  law),  and 
what  is  put  instead  of  it,  and  of  how  far  and  in 
what  points  there  is  only  one  opinion ;  the  distinc- 
tion between  particular  and  general,  between  positive 


15 
1C 


7 


6  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

and  negative  commands,  and  between  disapproved 
and  permitted,  then  the  traditions  which  are  generally 
acknowledged  as  true,  and  those  originally  reported 
only  by  one  man,  the  example  of  the  prophet,  and 
the  juristical  decisions  founded  thereon.  We 
added  our  own  opinions  on  the  subject,  both  those 
which  are  controversial,  and  those  which  are  in 
accordance  with  others  18. 

"  Reflections  on  the  Imamship,  and  statement  of 
the  opinions  of  those  who  maintain  the  rights  of 
the  Imam  to  be  hereditary,  and  of  those  who 
make  him  elective,  together  with  the  passages  (of 
the  Koran,  &c.,)  which  both  parties  bring  forward 
in  proof  of  their  opinions19,"  and  "The  Book 


18  As  every  word  of  this  sentence  is  a  technical  expression,  I 
add  the  original.      \^,\  Lo«  ft\\       1^1    w  *M 


*•**     ^or  an  explanation  of  these  terms  I 
refer  the  reader  to  the  additional  notes  at  the  end  of  this  volume. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS. 


of  Sincerity  (the  impartial  book)  on  the  Imam- 
ship20." 

We  have,  besides,  inserted  occasional  remarks  on 
these  subjects  in  our  works  on  various  sciences, 
empirical  and  mystical,  evident  and  occult,  passed 
or  still  existing. 

We  have  called  attention  to  those  subjects 
which  the  vigilant  observe,  and  upon  which  the 
intelligent  reflect,  and  to  what  they  mention  of  the 
splendour  which  enlightens  the  world  and  is  diffused 
over  its  barrenness,  and  to  the  results  of  researches 
in  the  ruins,  which  ever  have  been  famous  and 
glorious  in  their  origin,  and  which  may  lead  to 
further  explanations.  We  entered  into  the  art 
of  government,  as  the  government  of  cities,  and 
its  natural  laws,  and  the  division  of  the  parts  of 
these  laws. 

We  entered  into  speculations  on  the  first  origin 
and  the  composition  of  the  world  and  the  heavenly 
bodies,  and  of  what  is  tangible  and  not  tangible, 
and  what  is  dense,  and  what  is  the  reverse. 

We  have  been  prevailed  upon  to  write  these 
books  on  history,  and  the  explanation  of  the  events 
of  the  world,  by  the  unanimous  example  of  the  wise 
men  and  philosophers  who  have  done  their  best, 
that  there  may  be  kept  up  in  the  world  the  recollec- 


8  EL-MAS'lJOl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

tion  of  what  there  is  praiseworthy  and  digested 
in  science.  We  found  that  authors  have  observed 
two  ways  in  writing  hooks,  the  one  to  explain  the 
matters  in  full  length,  the  other  to  shorten  them  ; 
and,  again,  the  one  elucidates  whilst  the  other 
abridges.  But  we  found  that  the  accounts  are  in- 
creasing in  number  with  the  progress  of  time.  The 
learned  stands  frequently  higher  than  the  intelligent 
and  clever.  But  each  of  them  has  a  part  assigned 
to  his  faculties.  Every  climate  has  some  wonders 
which  the  inhabitants  do  not  understand,  and  no 
man  who  has  zeal  for  science  can  rest  satisfied  and 
content,  with  what  natives  may  report  of  their  coun- 
tries ;  but  he  can  trust  to  a  man  who  has  spent  his 
life  in  travelling,  and  passed  his  days  in  researches, 
and  who  has  minutely  explored  the  mines  (of 
knowledge),  and  carefully  collected  all  that  can 
interest. 

Men  have  written  books  on  history  at  all  times, 
some  are  of  more,  some  of  less,  value.  Every  one 
has  exerted  himself  according  to  his  powers,  and 
has  deposited  therein  the  stores  of  his  wit  and 
talent,  as 

1  Wahb  Ben  Monabbih  <Ux*  ^>\  c*^. 

2  Abu  Mikhnaf  *  Lut  Ben  Yahya  el-'Ameri  #\ 

\    f*&* 


*  The  most  copies  of  Mas'udi  bear  Mohnifand.  this  is  the 
reading  adopted  by  Kosegarten  in  his  edition  of  Tabari.     The 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS. 

3  Mohammed  Ben  Ishak 

4  El-Wakedi 

5  Ibn  el-Kelbi 

6  Abu   'Obaidah  Ma'mer  Ben  el-Mothanni 


7  Ibn  'Ayyash*    jiU*  ^1. 

8  El-Haithem  Ibn  'Adi  et-Tayf 


9  Esh-Sharki   Ibn  el-Ketami 


10  Hemmad  er-Rawiyah  *± 

11  El-Asma'i  {juo^ 

12  Sahl  Ben  Harun 

13  Ibn  el-Mokaffa' 

14  El-Yezidi  <s 

15  El-'Otbi  el-Omawiy 

16  Abu  Zeid    Sa'id  Ben  Aus  el-Ansari 


reading  which  I  have  adopted  rests  on  the  authority  of  the  Kamus, 
(edit.  Calcutt.  p.  1160)  and  the  Fihrist  (874.  anc.  fond.  MS. 
Arab.  Royal  Library  at  Paris.) 

*  One  copy  bears  J^J^JJ  (j*lxxJJ  *jj  The  addition  of  the 
patronymic  "  el-Hamadani,"  in  this  wrong  reading  makes  it  pro- 
bable that  it  is  the  same  person  mentioned  in  Tiedemann's  ibn 
Khallikan  under  N.  364. 

t  Haji  Khalfa  (N.  2140)  makes  «el-Hayi"  of  «el-Tay "  but  this 
is  wrong 


10  EL-MAS'UDIJS    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


17  En-Nadhr  Ben  Shomail 

18  'Obaid-ullah  Ben  'Ayeshah  X^Lc  ^^ 
1  9  Abu'  Obaid  el-Kasim  Ben  Sallam  *     I 


20  'All  Ben  Mohammed  el-Medaini 
^cAxU. 

21  Demad  Ben  Rafi^  Ben  Selmah 
J*-^. 

22  Mohammed    Ben    Sallam    el-Jomhi 
^^  f  iU. 

23  Abu   'Othman    'Amr     Ben     Bahr     el-Jahith 

&*»^  >sr  ^  JJ+&  ^Zs.  ^\. 

24  AbuZeid'Omar  Ben  Shabbehen-Nomairi  Joj  >J 


25  El-Azraki  el-Ansari 

26  Abu  Saib  el-Makhzumi 

27  'All  Ben  Mohammed  Ben  Sole'j'man  en-Naufeli 


28  Ez-Zobair  Ben  Bekkar  J6*  ^  j*>^- 

29  El-Injili 

30  Er-Riyashi 

31  Ibn  'Abid     <k>U  or 


*  Other    readings    are    X 


-  ^j  *u*  *  ^jU     The  reading  which  I  have 

adopted  in  the  text  rests  on  the  authority  of  Ibn  Khallikan. 
f  The  readings  differ  ££\  or  Jt  or  £^\  or          JI. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  11 


32  'Arnrnar  Ibn  Wathimah  *  X 

33  Abu  Hassan  ez-Ziyadi  ( 


34  'Isa  Ibn  Lahi'ah  el-Misri  (&ux$J)  ***jJ 


35  'Abd-ur-Rahman  Ben  'Abd-ullah  Ben  Abdul 
Hokm  el-Misri 


36  Abu  Keisan  el-Hadi 

37  Mohammed  Ben  Musa  el-Khowarezmi 


38  Abu     Ja'fer     Mohammed     Ben     Abi-s-Sari 


39  Mohammed  Ben  el-Haithem  Ben  Shebamah 
(Shebabah)  el-Khorasani  ^^^  fj^tt  ^>  J^sx« 
^Ujil  (S^UJK)  SUUA  the  author  of  the  Book 
ed-daulat  (%j*M  the  dynasty.) 

40  Ishak  Ibn  Ibrahim  el-Mausili,  the  author  of  the 
Song-book,  and  of  other  works   *J^j1    .jj  vJu 


*  There  is  a  great  difference  in  the  readings  of  this  name. 
The  MS.  in  M.  Schultz's  collection  in  the  Royal  Library  at 
Paris  gives  the  reading  which  I  have  adopted  in  the  text.  The 
MS.  of  Leyden  bears  cf^oU  XAJJ  ^\  ^Xc  and  another  copy 
has  c5?jAaU  ^jl*c  •  I  believe  it  is  the  same  man  whom  Haji 
Khalfa  (N.  2120)  calls  'Omdrah  Ben  Wathimah. 


12  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

41  El-Khalil  Ibn  el-Haithem  el-Harthemi    JJlil 
^j*$r$\  fAAgH  ^jJ  the  author  of  the  book  on 
Stratagems  and  Manoeuvres  in  War  ^A\  ^UT 

Vj^i  J  «N»J&|j  aad  °f  other  works. 

42  Mohammed  Ben   Yezid   el-Mobarred  el-Azdi 


43  Mohammed    Ben    Soleiman    el-Minkari    el- 
Jauheri 


44  Mohammed  Ben  Zakariya  el-Ghallabi^  el-Basri 
(el-Misri)  (^^0  cfj^ui^  3-^x)^  ^0  (^j^*^^, 
the  author  oif  the  j^^i  i^UT  and  other  works. 

45  Ibn  Abi-d-Dunya  (er-Raini)  the  preceptor  of 
el-Moktefi  Billah  (^0  USjJl  ^»^  ^j^^ 

46  Ahmed  Ben  Omar  (Mohammed)  el-Khoza'i, 
known    under    the    name   of    el-Khakani   of 
Antiochia  o 


47  'Abdullah  Ben  Mohammed  Ben  Mahfiith  el 

Beladi  el-Ansari  l^yL^v^  ^j  *x«^  ^.^  ^J^  iXxc 

^Uaj^\     (tf>^0     tf*xX>Ji    the    companion   of 

Ibn  Yezid  'Imarah  Ben  Zaid  of  Medina  (Ibn 


*  All  the  copies  of  Mas'udi  bear  £&xJJ  instead  of 
I  prefer  the  latter  on  the  authority   of  the  Fihrist.      His  work 
is  called  in  some  copies  jl^^SH  v^  an(^  ^n  ^e  Fihrist 
2>f^.y\.  Haji  Khalfa  contains  none  of  these  titles. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  13 

Othman  Ben  Zaid  of  Medina)  *,Ux  Ju 


48  Mohammed  Ben  el-Barki  Ben  Khalid  el-Waki 
el-Katib*  «-oKN  £^\  *\!U.  (^  ^xiJ  Cj_^  <x+2X« 
author  of  the  ^U^M  c_»UT  "  Exposition." 

49  Ahmed  Ben  Mohammed  Ben  Khalid  el-Barki, 
the  son  of  the  preceding 


50  Abii  Sa'id  es-Sokkari  f  ^.Cj^  *x/jt-j  ^>\ 

51  Ahmed  Ben  Abi  Tdher^lfc  ^?  ^.j  J^!  the 


*  This  name  is  found  only  in  M.  de  Gayangoz's  copy.  It  is 
evidently  very  incorrect.  Comparing  it  with  the  next  following 
name,  which  is  also  only  met  in  Gayangoz's  MS.,  I  consider  "el- 
Waki  "  as  a  corruption  of  "el-Barki ",  which  is  to  be  left  out  the  first 
time.  The  name  runs  therefore :  Mohammed  Ben  Khalid  el-Barki 
el-Kdtib.  Haji  Khalfa  (N.  2405  edit.  Fliigel)  ascribes  a  work 
called  "Exposition  of  the  History  of  Bagdad"  to  Ahmed  Ben 
Mohammed  Ben  Khalid  el-Barki  el  Kdtib.  This  name  agrees 
exactly  with  the  name  of  the  next  following  author.  As  in  M. 
de  Gayangoz's  copy  frequently  a  sentence  is  written  twice,  I 
almost  think  the  father  must  abdicate  as  an  author  in  favour  of  his 
son. 

f  This  author  is  mentioned  only  in  a  copy  of  the  Royal 
Library  at  Paris,  (collection  of  M.  Schultz)  and  in  M.  de 
Gayangoz's  MS.  The  later  MS.  adds,  He  is  the  author  of  the 
work  i-»^xl^  *^W^  "P°ems  of  the  Arabs  (Bedouins^)"  in  the 
Fihrist  and  in  Haji  Khalfa  (edit.  Fliigel,  N.  38.)  This  book  bears 
the  title  »UJJ  C>UjSN  "  Popular  Poems." 


14  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


author  of  the  "  History  of  Bagdad"  j+±\  v^ 
Jjjob  and  other  works. 

52  Ibn  el-Wesha  U^J  ^\ 

53  'All  Ben  Mojahid  «X4>Ls=s.<>  (JJj  ^   the  author 
of  the  ''History  of  the  O  may  y  ides  "^,U=U  VUT 
(^.jju^oSM  and  other  works. 

54  Mohammed     Ben    Saleh   Ben  el-Betah    (en- 
Nettah*.)     (CU*N)  ^U^l  ^  ^\#  ^  *+=s^ 
the  author  of  the  "  History  of  the  Abbaside 
Dynasty'^  X/^UxJ^  XJ3*xJ^  t_»lxT  and  other  works. 

55  Yusuf  Ben   Ibrahim    ^&>jA   (j_^    <-**-^.    the 
author  of  the  "  History  of  Ibrahim  Ben  el- 
Mahdi  "  and  other  works. 

56  Mohammed  Ben  el-Hareth  et-Taghlebi   (eth- 
Tha'lebi)   (c^xn)    gteX\  cL^^    ^^  <x*^« 
the  author  of  the  "  Manners  of  the  Kings"  v_A^ 
(XUQ  t_-^U^  o^U.^  which  he  composed  for  el- 
Fath   Ben   Khakan   ^UU    ^    g&\    and    of 
other  works. 

57  'Obaid-ullah  Ben  'Abdulla  Ben   Khordadbeh 


He  is  the  best  writer  ;  his  style  is  an  example 
which  has  been  imitated  by  other  authors.     They 


*  The  reading  «  el-Betah  "is  confirmed  by  the  authority  of  the 
Fihrist  (874  MS.  Arabe  ancien  fonds  of  the  Royal  Library  at 
Paris;)  and  «en-Nettah"  by  Haji  Khalfa  (edit.  Fliigel,  N.  2151.) 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  15 

have  followed  his  traces  and  copied  from  his  works. 
Whoever  wishes  to  convince  himself  of  the  truth 
of  our  assertion,  may  read  his  large  work  on  history, 
gjUM  &  j^&\  u.»UT.  He  compiled  the  materials 
for  this  work  with  great  care  ;  arranged  them  in  a 
new  order,  and  comprised  in  it  a  vast  deal  of  infor- 
mation. It  contains  the  history  of  the  Persians, 
and  other  nations,  their  kings,  and  the  biographies 
of  those  kings. 

Another  excellent  book  of  his  treats  on  the 
roads  and  kingdoms,  fyc.,  Uyx  3  jOlit  ^  JCJUJL!  j. 
Whenever  I  was  in  want  of  information,  I  found  it 
there,  and  whenever  I  consulted  it,  I  had  reason  to 
praise  it. 

58  History  (of  Mohammed  )  from  his  birth  to  his 
death,  and  of  the  Khalifs  and  Kings  after  him, 
down  to  the  Khalifat  of  el-Mo'tadhed  Billah, 
with  an  account  of  all  that  happened  or  existed 
in  their  days,  and  their  traditions,  by  Mohammed 
Ben  'AH  el  Hosaini  el-'Alawi  ed-Dinaweri  t_»UT 
^tfj*  ^  SlJ>Jl  J 


59  History  of  Ahmed  Ben  Yahya  el-Belddori  v^" 
cfji^xJ^  ^^  (Jjj  js,*^^  &j^  an^  the  work  of 
the  same  author  which  has  the  following  title, 


16  EL-MAS'lJDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

"  The  countries  and  their  subjection  to  the 
Mohammedans,  by  treaty  or  force,  after  the 
Hijrah  of  the  prophet,  and  all  the  conquests  of 
Mohammed,  and  of  the  Khalifs  after  him,  also 
the  traditions  illustrative  of  this  subject;"  <-A^ 


The  author  describes  in  this 
book,,  all  the  countries  east  and  west,  south  and 
north.  We  do  not  know  of  any  better  work 
on  the  conquest  of  the  countries  than  this. 

60  The  history  of  Ddwud  Ben  el-Jerrdh,  A^J  <->^ 
gJJCM  <5*  ^4>\  (.jj.  This  is  the  great  reposi- 
tory of  the  history  of  the  Persians,  and  of 
other  nations.  The  author  is  the  grandfather 
of  the  vizier  'All  Ben  'Isa  Ben  Dawud  Ben  el- 
Jerrah. 

61-4  history  containing  the  events,  state,  and  times 
before  the  Islam  and  after,  by  Abu  'Abdullah 
Mohammed  Ben  el-Hasan  Ben  Siwdr,  known 
under  the  name  of  Ibn  Okht  'Isa  Ben  Ferklidn- 
shdh,  ^k 


^.^j.       His   history    goes 
down  to  the  year  320. 

62  History   of  Abu    'Isa   Ben  el-Monajjim   (the 
astrologer)  principally  based  on  the  Pentateuch, 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  17 


It  treats  also  on  other  prophets  and  kings. 
63  History  of  the  Omayyides,  their  virtues,  the 
qualities  by  which  they  distinguished  themselves 
from  other  great  families,  and  the  new  line 
of  conduct  which  they  adopted  when  in  power  ; 
by  Abu  !  'Abd-ur-Rahmdn  Khaled  Ben  Heshdm 
el-Omawiy  ^AjljU 


64  T%e  history  of  Abu  Bishr  ed-Dauldbi    ^ 


65  And  the  excellent  book  of  Abu  Bekr  Mo- 
hammed Ben  Khalaf  Ben  Waki\  the  Kadi,  on 
history,  with  notices  on  other  subjects  ; 


66  Biography    and    History   by    Mohammed  Ben 
Khaled  el-Hdshemi 


67  History  and  Biography  by  Ishak  Ben  Sola'iman 
el-Hdshemi;        j 


68  Biography  of  the  Khalifs  by   Abu   Bekr  Mo- 
hammed Ben  Zakariyd  er-Rdzi,  liXi^^x**  JxT 

;   the  author  of 


18  EL-MAS'  i  DI'S  MEADOWS  OF  GOLD, 


the  "  Kitab  el-Mansuri"^^;uJJ  VUT  and  other 
medical  works. 

69  The  works  of  'Abdullah  Ben  Moslim  Ben  Ko- 
taibah  ed-Dinaweri  XAAA?  (.+->  fiwo  /.jj  aM!  *XAC 
tf^jJJ,  which  are  numerous  and  extensive, 
as   his   Encyclopedia  (  _  5,1*^  t  v^UT  and  other 
works. 

70  The  history  of  Abu  Ja'fer  Mohammed  Ben  Jarir 
et-Tabari   ^jvUl^j^  ^  tX^yLx^  ^\  js»jlj- 
No  other  book  can  be  compared  with  this, 
which  forms  a  supplement  to  all  other  works. 
He  has  collected  different  historical  traditions 
and  documents,  so  that  his  book  contains  a 
variety  of  information,  which  renders    it  very 
useful.     And  how  could  it  be  otherwise?  the 
author  having  been  the  most  learned  Divine* 
of  his  age,  and  the  most  religious  person   of 
his  time.     He  united  the  knowledge   of  the 


*  "  Divine,"  <Ui'J  means  a  person  well  versed  in  law  and 
divinity,  i.  e.  1.  The  Koran  and  its  explanation.  This  compre- 
hends the  sacred  ancient  history  of  the  creation  and  prophets, 
the  outline  of  which  the  reader  finds  in  the  3rd,  4th,  5th,  and 
6th  chapters  of  this  work.  2.  The  traditions  which  are  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  early  history  of  the  Mohammedans, 
for  history  derives  all  its  information  from  traditions.  3.  Some 
auxiliary  sciences,  such  as  logic,  grammar,  Arabic,  archaeology* 
&c.  Hence  it  was  required  to  be  a  good  Divine,  in  order  to  be 
a  good  historian. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  19 

Divines  of  all  the  leading  cities*,  and  was  ac- 
quainted with  all  traditions  and  documents. 


*  When  the  Mohammedans  had  conquered  part  of  Persia,  'Omar 
founded  on  the  frontier  between  the  conquering  and  subjected 
countries  (Arabia  and  Persia),  two  military  cantonments,  (el- 
Basrah  and  el-Kufah)  to  ensure  the  conquests.  These  two  cities 
were  called  /.*->  v^^JJ  sing*  jj*a+$\  Hence  j+j&+j  means  "to 
form  such  a  cantonment."  Similar  cantonments  were  founded  by 
the  same  Khalif,  and  for  the  same  purpose,  in  Syria,  Mesopotamia, 
and  Egypt.  Although  they  were  in  their  origin  little  more  than 
camps,  they  rose  soon  to  importance,  being  the  site  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  conquered  countries,  and  the  rich  booty  collected 
there  from  all  quarters  of  the  world,  changed  them  into  splendid 
cities.  In  these  cantonments  the  veterans  who  had  fought  with  Mo- 
hammed were  stationed.  When  peace  was  restored,  their  minds 
were  turned  to  religious  speculations,  and  their  imagination  was 
filled  with  the  recollections  of  the  prophet ;  the  absence  from  the 
original  spot  may  have  contributed  to  exalt  and  embellish  these 
recollections.  They  related  the  sayings  and  history  of  the  prophet 
to  their  children,  who  were  anxious  to  gather  as  many  of  these 
sacred  traditions  as  they  possibly  could,  and  to  compare  the 
accounts  of  the  same  fact,  as  related  by  different  persons.  So  in 
every  one  of  those  stations  of  the  veterans,  or  "  leading  cities," 
to  which  Mekka  and  Medina  may  be  reckoned,  a  corpus  of  tra- 
ditions was  formed  which  was  first  orally  taught,  but  soon  committed 
to  writing,  studied  and  commented  upon  by  the  divines 

These  cantonments  may  be  compared,  in  an  ecclesiastical  point 
of  view,  witli  the  primitive  Christian  churches,  (Jerusalem,  Alex- 
andria Antiochia,  &c.),  with  this  difference,  that  they  were  at  the 
same  time  the  sites  of  learning,  and  that  their  chivalrous  feelings 
were  so  strong,  that  the  blood  of  more  than  a  hundred  thousand 

C  2 


20  KL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

71  Of  the  same  description  is  the  history  of  Abu 
'Abdullah  Ibrahim  Ben  Mohammed  Ben  'Orfah 
el-Wdsiti,  the  grammarian,  known  by  his  nick- 
name, Niftawaih 


His  history  is  full  of  elegant  extracts  from  the 
best  works,  and  of  useful  matter.  He  was 
the  best  writer  of  his  time. 

72  Mohammed  Ben  Yahya  es-Suli  ^$&  ^j  tX+2x« 
Jy«H  followed  his  example  in  his  book  called 
The  papers  on  the  history  of  the  Abbasides  and 
their  poetries  uJu?&\  ^  UX^UrU  ^J  o^^J  t->\tf 
^,U-2»^  and  in  his  work  on  the  history  of  the 
Viziers  of  the  Beni  'Abbas   ^1^  ^A^t?  ^JvS- 
He   relates  anecdotes    which   are    not  to  be 
found   in  any   other  author,  for  he  had  the 
opportunity  of  witnessing  them  personally  ; 
he     was    besides    very    learned    and    well- 
informed,  and  a  good  writer. 

73  Of  the  same  kind  is  the  work  on  the    Viziers, 


men  who  fell  in  el-Kufah  under  the  executioner  of  Hejjaj   Ben 
Yusuf  could  not  quench  their  thirst  for  independency. 

This  is  the  original  acceptation  of  the  word  VAO^O  which  was 
lost  when  the  cities  to  which  it  had  been  applied,  lost  their  import- 
ance and  character.  Modern  writers  use  sometimes  the  plural 
,Uo*J  in  order  to  make  a  sentence  more  pompous,  and  in  this  case 
it  means  "provinces"  in  a  vague  acceptation  of  the  word. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  21 

by  Abul-  Hasan   'All   Ben   el-Hasan,   who    is 
known  under  the  name  of  Ibn  el-Mdshitah*, 


This  work  goes  down  to 
the  end  of  the  reign  of  er-Radhi  Billah. 

74  Equal   merit  has   Abul-Faraj  Koddmah    Ben 
Ja'fer  el-Kdtib  c-^j'KH  yL*^  ^  3UJA*  ^^\  ^\. 
He  was  a  good  and  elegant  writer,  who  chose 
such  words  which  expressed  best  the  meaning, 
as    one  may   see   from   his   historical   work, 
which  has  the  title,  flowers  of  the  spring,  ^-ktf 
£t>j$\r*j   but  his  best  work  is  the  book  on  the 
tribute,  ^*£»\  <-»ur.       In  these  two  works  he 
justifies  fully  the  praise  which  is  given  to  him. 

75  Abul-Kdsim  JcCfer  Ben  Mohammed  Ben  Ham- 
dan  el-Mausili  el-Fakih 


wrote  his  histo- 
rical work  called  el-Bdhir  j&kjA\  ^\jS  (the  admi- 
rable) in  opposition  to  the  Kitab  er-Raudhat 
'tejjti  c^UT  (the  garden)  of  el-Mobarred 
76  Ibrahim  Ben  Mdhawaih  el-Far  esi  ^> 

x»y>Lo.       He   imitates  a  work  of   el- 


*  Haji  Khalfa  (No.  242  edit.  Fliigel)  writes  the  name  of 
this  author  Abul-Hosam  'AU  Ben  Mohammed  el-Meshshdtah 
XlsUUJI  but  this  is  wrong.  Compare  the  Tenbih  (337  MSS.  of 
St.  Germain,  fol.  195  vers.) 


22  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


Mobarred  called  "el-Kamil"  _UKU  VUT  (the 
perfect  book.) 

77  The  work  of  Ibrahim  Ben  Musa  el-Wdsiti  on 
the  history  of  the  Viziers,  &»}*  &•>  ^^  v^~ 
\j-j£\  J^\  ^  is\s^\^\.      He  wrote    this   book 
in  opposition  to  Mohammed  Ben  Ddwud  Ben 
el-Jerrah's  book  on  the  same  subject. 

78  The  work  of  'AH  Ben  el-Fath*  el-Katib  known 
under  the  name  of  el-Motawwak,  on  the  history 
of  several  Viziers   of   el-Moktader,    ^^  «_AxT 


79  El-Misri's  work  named   Flowers    of  the  eyes 
and  brightness  of  the  heart,  (jj>**M 


80  TAe  history  of  'Abdur-Rahim  Ben  Mohammed 
el-Warrak,  generally  called  el-Jorjdni  es-Sa'di-f, 


81  History  of  el-Mausil  and  other  places,  by  Abu 
Zokra 


*  Haji  Khalfa  (No.  242)  is  wrong  in  writing  the  name  of 
this  author  'Alt  Ben  Abil-Fatah. 

t  Haji  Khalfa  (No.  2193)  calls  this  author  'Aid  er-Rah- 
mdn  Ben  'Aid  er-Rezzdh  es-Sadi  el-Jorjdnt.  One  of  my 
copies  bears  Ben  el-  Warrdk 

I  The  name  of  this  author  in  Haji  Khalfa  (No.  2320)  is 
Zakariya  el-Mausili. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  23 

82  The  chronicle  of  Ahmed  Ben  AU  Ya'kub  el- 
Misri*  embracing  the  history  of  the  Abbasides 
and  other  families, 


83  The  history  of  the  Khalifs,  from  the  house  of 
Abbas,  and  others,  by  'Abdullah  Ben  el-Hosdin 
Ben  Sa'd  el-Kdtib,  f  ^U^i 


84  Mohammed  Ben  Abil-Azhar's  J  ^ 

work   on    history,    and   other   subjects. 


*  Haji  Khalfa  (No.   2151)    writes  this    name    Ahmed    Ben 
Yakub  el-Misri. 
f  Haji    Khalfa   writes    'Abdullah    Ben  Hosa'in   Ben  Maad 


I  Haji  Khalfa  calls  this  author  Abul-Azhar  Mohammed 
Ben  Mozid)  a  grammarian,  who  died  325.  This  is  wrong,  as 
we  see  from  es-Soyutl  (lives  of  grammarians  and  lexicographers  y 
an  Arabic  MS.  of  Dr.  J.  Lee).  This  author  says,  "  Mohammed 
Ben  Mozid  Ben  Mahmud  Ben  Mansur  Abu  Bekr  el-Khoza'i, 
known  under  the  name  of"Ibn  Abll-Azhar"  the  grammarian,  is 
called  by  some  writers  Mohammed  Ben  Ahmed  Ben  Mozid....  He  is 
the  author  of  the  work  el-harj  wal-marj,  &c."  With  this  account 
agrees  the  author  of  the  Fihrist  (Vol.  I.,  No.  874,  MS.  Arab. 
anc.  fonds.,  in  the  Royal  Library  at  Paris,  fol.  200  verso.),  who 
gives  to  the  author  of  the  el-harj  wal-marj  the  name  of  Ibn 
Abil-Azhar  Abu  Bekr  Mohammed  Ben  Ahmed  of  Bushanj 


24  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

This  book  has  the  title  of  rebellion  and  revo- 
lutions) dLA<te»y\  j  £j£\  v^" 
85   Sendn  Ibn    Thdbet   Ben  Korrah   el-Harrdni, 

Jt/il  2jS  (jjJ  u^olj  (^jt\  j,U^,  *  has  written  a 
work,  the  contents  of  which  are  not  in  his 
line  and  profession ;  it  is  in  the  form  of  an 
epistle  to  a  friend  of  his,  who  holds  office  under 
Government;  and  contains  dissertations  on 
moral  philosophy,  and  the  division  of  the  soul, 
into  the  intellectual  soul  (AJ&UM),  animal  soul 
(or  function)  (^UA*axM),  and  vegetative  soul 

(or  function)  (x^W^O*  ^e  a^so  giyes  the 
leading  ideas  on  the  government  of  cities, 
from  Plato's  Republic,  which  is  in  two  books. 
He  speaks  also  on  the  duties  of  the  Sovereign, 
and  of  the  Viziers.  Then  he  proceeds  to 
history,  which  he  believes  to  have  from  good 
authority,  for  he  does  not  relate  as  an  eye- 
witness, except  the  history  of  Mo'tadhed 
Billah,  in  whose  court  he  lived.  He  gives  an 
account  of  the  days  which  he  passed  with  hi  in. 


*  Haji  Khalfa  (No.  2191)  makes  a  gross  anachronism,  in 
ascribing  to  Thabet  Ben  Korrah  a  history  from  the  year  190  to 
363,  whereas  the  supposed  author  died  288  A.H.  He  means 
probably  the  history  of  the  grandson  of  Thabet  Ben  Korrah, 
whose  name  was  Thdbet  Ben  Sendn  and  who  is  much  praised  as 
a  historian,  by  Abul-Faraj  (Hist.  Dynast,  p.  208.,  and  also  Ase- 
mani  Bibl.  Orientalis,  Vol.  II.,  p.  317.)  He  died  363  A.H. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  25 

Then  he  goes  back  from  one  Khalif  to 
another,  but  contrary  to  all  history,  and  de- 
viating from  the  accounts  of  all  other  his- 
torians. And  even  if  his  history  were  better, 
and  if  he  had  not  gone  beyond  what  he  had 
seen  himself,  he  ought  to  be  blamed  for  a 
work  which  is  not  in  his  profession,  and  for 
a  labour  which  is  out  of  his  line.  He  ought 
to  have  written  on  those  branches  of  science 
in  which  he  is  unique,  as  on  the  Science  of 
Euclid  (j^jvxXiM,,  the  linea  secantes  v^UkJuc,  on 
the  Almegest,  and  on  Circles  c>]^jsU;  or  he 
ought  to  have  entered  into  an  explanation  of  the 
systems  of  Socrates,  Plato,  or  Aristotle,  treat- 
ing on  the  system  of  the  heavens*  X>£UJJ  UA5M, 
on  meteorological  phenomena  xj^XxH  jl^t,  or 
on  natural  temperaments.  On  causes,  their 
connexion  and  conclusions  ^yU^J-  On  proposi- 
tions cijUJoiU,  and  compound  syllogisms  £»U>^ 
djlxTj.*!!.  On  the  distinction  between  natural 
and  supernatural  oU$lsn.  Also  on  the  science 
of  the  matter,  dimensions,  figures,  and  the 
mensuration  of  forms  (stereometry),  and  other 
problems  of  philosophy.  If  he  had  written 
on  these  subjects,  no  blame  could  be  cast  upon 


*  This  is  the  Arabic  title  for    Aristotle's  work,  De   Ccelo, 
and  the  following  one  for  his  Meteorologica. 


26  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

him  for  his  labour,  for  he  would  have  produced 
a  work  which  is  consistent  with  his  professional 
science.  But  the  learned  are  defective  in  their 
abilities,  and  the  wise  have  some  weak  points. 
Hence,  'Abdullah  Ben  el-Mokaffa'  says: 
"Whosoever  writes  a  book  exposes  himself:  if 
it  is  good  he  will  earn  fame,  and  if  it  is  bad  he 
will  reap  shame." 

We  mentioned  only  those  chronicles,  histories, 
biographies,  and  documents,  the  authors  of  which 
are  known,  and  omitted  the  historical  works  of  the 
persons  who  have  written  on  the  traditions,  con- 
taining the  names,  lives,  and  classes,  of  men ;  for 
this  volume  is  too  limited  to  contain  all  that. 
Besides,  in  our  work  entitled  Kitdb  Akkbdr  ez-zemdn 
and  Kitdb  el-ausat,  we  have  named  the  persons 
who  have  made  themselves  in  any  way  remarkable, 
with  their  biographies,  and  anecdotes  of  their  lives, 
and  we  have  given  an  account  of  the  persons  of 
science,  and  their  classes;  beginning  from  the  time 
of  the  companions  of  the  prophet  and  the  fol- 
lowers* after  them,  we  have  followed  up  the  great 
men  of  every  age,  in  chronological  order,  till  the 
year  332,  according  to  the  difference  of  their 


*  Those  who  lived  at  the  time  of  Mohammed,  and  knew  him, 
are  called  "  companions,"  c-A^t  and  those  who  knew  the  compa- 
nions, but  not  the  prophet  himself,  are  called  "followers," 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  27 

pursuits  and  opinions,  whether  they  were  divines  of 
the  leading  cities,  or  other  persons  who  espoused 
the  cause  of  some  opinion,  sect,  system,  or  contro- 
versy. 

We  have  given  to  the  present  work  the  title, 
MEADOWS  OF  GOLD,  AND  MINES  OF  GEMS,  <_A>^ 
jjiyll  ^yiljco  ^  4-*jfr<xM  &?*•>  m  order  to  excite  a 
desire  and  curiosity  after  its  contents,  and  to  make 
the  mind  eager  to  become  acquainted  with  history, 
the  prominent  and  leading  facts  of  which  are  com- 
prised in  this  book,  whilst  they  are  related  in  full 
detail  in  our  former  works  on  the  same  subject,  and 
with  the  interesting  accounts  selected  for  these  pages 
from  our  other  writings.  We  have  dedicated  this 
book  as  a  present  to  kings  and  men  of  learning, 
having  treated  in  it  on  every  subject  which  may  be 
useful  or  curious  to  learn,  and  on  any  knowledge 
which  arose  in  the  lapse  of  time. 

We  have  pointed  to  the  subjects  of  our  former 
works,  repeating  here  everything  that  a  clever  and 
well-informed  man  ought  to  know.  There  is  no 
branch  of  science,  nor  any  object  of  interest,  of 
which  we  do  not  speak  ;  nor  is  there  any  important 
fact  which  we  do  not  distinctly  mention  in  this 
book.  We  have  compressed  it  into  the  form  of 
a  summary,  interspersed  with  various  hints,  and 
illustrated  with  occasional  observations. 

Whosoever  changes  in  any  way  its  meaning, 
removes  one  of  its  foundations,  corrupts  the  lustre 


28  EL-MAs'ui)i's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

of  its  information,  covers  the  splendour  of  one 
paragraph-,  or  makes  any  change  or  alteration, 
selection  or  extract;  and  whoever  ascribes  it  to 
another  author,  may  he  feel  the  wrath  of  God! 
Quick  may  come  the  vengeance,  and  may  the  blows 
of  misfortune  fall  upon  him  with  such  violence  that 
he  is  unable  to  bear  his  fate  in  patience,  and  that  he 
loses  his  intellect  over  it.  May  God  make  him  an 
example  to  the  reflecting,  and  may  He  take  from  him 
what  he  had  given  to  him.  May  He  who  is  the 
Creator  of  heaven  and  earth  bereave  him  of  the 
strength  and  other  graces  which  he  had  bestowed 
upon  him,  to  whatever  sect  or  opinion  he  may 
belong. 

We  have  put  this  intimidation  at  the  beginning 
of  this  book,  and  at  the  end,  that  it  may  deter  any 
one  who  might  have  an  inclination,  and  be  bad 
enough,  to  do  such  a  thing.  God  will  see  him,  and 
watch  his  doings.  The  space  (of  life)  is  short,  and 
the  distance  (to  the  other  world)  is  small,  and  to 
God  we  shall  all  return*. 

Here  we  subjoin  a  list  of  the  chapters  of  this 
book,  showing  the  contents  of  every  one  of  them 


*  This  expression  of  reliance  on  God  is  borrowed  from  the 
Koran,  and  is  constantly  in  the  mouth  of  the  Moslims  if  they  see 
themselves  wronged. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  29 

SECOND  CHAPTER. 
A  List  of  the  Chapters  contained  in  this  Book. 

WE  have  explained  in  the  preceding  chapter  the 
object  of  this  work ;  in  this  chapter  we  will  give  a 
list  of  the  contents  of  the  chapters,  in  the  same 
systematical  order  which  we  have  observed  in  the 
body  of  the  book,  to  the  end  that  the  reader  can 
easier  refer  to  them. 

3.  The  first  origin. — The  process  of  the  creation, 
and  the  first  generations  from  Adam  to  Ibrahim. 

4.  The  history  of  Ibrahim,  and  the  prophets 
after  him. — The  kings  of  the  children  of  Israel. 

5.  The  reign  of  Rakhobo'am  Ben  Solaiman  Ben 
Dawud  and  the  Israelite  kings  after  him.     Concise 
account  of  the  prophets. 

6.  Those  who  lived  in  the  Fatrah,  that  is  to 
say,  in  the  time  between  Christ  and  Mohammed. 

7.  An  abridged  account  of  the  Hindus,  their 
opinions,  the  origin  of  their  kings,  and  their  lives, 
also  their  usages  in  holy  service. 

8.  On  the  globe,  the  seas,  the  beginning  of 
rivers,  the  mountains,  and  seven  climates,  and  the 
stars  which  preside  over  them,  and  other  subjects. 

9.  A  concise  account  of  seas  that  have  changed 
their  places,  and  of  great  rivers. 


30  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

10.  Account  of  the  Abyssinian  sea,  its  extent, 
gulfs  and  straits. 

11.  The  different  opinions  on  ebb»and  flow,  and 
all  that  has  been  said  on  this  subject. 

12.  The  Greek  (Mediterranean)  sea,  its  length 
and  breadth,  and  its  beginning  and  end. 

13.  The  Sea  of  Nitus*  and  Manitus,  and  the 
strait  of  Constantinople. 

14.  The  sea  of  Bab  el-Abwab  and  Jorjan  (the 
Caspian  Sea),  and  a  view  of  the  connexion  of  all  the 
seas. 

15.  The  Chinese  Empire,  its  kings ;  their  lives, 
government,  &c. 

16.  A  comprehensive  view  of  the  accounts  of 
the  seas,  and  their  wonders,  and  of  the  nations  who 
live  in  the  islands  of  the  sea,  or  on  the  coast,  the 
succession  of  their  kings,  &c. 

17.  On  the  Caucasus,  and  accounts  of  el-Lan 
(Alans),  es-Serir,  el-Khazar,  and  various  races  of 
Turks  f,  and  el-Bulghar,  also  of  Derbend  and  the 
nations  and  kings  of  those  regions. 


.*J  is  a  corruption  of  Q^Lju  Pontus,  which  is  so 
universally  found  in  Arabic  authors,  that  it  seems  to  be  sanctioned 
by  use. 

t  The  word  "Turk"  throughout  this  work  is  not  to  be  taken 
in  the  meaning  it  generally  has  in  the  English  language.  For  the 
nation  which  we  call  "Turks"  are  named  in  the  east  "Othmanlis," 
whilst  the  name  "Turk"  has  with  good  Arabic  writers  about  the 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  31 

18.  The  Assyrian  kings. 

1 9.  The  kings  of  Mausil  and  Ninive,  who  are 
the  same  as  those  called  el-Aturyiin*,    ^.j$f.j3W 

20    The  kings  of  Babel  of  Nabatsean,  and  other 
origin.     They  are  called  the  "Chaldseans." 

21.  The  first  Persian  kings;  their  lives,  with 
historical  sketches. 

22.  The  kings  of  the  Satrapies,  and  the  Ash- 
ghanians.     These  were  between  the  first  and  second 
Persian  dynasties. 

23.  The  origin  of  the  Persians,  and  what  the 
historians  say  on  this  subject. 

24.  The  Sassanian  kings,  who  are  the  second 
series  of  Persian  sovereigns,  and  collections  from 
their  history. 

25  The  Greeks  t>   their  history,   and  opinions 
on  their  history. 


same  meaning  as  with  us,  "  Tatars."  I  refer  the  reader  for  a  more 
scientific  explanation  of  this  word  to  the  17th  chapter  and  the 
additional  notes  to  it. 

*  He  means  probably  the  kings  of  "Aturia,"  which  is  the 
name  of  the  country  belonging  to  Niniveh,  in  Strabo,  (edit.  Basil. 
1549,  page  669.) 

f  The  Greeks,  before  they  were  subjected  by  the  Romans,  are 
called  by  oriental  writers  "  Yunaniyun,  , . .  ^.xj  U^/J  \  or  lonians . 
The  term  is  originally  Syriac  UJQ-i,  for  the  Arabs  derived  their 
knowledge  of  the  ancient  Greeks  originally  from  the  Syrians,  and 
these  were,  of  course,  best  acquainted  with  those  Greeks  who 


32  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

26.  The  history  of  Alexander  in  India. 

27.  The  Greek  kings,  after  Alexander. 

28.  The  Roman  Empire,  and  what  historians 
say  on  the  origin  of  the  Romans,  the  number  of 
their  kings,  and  their  chronology.     Also  sketches 
from  the  lives  of  those  kings. 

29.  The  Christian  sovereigns  of  the  Byzantines, 
we  mean   the   emperors   of  Constantinople,    with 
some  notices  of  what  has  happened  during  their 
reigns. 

30.  The  emperors  after  the  beginning  of  the 
Islam  down  to  the  emperor  Romanus,  who  is  now 
reigning  in  332  A.  H. 

31.  Accounts  of  Egypt,  and  the  Nile,  wonders 
of  Egypt,  and  its  sovereigns. 

32.  Alexandria,  the  edifices  of  this  town,  and 
the  kings  who  resided  there. 

33.  The    Sudan    (Negroes),    their    origin   and 
different  races. 

34.  The  Slavonians,  the  countries  where  they 


lived  nearest  to  them,  who  were  the  "lonians."  After  the 
conquest  ^of  the  Romans,  the  eastern  empire  was  called  Rum 
p^JJ  I  translate  ^/JU^AH  by  "Greeks,"  and  +^\  for 
distinction's  sake,  by  "  Byzantines."  Whosoever  wishes  for  further 
explanation  on  this  subject  may  consult  Hamaker's  note  to  the 
"  Liber  de  expugnatione  Memphidis  et  Alexandria  ",  Leyden  1 825, 
p.  60. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  33 

live,  their  kings,  and  the  divisions  of  the  Slavonian 
nations. 

35.  The   Franks   and    Galicians,   XxJ&lJ    their 
kings,  sketches  from  their  history  and  biography, 
and  their  wars  with  the   inhabitants  of  Andalus, 
(Moors  in  Spain.) 

36.  The  Longobards,  and  their  kings,  together 
with  an  account  of  the  country  which  they  inhabit*. 

37.  The  'Adites,    and   their  kings;    a  view  of 
their  history,  and  the  opinions  respecting  the  length 
of  the  time  which  they  flourished. 

38.  The  Themudites   and   their   kings;    Salih 
their  prophet,  and  some  sketches  from  their  history. 

39.  Mekka,  an  historical  account  of  this  city, 
and  of  the  holy  house,  (the  Ka'bah,)  also  of  the 
supremacy  which  the  Jorhomites,  and  other  tribes, 
held  there ;  and  what  besides  enters  under  this  head. 

40.  On  the  description  of  the  earth,  and  the 
various  countries.     Love  to  the  native  soil. 

41 .  The  dispute  on  the  reason  why  "  el- Yemen," 


*  M.  De  Guignes,  (Notices  et  Extraits  des  MSS.  de  la 
Bibliotheque  du  Roi,  Vol.  i.  p.  4.)  and  Hamaker,  (Specimen 
Catal.)  read  the  word  Aj^TyJJ  Nogorod.  We  have  no  doubt  but 
that  $jjS^&\  is  a  corruption  of  Jj.x&jJJ  "el-Liingobard,'' 
although  all  MSS.  agree  in  this  corrupt  reading.  We  are  con- 
firmed in  our  opinion  by  Nowai'ri,  (MS.  of  Leyden,  Nro.  273,  page 
50,)  who  spells  it  Jj^&^J  "  Alangobard." 

D 


34  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


"  el-Irak,"   6^*n    "esh-Sham,"    ^l&l    and 
"el-Hejaz,"  jl^J  have  received  these  names. 

42.  Yemen,  the  origin  of  the  inhabitants  of  this 
country,  and  the  various  opinions  thereon. 

43.  Yemen,   and  the  kings  called  ct  Tobba's," 
and  others,  together  with  their  lives,  and  the  years 
which  they  reigned. 

44.  The   kings  of  el-Hfrah,    who   came   from 
Yemen,  and  others,  together  with  their  history. 

45.  Kings  of  Syria  who  came  from  Yemen,  and 
others,  together  with  their  history. 

46.  Wandering  people  of  the  Arabs,   and   of 
other  nations  ;    the  reasons  why  they  inhabit  the 
deserts,  and  the  Kurds  the  mountains;  their  origin 
and  history,  and  all  that  is  connected  with  this 
subject, 

47.  The  different  beliefs   and  opinions  of  the 
Arabs,   before  the   Islam;  their  dispersion.      The 
history  of  the  elephant,  and  the  invasion  of  the 
Abyssinians,  Abdul  Motallib,  &c. 

48.  Opinions  of  the  Arabs  on  the  soul,  intellect, 
and  animal  life. 

49.  What  the  Arabs  say  on  ghosts  and  witch- 
craft, and  what  other  nations  say  on  this  and  other 
subjects  of  the  same  nature. 

50.  On  ominous  sounds,  demons  and  the  like, 
according  to  the  opinions  of  the  Arabs  and  others, 
both  those  who  believe  it  and  who  deny  it. 

51.  The  ideas  of  the  Arabs  on  augury,  divina- 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  35 

tion,  physiognomies,  and  lucky  or  unlucky  omens, 
taken  from  the  circumstance  whether  game  turns  from 
the  left  to  the  right,  or  from  the  right  to  the  left. 

52.  Soothsaying,  how  it  is  done,  and  various 
accounts  thereof;  the  distinction  between  a  rational 
and  irrational  soul,  and  opinions  on  visions,  dreams, 
and  other  subjects  connected  with  them. 

53.  The  history  of  Seil  el-'Arem  in  the  country 
of  Saba  and  Marib.     The  dispersion  of  the  Azd, 
and  their  settling  in  other  countries. 

54.  The  years  and  months  of  the  Arabs  com- 
pared with  those  of  other  nations,   how  far  they 
agree,  and  how  far  they  differ. 

55.  The  months  of  the  Kopts  and  Syrians,  the 
difference  of  their  names.     A  view  of  chronology, 
and  what  is  connected  with  these  matters. 

56.  The   months   of   the   Syrians;     how  they 
agree  with  the  months  of  the  Greeks;  how  many 
days  in  a  year. 

57.  Months  of  the  Persians. 

58.  The  years  and  months  of  the  Arabs,  and 
the  names  of  their  days  and  nights. 

59.  What  the  Arabs  say  on  the  nights  of  the 
lunar  months,  and  what  is   connected   with   this 
subject. 

60.  The  revolutions  of  the  sun  and  moon*. 

*  Mas'iidl  states  at  the  end  of  this  index  that  the  number  of 
chapters   is   132.     All  MS.  copies  fall   short  of  this   number, 

D  2 


36  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

6 1 .  The  influence  on  this  world  ascribed  to  the 
sun  and  moon,  and  the  various  opinions  on  this 
subject. 

62.  The  quarters  of  the   world,    and  what  is 
peculiar  to  every  part  of  them  in  the  east  and  west, 
south  and  north,  and  other  influence  of  the  stars. 

63.  Sacred  edifices  and  lofty  temples ;  on  the 
houses  sacred   to  the  worship  of  fire  and    idols. 
The  idolatry  of  the  Hindus,  on  the  stars  and  other 
strange  things  in  this  world. 

64.  Sacred  houses   of  the   Greeks,    and  their 
description. 

65.  Sacred  houses  of  the  ancient  Romans. 

66.  The  sacred  houses  of  the  Slavonians,  toge- 
ther with  their  description. 

67.  The  high  temple  of  the  Sabeans  of  Harran, 
and  of  other   Sabean  sects.      The  various  things 
preserved  in  these  temples,  and  the  like. 

68.  Account    of  the  houses   of  fire   worship, 
their  construction,  and  the  account  of  the  Magi 
respecting  those  houses,  and  their  construction. 


omitting  frequently  the  chapter  heads.  Taking  the  chapter  heads 
of  all  the  copies  at  my  disposal,  I  brought  the  number  of  chapters 
to  131.  De  Guignes,  who  gives  this  list,  although  very  incomplete, 
in  the  first  volume  of  the  Notices  et  Extraits  des  MSS.,  after  the 
MSS.  of  Paris,  mentions  the  above  chapter  head,  which  I  the 
readier  adopt  to  make  complete  the  number  of  132,  as  Mas'udi 
speaks  also  on  the  course  of  the  sun  and  moon  in  the  chapter 
inscribed  in  my  copies  "The  influence  on  this  World,  &c." 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  37 

69.  Conspectus  of  the  chronology  of  the  world, 
from  the  beginning   down   to   the  birth   of   Mo- 
hammed. 

70.  The  birth  of  Mohammed,  his  pedigree,  and 
what  enters  besides  under  this  head. 

71.  The  prophetic  mission  of  Mohammed,,  and 
his  history  till  his  flight. 

72.  The  flight  of  Mohammed,  and  the  heads  of 
his  history,  till  his  death. 

73.  Account  of  his  history,  and  circumstances 
connected  with  it,  from  his  birth  to  his  death. 

74.  New  dogmas  which  commenced  with  the 
prophet,  and  which  had  never  existed  before  him. 

75.  The  Khalifat  of  Abu  Bekr  es-Sadik:  his 
pedigree,  and  sketches  from  his  life  and  history. 

76.  The  Khalifat  of  'Omar  Ben  el-Khattab:  his 
pedigree,  and  sketches  from  his  life  and  history. 

77.  Khalifat  of  'Othman  Ben  el-'Affan. 

78.  Khalifat  of  'Ali  Ben  Abi  Taleb:  his  pedi- 
gree, and  sketches  from  his  life  and  history:  his 
brothers  and  sisters. 

79.  Account  of  the  battle  of  the  camel,  how  it 
began,  and  what  there  happened. 

80.  The  occurrences  between  the  Arabs  of  el- 
Trak,  and  esh-Sham  (Syria),  at  Siffin. 

81.  The  two  arbitrators,  and  the  beginning  of 
the  arbitration. 

82.  'All's  wars  with  the  people  of  Nahrwan, 
who   were   called  "  esh-Shorrat,"  (SchismaticksJ  ; 
and  the  result  of  this  war. 


38  EL-MASU'DI'S  MEADOWS  OF  GOLD, 

83.  'All's  assassination. 

84.  Sayings  of  'Ali,  examples  of  his  abstemious- 
ness, and  some  anecdotes  of  this  nature. 

85.  The  Khalifat  of  el-Hasan  Ben  'All  Ben  Abi 
Taleb. 

86.  Reign  of  Mo'awiyah  Ben  Abi  Sofyan. 

87.  History  of  Mo'awiyah,  his  government,  and 
anecdotes  from  his  life. 

88.  The  companions    of   the    Prophet,    their 
praise.     'Ali  and  el-' Abbas. 

89.  The  reign  of  Yezid  Ben  Mo'awiyah  Ben 
Abi  Sofyan. 

90.  El-Hosain,  the  son  of  'Ali,  is  killed,  and 
many  of  his  family  and  followers  share  his  fate. 

91.  The  names  of  the  children  of  'Ali  Ben  Abi 
Taleb. 

92.  Sketches  from  the  life  and  history  of  Yezid; 
some  extraordinary  actions  of  his.     His  wars,  &c. 

93.  Reign  of  Mo'awiyah  Ben  Yezid,  Merwan 
Ibn  el-Hakam,   el-Mokhtar  Ben  Abi  'Obaid  and 
'Abdullah  Ben  ez-Zobair,  and  sketches  from  their 
lives  and   history,    and    some   occurrences   which 
happened  at  this  period. 

94.  Reign    of   'Abdul-Melik     Ben     Merwan: 
sketches  from  his  life  and  history. 

95.  El-Hejjaj  Ben  Yusof ;  his  speech,  and  part 
of  his  history. 

96.  Reign    of    el-Walid    Ben    'Abdul-Melik: 
sketches  from  his  history,  and  the  history  of  el- 
Hejjaj  during  his  reign. 


AND    MINKS    OF    GEMS.  39 

97.  Reign    of    Soleiman    Ben    'Abdul-Melik : 
sketches  from  his  life  and  history. 

98.  Khalifat   of  'Amr   Ben  'Abdul-' Aziz  Ben 
Merwan  Ben   el-Hakam:    sketches  from  his  life 
and  history. 

99.  Reign  of  Yezid  Ben 'Abdul-Melik:  sketches 
from  his  life  and  history. 

100.  Reign  of  Hesham  Ben  'Abdul-Melik,  and 
sketches  from  his  life  and  history. 

101.  Reign  of  el-Walid  Ben  Yezid  Ben  'Abdul- 
Melik,  and  sketches  from  his  life  and  history. 

102.  Reigns  of  Yezid  Ben  el-Walid  Ben  'Abdul- 
Melik,  and   Ibrahim  Ben  el-Walid    Ben    'Abdul- 
Melik,   and  anecdotes   from  the  history  of  their 
reigns. 

103.  The  party  spirit  between  the  descendants 
of  Yemen,  and  the  Nizarians.     And  the  rebellion 
against  the  Omayyides  which  was  the  result. 

104.  The  reign   of   Merwan  Ben   Mohammed 
Ben  Merwan  Ben  el-Hakam. 

105.  The  number  of  years  which  the   Omay- 
yide  dynasty  has  been  in  power. 

106.  The  'Abbasside  dynasty :  further  history  of 
Merwan ;  his  murder,  his  wars,  and  life. 

107.  The   Khalifat  of  es-Seffah,    his  life  and 
history,  and  the  history  of  his  time. 

108.  The  Khalifat  of  el-Mansur;  his  life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 

109.  The  Khalifat  of  el-Mehdi:    his  life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 


40  EL-MAS'UDi's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

110.  The  Khalifat  of  el-Hadi :    his    life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 

111.  The  Khalifat  of  er-Rashid;   his  life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 

112.  The  Barmekides,  their  history,  and  their 
influence  upon  their  time. 

113.  The   Khalifat  of  el-Amin:    his  life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 

114.  The  Khalifat  of  el-Mamun:  his  life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 

115.  The  Khalifat  of  el-Mo'tasem:  his  life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 

116.  The  Khalifat  of  el-Wathik:  his  life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 

1 1 7.  The  Khalifat  of  el-Motawakkel :  his  life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 

118.  The  Khalifat  of  el-Montaser;  his  life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 

119.  The  Khalifat  of  el-Mosta'in:  his  life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 

120.  The  Khalifat  of  el-Mo'tazz:  his  life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 

121.  The  Khalifat  of  el-Mohtadi:  his  life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 

122.  The  Khalifat  of  el-Mo'tamed :  his  life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 

123.  The  Khalifat  of  el-Mo'tadhed :  his  life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 

124.  The  Khalifat  of  el-Moktafi:  his  life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  41 

125.  The  Khalifat  of  el-Moktader:  his  life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 

126.  The   Khalifat  of  el-Kahir:   his   life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 

127.  The  Khalifat  of  er-Radhi:    his  life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 

128.  The  Khalifat  of  el-Mottaki:  his  life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 

129.  The  Khalifat  of  el-Mostakfi:  his  life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 

130.  The   Khalifat   of  el-Moti':   his  life  and 
history,  and  sketches  from  the  history  of  his  time. 

131.  The  second  conspectus  of  the  chronology, 
containing  the  period  from  the  Hijrah,  down  to  the 
present    time,    i.  e.,  Jomadal-ewwel  of    the    year 
336.     Thi  sis  the  date  when  I  finished  this  book. 

132.  Names  of  the  leaders  of  the  pilgrimage. 

El-Mas'udi  says,  these  are  all  the  chapters 
contained  in  this  book.  We  shall  give,  in  every 
chapter,  the  contents  pointed  to  in  the  preceding 
list,,  and  besides,  various  other  histories  and  accounts 
not  mentioned  in  this  list,  but  they  form  only  sepa- 
rate paragraphs  of  the  mentioned  chapters.  So  we 
give  in  our  chronicles  of  the  Khalifs,  and  the  length 
of  their  lives,  in  a  separate  paragraph  their  bio- 
graphy and  history;  and  then  we  add  another 
paragraph  containing  an  account  of  the  occurrences 
during  their  reigns,  the  history  of  the  Viziers,  and 
the  sciences  which  were  the  object  of  their  literary 


42  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

circles.  We  have  put  into  a  different  shape  what 
we  have  said  in  our  former  works  on  the  same 
subject. 

The  number  of  chapters  contained  in  this  book 
is  one  hundred  and  thirty  two.  The  first  chapter 
contains  the  object  of  our  work,  and  the  second  the 
list  of  chapters  contained  in  it,  and  the  last  chapter 
contains  the  names  of  the  leaders  of  the  pilgrimage 
from  the  beginning  of  the  Isldm  down  to  335,  A.H. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  43 

IN  the  name  of  the  Merciful  and  Clement  God ! 
THIRD  CHAPTER. 

On  the  beginning  of  all  things,  process  of  the 
creation,  and  the  progress  of  generation. 

ABUL-HASAN  (el-Mas'udi)  says :  the  learned  Mos- 
lims,  of  all  sects,  agree  that  God,  the  Almighty, 
created  the  universe  without  model,  and  from 
nothing.  The  first  thing  created,  acccording  to  a 
tradition  based  on  the  authority  of  Ibn  el-'Abbas 
and  others,  was  water ;  upon  it  was  the  throne  of 
God,  and  when  God  intended  to  accomplish  the 
work  of  creation,  he  produced  smoke  *  from  the 
water,  which  rose  over  it,  and  he  called  it  *WlJ 
heaven.  He  made  the  water  dry,  and  changed  it 
into  one  earth,  then  he  divided  it  into  seven  earths  t. 
This  was  done  in  two  days,  on  Sunday  and  Monday. 


*  i.  e.  The  exhalation  of  the  waters,  as  he  says  soon  after. 

f  The  Arabs  received  the  theory  of  seven  earths  without 
knowing  what  they  were.  Some  believe  that  there  are  six  earths 
under  the  one  which  we  inhabit;  in  the  sixth  is  the  throne  of 
Iblisy  whilst  others  divide  the  globe  known  to  the  Arabs  into  seven 
earths.  (Kitab  el-Bold&i,  add.  MS.  of  the  Brit.  Museum,  7496). 


44  EL-MAS'fJDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

He  created  the  earth  upon  a  fish  CL>^*  which  is 
mentioned  in  the  Koran,  in  the  Surah,  "  Nun f  "  "by 
the  reed  (pen)  and  what  they  write,  and  by  the 
FISH."  This  water  again  rests  upon  alarge  smooth 
stone,  and  the  stone  upon  the  back  of  an  angel,  who 
stands  upon  a  rockt,  and  this  rock  is  supported  by 
the  wind.  The  rock  is  also  mentioned  in  the 
Koran  §:  in  the  words  of  Lokman  to  his  son,  "O 
my  Son,  if  the  weight  of  one  mustard-seed  pushes 
on  the  rock,  or  on  the  heavens,  or  on  the  earth,  or 
wherever  it  may  be,  God  is  aware  of  it,  for  God  is 
clear-sighted  and  omniscient."  When  the  fish 
shakes,  an  earthquake  is  produced.  God,  however, 
placed  firmly  the  mountains  upon  it,  and  the  earth 
remains  firm.  To  this  alludes  the  passage  of  the 
Koran ^[,  "He  has  thrown  upon  the  earth  mountains 
firmly  rooted,  lest  it  should  move  with  you."  He 
created  the  mountains,  the  nourishment  of  the  inha- 
bitants of  the  earth,  and  the  trees,  in  two  days,  on 
Tuesday  and  Wednesday.  Therefore  we  read  in 

*  This  fish  is  named  >_••  ^A._I  Bahmut  or  Hamut,  (Ibn  Shohna, 
MS.  of  the  Asiatic  Society  at  Paris.)  L  ••  ^  jj  is  hardly  ever 
used  but  as  the  name  of  the  pisces  of  the  zodiac.  This  fable 
seems  to  have  been  originally  an  astronomical  allegory. 

t   Surah  Lxviii,  verse  48. 

%  Ibn  Shohna  and  others  say  this  rock  rests  upon  a  bull  (the 
sacred  animal  of  the  Hindus),  which  is  called  ^ISjxT  Kayuthdn. 

§  Koran  edit.  Fliigel,  Surah  xxxi,  verse  15. 

IT  Surah  xvi,  verse  15. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  45 

the  Koran,  "Say  (O  Mohammed)  how  can  you 
disbelieve  on  him  who  has  created  the  earth  in  two 
days?  and  how  can  they  associate  a  companion 
with  him  who  is  the  Lord  of  the  worlds,  and  who 
has  put  firmly-rooted  mountains,  and  spread  his 
blessing  in  it.  He  provides  equally  for  those  who 
pray  to  him  for  it. 

Then  God  ascended  to  the  heavens,,  which  were 
smoke.  He  said  to  the  heavens  and  to  the  earth, 
"come  whether  you  like  or  not;  "  they  answered, 
"We  come  by  good  will."  This  smoke  was  the  breath 
of  the  water.  God  made  first  one  heaven,  then  he 
divided  it  into  seven  heavens.  This  was  done  in 
two  days,  on  Thursday  and  on  Friday.  Friday  was 
called  the  day  of  assembling  (*xirt  ^»)  for  God 
has  assembled  (£+^)  (completed)  on  that  day, 
the  creation  of  the  heavens  and  earth.  Then  he 
said  I  will  reveal  in  every  heaven  what  belongs  to  it, 
that  is  to  say,  he  created  what  there  is  in  it,  as 
angels,  seas  and  the  mountains  of  el-Bord  ^  jJt  JU^. 
The  heaven  of  the  world  is  green,  and  consists  of 
emerald ;  the  second  heaven  is  white,  and  of  silver ; 
the  third  heaven  is  red,  and  of  ruby;  the  fourth 
heaven  is  white,  and  of  pearls;  the  fifth  heaven  is 
(j+z»\)  of  gold ;  the  sixth  heaven  is  of  a  yellow  gem, 
(Topaz) ;  the  seventh  heaven  is  of  light,  and  it  is 
all  covered  with  angels  who  stand  on  one  foot,  and 
praise  God,  because  they  are  so  near  him.  Their 
legs  go  through  the  seventh  earth,  and  a  space  of 


46  EL-MASUDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

five  hundred  years' journey  below  the  seventh  earth, 
and  their  heads  are  under  the  throne  of  God,  which 
they  do  not  reach.  They  say,  THERE  is  NO  GOD, 

BUT  GOD*;  HE  SITS  ON  THE  THRONE  OF  GLORY; 

so  they  say,  from  the  moment  of  creation,  to  the 
hour  of  the  judgment. 

Under  the  throne  is  a  sea,  from  which  comes  the 
food  for  all  living  beings.  God  commands,  and 
there  flows,  what  he  likes,  from  heaven  to  heaven, 
till  it  comes  to  the  place  called  <cel-Abrem,"  *^t 
then  God  gives  his  command  to  the  wind,  and  it 
carries  it  to  the  clouds,  through  which  it  passes  as 
through  a  sieve.  Under  the  heaven  of  the  world  is 
a  sea  filled  with  animals,  which  are  kept  together 
by  the  eternal  decree,  like  the  water  of  the  seas  of 
the  earth. 

When  God  had  completed  the  creation  of  the 
world,  he  peopled  it  with  genii  ^.szOJ  before  he  created 
Adam.  He  made  them  of  fire,  among  them  was 
"Iblis"  (jMAU  God  forbade  them  to  shed  the  blood 
of  animals,,  nor  should  they  show  a  rebellious  spirit 
among  themselves ;  but  they  shed  blood,  and  one 
became  the  enemy  of  the  other.  When  Iblis  saw 
that  they  would  not  forbear  from  these  bad  actions, 
he  asked  God  that  he  might  raise  him  to  the  heaven, 
and  there  he  worshipped  God  with  the  angels,  with 
the  greatest  devotion.  God  sent  a  corps  of  angels, 


*  A  verse  of  the  Koran. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  47 

under  the  command  of  Iblis,  against  the  genii,  and 
they  drove  them  into  the  islands  of  the  seas,  and 
killed  as  many  of  them  as  God  pleased. 

God  placed  Iblis  as  a  guardian  over  the  heaven 
of  the  world,,  but  his  heart  was  filled  with  pride. 

When  it  was  the  will  of  God  to  create  Adam, 
he  said  to  the  angels  "  I  shall  put  a  lieutenant  on 
earth;"  they  answered,,  "Who  will  be  this  lieu- 
tenant*?" God  answered,  "  He  will  have  children 
who  will  degenerate  in  earth,  and  envy  and  kill 
each  other."  They  said,  "O  our  Lord,  thou  placest 
a  being  there  who  will  spread  corruption,  and  shed 
blood,  and  we  sing  thy  praise,  and  glorify  thee !" 
He  answered  "I  know  what  you  do  not  know." 

Then  he  sent  the  angel  Gabriel  to  the  earth  to 
fetch  clay  for  him  from  the  earth.  But  the  earth 
said  "I  fly  to  God  from  thee*f,  if  thou  darest  take 
it!"  and  he  returned  and  took  none  from  it.  God 
sent  then  Michael,  and  the  earth  said  the  same 
words  to  him  as  to  Gabriel,  and  he  took  no  clay 
from  it.  Then  he  sent  the  angel  of  death,  and  the 
earth  took  flight  to  God  (said  the  same  words),  but 


*  This  story  is    literally  taken  from  the  second  Surah  of  the 
Koran. 

f  The  expression  "  I  fly  to  God  from  thee,''  ^JL«    aHb    ^\ 
is  borrowed  from  the  Koran,  and  is  of  very  frequent  use  amongst 
the  Arabs,  being  equivalent  to  the  commonest  English  imprecation 
implying  "  I  refer  to  God,  who  will  curse  thee." 


48  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

he  said  "and  I  fly  to  God,  if  I  return  without 
having  accomplished  what  I  am  to  do."  And  he 
took  black,  red,  and  white  earth;  for  this  reason 
the  sons  of  Adam  are  of  different  colours.  The 
first  man  was  called  ADAM  -M  for  he  was  taken 
from  the  surface  (adim)  *oM  of  the  earth.  Some 
have  a  different  opinion.  God  commissioned  the 
angel  of  death  over  death. 

When  God  had  kneaded  together  the  dust,  he  left 
it  for  forty  years,  till  it  had  become  tenacious  clay ; 
then  he  left  it  other  forty  years,  till  it  got  foetid 
and  altered.  This  is  meant  by  the  words  of  the 
Koran  "  modelled  from  foetid  dirt."  Then  he  gave 
to  the  clay  the  form  of  man,  but  left  it  without  a 
soul;  it  made  a  jingling  noise,  like  an  earthenware 
vessel,  so  it  remained  a  hundred  and  twenty,  or, 
according  to  other  authorities,  forty  years.  This  is 
meant,  in  the  words  of  the  Koran;  "  There  passed 
a  time  over  man  when  he  was  not  worth  notice." 
The  angels  passed  on  this  body,  and  were  afraid  of 
it,  more  particularly  Iblis.  Once  he  passed  it  and 
struck  with  his  foot  against  it ;  there  came  from  it 
a  sound  like  the  jingling  noise  of  an  earthenware 
vessel.  To  this  allude  the  words  of  the  Koran, 
"  From  the  jingling  noise  like  an  earthenware 

vessel,"  but  some  give  to  the  word 5LoJU»  (jingling 

sounds)  a  different  interpretation. 

Iblis  entered  by  its  mouth,  and  came  out  by  its 
back,  and  God  said  to  him  "  do  not  go  through 
what  I  have  created." 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  49 

When  God  intended  to  breathe  the  soul  into 
Adam,  he  ordered  them  to  worship  him:  they  did 
so,  except  Iblis.  He  refused,  in  his  pride,  to  do  it, 
and  said  ll  O  Lord,  I  am  better  than  him;  thou 
hast  created  me  of  fire,  and  him  of  clay :  and  fire 
is  nobler  than  clay;  further,  thou  hast  made  me 
the  lieutenant  in  the  heaven  of  the  earth,  and  I  am 
clad  in  feathers,  ornamented  with  a  scarf  of  light, 
and  crowned  with  grace.  I  have  worshipped  thee  in 
heaven  and  earth."  God  said  to  him,  "  Go  forth 
from  here,  thou  wretch,  upon  thee  is  my  curse,  till 
the  day  of  judgment. ''  He  asked  God  for  a  fixed 
term  to  the  day  when  they  would  be  resuscitated, 
and  he  made  him  look  forward  to  a  definite  time. 
So  the  name  of  Iblis  (Devil)  received  the  meaning 
which  it  has. 

There  are  different  opinions  as  to  the  reason  why 
God  ordered  the  angels  to  worship  Adam.  Some 
persons  believe  he  was  to  be  considered  by  them  as 
"  Mihrab  *,"  whilst  the  object  of  worship  was  God. 
The  servants  of  God  ought  to  have  followed  his 
orders,  and  obeyed  him  in  this  trial  which  he  had 
chosen.  There  are  yet  other  opinions.  God 
breathed  into  Adam,  and  as  soon  as  a  part  of  the 


*  The  "  Mihrab "  «-jU^S  is  that  place  in  the  mosque  which 
looks  towards  the  temple  of  Mekka,  where  the  Mohammedans 
turn  their  faces  to,  when  they  say  their  prayers. 

E 


50  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

body  was  pervaded  by  it,  it  began  to  feel*,  and  God 
said,  the  creation  of  man  went  on  fastt. 

When  his  breath  came  into  Adam,  he  sneezed, 
and  God  said  to  him  "Pronounce  the  words,  Praise 
be  to  God,  and  thy  Lord  will  be  merciful  with  thee, 
O  Adam." 

El-Mas'udi  says:  what  we  have  said  on  the 
creation,  is  the  account  of  the  revelation,  and 
traditions,  which  have  been  handed  down  from 
ancient  periods  to  a  more  recent  age,  and  narratives 
of  the  passed  which  have  been  preserved.  We  have 
related  these  traditions  as  we  have  received  them 
from  oral  accounts1,  and  as  they  are  found  in 
writing. 

There  are  evident  authorities   that    the  world 

*  I  read  y**.x\J  although  all  copies  bear  y*Jls:0  to  sit  or  to 

pray. 

tf 

I  was  doubtful  about 


the  meaning  of  this  sentence.  $f£  could  be  read  ^^  as  a 
ca^,  which  might  mean  man  has  been  created  in  the  vigour  o/* 
life.  But  as  the  whole  account  of  the  creation  consists  of  passages 
of  the  Koran,  patched  together  with  the  view  of  explaining  them, 

these  words  probably  allude  to  the  38th  verse  of  the  twenty  -first 

j 
Surah  J^S   ^    ^UwJ^J    iJiX^.  which    Sale  translates  on    the 

authority  of  el-Bei'dhawi  ,  man  is  created  of  precipitation,  i.  e.,  he 
is  hasty  and  inconsiderate.  El-LVTas'udi,  as  we  see,  differs  in  his 
interpretation  from  el-Bei'dhawi. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  51 

has  been  created  (and  does  not  exist  from  eternity), 
and  it  is  illustrated  by  the  nature  of  the  world. 
But  we  do  not  quote  in  our  account  what  those  say 
who  accept  the  revealed  religion,,  and  agree  with 
our  account,  following  also  the  traditions  (and 
not  speculations);  nor  do  we  comment  on  the 
opinions  which  are  different  from,  and  opposed  to, 
ours.  We  have  given  such  details  in  our  former 
works.  We  gave  however,  also,  in  many  passages  of 
this  work,  a  summary  view  of  those  sciences  which 
rest  on  speculation,  arguments,  and  disputes,  and 
we  have  alluded  to  different  opinions  and  sects,,  but 
that  was  done  by  the  way  of  history. 

A  tradition,  which  is  traced  to  the  Commander 
of  the  Faithful,  'All  Ben  Abi  Taleb,  tells  us  that 
God,  when  he  intended  to  establish  the  laws  of  the 
universe,  to  lay  the  seed  of  generation,  and  to 
produce  the  creation,  gave  to  it  first  the  form  of 
fine  dust  before  he  formed  the  earth,  and  raised  the 
heavens.  He  dwelt  in  his  unapproachable  glory, 
and  in  the  unity  of  his  power.  Then  he  put  down 
a  particle  of  his  light,  and  made  lighten  a  sparkle  of 
his  splendour.  The  dust  rose,  and  the  light  was 
concentrated  in  the  centre  of  this  floating  dust. 
This  represented  the  figure  of  our  prophet  MO- 
HAMMED, on  whom  may  rest  the  blessing  of  God ! 
and  God  said,  "Thou  art  the  chosen  and  the  elected. 
In  thee  rest  my  light  and  the  abundant  gifts  of  my 
bounty  (or  my  guidance) ;  for  thy  sake  I  have 

E  2 


52  EL-MAS'uDl'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

spread  the  soil,  and  made  the  waters  flow ;  for  thy 
sake  I  have  raised  the  heavens,  and  fixed  reward 
and  punishment;  for  thy  sake  I  have  created 
Paradise,  and  hell- fire.  I  raise  the  people  of  the 
holy-house  (at  Mekka)*  to  the  divine  revelation, 
and  reveal  to  them,  from  the  mysteries  of  my 
knowledge,  the  sub  til  ties  of  reason,  and  I  do  not 
leave  thee  in  ignorance  of  what  is  not  known  to 
them.  They  are  to  be  the  proof  on  earth  (of  my 
existence) ,  and  the  apostles  of  my  omnipotence  and 
unity." 

After  this  God  pronounced  the  Creed  f,  and 
assumed  the  supreme  power,  and  the  unity,  in 
distinction  (from  his  creation)^. 


*  One  copy  bears  "  of  thy  family,"  L^AAJ  ^&>\  instead  of 
ulLvAjJj).  This  reading  is  very  probable,  for  the  tradition  seems 
to  be  a  fabrication  of  the  Shiites  in  order  to  prove  that  the 
supreme  power,  in  state  and  religion,  is  not  elective,  but  pre- 
destined from  the  moment  of  the  creation,  for  the  family  of 
Mohammed,  and  his  descendants,  the  'Alites. 

f  This  well-known  formula  which  constitutes  the  whole 
essential  part  of  the  Islam  runs:  —  "  There  is  no  God  but  God, 
and  Mohammed  is  the  prophet  of  God." 

}  The  words  are   X/ 


*j 

^  The  meaning  of  this  sentence  is  meta- 
physical and  dark,  so  that  I  am  not  quite  sure  of  the  correctness 
of  my  translation.  In  M.  de  Gayangoz's  copy,  the  words  and 
meaning  are  quite  disfigured.  I  conceive  the  sense  to  be  this. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  53 

When  God  had  assumed  these  qualities,  he 
proclaimed  to  the  creation,  the  election  of  Mo- 
hammed as  his  lieutenant  on  earth,  and  he  showed 
to  the  creation  that  the  Divine  guidance  was  with 
him,  and  that  the  light  was  his,  and  the  spiritual 


All  the  qualities  which  we  assign  to  God  are  only  expressions  of 
his  essence  with  respect  to  the  creation  as,  supreme  power, 
X-Jjj*  bounty,  &c.,  so  that  it  was  the  first  act  of  creation  to 
"  assume"  these  relative  qualities.  It  is  for  the  rest  only  by  the 
qualities  relative  to  the  creation,  that  we  have  any  knowledge  of 
God,  so  much  so,  that  Aristotle,  Spinoza,  and  the  Buddhists  and 
Pythagoraeans  before  them,  believed  the  world  to  be  eternal,  like 
God;  for,  they  say,  God  cannot  exist  without  the  world,  as  high 
not  without  deep.  The  difference  of  Aristotle's  and  Mas'udi's 
philosophy  is,  that  Aristotle  acknowledges  only  the  relative 
qualities  of  God,  and  not  the  absolute  ones  (i.  e.  the  essence  of 
God),  which,  as  they  are  not  relative  to  the  creation,  are  incom- 
prehensible to  man.  The  only  way  of  coming  to  some  words 
which  may  express  the  absolute  qualities  of  God  are  negations  of 
the  qualities  of  the  creation  (^^.1)  for  instance,  "  he  is  not 
finite,  he  is  not  composed  of  parts,"  &c.,  so  that  there  remains 
nothing  else  but  that  he  is  "  one,"  and  consequently  "  eternal,' 
and  this  is  the  meaning  of  £/Jt  ^^  yo^^]  "  but  he  is  dis- 
tinct from  his  creation,  and  uninfluenced  by  it:  for  he  is  one;"  or  as 
Hegel  expresses  it  (as  the  creation  is  for  created  beings  every- 
thing that  we  can  conceive),  "he  is  the  eternal  nihilum  (Nichts.)" 
The  reader  will  find  such  passages  from  Arabic  authors  which 
may  prove  that  the  above  ideas  are  truly  Mohammedan,  together 
with  a  further  developement  of  this  system  of  metaphysics,  in  our 
introduction  to  this  work. 


54  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

empire  (Xx>UJ)  in  his  family,  previous  to  the  promul- 
gation of  the  law  of  justice  (the  Mohammedan 
religion),  for  its  glorious  success  was  predestined. 
Then  God  hid  the  act  of  creation  amongst  the 
mysteries  of  his  knowledge.  After  that  God 
extended  the  earth,  he  expanded  the  time,  he  made 
the  waters  ebb  and  flow,  he  raised  up  the  foam  and 
smoke;  he  established  his  throne  over  the  waters, 
he  raised  the  earth  over  the  level  of  the  seas,  and 
he  called  the  creation  to  obey  him,  and  it  acknow- 
ledged him  as  its  Lord. 

God  made  now  the  angels  partly  from  the  lights 
which  he  created  on  purpose,  partly  from  lights 
derived  from  those  already  created,  and  he  joined 
the  profession  of  the  prophetic  mission  of  Moham- 
med with  the  creed  of  his  own  usity.  So  it  was 
known  in  heaven  before  it  became  known  on  earth  *. 

When  God  had  created  Adam  he  acquainted 
the  angels  with  his  high  dignity,  and  that  he  had 
distinguished  him  with  superior  knowledge,  in  proof 
of  which  he  made  him  give  the  names  to  every 
object. 


*  This  is  one  of  the  grandest  fables  in  explanation  of  a  reli- 
gions belief  (My thus)  ever  framed;  it  tends  to  make  the  Mo- 
hammedan religion  eternal  truth,  and  to  justify  the  sublime  words 
of  the  Koran :  the  Islam  is  the  religion  of  the  heavens  and 
earth. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  55 

God  made  the  angels  consider  Adam  as  a 
Mihrab,  Ka'bah  and  Kiblah*,  to  which  the  lights 
and  the  righteous  spirits  were  to  pray. 

God  informed  now  Adam  of  what  rested  in  him  f . 
But  he  concealed  from  him  the  high  dignity  which 


*  Kiblah  XXxi*  is  that  quarter  of  the  world  to  which  the 
believers  turn  their  faces  in  their  prayers.  This  was,  with  the 
Moslims,  first  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  but  Mohammed  changed 
it,  and  chose  the  Kabah,  or  the  temple  of  Mekka.  The  part  of 
a  mosque  which  is  turned  towards  Mekka  is,  therefore,  the  same 
as  the  high  altar  in  Christian  churches,  and  is  called  Mihrab. 
There  stands  the  chief  person  present  at  the  prayers,  and  per- 
forms the  ceremonies,  his  face  turned  towards  Mekka,  and  the 
rest  of  the  assembly  follow  his  example. 

t  That  is  to  say  that  he  was  one  of  the  ancestors  of  Moham- 
med. This  and  the  next  three  following  chapters  contain  the  bibli- 
cal history  in  the  light  in  which  Mohammed  and  his  followers  con- 
ceived it.  The  highest  object  of  mankind  is  truth,  which  is 
eternal  and  immutable,  hence  the  religion  which  is  all  truth  and, 
according  to  some,  even  the  Koran,  or  the  expression  of  truth  is 
eternal.  God  sent,  from  time  to  time,  prophets  to  all  nations,  so 
that  the  number  of  all  the  prophets  amounts  to  not  less  than 
1 24,000 !  in  order  to  keep  up  the  profession  of  this  religion  on 
earth.  The  last  and  greatest  of  all  the  prophets  was  Mohammed, 
he  was  for  all  nations,  and  for  all  subsequent  times.  The  reader 
has  become  acquainted  with  the  creation  of  the  corporeal  essence 
of  the  prophetship  or  light  which  became  fully  incarnated  in  Mo- 
hammed, by  the  perusal  of  the  preceding  pages.  This  essence  of 
the  prophetship  rested  in  more  or  less  latent  life  in  his  ancestors. 
They  were  distinguished  by  a  light  which  shone  from  their  fore- 
heads, till  they  had  begot  a  sou  to  whom  it  was  transmitted.  The 


56  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS   OF    GOLD, 

he  had  conferred  upon  him,  for  he  had  called  him 
Imam  before  the  angels.  He  was  the  bearer  of  our 
beatitude  and  of  our  light  which  God  had  kept 
concealed  under  the  veil  of  time  until  MOHAMMED 
made  his  appearance*. 


ancestors  of  Mohammed  were  therefore  all,  more  or  less,  prophets. 
They  were  at  the  same  time  the  guardians  of  the  sanctuary  of  the 
Arabs  (the  Ka'bah)  which  did  not  lose  its  sacredness  by  the  new 
law.  This  will  explain  the  following-  pages  of  el-Mas'udi. 

This  idea  appears  to  us  not  to  be  in  contradiction  with  the 
notions  of  the  Jews,  if  we  pay  attention  to  their  genealogies,  right 
of  primogeniture,  &c.  The  more  striking  it  is  that  modern 
theologists  see  in  the  Old  Testament  only  a  preparation  and 
propaedeutic  to  the  doctrine  of  our  Saviour,  although  they  ac- 
knowledge that  the  natural  progress  of  mankind  is  so  unsafe  that 
since  Christ,  serious  corruptions  of  that  doctrine  had  taken  place  , 
For  the  rest  their  idea  is  certainly  more  philosophical  than  the. 
Mohammedan  one. 

*  Copies  disagree  here  materially;  one  bearing  /  .  ^  JJ 
^\  LcJo  CM^A&H  %..d>U3  <j  (Xt^JkAaJ  literally  until  Mohammed 
broke  forth  from  the  channels  (i.  e.,  appeared),  and  another,  JJ 


£\  U«X3  djty&M^Uo  J  U*:si  >*j  ^  until  (God) 
ordered  Mohammed  to  detail  the  laws  or  dogmas.  However,  the 
second  reading  is  very  improbable,  for  cMJCJ  would  be  an  unusual 
plural  of  c£yC3  and  the  sense  of  this  sentence  would  logically 
cohere  with  the  preceding  only  in  the  case  if  we  explain  light  as 
truth,  whilst  it  is  evident  from  what  preceded  (page  51)  that  the 
light  ivhich  was  transmitted  through  the  channels,  (ancestors,) 
is  the  essence  of  the  prophetship.  But  I  must  add  that  the  par- 
ticle <J  consequently,  with  which  the  next  sentence  begins,  speaks 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  57 

He  called  mankind  publicly  and  privately  (to 
the  true  religion),  and  he  preached  to  them  openly 
and  secretly.  And  Mohammed  appointed  to  keep 
up  the  true  religion  in  coming  ages,  and  in  genera- 
tions which  were  not  yet  born,  those  who  received 
a  ray  of  the  light*  which  had  preceded,  for  they 
are  initiated  in  his  mysteries,  and  understand 
clearly  his  glorious  tendency,  and  he  consoled 
those  who  are  the  victims  of  an  ungodly  time. 

Then  the  light  was  transferred  to  the  distin- 
guished men  amongst  us  (the  'Alites),  and  became 
resplendent  in  our  Imams.  We  are  the  lights  of  the 
heaven,  and  the  lights  of  the  earth.  In  us  is  salva- 
tion, from  us  go  forth  the  treasures  of  knowledge. 
We  are  the  centre  of  all  that  is  going  on,  by  our 
guidance  the  proofs  become  conclusive  ;  we  are  the 
seal  of  the  Imams,  and  the  liberators  of  the  nation; 
we  are  the  noblest  of  the  creation,  the  most  chosen 
of  all  things,  the  proof  of  the  Lord  of  the  worlds ; 
hence,  the  benefits  are  best  which  flow  from  our 
throne.  This  tradition  is  from  Abu  'Abdullah 


for  the  second  reading,  for  the  sense  would  run:  having  been 
commanded  to  detail  the  dogmas  or  laws,  he  called  mankind,  fyc. 
*  He  means  the  'Alites.  They  inherited  as  much  of  the 
essence  of  the  prophetship  as  was  required  to  keep  up  the  true 
religion.  They  endeavoured  to  attain,  through  these  theories  and 
numerous  rebellions,  the  same  infallibility  in  religion,  and  power 
in  government,  which  the  Popes  had  in  the  middle  ages,  but  they 
were  not  so  successful. 


58  EL-MAS'lJDi'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

Ja'fer  Ben  Mohammed,  who  received  it  from 
his  father,  Mohammed  Ben  'All,,  who  had  it  from 
his  father,  'Ali  Ben  el-Hosain,  to  him  it  was  related 
by  his  parent  el-Hosain  Ben  'Ali,  and  he  had 
received  it  from  the  Commander  of  the  Faithful, 
'All  Ben  Abi  Taleb.  We  do  not  feel  inclined  to 
allege  all  the  channels  through  which  this  tradition 
has  been  preserved,  nor  the  different  versions  in 
which  it  has  come  down  to  us,  as  we  have  given  a 
full  account  of  these  circumstances,  in  our  former 
works,  where  we  have  traced  every  version  to  the 
authority  whence  we  have  derived  it.  In  this  book 
we  are  afraid  to  be  too  long  and  prolix. 

What  I  have  found  in  the  Pentateuch  respecting 
the  history  of  the  creation  is  this  ;  God  began  the 
creation  on  Monday,  and  had  accomplished  it  on 
Saturday,  hence  the  Jews  have  chosen  Saturday  as 
their  sacred  day.  The  believers  on  the  Gospel  say 
the  Messiah  rose  on  Sunday  from  the  grave;  hence 
they  celebrate  Sunday  as  their  holyday.  But  per- 
sons distinguished  by  their  knowledge  of  divine 
law,  and  the  sources  upon  which  it  is  founded,  state 
that  the  creation  was  begun  on  Sunday  and  accom- 
plished on  Friday.  On  Friday  the  soul  was 
breathed  into  Adam.  This  was  on  the  sixth  of 

Nfsan  (April).  Then  Eve  (^  Hawwa)*,  was 
created  from  Adam. 


Ibn  Shohna  (Universal  History,  MS.  of  the  Asiatic  Society 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  59 

They  began  to  inhabit  the  Paradise  when  three 
hours  of  that  day  had  elapsed,  and  they  remained 
there  for  three  hours,  which  is  one  fourth  of  a  day, 
and  this  is  equal  to  250  years  of  the  world.  God 
now  discarded  Adam  from  the  Paradise,  and  he 
placed  him  on  Serendib  (Ceylon)  <_o.>o^  Eve 
at  Jiddah  »"Je=*  Iblis  at  Baisan  (^U*AJ)  and  the 
serpent  at  Isfahan. 

Adam  was  placed  on  mount  ez-Zahun  ((V^*jJ1 
orj^$iJO  in  Ceylon;  there  were  leaves  with  which 
he  covered  his  body,  and  as  they  were  dry,  the  wind 
carried  them  off,  and  dispersed  them  throughout 
India.  It  is  said  that  the  frequency  of  perfumes  in 
India  arises  from  these  leaves,  but  some  have  a  dif- 
ferent opinion:  God  knows  best.  They  say,  hence 
are,  aloes  wood  aydl  the  clove  JjLyM  madder  (?) 
x^U^J  musk  JC*»U  and  other  perfumes  particular  to 
India.  In  this  mountain  sparkle  diamonds  and  other 


at  Paris),  believes  the  name  Hawwd  L^  to  be  derived  from 
"living,"  for,  he  says,  she  was  created  from  something  living. 
But  it  is  evident  that  the  name  of  Eve  ought  to  be  written  ^Lifc 
ffawdj  which  means  air.  Gaia  and  Uranos  have  changed  their 
sexes  amongst  the  Semites;  if  we  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the 
mythus,  and  consider  that  spontaneous  generation  must  go  forth 
from  the  earth,  under  the  influence  of  the  air,  temperature,  &c., 
this  changing  of  the  sexes  leads  us  to  the  important  historical  fact 
that  the  Semites  have  not  understood  the  mythus,  and  can  there- 
fore not  be  the  inventors  of  it,  but  that  they  have  borrowed  it 
from  elsewhere. 


60  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

precious  stones.  In  the  islands  of  India  is  the  smyris 
£u>l>JUJ!  and  in  the  bottom  of  the  sea  are  pearls. 
When  Adam  descended  from  the  Paradise  he  took 
a  grain  of  wheat,  and  thirty  cuttings  of  the  fruit-trees 
of  the  Paradise,  ten  of  them  have  shells;  viz.,  the 
nut  (Juglans  regia)  j^il  the  common  almond,  (Amyg- 
dalus  communis)  j^AJ!  the  filbert-nut,  (Nux  avellana) 
^M^i  the  pistachio  nut  cJix^iJi  the  poppy 
the  chestnut  JsjJUAliJJ  the  pomegranate 
the  banana,,  or  plaintain  (Musa  paradisiaca) 
^U  the  Syrian  oak  (Quercus  Ballota)  kjJuM* 

Ten  of  them  have  kernels :  the  peach  £y^  the 
apricot  (jk*£U  the  Damascene  plum,  (Pruna  nigra  seu 
Damascena)  y^U^l  the  date-tree  i_Jbyi  Ruellia 
guttata  J^AAxM  the  lote-tree  (Rhamnus  nabeca  Forsk. 
Flora  Egypt.,  p.  Lxiii),  vJuJJJ  the  medlar-tree 


*  Ibn  el- Ward!  quotes  this  passage  of  Masudi  adding 
the  pine-tree,  and  *=^UJ\  the  orange;  but  he  leaves  out 
It  is  very  probable  that  ,bJl>J)  and  5sj\^£>\*£A\  are 
synonymous  in  some  countries,  as  such  they  are  considered  by 
Banquiero  (Libro  de  agricultura  su  autor  Abu  Sacaria,  Madrid 
1802.)  But  Avicenna  (Lib.  II.  p.  14S,)  and  Kazwini  make  a 
distinction  between  these  two  fruits,  so  that  there  is  no  reason 
why  Mas'udl  should  not  have  mentioned  them  both.  Tlie  latter 
author  says  (MS.  of  the  East  India  House,  Nro.  1377,  fol. 
164,  verso)  "Shdhballut  is  a  tree  of  Syria  which  is  also  found  in 
Arran,  The  fruits  of  this  tree  are  neither  so  dry  nor  so  styptic 
as  those  of  the  Ballut  tree,  &c." 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  61 


(Mespillum)  j^^\  the  jujube-tree  (Zizipha  rubra) 
vLUJt  the  fruit  of  the  Lontaris  domestica*  JJiU  the 
cherry  U-JjXJJ  (U*>|jBJ)  Some  of  them  have  neither 
shell  nor  any  other  covering  besides  the  part  to 
be  eaten,  nor  a  kernel;  viz.,  the  apple 
the  quince  Jc^JuJI  the  grapes  *-U*Jt  the  pears 
the  fig  ^^\  the  mulberry  d^XM  the  orange  ^^\ 
the  cucumber  (Cucumis  pepo)  lixH  another  sort 
of  cucumber  (Cassia  fistula)  ^U^O!  the  melon  <g^-^» 

It  is  related  that  Adam  and  Eve  were  separated 
when  they  came  down  from  the  Paradise.  They 
had  agreed  to  meet  at  an  appointed  place  called 
'  Arafat  f  ciA^c  whence  this  place  has  its  name;}:. 

Adam  longing  §    for  Eve,    came     to    see    her, 


*  Mokl  JjLo  is  a  gum  very  like  frankincense,  but  it  comes 
from  the  tree  called  *^  J  (Medical  Dictionary  of  Mohammed  Bin 
Yoosoof,  Calcutta,  1830,  p.  275.)  Sprengel  (Hist,  rei  herbar. 
Tom.  I.,  p.  272,)  believes  +*£  to  be  the  Lontaris  domestica  or 
Borasusflalelliformis. 

t  (jLc  'araf  means  to  know. 

I  On  this  holy  spot,  and  on  the  ceremonies  which  the  Pilgrims 
have  to  perform  there  (on  the  9th  of  Dul-Hijjah),  see  Burck- 
hardt's  Travels  in  Arabia,  London,  1829,  p.  266. 

§  Ibn  Shohna  says  that  Adam  met  Eve  when  he  made  the 
pilgrimage  by  the  command  of  God.  This  sounds  much  better, 
for  all  these  details  have  a  tendency  to  show  the  antiquity  and 
sacredness  of  some  institutions  and  beliefs. 


62  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

and  she  conceived  a  boy  and  a  girl  ;  they  called 
the  boy  Cain  ^A*  and  the  girl  Lubed  jo^J  and 
after  that  she  bore  him  another  boy  whom  they 
named  Habil  ^A&  and  a  girl  whose  name  was 
Iklimiyd  U^X*!.  There  is  some  dispute  about  the 
name  of  the  eldest  son  of  Adam;  the  most  people, 
and  amongst  them  those  who  acknowledge  the  Old 
Testament,  believe  his  name  was  Cain  ^.^.l*  but 
some  state  he  was  called  Kabil  J^U.  JAli  Ben 
el-Jahm  ^^\\\  ^^  ^  says  in  his  poem  on  the 
creation  (verses),  "  We  had*  a  son  and  called  him 
Cain ;  after  we  had  given  him  birth,  we  did  our  best, 
and  Habil  grew  up  as  another  fruit  of  our  affections, 
Cain  grew  up  as  well,  and  they  did  not  separate 
from  each  other." 

Those  who  believe  on  the  Old  Testament  say> 
Adam  married  the  twin -sister  of  Habil  to  Cain,  and 
the  twin-sister  of  Cain  to  Habil,  so  that  the  twins 
should  be  separated  in  marriage.  The  law  of 
marriage  adopted  by  Adam,  was,  therefore,  to 
separate,  as  much  as  possible,  persons  allied  by 
relationship,  in  order  to  prevent,  by  separating  them, 
the  bad  consequences,  and  the  weakening  influence 
upon  the  offspring;  The  Magians  are  of  opinion 


*  The  word  which  in  this  case  means  had  in  Arabic  is 
from  Cana.  so  that  it  is  a  jeu  de  mots  with  the  name  C'am. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  63 

that  Adam  did  not  object  to  the  marriage  of  rela- 
tions ;  hence,  they  are  not  against  it.  They  have 
some  mystery  respecting  this,  according  to  which 
they  think  it  good  that  a  man  should  marry  his 
sister,  and  the  mother  her  son.  We  have  given  the 
details  thereof  in  the  14th  Fenn  ^iM  of  our  book 
Akhbdr  ez-Zemdn. 

Habil  and  Cain  brought  a  sacrifice.  Habil 
selected  the  best  of  his  flocks,  and  of  his  provision, 
and  brought  it  as  a  sacrifice.  Cain  took  the  worst 
that  he  possessed  for  this  purpose*.  What  oc- 
curred after  this  is  related  by  God  in  the  Koran  f; 
viz.,  that  Cain  murdered  Habil  in  the  desert  of  Ka' 
^Ij'  which  is  in  the  country  belonging  to  Damascus, 
in  Syria.  There  he  struck  him  with  a  stone  on  his 
forehead.  Hence  it  is  said  the  beasts  learnt  from 
man  to  be  atrocious;  for  he  began  to  do  evil  and  to 


*  En-Nowairi  (MS.  of  Leyden)  informs  us  that  the  Bedouins 
used  to  sacrifice  animals,  whilst  the  inhabitants  of  towns  in  Arabia 
brought  unbloody  sacrifices.  Hence  it  may  be  that  this  tale  was 
invented  by  the  Bedouins,  in  order  to  throw  the  odium  of  the  first 
crime  on  the  people  of  towns  amongst  whom  the  ties  of  relation- 
ship are  so  much  looser  than  amongst  Bedouins. 

f  Surah  v.  verse  31,  et  seq. 


64  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

murder.  When  he  had  murdered  him,  he  was 
anxious  to  conceal  his  body,  carried  it  (on  his 
shoulders)  and  wandered  about  with  it  (not  knowing 
what  to  do).  God  sent  two  ravens,  one  of  which 
killed  and  buried  the  other.  When  Cain  saw  this 
he  was  struck  with  horror,  and  exclaimed  the  words 
related  in  the  Koran*  Wo  is  me!  I  had  not  sense 
enough  to  do  like  this  raven,  to  hide  my  brother's 
shame.  Then  he  buried  him.  When  Adam  heard 
of  the  murder,  he  was  downcast,  and  mourned. 

El-Mas'udi  says:  There  is  a  poem  popular 
amongst  the  people  which  they  put  into  the  mouth 
of  Adam  when  he  mourned,  it  runs : 

"  The  country  is  altered,  and  all  that  is  in  it. 

The  whole  earth  has  changed  for  the  worse. 

All  that  has  life  and  colour  is  different ;  and 
the  sea  has  lost  its  lovely  appearance. 

The  inhabitants  have  turned  the  produce  of  the 
fields  into  poison  and  bitterness,  and  an  enemy 
infests  us. 

The  cursed  has  not  overlooked  man,  as  we  per- 
ceive ;  for  Cain  has  cruelly  slain  Habil,  and  that 
amiable  countenance  is  withered. 

My  lot  is  to  shed  tears ;  for  Habil  rests  in  the 
grave. 

I  see  a  life  before  me  full  of  sorrow,  and  all 
that  I  may  meet  in  it  will  be  gloomy." 

*  Surah  v.  verse  34,  edit.  Flugel. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  65 

I  have  found  in  many  books  on  history,  biogra- 
phy, and  genealogy,  that  when  Adam  said  these 
words,  Iblis  replied  from  a  place  where  he  could 
hear  but  not  see  him — 

"  Thou  now  complainest  about  the  country  and 
its  inhabitants,  and  thou  dost  feel  the  earth  narrow. 

"  Thou  and  thy  wife  Hawwa  were  merry,  not- 
withstanding the  badness  of  the  world  ;  but  my 
intrigues  and  machinations  were  at  work  until  their 
abundant  fruits  were  matured. 

"  And  if  I  was  not  prevented  by  the  pity  of  the 
Almighty,  I  should  destroy  the  everlasting  beatitude 
of  heaven." 

In  another  book  I  found  a  distich  standing  by 
itself,  which  Adam  heard  from  a  voice,  without 
seeing  who  uttered  it: — 

"  O,  Adam!  both  are  killed  ;  for  the  living  falls 
a  sacrifice  to  the  dead*/' 

When  Adam  had  heard  this,  his  pains  and  sor- 
rows were  increased,  both  for  him  who  was  no 
more,  and  for  him  who  was  still  alive ;  for  he  knew 
that  the  murderer  was  to  be  killed. 

God  revealed  to  Adam: — "  1  will  produce  from 
thee  my  light,  which  shall  flow  through  splendid 
channels  and  noble  roots  (ancestors).  I  will  exalt 

*  This  means,  that  Cain  would  be  killed ;  after  the  general  idea 
that  "  He  that  killeth  with  the  sword  must  be  killed  with  the 
sword."  (Apocal.  xiii.  10.) 

F 


66  EL-MAS'tJDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

this  light  ahove  all  other  lights,  and  make  it  the 
seal  of  the  prophets  (Mohammed).  He  shall  be 
succeeded  by  the  best  of  Imams  in  a  continual 
series  to  the  end  of  time.  I  will  make  the  world 
answer  to  their  call,  and  I  will  enlighten  it  through 
their  followers.  Purify  and  sanctify  thyself,  and 
praise  God :  then  approach  to  thy  wife,  after  she 
has  been  purified,  and  my  promise  will  descend  from 
thee  through  the  child  which  thou  wilt  beget." 
Adam  did  what  he  was  ordered ;  and  when  Hawwa 
was  with  child,  her  forehead  was  covered  with  a 
lustre,  and  light  shone  in  her  eyes  and  eyebrows 
till  her  confinement.  Then  she  gave  birth  to  Shith 
C!AA£  (Seth.)  He  was  the  most  beautiful  child, 
strong  and  perfect  in  his  form  and  in  the  symmetry 
of  his  body.  He  was  imbued  with  a  light  which 
sparkled  from  the  marks  and  protuberances  of  his 
forehead.  Adam  gave  him  the  name  of  Shith. 
The  gift  of  God  was  slumbering  in  him  till  he  grew 
up ;  and  when  he  came  to  riper  age,  Adam  acquainted 
him  with  his  mission  and  the  promises  of  God,  and 
told  him  that  he  would  be  the  agent  of  God*,  and 
his  own  successor  after  his  death,  to  support 
truth  on  earth.  This  mission  was  to  be  inherited 


*  &\  SLsS  This  expression  is  wanting  in  Arabic  diction- 
aries, although  it  is  not  unusual:  ^5CX^o  &5r  A*  — 3y*i  means  a 
representative  of  the  king. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  67 

by  his  descendants,  who  were  to  be  distinguished 
and  glorious.  When  Adam  told  this  to  Shith, 
he  kept  it  secret,  and  guarded  it  for  the  moment  as 
a  mystery,  as  it  was  only  to  be  revealed  publicly  at 
another  time.  Adam  died  soon  after,  on  Friday, 
the  6th  of  Nisan,  at  the  same  hour  when  he  had 
been  created;  he  had  lived  nine  hundred  and  thirty 
years.  Shith  was  the  guardian  of  the  children  of 
Adam.  It  is  said  that  he  left  forty  thousand  children 
and  grandchildren. 

There  is   some   dispute   about   Adam's  grave. 
Some  pretend  that  it  is  in  Mina*,  cfU  in  the  mosque 


*  Mina  is  a  valley  near  Mekka,  and,  together  with  the 
mosque  el-Khai'f,  one  of  the  sacred  spots  where  the  Moslem  pil- 
grims resort.  Mohammed  kept  up  the  Pagan  ceremony  of  throw- 
ing there  pebbles  on  a  pillar  of  stone.  It  has  probably  the  same 
origin  as  the  usage  of  the  Romans  and  Greeks,  of  casting  stories  on 
the  statue  of  Mercury. 

The  seven  idols  which  were  in  the  valley  of  Mina,  before  Mo- 
hammed, according  to  el-Azraki,  (apud  Burckhardt,  Travels  in 
Arabia,  p.  275,)  prove  at  once  that  the  place  was  sacred  to  the 
seven  planets.  We  see  that  the  sacredness  of  the  place  dates 
from  a  very  remote  period,  from  its  being  connected  with  the 
father  of  mankind  ;  and  we  conclude  that  it  has  been  celebrated 
from  the  circumstance  that  its  name  (although  it  is  so  far  from 
the  coast)  reached  the  ears  of  Ptolemy,  who  mentions  the  Manitae. 
The  ceremony  of  casting  stones  on  the  pillar  is  probably  as  ancient 
as  the  place,  having  ever  formed  the  main  object  of  the  pilgrimage 
there.  Ibn  Ishak,  an  Arabic  writer  of  the  second  century  of  the 
Hijrah,  states  thus  the  origin  of  this  ceremony:  —  When  Ibrahim 
returned  from  his  pilgrimage  to  'Arafat,  and  came  to  the  valley 

F  2 


68  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


of  el-Khaif  i^Lt.  Others  believe  it  to  be  in 
a  cavern  of  the  Mount  Abu  Koba'is  u**>J*  ^*- 
Shith  exercised  the  office  of  judge  amongst  his  co- 
temporaries,  and  taught  them  the  sacred  books 
(revealed  to  the  prophets  before  him),  and  other 
books  which  God  revealed  to  him. 

Shith  begot  Anush  ^  (Enos).  When  his 
wife  was  pregnant  with  him,,  the  light  was  trans- 
ferred to  her  till  she  was  delivered,  then  the  child 
was  imbued  with  the  light.  When  Anush  was 
grown  up,  Shith  informed  him  of  what  was  latent 
in  him,  and  of  his  pre-eminence;  and  he  ordered 
him  to  give  to  his  children  an  education  adequate 
to  their  distinction  and  high  position,  and  to  tell 
them  to  give  to  their  children  the  same  instruction, 

of  Mina,  Satan  (Iblis)  contrived  to  obstruct  his  passage;  but  the 
Angel  Gabriel  advised  him  to  throw  stones  on  the  foe,  which  he 
did,  and,  after  pelting  him  seven  times,  Iblis  retired.  Ibrahim  did 
the  same  with  equal  success  in  the  middle  and  end  of  the  valley 
when  Iblis  had  again  made  his  appearance.  It  is  difficult  to  say 
whether  this  tradition  is  a  mystification,  to  justify  the  Pagan  cere- 
mony, or  whether  it  was  current  before  Mohammed,  and  his 
motive  for  keeping  it  up.  If  it  was  more  ancient  than  Mohammed, 
further  researches  about  Ibrahim,  son  of  Azer  (i.  e.  fire),  res- 
pecting whom  the  Arabs  have  preserved  many  traditions,  inde- 
pendent of  the  biblical  account  of  Abraham,  son  of  Terah,  may 
point  out  an  intimate  connexion  between  Mercury,  the  god  of 
knowledge,  and  Ibrahim,  who  rebuilt  the  Ka'bah  and  imported 
civilization  from  the  Sabeans  of  Harran  to  the  Semites. 
*  Abu  Koba'is  is  the  name  of  a  mountain  of  Mekka. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  69 

when  they  would  be  able  to  understand  it.  This 
legacy  went  from  generation  to  generation,  until 
the  light  came  to  'Abdul-Motalleb  (the  grandfather 
of  Mohammed),  his  son  'Abdullah,  and  the  PROPHET. 
This  is  a  topic  of  controversy  between  the  fol- 
lowers of  different  sects,  particularly  between  those 
who  adhere  to  the  doctrine  of  evidence  ^jXAxJl 
oaiJL  and  the  followers  of  the  doctrine  of  election 
jUxiOM  i^ls^t.  The  defenders  of  the  doctrine 
of  evidence  are  Imamists  3UU2J  JjM,  and  form 
a  fraction  of  the  sectarians  (Shi'ites)  Xx/w&l  of 
'Ali  Ben  Abi  Taleb  and  his  children  by  Fatimah*. 
They  believe  that  God  does  not  leave  mankind  at 
any  time  without  a  man  who  keeps  up  the  religion 
of  God  (and  stands  at  the  head  of  the  believers). 
Such  men  are  either  prophets  or  guardians  f,  who 
bear  the  evidence  of  their  rights  in  their  names  and 


*  The  words  of  the  original  sJvL  /.%.-«  ,.v  iv^UaJJ  mean 
literally  "  the  pure  ones  amongst  his  ('All's)  children."  -.MJo 
is  the  usual  epithet  for  the  family  of  Mohammed.  See  page  3. 

t  Guardians  IAAC^!  sing,  .y^  means  the  executor  of  a  will, 
or  a  guardian  of  an  orphan,  and  hence,  in  opposition  to  pro- 
phet, as  in  the  above  sentence,  it  means  him  in  whose  hands  is  the 
executive  power  of  the  laws  (civil  and  religious)  which  God 
has  revealed  through  the  prophets,  and  which  must  not  be  changed. 
The  first  seven  Imams  are  called  ^^MO^\  (De  Sacy  Chrest., 
Tom.  I.  p.  158.)  The  origin  of  the  Shi'ite  sect,  and  of  the 
technical  meaning  of  the  word  ^  is  attributed  to  a  sentence  of 


70  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

pedigree  from  God  and  his  prophet.  The  doctrine 
of  election  is  defended  by  the  divines  of  the  leading 
cities,  the  Mo'tazilites  X^XxU,  a  section  of  the 
Khawarij  £^k\JJ,  the  Morjiites  Xv^U,  and  by 
many  of  those  who  admit  the  traditions  and  the 
generally  received  opinions  (the  orthodox;,  and  by 
a  section  of  the  Zeidians  j^Ju^-H.  They  believe 
that  it  is  the  will  of  God  and  his  prophet  that  the 
nation  should  choose  a  man  amongst  themselves, 
and  make  him  their  Imam,  for  there  are  times  when 
God  does  not  send  a  legate.  The  Shi'ites  consider 
such  Imams  as  usurpers  of  the  dignity. 

We  shall  have  an  opportunity  in  the  course  of 
this  work  to  throw  some  light  on  the  differences  of 
opinions  and  religious  controversies. 

Anush  cultivated  the  earth.  Some  consider 
Shith  as  the  father  of  mankind,  after  Adam,  and 
do  not  allow  that  the  other  children  of  Adam  had  a 
share  in  the  propagation  of  our  race;  but  some 
differ  from  this  opinion :  God  knows  best.  In  the 
time  of  Anush,  Cain,  the  murderer  of  his  brother 
Habil,  was  killed.  His  murder  is  variously 
related.  We  refer  the  reader  to  our  works,  the 
Akhbar  ez-zeman,  and  the  Kitab  el-ausat. 

'Abdullah    Ben     Saba    es-Sauda,    who    lived   under   'Othman: 
go  J£!  ^X  ^j!.     This  sentence  became 


the  watch-word   of  the  Shi'ites  (En-Nowa'iri,   MS.   of  Leyden, 
No.  2 13,  p.  1056). 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  71 

Anush  died  the  3rd  of  Teshrfn,  960  years  of 
age.  He  had  a  son  of  the  name  of  Raman  ^Uxi'. 
The  prophetic  light  sparkled  from  his  forehead. 
His  father  took  from  him  the  oath  of  his  office,  and 
he  cultivated  the  earth  till  he  died.  He  reached  the 
age  of  910  years,  and  died  in  the  month  of  Tamuz. 
The  son  of  Ka'inan  was  Mahalayil  J^^-o 
(Mahalaleel)  .  He  begot  Lud  (^j)  who  was  the 
heir  of  the  prophetic  light,  and  gave  the  oath  of 
keeping  up  truth.  It  is  said  that  many  musical 
instruments  were  invented  in  his  time  by  the  chil- 
dren of  Cain.  The  wars  of  Lud  and  other  stories 
have  been  related  in  our  Akhbar  ez-Zeman.  The 
children  of  Shith  had  wars  with  the  descendants  of 
Cain.  A  race  of  Hindus,  who  descend  from  Adam, 
derive  their  origin  from  the  children  of  Cain. 
They  inhabit  that  part  of  India  which  is  called 
Komdr  ^Ui*  :  from  this  country  the  Komdri  Aloe 
t^U&tayi  has  its  name. 

Lud  lived  962  years,,  and  died  in  Adar  (March). 
He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Akhnukh 
(Enoch),  who  is  the  same  person  as  Edris 
(instructor)  the  prophet.  The  Sabeans*  believe 
that  he  is  identical  with  Hermes  ^^jb  which 
name  means  'Utarid  sjlas.  (the  planet  Mercury). 


*  One  copy  bears  XjLsAjei!J  the  companions  (of  the  prophet), 
instead  of 


72  EL-MASUDPs    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

God  says  of  him  in  his  book  *,  "  that  he  exalted  him 
to  a  high  place."  He  lived  on  earth  300  years  or 
more.  He  was  the  first  man  who  taught  the  com- 
forts of  life  and  sewed  with  a  needle.  To  him 
thirty  books  were  revealed,  and  to  Shith  twenty- 
nine,  in  which  there  are  the  two  formulas,  ''There  is 
no  God  but  God,"  and  "  Praise  be  to  Godf."  He 
was  followed  by  his  son  Matushalekh  ^JL&yU 
who  bore  the  prophetic  light  on  his  forehead,  and 
cultivated  the  land.  Matushalekh  had  many  chil- 
dren. Some  persons  say  that  the  Bulgars 
the  Russians  (j»^9  and  Slavonians 
are  his  descendants.  He  lived  960  years,  and  died 
in  the  month  of  Ilul.  He  was  succeeded  by  his 
son  Lamek  jCL.  In  his  time  was  a  great  con- 
fusion amongst  mankind.  He  died  999  years  of 
age.  His  son  was  Nuh  ^5  (Noah).  In  his  age 
corruption  and  injustice  were  great  on  earth.  Nuh 
rose  to  be  a  preacher  of  God,  but  the  people  were 
too  rebellious  and  ungodly,  so  that  they  would  not 
listen  to  him.  God  ordered  him  to  construct  a 
ship;  and  when  he  had  finished  it,  the  angel  Gabriel 

*  Koran,  Surah  xix.,  vers.  58,  edit.  Fliigel. 

"I"  *£\A**J  *  \/Jl4J  Perhaps  these  two  words  are  to  be  taken 
in  the  more  extensive  meaning  :  they  contain  the  profession  of  the 
unity  of  God,  and  hymns  to  his  praise. 

J  Another  copy  \jLx!t. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  73 

brought  him  the  coffin  of  Adam,  in  which  there 
was  his  corpse*.  They  went  into  the  ship  on 
Tuesday,  the  ninth  of  Adar.  Whilst  Nun  and  his 
family  were  in  the  ship,  God  kept  the  earth  five 
months  under  water.  Then  he  ordered  the  earth  to 
swallow  up  its  waters,  and  the  heaven  to  withhold 
its  rains  f,  and  the  ark  stood  on  the  mount  el-Jiidi 
tfJ^iL  El-Judi  is  a  mountain  in  the  country  of 
MasurJ  ^»U  Cc_5J>**^)>  an(^  extends  to  Jezirah 
Ibn  'Omar  j+&  ^Y^y^  which  belongs  to  the  ter- 
ritory of  el-Mausil.  This  mountain  is  eight  farsangs 
from  the  Tigris.  The  place  where  the  ship  stopped, 
which  is  on  the  top  of  this  mountain,  is  still  to 
be  seen§. 

They  say  some  tracts  of  the  earth  did  not    im- 
mediately swallow    up    the    water,   whilst   others 


*  ,x>Lci     &+*     f£\     dj^-jlj     I  was  tempted  to  read 
"  his  covenant"  as  one  copist  writes.     I  shall  state  the  reasons 
for  which  it  must  run  *A*OJ. 

t  Koran,  Surah  xi.,  verse  46. 

J  Masur  seems  to  be  the  same  word  as  Masius,  which  is  the 
Greek  name  of  the  mount  el-Judl.  (Strab.  pp.  501  and  506.) 
The  word  e\-Judi  has  been  compared  by  Bochart  with  the 
Gordycei  montes. 

§  El-Kazwini  (MS.  of  the  East  India  House,  N.  1377.) 
informs  us  that  there  was  still,  to  the  time  of  the  'Abbasides,  a 
temple  on  the  mount  Judi  which  was  said  to  have  been  con- 
structed by  Noah,  and  covered  with  the  planks  of  the  ark.  Epi- 
phanius  (Haeres.  18)  reports  nearly  the  same  tradition  for  his 


74  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

absorbed  it  rapidly  when  they  were  commanded  to 
do  so.  The  lands  which  obeyed  give  good  water 
on  digging;  but  those  lands  which  were  less  sub- 
missive were  punished  by  God,  the  water  on  digging 
being  salt,  and  the  country  sandy.  The  water 
which  could  not  be  absorbed  went  into  the  depths  of 
the  earth,  and  in  particular  places.  This  is  the 
origin  of  the  seas:  they  are  the  remains  of  the 
waters  by  which  God  has  destroyed  the  nations. 
The  account  and  description  of  the  seas  will  call 
our  attention  hereafter  in  this  book. 

Nuh  went  forth  from  the  ark,  and  with  him  his 
three  sons,  Sam  -»U,  Ham  *b>,  and  Jafeth  c±^L», 
together  with  his  three  daughters-in-law,  and  forty 
men  and  forty  women.  They  went  upon  the  plat- 
form of  this  mountain,  and  built  there  a  town, 
which  they  called  Themanin  ^^^  (eighty). 
It  bears  this  name  till  our  time  [332  A.H.]  The 
children  of  these  eighty  persons  became  extinct, 
and  God  peopled  his  creation  with  the  descendants 
of  Nuh.  To  this  allude  the  words  of  the  Koran, 
"We  have  preserved  his  progeny,  and  they  are 
those  who  still  exist."  God  knows  best  the  mean- 


time. The  vicinity  of  Harran,  which  was  the  seat  of  learning 
since  Abraham,  and  the  centre  of  Sabean  worship,  makes  it  more 
than  probable  that  this  temple  was  connected  with  the  Sabean 
religion,  and  the  history  of  the  ark  owes  perhaps  its  origin  to  the 
priests  of  those  places. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  75 

ing  of  these  words.  The  name  of  the  person  who 
refused  the  offer  of  Nun,  when  he  said  to  him 
"  Embark  with  us,  my  son*,"  is  Yam  -b. 

Nuh  divided  the  earth  amongst  his  sons,  and 
gave  to  every  one  of  them  a  part  as  property.  He 
cursed  his  son  Ham  on  account  of  his  well-known 
behaviour  towards  his  father.  He  said,  "  Cursed  be 
Ham  and  his  children  may  he  be  the  slaves  of  his 
brethren ;  but  Sam  be  blessed ;  and  God  shall  en- 
large Yafeth,  and  he  shall  dwell  in  the  places 
allotted  to  Samf."  Nuh  lived,  according  to  the 
Pentateuch  |,  after  the  flood  325  years.  Some 
historians  differ  in  this  point. 

Sam  went  away,  followed  by  his  children  ;  and 
they  took  possession  of  the  places  allotted  to  them 
in  the  land  and  sea.  We  shall  describe  them  in 
this  book. 

Now  we  shall  speak  on  the  separation  of  man- 
kind, and  the  division  of  the  earth  amongst  the 
three  sons  of  Nuh,  Yafeth,  Sam,  and  Ham. 


*  Koran,  Surah  ix.,  verse  44. 

f  These  words  are  literally  transcribed  from  the  holy  Bible, 
(Genesis  ix.,  25,  26,  27,)  except  that  they  run  there,  cursed  be 
Canaan,  instead  of  Ham.  And  not  without  reason,  for  the 
Canaanites  were  the  victims  of  those  cruelties  which  might  be 
justified  by  this  story  as  being  the  fulfilment  of  the  curse  of  their 
father,  and,  consequently,  according  to  their  ideas,  a  divine 
decree. 

Genesis  ix.  28. 


76  EL-MASU'Di's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

Sam  inhabited  the  middle  of  the  earth,  from  the 
sacred  land  pJ>J  ^^  (i.  e.  the  country  of  Mekka 
and  Medina)  to  Hadhramaut  £>^*a^,  'Oman 
^Uc,  and  'Alij  £U.  Amongst  his  children  we 
name  Arem  ^\  and  Arfakhshad  iX^^J,!. 

One  of  the  descendants  of  Arem  Ben  Sam  is 
'Ad  Ben  'Us  (Uz)  Ben  Arem*;  he  settled  in  the 
Ahkaf  er-Raml  ±*£\  ^^  oUb*lt  God  sent  the 
prophet  Hud  ^_jfc  to  the  'Adites,  Another  of  his 
descendants  is  Themud  Ben  'Ad  Ben  Arem  *j*5 
fj  m*  *l*  cu^  They  settled  in  el-Hijr^!  (Arabia 
Petrea),  between  Syria  and  the  Hejaz.  God  sent 
to  them  their  brother  Saleh  -LU>  His  history  is 
well  known,  and  we  shall  insert  a  summary  account 
of  it,  as  well  as  of  the  histories  of  other  prophets, 
in  the  progress  of  this  work. 

Tasm  f.*»Jb  and  Jadis  (j*o*x^  sons  of  Laud  '^ 
(Lud)  Ben  Arem,  took  possession  of  el-Yemamah 
and  el -Bahrein,  and  the  descendants  of  their  brother 
'Amalik  vJiJL^  Ben  Laud  Ben  Arem  settled  in 
subsequent  times,  partly  in  the  sacred  land,  and 
partly  in  Syria.  To  them  belong  the  'Amalikites 


*  One  MS.  bears  *  \  /  .  ^  i«o  *.c  /  .  *j  M^ls  and  another 

instead 


f   This  means  the  "  sand-hills,"  i.  e.  the  desert  of  southern 
Arabia. 


AND    MINKS    OF    GEMS.  77 

who  were  scattered  all  over  the  country. 
Another  brother  of  theirs,  named  Ommaim  ^\ 
Ben  Laud,  settled  in  Faris. 

We  shall  speak  on  this  subject  in  the  (twenty-third) 
chapter  of  this  book, which  is  inscribed  "  The  Origin 
of  the  Persians,  and  what  the  historians  say  on  this 
subject;"  for  some  authors  connect  Kayumerth  with 
Ommaim.  Others  believe  that  Ommaim  settled  in 
the  land  of  Webar  J^^ ;  that  is,  the  country  inha- 
bited by  the  Genii,  according  to  the  opinion  of  some 
Arabic  historians. 

The  descendants  of '  Abil  Ben  'Us  ^^s.  ^s  ^.^9 
the  brother  of  'Ad  Ben  'Us,  settled  in  Medina. 

Another  grandson  of  Sam  is  Mash  ^U  Ben  Arem 
Ben  Sam.  He  went  to  Babel ;  his  son  is  Nimrud 
Ben  Mash  yiU  ^^  ^j**  (Nimrod),  who  built  the 
Tower  of  Babel,  and  a  bridge  over  the  Shat-el-Forat. 
He  reigned  five  hundred  years,  and  was  the  king 
of  the  Nabataeans  k*JM  jX«,  In  his  time  God  divided 
the  languages ;  so  that  the  descendants  of  Sam 
spoke  nineteen  different  tongues,  the  descendants 
of  Ham  seventeen,  and  the  children  of  Yafeth 
thirty-six.  We  will  speak  further  on  in  this  work 
as  to  the  dispersion  of  the  nations  over  the  earth, 
and  the  poems  which  they  composed  at  their 
separation  in  el-'Irak. 

Some  believe  it  was  Falegh  iJU  who  divided  the 
earth  amongst  the  nations,  and  hence  he  was  named 


78  EL-MAs'uni's  MEADOWS  OF  GOLD, 

"Falegh;"     for    this    name    means    "Divider:" 

Shalekh  £li  is  the  son  of  Arfakhshad  Ben  Sam 
Ben  Nub,  and  the  father  of  Falegh,  who  divided 
the  earth;  and  Falegh  is  one  of  the  ancestors  «x^. 

of  Ibrahim  el-Khalil  X/IiOi  (the  friend  of  God). 

'Aber  ^U  another  son  of  Shalekh,  is  the  father  of 
Kahtan  ^UajS..  Kahtan 's  son,  Ya'rob  <_^ju  was 
the  first  man  who  was  greeted  with  the  title  of  KING 
JJlU  by  his  children.  This  is  the  most  glorious 
and  most  cursed  name.  Some  say  this  title  had 
been  in  use  before  him,  with  the  kings  of  el-Hirah. 
Kahtan  is  the  father  of  all  the  Yemenites, 
as  we  shall  mention  in  the  (forty-second)  chapter 
of  this  work,  which  is  inscribed  "  Yemen,  the 
Origin  of  the  Inhabitants  of  this  Country,  and  the 
various  opinions  thereon."  He  was  the  first  man 
who  spoke  Arabic;  at  least,  he  first  made  the 
meaning  clear  by  terminations  vlr^l* 

Yoktan  ^IkSu  Ben  'Aber  Ben  Shalekh  was  the 
father  of  Jorhom  +&}*-  who  was  the  cousin  of  Ya'rob. 
The  Jorhomites  dwelt  originally  in  Yemen,  and 
spoke  Arabic ;  in  subsequent  times  they  emigrated 
to  Mekka,  according  to  the  traditions  respecting 
them,  which  we  shall  give.  The  children  of  Katura 
\jJaS  are  their  cousins.  In  subsequent  time, 
God  made  Isma'il  settle  amongst  them,  and  he 
married  into  them,  so  that  they  were  the  uncles  of 
his  children. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  79 

The  believers  of  the  Old  Testament  maintain 
that  Lamek  JC*J  is  still  alive;  for  God  said  to  Sam, 
"  I  will  preserve  him  for  ever,  whom  I  make  the 
guardian  of  the  body  of  Adam."  Sam  buried  the 
coffin  &jj\3  of  Adam  in  the  middle  of  the  earth,  and 
appointed  Lamek  as  guardian.  Sam  died  on  Friday, 
in  the  month  of  Ilul,  six  hundred  years  of  age :  he 
was  succeeded  in  his  mission  by  Arfakhshad  J^^L,? 
who  attained  an  age  of  four  hundred  and  sixty-five 
years:  he  died  in  the  month  of  Nisan.  After  him 
followed  his  son  Shalekh :  he  died  four  hundred  and 
thirty  years  old,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son 
'Aber,  who  cultivated  the  country.  In  his  days 
quarrels  arose  in  different  places  of  the  earth:  he 
died  in  an  age  of  three  hundred  and  forty  years. 
His  son  Falegh  succeeded  him :  he  was  two  hundred 
and  thirty-seven  years  old  when  he  died.  We  have 
spoken  of  him  and  of  the  confusion  of  languages 

Ulxj  which  took  place  during  his  life  at  Babel. 

His  successor  was  his  son  Ar'au  ^s.j\  (Reu),  and 
during  his  life  Nimrud  the  giant  was  born,  according 
to  some  accounts.  Ar'au  died  in  the  month  of  Nisan, 
two  hundred  years  of  age.  His  son  Sharukh  ^l^ 
took  his  place:  during  his  days  the  worship  of 
idols  and  of  images  is  said  to  have  been  introduced, 
owing  to  several  causes.  He  attained  an  age  of 
two  hundred  and  thirty  years.  He  was  replaced  by 
his  son  Nahur.j^U  who  followed  the  good  exam- 


80  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

pie  of  his  fathers:  during  his  life  were  earthquakes: 
— there  had  never  been  any  before  him.  He  is 
the  inventor  of  the  arts  of  life  (^^j^Jl,  and  of  different 
instruments.  In  his  lifetime  the  Hindus  and  other 
nations  formed  themselves  into  bodies.  He 
lived  one  hundred  and  forty-six  years,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son  Tarah  ^^3 ;  this  is  the  name  for 
Azar*  yj\  the  father  of  Ibrahim.  In  his  days  Nim- 
rud  Ben  Kan 'an  rose.  Under  en-Nimrud  the  prac- 
tice of  worshipping  fire  and  light  f  came  first  in 
use,  and  he  introduced  certain  (holy)  orders  in  their 
cultus.  There  were  great  troubles  and  wars  in  this 
age  in  the  world.  New  empires  and  provinces  were 
formed  in  the  east  and  west.  It  was  at  this  time 
when  the  stars  and  their  predictions  began  to  be  an 
object  of  study.  The  heavens  were  divided  into 
regions,  and  astronomical  instruments  were  invented. 
Man  began  to  understand  the  meaning  of  all  these 
things.  The  astrologers  observed  the  aspect  of  the 


*  Azar  is  the  name  of  the  father  of  Abraham  in  the  Koran 
(Surah  vi.  v.  74)  ;  Terah  is  his  name  in  the  Bible  (Genesis  xi. 
26).  The  name  Azar,  which  means  "fire,"  and  the  "planet 
Mars,"  is  by  no  means  of  Arabic  invention  ;  for  Abraham's  father 
is  called  Athar  by  Eusebius.  It  is  a  favourite  name  amongst  the 
star-and-fi re-worshippers.  (HYDE,  de  Relig.  vet.  Pers.  p.  64). 

t  The  Moon  was  considered  as  the  concentration  of  light, 
whilst  the  Sun  is  the  centre  of  fire.  (Tradition  of  Wahb  Ben 
Monabbih.)  * 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  81 

heaven  for  the  coming  year*,  and  its  prediction, 
and  told  en-Nimrud  that  a  child  would  be  horn, 
who  would  expose  the  folly  of  their  dreams,  and 
do  away  with  their  worship.  En-Nimrud  ordered 
the  child  to  be  killed ;  but  Ibrahim  was  concealed. 
Tarah,  who  is  the  same  person  as  Azer,  died  at  the 
age  of  two  hundred  and  sixty  years. 


*  The  words  of  the  original  are 

xJlk  Jt-  Tali'  means  originally  the  point  of  the 
horizon  where  it  is  cut  by  the  parallel  of  the  observer  in  the  east, 
or  the  section  of  the  horizon  of  which  that  point  is  the  middle.  It 
is  therefore  one  of  the  four  cardinal  points  of  Arabic  astrology 
XX-M^  s\.'jj\  (literally  the  four  tent-poles) ;  viz.,  the  Zenith, 
#U**M  \amy  ti16  Nadir  ^aji\  JO^,  the  Tali',  and  the  same  point 
of  the  horizon  in  the  west  <_j.lxSJ.  The  planet  which  is  in  the 
moment  when  the  sun  enters  into  the  sign  of  the  Aries,  in  the  Tali', 
or  in  the  ]0th,  7th,  4th,  llth,  9th,  5th,  or  3rd  degree  of  ascen- 
sion, or  comes  soonest  to  one  of  these  points,  is  the  Regent  of  the 

HJ 

year  l$J  ^jj^  ^  SUUJt  ^^(^.  And  as  the  Regent  exercises 
the  greatest  influence  upon  the  destiny  of  the  world  during  the 
year,  the  whole  constellation  of  the  beginning  of  the  vernal 
equinox  is  called  &UJJ  xJUs  by  the  way  of  ellipsis,  instead 

of      1      JlkH  UJ          ^  (Ab*  Ma'sher> 


G 


82  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


FOURTH  CHAPTER. 

The  history  of  Ibrahim  (Abraham)  (**&>jj\,  the  prophets 
after  him,  and  the  kings  of  the  Children  of  Israel. 

WHEN  Ibrahim  was  grown  up,  he  went  out  from 
the  cavern  where  he  had  been  concealed,  contem- 
plated the  phenomena  of  nature,  and  reflected  on 
their  meaning.  Looking  at  the  planet  Venus,  and 
observing  how  it  rose,  he  said:  "  This  is  my  Lord !" 
When  the  moon  rose,  and  he  saw  that  it  was  much 
brighter,  he  exclaimed:  "  This  is  my  Lord!"  But 
when  the  sun  displayed  its  splendour,  he  cried  out 
full  of  astonishment,  "  This  is  my  Lord*!"  The 
commentators  do  not  agree  in  the  meaning  of 
the  words  of  Ibrahim  "  This  is  my  Lord."  Some 
believe  this  to  be  related  by  the  way  of  induction 
and  parable;  whilst  others  are  of  opinion  that  it 
happened  before  he  had  come  to  the  knowledge  of 
truth,  when  he  was  still  striving.  Gabriel  came 
now  to  him,  and  taught  him  his  religion,  and  God 
chose  him  as  his  prophet  and  friend  JJl^.  (I  have 
to  observe  against  this  explanation  that)  Ibrahim  had 


*  El-Koran,  Surah  vi.  verses  76 — 78. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  83 

received  the  strength*  of  God;  and  he  who  is 
strengthened  by  God  will  be  kept  pure  from  sin 
and  fall,  and  from  any  worship  besides  the  One  the 
Eternal. 

Ibrahim  blamed  his  people  for  their  idolatry. 
When  they  were  annoyed  by  the  disdain  with  which 
Ibrahim  scorned  their  gods,  and  which  had  attracted 
public  notice,  en-Nimrud  threw  him  into  the  fire : 
but  God  converted  the  fire  into  coolness,  and  he 
was  preserved t.  The  fire  did  not  flame  any- 
where on  earth  on  that  day. 


*  «*W  «x£j  or  £f*X$M  has  nearly  the  same  meaning  as 
"  divine  grace,"  only  pushed  a  little  further.  Education,  or 
interest  and  the  spirit  of  the  time,  is  with  most  persons  the  sole 
foundation  of  their  religious  and  political  principles  ;  and,  as  their 
selfishness,  or  want  of  intelligence  and  experience,  does  not  allow 
them  to  appreciate  the  opinions  of  others,  or  to  defend  their  own, 
they  take  refuge  to  divine  authority,  maintaining  that  their  own 
infatuation  is  the  effect  of  divine  inspiration  or  predestination,  and 
the  principles  of  their  adversaries  a  diabolical  artifice.  El- 
Mas'udi  shows  himself  here,  and  in  his  opinion  on  the  Imamship, 
much  more  in  favour  of  the  doctrine  of  predestination,  than  was 
general  in  his  time  amongst  the  Sonnites. 

t  El-Koran  xxi.  verse  20  (edit.  Fliigel).  In  order  to  increase 
the  number  of  miracles,  and  to  find  an  opportunity  for  an  edifying 
comment,  the  Rabbins  rendered  DHttO  TIN  "  Ur  of  the  Chal- 
dees"  (Gen.  xi.  31)  by  «  fire  of  the  Chaldees;"  for  T)N,  ur,  means 
"  fire ;"  and  added  the  above  story,  which  Mohammed  inserted  in 
the  Koran. 

G  2 


84  EL-MAS'tJDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

After  Ibrahim  had  passed  the  eighty-sixth  or 
ninetieth  year  of  his  age,  Isma'il  was  born  to  him 
by  Hajir  ^=.U>  who  was  a  slave-woman  to  Sarah  'ij^». 
Sarah  was  the  first  person  who  believed  on  Ibrahim. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Batuwil,  the  son  of  Nahur, 
and  uncle  of  Ibrahim.  This,  however,  is  contro- 
verted, as  we  shall  mention  hereafter. 

Lut^J,  the  son  of  Haran  Ben  Tarikh  Ben 
Nahur,  was  Ibrahim' s  nephew,  and  one  of  those 
who  believed  on  him.  God  sent  Lut  to  the  five 
towns;  viz.,  Sodum  p«x*w,  Ghomura  ]^r,  Adruma 

U^J,  Saghura    \jj&e,    and   Safura   ]^JU>.      The 

f 
people  of  Lut  were  Mutafikah*  X&j^U.    Some  com- 

£ 

mentators  derive  this  word  from  ^31,  afak,  "  a  lie." 
God  alludes  to  this  in  the  Koran  in  the  words 
tSj&\  X&j^Xf  )  These  five  cities  were  situated  be- 
tween esh-Sham  and  the  Hejaz,  near  the  two  Syrian 
provinces  Jordan  and  Palestine.  The  spot  of  these 
towns  is  barren  up  to  our  time  (332  A.H.),  and  the 
stones  are  marked  with  shining  black  lines.  Lut 
lived  about  twenty  years  amongst  these  people,  and 
preached  to  them;  but  they  would  not  believe: 


*  El-Koran,  Surah  xi.  verse  91  (edit.  Fliigel) ;  comp.  M.  L. 
Dubeux'  note  to  his  translation  of  Tabari,  vol.  i.  p.  144  ;  I  suspect 
Mutaftkah  is  a  corruption  of  some  Hebrew  word. 


AND    MIXES    OF    GEMS.  85 

therefore  this  punishment  of  God  came  down  upon 
them,  as  it  is  related  in  the  Koran*. 

When  Hajir  had  borne  Isma'il  to  Ibrahim, 
Sarah  became  jealous  of  her;  Ibrahim  took,  there- 
fore, Isma'il  and  Hajir  to  Mekka,  and  settled  them 
there.  This  is  related  in  the  Koranf ,  in  the  words 
of  Ibrahim: — "  O,  my  Lord,  I  made  some  of  my 
children  dwell  in  a  barren  valley,  at  thy  sacred 
house !"  God,  hearing  their  prayers,  gave  them 
the  Jorhomites  and  'Amalikites  joJUxM  ^  p&j*>  as 
companions  in  their  solitude,  and  made  men  love 
them. 

The  people  of  Lut  were  destroyed  in  the  time 
of  Ibrahim,  on  account  of  their  corruption,  as  it  is 
related  in  the  Koranf 

God  ordered  Ibrahim  to  sacrifice  his  son:  he 
showed  himself  ready  to  obey;  but  when  he  had 
laid  him  down  on  his  face,  God  ransomed  him  with 
a  noble  victim  $. 

Then  Ibrahim  and  Isma'il  laid  the  foundation 
of  the  house  (the  temple  of  Mekka) .  When  Ibrahim 
was  more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  old, 
Sarah  bore  him  Ishak.  There  is  some  dispute 
about  the  sacrifice  of  Ibrahim;  some  think  that 


*  Surah  vii.  vers.  78 — 82  ;  xi.  xv.  and  xxvii. 

f  Surah  ii. 

|  Surah  xi. 

§  El-Koran  xxxvii.  verse  107  (edit.  Fliigel). 


86  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

Ishak  was  to  be  the  victim,  whilst  others  maintain 
it  was  Isma'il.  If  it  was  to  take  place  in  Mina  (a 
valley  near  Mekka),  it  was  Isma'il,  for  Ishak  never 
came  into  the  Hejaz;  and  if  it  was  to  take  place 
in  Syria,  it  was  Ishak;  for  Isma'il  had  never  been 
in  Syria  again,  after  he  had  been  carried  away  from 
that  country. 

Sarah  died,  and  Ibrahim  married  Kitura  \)^**39 
who  bore  him  seven  sons ;  Zimran  ^5r°j?  Yokshan 
tjtlxij  Medan  ^Ix*,  Madyan  ^.jjJcc,  Nishan  ^J^ 
(Ishbak),  Shukh  £^K,  and  Kir  jj£*.  Ibrahim 
died  in  Syria,  one  hundred  and  seventy  years  of 
age  :  God  revealed  to  him  ten  sacred  books. 

Ishak  married  Rabeka,  a  daughter  of  Batuwll1, 
after  the  death  of  his  father,  and  she  gave  birth  to 
el-'A'isu  and  Ya'kub2,  who  were  twins,  but  el-'Aisu 
was  first  born.  Ishak  was  sixty  years  of  age,  and 
nearly  blind,  when  they  were  born.  He  made 
Ya'kub  the  chief  over  his  brothers,  and  the  succes- 
sor in  the  prophetic  mission.  To  el-'Aisu  he  gave 
the  sovereignty  over  his  children.  Ishak  was  one 
hundred  and  eighty -five  years  of  age  when  he  died, 
and  he  was  buried  with  his  father,  the  "  Friend  of 


*  See  1  Chron.  i.  32. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  87 

God."  The  place  where  they  were  buried  is  well 
known;  it  is  eighteen  miles  from  Jerusalem,  in  a 
mosque  which  is  called  the  mosque  of  Ibrahim,  and 
the  fields  of  Ibrahim. 

Ishak  ordered  his  son  Ya'kub  to  go  to  Syria, 
and  commissioned  him  and  his  twelve  children  with 
the  prophetic  office.  Their  names  are  Rubil, 
Shima'un,  Lawi,  Yehuda,  Yessajir,  Zebalun,  Yusof, 
Benyamin 3. 

Ya'kub  was  in  great  fear  of  his  brother  el-'Aisu, 
but  God  protected  him:  Ya'kub  possessed  five 
thousand  five  hundred  sheep,  and  gave  to  his  bro- 
ther el-'Aisu  the  tenth  part  of  these,  in  order  that 
he  might  not  do  him  any  harm,  and  for  fear  of  his 
impetuosity.  After  God  had  protected  him,  he 
had  no  longer  to  be  in  fear;  (hence  he  refused  to 
deliver  the  tithes;)  but  he  was  punished  in  his 
children,  for  having  broken  his  promise.  God  said 
to  him:  "  Thou  hast  not  obeyed  my  command; 
hence  the  children  of  el-'Aisu  shall  dominate  five 
hundred  and  fifty  years  over  thy  children."  This 
was  the  space  of  time  from  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem by  the  Romans  to  the  conquest  of  that  city 
by  'Omar  Ben  el-Khattab,  during  which  period  the 
Children  of  Israel  were  in  slavery. 


88  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

Yiisof  was  the  favourite  of  Ya'kub.  His  bro- 
thers envied  him,  and  their  jealousy  gave  origin  to 
the  story  between  Yusof  and  his  brothers,  which 
God  relates  through  the  tongue  of  his  prophet  in 
the  Koran  *. 

Ya'kub  died  in  Egypt,  at  the  age  of  one  hundred 
and  forty  years  :  Yusof  carried  him  to  Palestine,  and 
buried  him  at  the  tomb  of  Ibrahim  and  Ishak. 
Yusof  died  also  in  Egypt,  one  hundred  and  ten 
years  old. 

They  laid  his  body  into  a  coffin  of  stone,  closed 
it  with  lead,,  and  covered  it  with  a  varnish  which 
keeps  out  air  and  water,  and  threw  it  into  the  Nile, 
at  the  town  of  Memphis  v^iJU,  where  there  is  the 
mosque  of  Yusof.  Some  say  Yusof  ordered  that 
he  should  be  buried  in  the  grave  of  his  father 
Ya'kub,  at  the  mosque  of  Ibrahim.  In  his  time 
lived  Ayyub  (Job)  ;  his  full  name  is  Ayyub  Ben 
Amus  Ben  Dezaj  (Zeerah?)  Ben  Da'wayil  (Reul?) 
Ben  el-Aisu  Ben  Ishak  Ben  Ibrahim 


He  was  in  Syria,  in  the  district  of  Hauran 
in  the  highland  of  Damascus,  from  whence 


*  In  the  twelfth  chapter,  which  is  therefore  inscribed  "  The 
Surah  of  Joseph." 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  89 

the  plain  is  watered,  and  in  el-Jabiyah*.  He  had 
a  great  fortune,  and  was  blessed  with  many  chil- 
dren. God  proved  him,  bereaving  him  of  his  pro- 
perty and  children. 

He  bore  this  trial  with  patience,  and  God 
restored  to  him  what  he  had  possessed.  His  story 
is  related  in  the  Koranf .  The  mosque  of  Ayyub, 
and  the  spring  in  which  he  washed  his  body,  are 
famous  to  this  day  (332  A.H.):  they  are  not  far 
from  Nawa  ^  and  el-Jaulant  (^j^it  in  the  pro- 
vince of  the  Jordan,  between  Damascus  and  Tiberias. 
The  distance  of  this  mosque  and  spring  from  the 
town  of  Nawa  is  about  three  miles.  The  stone  on 
which  Ayyub  rested  at  the  time  of  his  affliction, 
when  his  wife  died  of  puerperal  fever,  is  still  in  that 
mosque. 

Those  who  believe  in  the  Pentateuch  and  other 
ancient  books^  maintain  that  Musa  Ben  Misha  Ben 
Yusof  Ben  Ya'kub  cJL*^  (^  ^^  <^jv  ^grr0 
^j  was  a  prophet  before  Musa  Ben  Amran 
^f  (Moses),  and  that  it  was  he  who 
sought  el-Khidhr  Ben  Melkan  Ben  Falegh  Ben 


*  El-Jabiyah  XxjliJ  is  the  name  of  a  hill  and  village  belong- 
ing to  Damascus  (Athar  el-Bilad). 

f  Surah  xxi.  verse  83,  and  Surah  xxxviii.  verse  40. 

J  This  is  probably  the  valley  of  Ajalon :  the  author  of  the 
Jihannuma  (p.  559)  gives  this  name  to  a  mount  near  Damascus. 


90  EL-MAs'fJDl'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

'Aber  Ben  Shaleh  Ben  Arfakhshad  Ben  Sam  Ben 

Nuh* 


Some  of  those  who  believe  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment say  el-Khidhr  was  the  same  person  as  Hidh- 
run  Ben  'Imayil  Ben  Elifaz  Ben  el-'Aisu  Ben 
Ishak  Ben  Ibrahim4;  he  was  sent  as  prophet  to  his 
nation,  who  were  converted  by  him. 

Musa  Ben  'Amran  Ben  Fahit  Ben  Lawi  Ben 
Ya'kiib5  was  in  Egypt  at  the  time  of  Fir  'aim 
(Pharaoh)  the  giant.  Fir'aun's  name  was  el-Walid 
Ben  Mos'ab  Ben  Moawiyah  Ben  Abi  Nomair  Ben 
Abil-Holus  Ben  Leith  Ben  Haran  Ben  'Amr  Ben 
'Amalik6.  He  was  the  fourth  of  the  Pharaohs  of 
Egypt,  and  a  man  of  great  stature,  who  enjoyed  a 
long  life.  The  Children  of  Israel  had  fallen  into 


*  Khidhr  is  said  to  be  meant  under  the  "  Servant  of  God," 
mentioned  in  the  Koran  (Surah  xviii.  64),  as  having  been  met  by 
Moses. 


( 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  91 

slavery  after  the  death  of  Yusof,  and  lived  under 
great  afflictions.  The  soothsayers,  astrologers,  and 
conjurors  informed  Fir'aun  that  a  child  would  be 
born,,  which  would  make  an  end  to  his  power,  and 
perform  great  things  in  Egypt.  Fir'aun  was 
frightened  by  this  prediction,  and  gave  orders  to 
kill  the  children.  The  mother  of  Musa  exposed 

her  child  on  the  Nile  ^  by  the  command  of  God, 
as  it  is  related  in  the  Koran  *. 

At  the  same  time  lived  the  prophet  Sho'aib. 
His  full  name  is  Sho'aib  Ben  Thoriel  Ben  Da'wayel 
Ben  Marik  Ben  'Anka  Ben  Madyan  Ben  Ibrahimf, 


He  spoke  Arabic  and  was  sent  to  the  inhabitants 
of  Madyan  (as  a  preacher).  When  Musa  had 
taken  flight  from  Fira'un,  he  went  to  the  prophet 
Sho'aib,  and  married  his  daughter,  as  it  is  related 
in  the  Koran  f.  God  ordered  Musa  to  lead  the 


*  Surah  xx.  39. 

t  The  names  of  the  forefathers  of  Sho'aib  are  variously 
spelt  in  different  MSS.,  and  by  different  authors;  but  all  agree 
that  one  of  them  was  Madyan,  i.  e.,  that  he  was  a  Madyanite. 
He  is  identified  with  Jethro,  but  I  think  without  sufficient  reason, 
probably  the  destruction  of  Madyan  by  an  earthquake  gave  an 
opportunity  for  inventing  the  story  of  a  preacher  to  whom  the 
inhabitants  did  not  listen,  and  to  assign  the  fatal  catastrophe  to 
this  sin.  Compare  the  note  at  the  bottom  of  the  next  page. 
1  Surah  vii.  verse  83. 


92  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


children  of  Israel  into  et-Tih  AAX!|  *;  their  number 
amounted  to  six  hundred  thousand  adults,  besides 
those  who  had  not  attained  ripe  age. 

The  tables  which  God  gave  to  Musa  on  the 
mount  Sina  UA**  j^s  were  of  emerald,  and  the 
writing  was  in  gold.  When  Musa  descended  from 
the  mount,  and  saw  that  the  children  of  Israel  were 
worshipping  the  calf,  he  was  so  much  shocked  at  it 
that  the  tables  fell  from  his  hands,  and  broke.  He 
gathered  the  pieces  and  put  them,  with  other  things, 
into  the  Tabut  es-Sakinah  &*£«»!!  £^1?  which  was 
placed  in  the  tabernacle  J$A$M.  The  tabernacle 
was  intrusted  to  Harun,  for  he  was  the  bearer  of 
the  prophetic  office  of  this  age,  ^UjJl  ^*S.  The 
revelation  of  the  Pentateuch  to  Musa  Ben  'Amran 
was  completed  when  he  was  in  the  desert.  Harun 
died,  and  was  buried  in  the  mount  Mowab, 
v^  (or  w^-<)  which  is  not  far  from  the  mountains 
of  esh-Sharah  'i\jtA\  and  from  the  mount  Sinaf. 

His  grave  is  well  known;  it  is  in  a  frightful 
cavern,  in  which,  sometimes  at  night,  a  great 
murmur  is  heard  which  frightens  every  living 
being  J.  Some  say  he  is  not  buried,  but  only  laid 

*  The  desert  near  mount  Sinai. 
f  Another  copy  bears  from  et-Tohur,^^IiJ| 
I  The  volcanic  action  which  manifests  itself  in  some  places 
near  the  mount  Sinai,  by  a  great  noise  which  proceeds  from  the 
bowels  of  the  earth,  raising  sometimes  the  sound  to  which  this  pas- 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  93 

into  that  cavern.  This  cavern  is  very  curious,  as 
we  have  said.  Seven  months  after,  Musa  died  at 
the  age  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  years.  Some 
authors  state  that  Musa  died  three  years  after 
Harun,,  and  that  he  entered  esh-Sham  (Syria),  and 
fought  there  with  the  'Amalikites  (Jut  UxJI,  Korba- 
nites  (^j^oLj-XM  Madyanites,  and  other  tribes.,  as  is 
mentioned  in  the  Pentateuch.  God  gave  to  Musa 
ten  books,  which  completed  the  number  of  one 
hundred  sacred  codes.  Subsequently  God  revealed 
to  him  the  Pentateuch  in  Hebrew,  which  contains 
commands  and  prohibitions,  permissions  and  inter- 
dictions, regulations  and  decrees.  It  is  in  five  sifr 
jju,*,  which  means  "books/'  Musa  had  made  the 
ark  in  which  the  covenant,  SUxCj!  was  preserved, 
of  six  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty  mithkals  of 
gold. 

The  high-priest  after  Harun  was  Yusha'  Ben 
Ni'm,  ^  ^.j-t  ££y.  who  was  of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim. 
Although  Musa  died  one  hundred  and  twenty  years 
old,  he  bore  not  a  trace  of  an  advanced  age;  nor 

sage  alludes,  has  been  observed  in  ancient  times,  and  mentioned  by 
Procopius,  and  by  modern  travellers,  (M.  Gray,  Dr.  Seetzen,  &c.,) 
and  it  is  very  probable  that  Madyan,  and  the  other  places  which  are 
said  not  to  have  listened  to  the  exhortation  of  Sho'ai'b,  have  been 
destroyed  by  a  volcanic  eruption  and  earthquakes,  as  Abul-Feda, 
(Hist.  Anteislamitica,  ed.  Fleischer,  page  31,)  relates. 

*  The  word  is  Hebrew  *)P)p  and  is  hardly  ever  used  by  the 
Arabs  but  in  speaking  of  the  Bible. 


94  EL-MAS'UDI'S  MEADOWS  OF  GOLD, 

appeared  Harun  old  :  both  retained  the  appearance 
of  youth.  After  Musa's  death  Yusha3  led  the 
Israelites  into  Syria.  This  country  was  then  in 
possession  of  giant  kings  of  the  'Amali kites  iJi/JUc 
and  others.  Yusha'  sent  expeditions  against  them, 
and  had  many  engagements.  He  conquered  Ariha 
ls?jJ  (Jericho)  and  Za'r*,  in  the  Ghaur^yyj,  or  low 
country  on  the  Dead  Sea,  which  repels  divers,  and 
in  which  no  fish  or  living  creature  can  exist,  as  it 
has  been  observed  by  the  author  of  the  logic  (Aris- 
totle) f,  and  other  authors  of  ancient  and  modern 
time.  The  Dead  Sea  receives  the  waters  of  the 
lake  of  Tiberias  through  the  river  Jordan.  The 

*  I  take  this  for  the  Arabic  name  of  Kirjath-Jearim,  which 
was  one  of  the  first  cities  conquered  by  the  Israelites  (Josh,  xi, 
1  7);  there  is,  besides,  some  analogy  of  sound  between  Jearim  or 
Ye'arim,  which  is  the  plural  of  JT'UP  Ya'rah,  and  *.£.•  Za'r; 
the  meaning,  however,  is  opposite  to  the  Hebrew  word,  which  means 
a  forest,  or  a  place  rendered  impenetrable  by  shrubs,  whilst  *CjSJJ 
is  explained  in  the  Kamus  as  a  place  without  herbs.  But  Yearim 
is  perhaps  the  name  of  the  tribe  who  had  their  quarters  in  this 

town;   for  Kirjah  JTHp  means  generally  a  city.     El-Firuzabadi 

j-j 
mentions  a  town  of  the  name  of  j£\  so  called  after  a  daughter  of 

Lot,  and  Abul-Feda  (edit.  Reinaud,  p.  48.)  gives  this  name  to  the 
Dead  Sea,  so  that  it  is  very  likely  we  ought  to  read  Zoghar 
instead  of  Za'r.  This,  however,  would  not  alter  the  affinity  of 
this  name  with  Jear,  for  as  there  is  no  A  in  Hebrew,  c.  must  be 
used  instead  of  it. 

t  Ei  8'  eoTiv  a><77Tfp  pvOoXoyovai  rives  fv  HaXaKTTiinj  roiavrr)  Xi/ii/)?, 
fls  TJV  eat  Tts"  e'/^aXAfl  a-vvftr)<ras  avfipomov  rj  V7ro£vyiov  eVrtTrXetv  KOI  ov 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  95 

water  of  the  lake  of  Tiberias  comes  from  the  lake 
Kafra  el-Kera'un  ^y^SM  £>*f  *>  which  is  in  the  dis- 
trict of  Damascus.  The  Jordan  runs  a  great  dis- 
tance through  the  Dead  Sea  without  mixing  with 
its  water;  but  in  the  middle  the  water  of  the  Jordan 
sinks.  Nobody  knows  how  it  comes  that  the 
water  of  the  lake  is  not  increased  by  the  accession 
of  this  river,  which  is  very  considerable.  There 
are  long  stories  and  accounts  related  respecting  the 
Dead  Sea,  which  we  have  inserted  in  our  'Akhbar 
ez-Zeman  and  Kitab  el-Ausat,  together  with  an 
account  of  the  stones  found  there,  which  have  the 
shape  of  a  melon,  and  are  of  two  varieties.  They 
are  called  the  Jews'-stone,  and  have  been  described 
by  philosophers,  and  used  by  physicians  against 
the  stone  of  the  bladder  f  ;  this  stone  is  either  male 


Kara  TOV  vSaros.  (Meteor.,  lib.  ii.  cap.  3,  p.  432,  a  ; 
Genevae,  1605.) 

*  The  name  of  this  lake  is  variously  spelt  in  various  MSS., 
and  I  have  not  been  able  to  determine  which  is  the  correct 
reading;  for  other  Arabic  authors  (Abul-Feda,  edit.  Reinaud, 
p.  48;  Jehannuma,  p.  555,  &c.)  call  it  the  lake  of  Banias,  from  a 
neighbouring  town  which  had  anciently  the  name  Paneas,  or 
Caesarea  Philippi,  and  on  coins  VTTO  Ilcu/ao,  as  if  Paneas  had  been  the 
name  of  the  snow  mountain  on  which  the  town  is  situated.  With 
ancient  authors  the  lake  has  the  name  Samochonitis,  which  has 
also  no  reference  to  the  name  which  el-Mas'udi  gives  to  it.  Per- 
haps it  is  connected  with  Kaferla,  which  is  the  name  of  a  town 
twelve  miles  from  Paneas,  in  Shultens'  Index  Geographicus. 

t  Ibn  en-Nafis  (p.  43,  edit.  Calcut.)  and  other  Arabic  phy- 


96  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

or  female:  the  male  stone  is  useful  for  men,  the 
female  for  women.  Another  production  of  this 
lake  is  bitumen,  which  is  called  ^-*,=>.  There  is 
only  one  lake  on  earth  in  which  no  living  being  is 
to  be  found,  and  this  is  a  lake  in  Aderbijan,  on  which 
I  have  sailed.  It  is  situated  between  the  city  of 
Ormiah*  and  el-Maraghah,  and  is  known  there  by 
the  name  of  Kabiidanf.  Some  ancient  writers 
enter  into  the  causes  why  no  living  being  can  exist 
in  the  Dead  Sea.  Now,  although  they  do  not 
reflect  upon  the  lake  Kabudan,  one  must  naturally 
conclude  that  the  same  causes  must  be  active  there. 

sicians  praise  this  stone  against  lithiasis,  and  it  may  be  that  this 
volcanic  production  is  of  an  alcalish  nature.  Avicenna  (lib.  ii. 
p.  180),  however,  denies  its  litholytic  properties.  Mr.  Maundrel 
found  a  kind  of  bituminous  stone,  which  answers  to  the  descrip- 
tion given  by  Arabic  authors  of  the  Jews'-stone,  excepting  the 
size ;  for  he  says  that  he  saw  stones  of  this  sort  two  feet  square. 
Dr.  Daubeny  found  it  to  be  similar  to  that  of  Ragusa,  in  Sicily. 

*  Although  all  copies  bear  Armenia,  I  thought  it  quite  safe 
to  change  it  into  Ormiah  XA^,!  ;  for  this  is  a  celebrated  city  in  the 
vicinity  of  this  lake,  from  which  it  has  its  name  in  other  writers, 
being  called  the  lake  of  Ormiah,  and  which  claims  the  honour  of 
being  Zoroaster's  birth-place. 

f  The  copy  of  Cambridge  comes  nearest  to  the  true  reading 
of  this  name  (jjta^AT),  bearing  j^J^jJ",  of  which  the  copyists 
made  generally  ^l^xiT  or  ^J^-xT.  After  the  researches  of 
Saint  Martin  (Memoires  sur  1'Armenie,  Paris,  1818,  torn.  i. 
p.  17),  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  all  these  corruptions  are 
intended  to  express  the  Armenian  name  of  this  lake,  which  is 
K'habodan. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  97 

The  king  of  Syria,  es-Soma'ida'  Ben  Hauber 
Ben  Malik,  marched  against  Yiisha',  and  they  came 
to  several  engagements;  the  result  of  which  was,  that 
the  king  was  killed,  and  Yusha'  took  possession  of 
his  whole  kingdom.  Yusha'  came  in  contact  with 
other  kings  of  the  Giants  and  Amalekites,  and  sent 
corps  towards  Damascus.  Yusha'  lived  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  years.  His  full  name  was  Yusha' 
Ben  Nun  Ben  Ephraim  Ben  Yusof  Ben  Ya'kub 
Ben  Ishak  Ben  Ibrahim.  Some  say  Yusha'  opened 
his  military  operations  with  the  war  against  the 
Amalekite  king  Samaida'  Ben  Hauber  £«x-**w 
^•^CU'.  whose  dominions  were  in  the  country  of 
Ailah,  towards  Madyan.  'Auf  Ben  Sa'id  el-Jor- 
homi  0$j^»\  (jou*)  «XAJU»  (jjo  c5j.fi  says,  in  allusion 
to  this: — 

"  Doest  thou  not  see  Ibn  Hauber  the  'Amalekite 
at  Ailah:  he  is  heated  and  thin  on  account  of  the 
agitation  which  he  is  in,  being  invaded  by  an  army 
of  eighty  thousand  Israelites,  partly  without,  partly 
with  armour. 

"  The  forces  of  the  'Amalekites,  who  march  after 
him  on  foot,  climbing  and  running,  offer  the  same 
appearance :  as  if  they  had  never  been  amongst  the 
cavalry  of  Mekka. 

"  Soma'ida'  has  never  been  in  calamity  before*." 


*  The  last  two  distichs  are  only  in  the  copy  of  Cambridge. 

H 


98  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

In  some  village  of  the  Belka,  in  Syria,  there 
was  a  man  of  the  name  of  Bala'am  Ben  Ba'ur 
(Beor)  Ben  Samum  Ben  Ferstam  Ben  Math  Ben 
Lut  Ben  Haran,  who  had  answered  the  call*:  his 
people  urged  him  to  curse  Yusha'  Ben  Nun ;  but 
he  was  unable  to  do  it.  He  advised,  therefore, 
some  'Amalekite  king  to  send  handsome  women 
towards  the  army  of  the  Israelites.  They  ap- 
proached to  the  women,  and  were  punished  with 
the  plague,  which  killed  seventy  thousand  of  their 
men.  Bala'am  is  the  person  of  whom  it  is  said 
in  the  Koran  f,  that  he  had  received  the  signs  of 
God,  and  that  he  apostatized. 

Yusha'  Ben  Nun  died  when  he  was  one  hundred 
and  ten  years  of  age.  After  him  Kaleb  Ben 
Yiifenna  Ben  Baridh  Ben  Yehuda  stood  at  the  head 
of  the  children  of  Israel.  Yusha'  and  Kaleb  en- 
joyed the  particular  grace  of  God. 

El-Mas'udi  says,  I  found  in  another  copy  (of 
the  Pentateuch)  that  Kushan  el-Kofri^:  was  eight 


*  To  answer  the  call  of  somebody,  means  generally  to  join 
one's  party;  here  it  means  that  he  professed  the  religion  of  God, 
to  which  everybody  is  called.  The  Arabs  give  to  the  history  of 
Balaam  a  somewhat  different  version  from  that  which  it  has  in  the 
Bible.  (Numb,  xxii.;  xxiv.  14  5  Mic.  vi.  5;  2  Pet.  ii.  15;  Judeii.; 
Rev.  ii.  14.)  See  D'Herbelot,  voce  Balaam. 

f   Surah  vii. 

J  He  means  Cushan-rishataim.  El-Kofri  means  the  unbe- 
liever. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  99 

years  the  ruler  of  the  Israelites  after  Yusha',  until 
he  died.  'Othnayil  Ben  Amayayil  Ben  Kazin 
(Othniel,  the  son  of  Kenaz),  of  the  tribe  of  Juda, 
ruled  forty  years,  and  killed  Kush  J^^  (Cushan- 
rishataim),  one  of  the  giants,  who  resided  at  Marib 
v-^U  of  the  Belka.  After  him  the  children  of 
Israel  fell  into  idolatry,  and  God  permitted  that  the 
Kana'anites  should  subject  them  ten  years.  After 
this  period  they  were  ruled  by  'Amlal  el-Ahbari* 
cSjlpOM  J&£  (the  high-priest)  forty  years.  His  suc- 
cessor was  Shamwil  (Samuel),  who  reigned  until 
Talut  ujj.!lk  (Saul)  came  to  the  throne.  During  his 
reign  the  invasion  of  Jalut  £>^U-  (Goliath),  the 
king  of  the  Berbers  of  Palestine,  took  place. 

El-Mas'udi  says,  according  to  the  version  after 
which  we  began  to  relate  this  history,  the  head  and 
administrator  of  the  affairs  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
after  Yusha',  was  Kaleb  Ben  Yvifenna,  and  after  him 
Finehas  Ben  el-'Oziz  Ben  Harun  (Aaron)  Ben 
'Amranf,  who  was  twenty  years  the  judge  of  the 


*  Probably  Heli  is  meant :  in  this  case  his  name  ought  to  be 
written  •  ^JUr  'Ilan.  Compare  p.  102,  infra.  El-Ahbari  means 
generally  a  Jewish  doctor,  and  not  high- priest  as  here. 

t  jydl  QJJ  (j»\s&£  The  copy  of  Leyden  bears  el-'Ozir. 
Phinehas  the  high-priest  was  the  son  of  Eleazer,  and  not  of  Oziz. 
We  learn  from  the  Chronicon  of  the  Samaritans,  which  has  been 
translated  by  Hottinger,  that  Oziz,  the  fifth  high-priest  from 

H  2 


100  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

Israelites.  He  put  the  books  of  Moses  into  a  cop- 
per vessel,  shut  its  opening  with  lead,  and  took 
it  to  the  rock  of  the  temple  of  Jerusalem.  This 
was  before  the  temple  was  built.  The  rock  split, 
and  in  the  cavity  so  formed  another  projecting  rock 
presented  itself.  When  Finehas  had  placed  the 
vessel  upon  this  rock,  the  cavity  closed,  and  was  as 
before*.  After  Finehas  Ben  el-'Oziz,  the  Israelites 


Aaron,  has  concealed  some  sacred  vessels.  It  is  very  likely  that 
el-Mas'  udi,  and  the  author  of  the  said  Chronicon,  who  is  Abul- 
Fath  Ben  Abul-Hasan,  have  used  the  same  sources. 

*  This  rock,  which  rises  about  man's  height  from  the  level  of 
the  ground,  is  covered  with  a  cupola,  and  on  the  side  of  the  rock 
stands  a  chapel,  and  it  enjoys  still  the  veneration  of  the  Moslims. 
(Jihannuma,  Constant.  1732,  p.  565.)  El-Kazwlni  gives  in  his 
work,  Athar  el-bilad,  several  other  instances  of  veneration  for 
stones  in  Syria,  as  the  stone  sacred  to  Sho'a'ib  at  Kafermendah 
k'iXxxjviT,  the  stone  sacred  to  Job  in  the  Jaulan,  &c.  Taking  into 
consideration  the  various  stones  which  were  almost  worshipped  in 
Arabia,  besides  the  black  stone  of  Mekka,  one  might  almost 
suppose  this  gross  fetishism  formed  one  time  a  part  of  the 
national  religion  of  the  Semitic  nations,  owing,  no  doubt,  to 
aerolithes,  which  may  be  very  frequent  in  those  volcanic  coun- 
tries ;  hence,  Sanchoniathon  ascribes  the  origin  of  this  practice  to 
the  god  Coelus,  saying  they  are  living  and  animated  stones. 

As  further  instances  of  the  practice  of  consecrating  or  wor- 
shipping stones,  may  be  brought  forward,  the  example  of  Jacob 
(Gen.  xviii.  18),  the  testimony  of  Clemens  of  Alexandria 
(Strom.,  lib.  vii.),  and  the  practice  of  Arnobius  (Cont.  Gen.,  lib.  i.)  : 
"  Si  quando  conspexeram  lubricatum  lapidem,  et  ex  olivsB  unguine 
lubricatum,  tanquam  inesset  vis  praesens,  adulabar,  affabar." 
(Compare  Calmet,  voce  Stone,  ") 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  101 

were  ruled  by  Kushan  el-Atim  (Cushan-rishataim), 
the  king  of  Mesopotamia,  for  they  were  fallen  into 
idolatry,  for  which  they  had  to  endure  night  years' 
hardship.  Then  was  'Othnayil  (Othniei)  Ben 
Yufenna,  the  brother  of  Kaleb,  of  the  tribe  of  Juda, 
judge,  forty  years.  After  him  they  were  subjected 
by  Aglum  (Eglon),  the  king  of  Mowab,  who  kept 
them  under  great  oppression  eighteen  years.  Then 
was  Ahud,  of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  their  judge 
fifty-five  years.  When  he  had  been  thirty-five 
years  judge,  the  age  of  the  world  was  four  thousand 
years:  this,  however,  is  controverted  by  chronolo- 
gers.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Sha'an  (Sham- 
gar,  the  son  of  Anath).  Then  they  were  conquered 
by  Bills  (Jabin),  the  Kanaanite,  king  of  Syria, 
twenty  years.  Then  ruled  a  woman,  of  the  name 
of  Dabura  (Deborah),  who  was,  according  to  some 
authors,  the  daughter  of  her  predecessor.  She 
joined  with  herself  a  man  of  the  name  of  Barak, 
forty  years.  After  her  they  were  conquered  by  the 
chiefs  of  the  Madyanites,  viz.,  'Urib  (Oreb),  Zerneb 
(Zeeb),  Buria,  Dara'  (Zebah),  Salana  (Zalmunna), 
seven  years  and  three  months.  Then  Jida'un 
(Gideon),  of  the  family  of  Menasha,  forty  years. 
He  killed  the  kings  of  the  Madyanites,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  son  Abu  Malikh  (Abimelech). 
Then  Thula'  (Tola),  of  the  tribe  of  Ephraim, 
twenty-three  years.  Then  Nas  (Jair),  of  the  family 
of  Menasha,  twenty-two  years.  Then  the  kings  of 


102  EL-MAS'lJOl'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

Amman  (Ammon),  eighteen  years  and  three  months. 
Then  Yehtim  (Jephthah),  of  Beit  Lehm,  seven  years*. 
Then  Samsun,  twenty  years.  Then  they  were  sub- 
jected by  the  kings  of  Palestine  forty  years.  Then 
Tlan  (Heli),  the  high-priest,  forty  years.  In  his 
time  the  Babylonians  conquered  the  children  of 
Israel,  took  the  ark,  through  which  the  Israelites 
had  expected  to  gain  the  victory  over  them,  and 
they  carried  it  to  Babel.  They  made  the  Israelites 
and  their  children  captives,  and  carried  them  off 
from  their  homes. 

At  the  same  time  happened  what  is  related  of 
the  people  of  Hizkil  (Ezekiel),  who  went  out  from 
their  homes  for  fear  of  death  (of  the  enemy),  although 
they  were  thousands  in  number.  God  said  to  them 
"Die;"  and  when  they  were  dead,  he  restored 
them  to  life  again.  Then  they  were  visited  with 
the  plague,  and  only  three  tribes  of  them  escaped 
death  f.  One  tribe  took  refuge  on  the  sea-shore, 
the  other  to  some  island  of  the  sea,  and  the  third  to 


U^AJ  Bethlehem,  the  city  of  flesh,  or  incarnation.  The 
form  more  frequently  used  to  express  incarnation  and  naturali- 
sation, is  *l^\J^J  (Ibn  Khaldun,  Proleg.,  lib.  i.) 

f  Koran,  Surah  ii.  verse  244,  edit.  Fliigel.  The  tendency  of 
this  story  of  the  Koran  is  to  show  that  it  is  of  no  avail  to  fly 
from  an  enemy ;  for  God  can  restore  the  dead  to  life,  and  destroy 
men  in  thousands  by  the  plague  as  well  as  by  war.  The  fable 
owes  its  origin  probably  to  Rabbinical  traditions  invented  as  a 
comment  upon  the  thirty-eighth  chapter  of  Ezekiel. 


AND    MINKS    OF    GEMS.  103 

the  summits  of  the  mountains:  after  many  adven- 
tures they  came  back  to  their  homes,  and  said  to 
Hizkil,  "  Hast  thou  ever  heard  of  a  people  that  had 
to  experience  what  we  have  encountered?"  Hizkil 
answered,  ' '  No,  I  have  never  heard  of  a  people  who 
have  taken  flight  from  God  as  you  have  done."  God 
sent  after  seven  days  again  the  plague  amongst 
them,  and  they  died  all  to  the  last  man. 

After  'Ilan,  the  high-priest,  ruled  Ashmawil  Ben 
Baruha  Ben  Nahur  (Samuel).  He  was  a  prophet, 
and  administered  the  state  of  the  Israelites  twenty 
years.  God  gave  them  peace,  and  blessed  them. 
But  subsequently,  when  they  were  in  new  troubles, 
they  said  to  Ashmawil,  "  Send  us  a  king,  and  we 
will  fight  in  the  way  of  God."  He  was  ordered  to 
make  Talut,  who  is  Saul  Ben  Kish  Ben  Abiyal  Ben 
Sarur  Ben  Bakhurat  Ben  Asmida'  (Aphiah)  Ben 
Benyamin  Ben  Ya'kub  Ben  Ishak  Ben  Ibrahim, 
their  king:  he  gave  him  power,  and  the  Israelites 
had  never  before  been  all  united  as  they  were  under 
Talut.  From  the  emigration  of  the  Israelites  from 
Egypt,  under  Musa,  to  the  accession  of  Talut, 
elapsed  five  hundred  and  seventy- two  years  and 
three  months.  Talut  was  originally  a  tanner,  and 
made  leather.  Their  prophet  Ashmawil  announced 
to  them,  4<  God  has  set  Talut  king  over  you." 
They  answered,  according  to  what  God  says*, 

*  Koran,  Surah  ii.  \erse  248. 


104  EL-MAS'uDi's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD 

"  How  shall  he  reign  over  us  ?  We  are  more 
worthy  of  the  sovereignty  than  he;  and  he  is  not  in 
possession  of  a  great  fortune."  "  The  proof  of  his 
sovereignty,"  said  Samuel,  "shall  be  the  ark,  in 
which  there  is  tranquillity  *  from  your  Lord,  and 

*  The  word  which    I    render   by    tranquillity    is    sekinah 


->  j  /.T-O  xu-j.  This  is  not  considered  as  an  Arabic 
word  by  lexicographers,  and  I  have  found  it  only  in  one  instance, 
besides  in  the  above  sentence  from  the  Koran,  in  a  passage  of 
Ibn  Khaldun  (Prolegomena,  MS.  of  Ley  den,  folio  112,  verso), 
which  runs  thus,  if  the  MS.  is  correct:  —  jjf  *L*>JJ  • 


SL«  ''The  rulers  will  have  obtained 
an  arbitrary  and  absolute  power  over  the  subjects;  hence  they 
will  encroach  upon  all  their  money  by  introducing  customs,  or 
monopolies,  or  confiscations  of  private  property  on  or  without 
suspicion.  The  soldiers  will  become  daring  in  this  phasis  towards 
the  rulers  ;  for  they  have  lost  their  vigour,  and  the  enthusiasm  for 
their  own  cause  and  caste  is  declining:  they  have,  therefore, 
nothing  better  to  expect.  The  attempt  to  remedy  the  evil  by 
settling  the  gratuities  (and  changing  them  into  regular  pay),  and 
by  making  enormous  expenses  for  them,  will  fail,  and  they  will 
find  no  friend/' 

Maracci  and  Sale,  in  their  commentaries  to  the  Koran,  and 
after  them  De  Sacy,  in  his  Chrestom.  Arabe   (torn,  ii.,  p.   77), 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  105 

the  relics  of  the  signs  (which  God  had  given  to 
former  prophets)."     The  ark  remained  ten  years 

follow   the  opinion    of  some   Arabic  interpreters  of  that  book, 
and  consider  the  word  as  the  Hebrew  pWQttf  shekinah,  which  is 
derived  from  /.jX*j>  to  rest,  to  be  quiet)  to  be  present,  and  means 
the  divine  presence  in  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  which  drove  from 
thence  the  princes  of  the  air  (genii  of  the  Arabs),   and  made  it 
quiet:  then  it  means  also  inspiration,  and  in  the  Targums  or  the 
Chaldee  paraphrases  it  is  used  for  Holy  Ghost   (Calmet,    Diet, 
of  the  Bible) .     This  signification,  however,  would  be  quite  con- 
trary to  the  ideas  of  Mohammed,  who  probably  took  up  the  term 
without  connecting  a  clear  idea  with  it :  for  things  of  which  we 
do  not  understand  the  meaning,  or  which  have  none  at  all,  are 
most  edifying.     Some  commentators  of  the  Koran  say,  therefore, 
the  tabut  es-sakmah  was  an  ark  given  to  Adam,  which  contained 
the  portraits  of  all  the  prophets  up  to  Mohammed.     For  as  there 
are  many  false  prophets  who  have  wrought  miracles,  whilst  the 
Arabic  legate  of  God  professed  that  he  did  not  perform  any  other 
but  moral  wonders,  it  would  indeed  have  been  the  best  to  have  a 
portrait  to  verify  the  man  who  is  to  be  believed.     This  fabrica- 
tion seems  to  have  been  forged  in  opposition   to  the  Jenahians, 
Xx^UiJ,  who  considered  descent  as  the  evidence  of  the  pro- 
phetic mission  of  a  man ;  and  as  our  author  seems  to  have  been 
very  much  in  favour  of  the  latter  doctrine,  as  it  appears  from 
what  he  says  above,  p.  54,   (compare  the  second  note  to  p.  55, 
supra,)  he  must  have  rejected  this  explanation  of  sakinah,  and 
have  taken  the  word  in  its  first  meaning  as  tranquillity.     This 
justifies  also  the  suggestion  contained  in  the  first  note  to  p.  73, 
supra,  which  is  besides  confirmed  by  the  first  six  lines  in  p.  79, 
supra,  from  which  it  appears  that  el-Mas'udi  believed  that  the 
tabut  (ark,   coffin)  of  Adam  contained  his   body,  and  not  the 
portraits  of  the  prophets. 


106  EL-MAS'tJDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

at  Babel.  They  heard  at  dawn  the  noise  of 
the  angels  flying  round  the  ark,  and  it  was  carried 
away. 

Jalut  iS^U.  (Goliath)  was  very  powerful,  and 
his  troops  and  leaders  were  numerous.  When 
Jalut  (Goliath),  whose  full  name  is  Jalut  Ben 
Balud  Ben  Diyal  Ben  Hattan  Ben  Faris  Ben  Nasud 
Ben  Sam  Ben  Nuh  ^U^  ^  JUS  ^  S^L  &  ^U 
gy  ^  *L»  ^.jj  Jj>*sU  ^.j^  u^jL5  (^j-it  heard  that  the 
Israelites  had  put  Talut  (Saul)  on  the  throne,  he 
marched  with  several  races  of  Berbers  j*jA\  from 
Palestine,  towards  the  Israelites.  Samuel  ordered 
Talut  to  go  out  with  the  children  of  Israel  to  fight 
against  Jalut.  God  sent  them  the  trial  at  a  river 
between  the  districts  of  the  Jordan  and  Palestine, 
which  he  has  related  in  his  book*.  When  they 
were  very  thirsty,  they  were  ordered  how  they 
should  drink:  those  who  doubted,  lapped  like  dogs, 
and  they  were  killed  by  Jalut  to  the  last  man. 
Saul  selected  from  his  best  troops  three  hundred 
and  thirteen  men,  amongst  whom  were  the  brothers 
of  Dawud  (David),  and  Dawud  himself.  The  two 
armies  met,  but  the  battle  was  undecided.  Talut 
encouraged  his  men,  and  promised  to  any  one  who 
would  go  out  against  Jalut  one-third  of  his  king- 


*  Koran,  Surah  ii.  verse  250.      Mohammed  has  confounded 
Saul  and  Gideon.  (Judg.  vii.) 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  107 

dom,  and  his  daughter  in  marriage.  Dawud  went 
out  against  him,  and  killed  him  with  a  stone  which 
he  had  in  his  forage-bag.  He  threw  it  with  a 
sling,  and  Jalut  fell  on  the  ground.  This  is  related 
in  the  Koran  *,  where  God  says,  "  Dawud  slew 
Jalut  .  .  .  These  are  the  signs  of  God." 

Some  say,  Dawud  had  three  stones  in  his 
forage-bag,  which  united,  and  became  one  stone; 
and  this  they  say  was  the  stone  with  which  he  killed 
Jalut.  There  exist  several  comments  on  this 
stone,  which  we  have  related  in  our  former  works. 
Some  pretend  that  it  was  Talut  (Saul)  who  slew 
those  who  lapped  from  the  river,  and  acted  con- 
trary to  the  command  of  God,  and  not  Jalut 
(Goliath).  We  have  related  the  story  of  the  coat 
of  mail,  of  which  their  prophet  had  predicted  that 
nobody  could  conquer  Jalut  except  whom  it  fitted; 
and  which  fitted  Dawud:  we  have  given  details 
respecting  these  wars,  and  the  river  which  dried  up : 
and  we  have  related  the  history  of  the  kingdom  of 
Talut  (Saul)f,  and  the  Berbers,  and  their  origin,  in 
our  book  called  the  Akhbar  ez-zeman,  and  we  shall 
speak  on  it  in  the  following  pages  of  this  work,  in 
a  more  adapted  place,  where  we  give  a  brief  account 
of  the  history  of  the  Berbers,  and  their  dispersion 
over  the  earth. 


*  Koran,  Surah  ii.  verse  250. 

f  It  should  probably  run,  the  kingdom  of  Jalut,  or  Goliath. 


108  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

God  made  the  name  of  Dawud  glorious,  and  that 
of  Talut  obscure;  for  Talut  refused  to  keep  his 
promise  to  him.  But  when  he  saw  that  Dawud 
became  popular,  he  married  his  daughter  to  him, 
and  gave  him  the  third  part  of  his  possessions,  the 
third  part  of  the  revenue,  the  third  part  of  his 
jurisdiction,  and  the  third  part  of  his  subjects. 
After  he  had  done  so,  he  envied  him,  and  intended 
to  deprive  him  of  them.  But  God  did  not  permit 
it,  and  Dawud  declared  himself  against  his  inten- 
tions. All  what  Dawud  did  prospered.  Saul 
died  in  the  night,  under  great  depression  of  spirits, 
whilst  he  was  sitting  on  his  throne.  After  his 
death  the  whole  empire  came  under  Dawud. 

Talut  reigned  twenty  years.  The  spot  where 
Dawud  killed  Jalut  is  said  to  be  Baisan,  in  the 
Ghaur,  which  is  a  district  of  the  Jordan. 

God  rendered  the  iron  soft  for  Dawud,,  and  he 
made  coats  of  mail.  God  made  the  mountains 
and  birds  subservient*  to  him,  and  they  praised 
God  with  him.  David  had  wars  with  the  people 
of  Mowab,  in  the  country  of  el-Belka.  God  re- 
vealed to  him  the  Book  of  Psalms,  in  Hebrew, 
consisting  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  Surahs.  He 
divided  them  into  thirds:  one  third  fortells  the 

history  of  Bokhta  Nassar  ^a5  tlXir    (Nebuchadnez- 


*  Koran,  Surah  xxxviii.  verses  17  and  18. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  109 

zar)  with  the  Israelites ;  another  third  predicts  what 
would  happen  to  them  from  the  people  of  Athur 
j>\;  and  one  third  contains  admonitions,  exhor- 
tations, and  hymns.  There  are  neither  laws  nor 
interdicts,  nor  permissions  nor  prohibitions,  in  the 
Psalms.  Dawud  was  successful  in  all  that  he  did; 
and  even  those  unbelievers  who  had  a  rebellious 
spirit,  were  filled  with  respect  for  him,  in  all  parts 
of  the  earth.  He  built  a  house  for  holy  service  at 
Kurat  el-islam*,,  that  is  to  say,  in  Beit  el-Makdis. 
This  temple  is  standing  in  our  time  [332  A.H.],  and 
it  is  known  under  the  name  of  Mihrab  of  Dawud. 
There  is  at  present  no  building  in  Jerusalem  which 
is  higher  than  this  temple.  You  can  see  from  its 
top  as  far  as  the  Dead  Sea  and  the  River  Jordan. 

To  Dawud  happened  the  story  of  the  two  adver- 
saries, to  which  an  allusion  is  made  in  the  Book  of 
Godf.  Dawud,  before  he  had  heard  the  other, 
passed  the  sentence:  "  He  has  wronged  thee  in 
asking  from  thee  (thy  ewe),  &c."  The  commen- 


*.  jj  Kurat  el-isldm,  means  the  district  of  the 
islam,  and  is  a  play  of  words  with  the  name  of  Jerusalem, 
with  which  it  has  some  similarity  of  sound,  it  being  pro- 
nounced by  the  Arabs,  Uraslam,  or  Aurashlim  j^^JLiUJ,  or 
simply  Shallam  ^&  (el-Kamus,  p.  1647).  Compare  the  twenty- 
eighth  chapter,  infra. 

t  Koran,  Surah  xxxviii.  verse  21,  et  seq. 


110  EL-MAS'lIDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

tators  to  the  Koran  do  not  agree  respecting  the 
fault  of  Dawud  (for  which  he  is  blamed  in  the 
Koran).  Some  give  the  same  explanation  which 
we  have  just  given,  and  which  is  justified  by  the 
words  *,  "  We  have  made  thee  our  lieutenant  on 
earth,  &c."  But  some  say  that  the  story  of  the 
two  adversaries  was  a  parable  in  allusion  to  Uria 
Ben  Kenan,  and  his  being  killed,  as  it  is  mentioned 
in  the  "  boohs  of  the  beginning"  *J«XAA)U  u*xT,  and 
in  oilier  works.  Dawud  underwent  a  repentance 
of  forty  days'  fasting  and  weeping.  He  had  no  less 
than  one  hundred  wives.  Solaiman  was  his  son: 
he  showed  great  talents,  and  used  to  be  present 
when  his  father  exercised  the  duties  of  a  judge; 
and  God  gave  him  \visdom  in  speech  and  judgment, 
as  it  is  said  in  the  Koran  f,  "  We  gave  to  all  of  them 
wisdom  and  knowledge,  &c."  When  he  was  dying, 
he  made  Solaiman  his  heir.  Dawud  reigned  forty 
years  over  Palestine  and  the  Jordan.  He  had  an  army 
of  sixty  thousand  soldiers,  with  swords,  shields,  and 
good  horses;  they  were  men  in  the  prime  of  life, 
full  of  courage  and  vigour. 


*  Koran,  xxxviii.  verse  25.  After  the  words  quoted  stands, 
in  this,  and  in  several  other  instances,  3Lj5N>  which  I  render  by 
"&c.;''  for  it  cannot  mean  anything  else  but  "and  the  rest  of 
this  verse." 

Surah  xxi.  verse  79. 


AND    MINKS    OF    GEMS.  Ill 

In  his  age  flourished  Lokman  the  Wise,  in  the 
country  of  Ailah  and  Madyan:  his  full  name  is 
Lokman  Ben  'Anka  Ben  Madyan  Ben  Merwan 


He  was  a  Nubian,  and  a  freed  slave  of 
Lokain  Ben  Jesr    *&        ^JU.     Lokman  was  born 


in  the  tenth  year  of  the  reign  of  Dawud.  He  was 
a  slave,  full  of  virtue,  and  God  gave  him  wisdom. 
He  lived  distinguished  by  his  wisdom  and  abste- 
miousness until  Yunos  Ben  Matt  a  csU  ^  u*A*H 
(Jonas)  was  sent  to  Ninive,  in  the  country  of 
el-Mausil. 

After  the  death  of  Dawud  his  son  Solaiman  was 
the  bearer  of  the  prophetic  office,  and  the  judge. 
He  extended  his  justice  over  all  his  subjects,  his 
government  was  firm,  and  he  held  the  armies  in 
due  submission.  Sola'iman  began  to  build  the  Beit 
el-Makdis  (the  temple  of  the  sacred  city),  which  is 
called  the  most  remote  temple  ^taSW  <X:sx*wo,  round 
which  God  pours  out  his  blessing.  When  he  had 
finished  the  construction  of  the  temple,  he  built  a 
house  for  himself.  This  is  called  in  our  days  the 
Church  of  the  Resurrection*,  and  is  the  greatest 
church  at  Jerusalem;  but  there  are  other  large 


XJl  3U*AxT.       See  Golius'  notes  to  Alfergani,  p.  158, 
and  Castelli's  Diet.  Heptagl. 


112  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

churches  besides,  as  the  Church  of  Sahytin  (Sion), 
which  has  been  mentioned  by  Dawud,  and  the 
Church  of  el- Jesmaniyah  *  X>oU*»iJ,  in  which 
Dawud  is  said  to  be  buried.  God  gave  to  Solaiman 
greater  favours  than  to  anybody  before  him,  and 
he  made  subservient  to  him  men,  genii,  birds,  and 
winds,  as  it  is  related  in  the  Book  of  Godf.  Solai- 
man ruled  forty  years  over  the  Beni  Israel.  He 
died  in  an  age  of  fifty-two  years. 


*  This  is  probably  the  church  which  Haji  Khalfa  (p.  565) 
calls  the  Church  of  the  Virgin  Mary ;  for  the  place  where  it  is 
situated  has  with  him  the  name  el- Jesmaniyah.  I  suppose  Jes- 
maniyah means  corporis  Christi;  for  the  Christian  Arabs  have 
formed  a  number  of  words  after  the  genius  of  the  Syriac  and 

3  •> 

Greek  languages,  as  *J&'^,  plur.  *jotS»'i  person  (of  the  Trinity); 
iII^AwUM  the  human  nature  (of  Christ) ;  uj^&JJ  Godhead 
implying  a  somewhat  different  idea  from  5U6  Jil| ;  *>l«cr?"Mj 
the  union  (of  the  three  persons  of  the  Trinity),  and  hence  quite 
different  from  the  pure  Mohammedan  idea  expressed  by  the  word 

] !•     (Mefatih  el-'olum.) 
f  Koran,  Surah  xxi.  and  xxxviii. 


AND    MINKS    OF    GEMS.  1J3 


FIFTH  CHAPTER. 

The  reign  of  Rakhobb'am  Ben  Solaiman  Ben  Ddwud, 
and  the  Israelite  kings  who  succeeded  him.  Concise 
account  of  their  Prophets. 

AFTER  the  death  of  Solaiman,  his  son  Rakhobo'am 
*ju^!j  came  to  the  throne.  He  ruled  at  first  over 
all  the  tribes;  but  subsequently  they  separated 
themselves  from  him,  except  the  tribes  of  Judah 
and  Benjamin.  He  reigned  seventeen  years. 

The  king  of  the  ten  tribes  was  Yeruboham 
(Jeroboam),  who  had  several  wars,  and  worshipped 
a  calf  of  gold  and  jewels.  God  destroyed  him  after 
a  reign  of  twenty  years. 

Then  reigned  Abya  (Abijah),  the  son  of  Rakho- 
bo'am  Ben  Solaiman,  three  years.  Then  reigned 
Ahar  (Asa)  forty  years.  Then  reigned  Yuram 
(Jehoram),  who  introduced  the  worship  of  idols 
(stars),  statues,  and  images:  he  reigned  one 
year.  Then  reigned  a  woman,  of  the  name  of 
'Athalan  (Athaliah),  who  destroyed  the  descendants 
of  Dawud,  and  only  one  boy  of  this  family  was 
spared.  The  children  of  Israel,  indignant  at  her 
cruelty,  killed  her,  after  a  reign  of  seven  years,  and 
made  this  boy  their  king.  He  was  seven  years  of 
age  when  he  came  to  the  throne,  and  reigned  forty 


114  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

years,  or  less.  Then  reigned  Amasyd  (Amaziab) 
fifty-  two  years.  During  his  reign  lived  the  prophet 
Sha'ya  U*~  (Isaiah),  with  whom  he  came  in  frequent 
contact.  He  had  some  wars,,  which  we  have  re- 
lated in  our  book  Akhbar  ez-zeman.  Then  reigned 
Yutham  (Jotham)  ten  years  ;  according  to  others, 
sixteen  years.  After  him  reigned  Ahaz  :  he  intro- 
duced idolatry,  and  was  an  unjust  king.  One  of  the 
greatest  kings  of  Babel,  named  Baghin*  ^L,, 
marched  against  him.  After  long  wars  between  Ahaz 
and  the  king  of  Babel,  the  latter  made  Ahaz  prisoner, 
and  destroyed  the  towns  of  the  (Israelite)  tribes, 
and  their  dwellings. 

During  his  reign  religious  quarrels  took  place 
between  the  Jews  and  the  Samaritans  *^U-^J. 
The  Samaritans  deny  the  prophetic  mission  of 
Dawud,  maintaining  that  there  was  no  prophet  after 
Musa.  They  chose  their  chiefs  from  the  descend- 
ants of  Harun  (Aaron)  Ben  'Amran,  and  live  in 
our  time  [A.H.  332],  in  separate  towns,  in  the 
Jordan  and  Palestine,  as,  for  instance,  in  the  town 
called  'Ara  r,U,  which  is  between  er-Ramlah  and 
Tiberias,  and  other  towns  as  far  as  Nabolos 

*  This  is  a  corruption  for  Tiglathpileser,  instead  of  which 
one  copy  bears   y^aX*  ',    so  that  it  may  be  inferred,  from  the 


great  difference  which  exists  between  the  two  copies,  that  el- 
Mas'udi  wrote  the  name  correctly,  but  that  it  was  corrupted  by 
the  copyists,  as  it  happened  with  other  names. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  115 

(Naplous).  In  this  last-mentioned  city  they  are 
most  numerous.  They  have  a  (sacred)  mount  which 
they  call  Tur*  j^Jb,  and  they  offer  there  prayers  at 
certain  times.  They  sound  bells  of  silver  at  prayer 
time,  and  it  is  they  who  say,  "  Do  not  touch  me  !" 
They  believe  that  Nabolos  is  the  sacred  town  (Beit 
el-makdis)t,  and  the  town  of  Ya'kub,  and  that 
there  is  the  place  where  his  flock  grazed.  The 
Samaritans  are  of  two  sects,  which  are  separate 


-3.  These  are  the  words  of  the  original  in  the  copy  of 
Leyden.  De  Sacy  quotes  this  passage  thus,  in  his  Chrestomathie 
Arabe  (torn.  ii.  pp.  342  and  343):  —  j£o  &\  jUu  Ja>-  *^ 

Igj'U^f  ^i  C>JjXo  axXc  s^oLj&J  JojJ,  and  translates  ac- 
cordingly: Us  ont  la  une  montagne  nominee  Tor-berik.  Les 
Samaritains  font  la  priere  sur  cette  montagne  dans  les  temps 
destines  a  ce  pieux  exercice.  The  MS.  of  Cambridge  bears 


t  Isstachri  (edit.  Moeller,  p.  31)  says  nearly  the  same  thing: 
here  are  his  words  : 


syc  l^!«       El-Edrisi  transcribed  this  passage  in  his  work,  and 
corrupted  it   thus:  —    £          -    -    -    '[^\     XAJ«X« 


Lc 

*yc  .       Nabolos  is  the  town  of  the  Samaritans,  and  the  people  of 
Jerusalem  believe  that  nowhere  Samaritans  are  found  but  in  this 

I  2 


116  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

from  each  other,  as  they  are  separate  from  the 
other  Jews.  One  of  the  two  sects  is  called  Kushan  * 
^Uj.r,  and  the  other  Dushan  (or  Rushan)  et*^ 
(jiZjj).  One  of  these  two  sects  believes  that  the 
world  has  no  beginning  f,  and  other  dogmas  of  this 
nature,  which  I  forbear  to  mention,  for  fear  of  being 
too  tedious  in  a  work  which  professes  to  treat  on 
history,  and  not  on  opinions  and  doctrines  of  sects. 
Ahaz  had  reigned  seventeen  years  before  he 
was  made  a  prisoner  by  the  king  of  Babylon.  In 
his  captivity  a  son  was  born  to  him,  who  received 
the  name  Hizkiya  U*^  (Hezekiah).  He  kept  up 
the  religion  of  the  true  God,  and  gave  orders  to 
destroy  images  and  idols.  During  his  reign  Senna- 
harib  <-o^L^\Mo  the  king  of  Babel,  marched  against 
Jerusalem.  He  had  several  wars  with  the  Israel- 


town,  &c.  (  Rosenmiiller,  Analecta  Arabica,  pars  iii.  p.  3.  — 
Compare  Jaubert's  Translation,  torn.  i.  p.  335.) 

This  may  serve  as  an  example  how  Oriental  writers  are  some- 
times misled  by  corrupt  readings,  and  may  illustrate  the  note  to 
page  1  1  7  of  this  volume  ;  for  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  this 
fault  is  to  be  attributed  to  el-Edrisi  himself,  and  not  to  the  copyists, 
since  it  is  found  in  the  copies  of  Oxford  and  Paris. 

*  If  the  Cuthaeans  derive  their  name  from  Cush,  or  Scythia, 
the  spelling  is  here  more  correct  than  in  the  Bible  (2  Kings  xvii. 
24,  30;  Ezra  iv.  1,  2)  ;  for  there  it  is  /TO  Kuth,  Xov0. 

f   Arabic  scholastics  make  a  distinction  between     rjj»,  which 


is  the  term  used  here,  and  JjJ:     the   former  meaning  what  has 
no  beginning,  and  the  latter  what  has  neither  beginning  nor  end. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  117 

ites,  and  suffered  great  loss;  but  finally  he  took 
many  tribes  prisoners.  Hizkiya  reigned  till  he 
died,  twenty-nine  years. 

After  Hizkiya  his  son  Manasha  (Manasseh) 
reigned.  He  killed  the  prophet  Sha'ya,  and  gave  a 
bad  example,  which  was  followed  by  his  subjects. 
God  sent  Constantine,  the  king  of  er-Rum*,  against 


*  "The  Lord  brought  upon  them  the  captains  of  the 
host  of  the  king  of  Assyria,  which  took  Manasseh  among  the 
thorns,  and  bound  him  with  fetters,  and  carried  him  to  Babylon. 
And  when  he  was  in  affliction  he  besought  the  Lord  his  God 
.  .  .  .  And  [God]  brought  him  again  to  Jerusalem,  into  his 
kingdom."  (2  Chron.  xxxiii.  11,  12,  13.)  Petavius  believes  that 
this  Assyrian  king  was  the  Berodach-baladan  of  the  Scriptures 
(2  Kings  xx.  12),  and  Map8oKfp,7ra8os  of  the  Chronological  Tables 
of  Ptolemy.  As  the  copyists  put  frequently  a  known  word  instead 
of  a  name  of  less  frequent  occurrence,  we  may  suppose  that  el- 
Mas'udi  wrote  Mardokempad,  king  of  Atur,  (see  our  note  to 
page  31  of  this  volume,)  of  which  the  copyist  made  Constantine, 
king  of  er-Rum;  for  el-Mas'udl  was  well  acquainted  with 
Ptolemy's  Chronological  Tables,  and  quotes  them  in  the  Tanbih. 

But  in  comparing  this  passage  with  the  words  of  et-Tabari 
(who  was  one  of  the  sources  whence  el-Mas'udi  derived  his  infor- 
mation), preserved  by  Ibn  Khaldun  (MS.  of  Leyden,  No.  1250, 
vol.  ii.  fol.  44,  verso),  we  feel  inclined  to  ascribe  this  gross  anachro- 
nism to  our  author's  want  of  attention:  XxjU 


"In  the  fifty-second  (year  of  the  reign  of  Manasseh)  Byzan- 
tium was  built  :  the  founder  of  this  city  was  King  Yuros.  It  is 
the  same  town  which  has  been  renewed  by  Constantine,  and 


118  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

him,  who  invaded  his  country  with  several  armies, 
put  his  troops  to  flight,  made  him  a  prisoner,  and 
kept  him  twenty  years  in  er-Rum,  in  captivity ;  but 
changing  his  former  conduct,  he  was  restored  to 
his  kingdom.  He  reigned  till  he  died,  twenty-five, 
or,  as  others  say,  thirty,  years. 

His  successor  was  'Amun  (Amon),  who  neither 
believed  nor  obeyed  God,  but  worshipped  images 
and  idols.  When  his  ungodliness  had  reached  the 
utmost,  Fir'aun  the  Lame  gjs-W  u**j*  marched 
from  Egypt,  with  a  large  army,  against  him,  and 
after  he  had  made  a  great  slaughter  amongst  the 
Israelites,  he  took  him  as  prisoner  to  Egypt,  where 
he  perished.  He  reigned  five  years.  Some  authors 
differ  in  their  account.  After  him  reigned  his 
brother  Tufil  J^yT,  who  is  the  father  of  the  prophet 
Danial  jUib.  During  his  reign  el-Bokhta  Nassar 
(Nebuchadnezzar),  the  governor  of  el- 'Irak,  and  the 
Arabs  *  ^xJ^oV^xJi,  under  the  king  of  Persia,  who 

called  after  his  name."  (Compare  Eusebius,  Chronicorum  Canonii 
ad  Olympiadem  30,  A.  H.)  Now  seeing  the  account  of  the  cap- 
tivity of  the  Israelites  on  the  same  page  with  the  name  of  Con- 
stantine,  he,  probably  overlooking  a  line,  took  him  for  the  king 
who  made  them  prisoners.  For  a  similar  mistake  of  el-Edrisi, 
owing  to  the  perusal  of  a  corrupt  copy  of  the  author  whence  he 
was  compiling,  see  the  note  to  page  115  of  this  volume. 

*  Perhaps  it  ought  to  read  'Irak  el-' Arab,  which  is  the  name 
for  Babylonia,  and  I  should  not  have  hesitated  to  change  the  read- 
ing, if  Herodotus  did  not  give  nearly  the  same  title  to  Sennaherib, 
calling  him  BcwiAe'a  *Apa/3tW  re  *cai  ' 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  119 

was  then  residing  in  Balkh,  the  capital  of  his  em- 
pire, marched  against  the  Israelites;  and  after  he 
had  slain  many  of  them,,  he  took  them  to  el-'Irak, 
into  captivity.  He  carried  also  the  Pentateuch  and 
the  books  of  the  prophets  and  the  histories  of  the 
king  away,  which  were  in  the  temple  at  Jerusalem, 
and  threw  them  into  a  well.  The  ark  of  the  cove- 
nant fell  also  into  his  hands,  and  he  preserved  it  in 
some  place  of  his  country.  The  number  of  the 
Israelites  who  were  in  captivity  is  said  to  have  been 
eighteen  thousand.  In  his  time  lived  Jeremiah  the 
prophet.  El-Bokhta  Nassar  made  a  campaign 
against  Egypt,  and  killed  Pharao  the  Lame.,  who 
was  at  that  time  the  king  of  Egypt.  Thence  he 
proceeded  towards  the  West,  took  the  kings  pri- 
soners, and  conquered  many  towns. 

The  king  of  Persia  had  married  a  woman  of  the 
Israelite  captives,  who  bore  him  a  child,  and  he 
sent  the  children  of  Israel  back  into  their  homes 
after  two  years'  captivity.  When  they  had  re- 
turned into  their  native  country,  reigned  Zorobabil 
Ben  Salsal  (Zorobabel,  the  son  of  Selathiel).  The 
town  of  Jerusalem  was  rebuilt,  and  what  had  been 
destroyed  was  re-established.  They  got  the  Penta- 
teuch out  of  the  well,  and  their  state  became  flourish- 
ing. This  king  devoted  forty-six  years  to  the  culti- 
vation of  the  country ;  and  he  ordered  them  to  keep 
the  prayers  and  other  obligations  prescribed  by  the 
Law,  which  had  been  neglected  during  the  captivity. 


120  EL-MAS'UDl's  -MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

The  Samaritans  believe  that  the  Pentateuch 
which  was  recovered  from  the  well,  was  not  the 
same  which  Musa  had  given  to  them,,  but  that  it  is 
full  of  fictions,  changes,  and  alterations.  The 
author  of  the  new  Pentateuch  which  the  Jews  have 
is  Zorobabil,  who  collected  it  from  the  accounts  of 
those  who  knew  it  by  heart,  whilst  the  genuine 
Pentateuch  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Samaritans.  This 
king  reigned  forty-six  years.  Another  version  of 
this  history  says,  that  the  person  who  married  a 
Jewish  lady  was  el-Bokhta  Nassar  himself,  and  that 
he  released  the  Jews  from  the  captivity. 

After  Ibrahim  his  son  Isma'il  took  charge  of  the 
house  (Ka'bah,  at  Mekka).  God  made  him  a  pro- 
phet, and  sent  him  to  the  'Amalikites,  and  to  some 
tribes  of  Yemen,  to  forbid  to  them  idolatry.  Some 
of  them  became  believers ;  the  most  part,  however, 
remained  faithful  to  the  false  religion.  Ismael  was 
blessed  with  twelve  sons,  viz.,  Nabet  (Nebaioth), 
Kidar,  Abdil,  Mibsam,  Maisa'  (Mishma),  Duma, 
Dowam*,  Mita  (Massa),  Heddad,  Taim  (Tema), 
Yetura,  and  Nan's,  £**AXI;  p**^  J^l;  ^«\&  «^L* 

\*  U.  Ibrahim 


*  Dowam  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Bible  (Chronicon  i.  29,  30): 
it  crept  in  probably  by  writing  Duma  twice,  once  wrongly  spelt ; 
and  then,  in  order  not  to  have  thirteen  names,  the  copyists  left  out 
Kedemah,  which  is  the  name  last  mentioned  in  the  Bible. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  121 

declared  Isma'il  as  his  successor,  and  Isma'il  in- 
stalled Nabet,  or  according  to  others,  Kidar,  to 
succeed  him.  When  Isma'il  died,  he  was  one 
hundred  and  thirty- seven  years  of  age,  and  was 
buried  in  the  mesjid  el-Haram  (the  temple  of 
Mekka),  on  the  spot  where  the  black  stone  is. 
After  him  the  charge  of  the  temple  was  intrusted 
to  his  son  Nabet,  who  followed  the  good  example 
and  religion  of  his  father. 

There  were  several  prophets  and  men  distin- 
guished by  godliness  between  Solaiman,  son  of 
Dawud,  and  the  Masih  (Messiah),  as  Aramaya 
Uc^l  (Jeremiah),  Daniyal  (Daniel),  'Ozair  ^y. 
(Ezra)  [whose  prophetic  dignity  is  controverted], 
Sha'ya  (Isaiah),  Hizkial  (Ezekiel),  llyds  (Elias),  el- 
Yasa'  (Elisha),  Yunos*  (Jonas),  Dul-Kifl 


*  I  preserve  here,  and  in  other  Scriptural  names,  the  Arabic 
sound;  for  some  changes  are  as  much  sanctioned  by  use  with 
them,  as  in  English  to  say  John  instead  of  Joannes.  Besides, 
these  corruptions  may  yet  point  out  whence  the  Arabs  have 
originally  derived  their  Biblical  knowledge.  Some  Hebrew  names 
seem  even  to  have  been  originally  Arabic,  and  to  have  been  pre- 
served in  the  language  of  this  nation,  as  well  as  in  the  Scriptures. 
Only,  in  putting  the  vowels,  I  follow  in  preference  the  Scriptures, 
when  Arabic  authors  do  not  agree:  some  authors  write  the  Kamus 
Nomrud,  whilst  others  write  Namrud  and  Nimrud.  I  prefer 
the  latter. 

t  The  name  of  Dul-Kifl  is  twice  mentioned  in  the  Koran; 
the  first  time  (xxi.  85)  with  Isma'il  and  Idris,  and  the  second 


122  EL-MAs'tJDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


and  el-Khidhr*  j*a.±\.  A  tradition  reported  by 
Ibn  Ishak  (or  Ibn  '  Abbas)  makes  Aramaya  a  pious 
and  godly  man  (but  not  a  prophet).  Another  pro- 
phet of  this  period  was  Zakariya  (Zacharias),  who 
was  the  son  of  Adan,  of  the  children  of  Dawud  and 
the  tribe  of  Juda.  He  was  married  to  Lishya' 
(Elizabeth),  the  daughter  of  'Imran,  and  sister  of 
Maryam  (Mary),  the  mother  of  Christ.  'Imran, 
who  was  the  son  of  Maran  Ben  Yo'akim,  was  also 
a  descendant  of  Dawud.  The  name  of  the  mother 
of  Lishya'  (Elizabeth),  and  of  Maryam,,  was  Han- 
nah. Elizabeth  gave  birth  to  Yahya  (John),  who 
was  the  cousin  of  Christ.  His  father  Zakariya  was 
a  carpenter.  The  Jews  spread  the  rumour  that  he 
had  ravaged  Maryam,  and  put  him  to  death.  When 


time  (xxxviii.)  with  Isma'iland  el-Yasa'  (Elisha),  so  that  one  may 
infer  that  he  is  a  Hebrew  prophet  who  received  this  name  from 
some  action  or  event,  as  Jonas  was  called  Dul-Nun,  from  the 
fish  which  swallowed  him.  Sale  adds  the  following  note  to  the 
second  passage  of  the  Koran: — "  Al-Beidawi  here  takes  notice 
of  another  tradition  concerning  this  prophet ;  viz.,  that  he  enter- 
tained and  took  care  of  a  hundred  Israelites,  who  fled  to  him 
from  a  certain  slaughter;  from  which  action  he  probably  had 
the  name  Dul-Kifl  given  him;  the  primary  signification  of  the 
word  cafala  being  to  maintain,  or  take  care  of  another.  If  a 
conjecture  might  be  founded  on  this  tradition,  I  should  fancy  the 
person  intended  was  Obadiah,  the  governor  of  Ahab's  house." 
*  About  el-Khidhr  see  page  90  of  this  volume. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  123 

he  was  aware  of  their  intention,  he  took  refuge  in 
a  tree,  and  hid  himself  in  its  cavity ;  but  Satan,  the 
enemy  of  God,  pointed  him  out  to  them.  They 
split  the  tree  in  which  he  was,  and  cut  him  to 
pieces  in  so  doing.  When  Elizabeth,  the  sister  of 
Maryam,  the  mother  of  Christ,  had  given  birth  to 
Yahya  Ben  Zakariya,  she  took  flight  with  her  child 
from  some  king  to  Egypt. 

When  he  had  grown  up  God  sent  him  to  the 
children  of  Israel.  He  preached  to  them  what  God 
has  commanded  and  forbidden,  and  they  put  him 
to  death.  There  were  many  rebellions*  amongst 
the  Israelites.  God  sent,  therefore,,  a  king,  of  the 
name  of  Hardush  (Herodes),  from  the  East.  Under 
him  the  righteous  men  had  the  same  fate  as  Yahya, 
the  son  of  Zakariya;  and  it  was  only  after  long 
troubles,  that  he  put  a  stop  to  shedding  blood. 

When  Maryam  was  seventeen  years  of  age  God 
sent  the  angel  Gabriel  to  her,  and  he  breathed  the 
spirit  into  her.  She  was  with  child  of  the  Masih, 
Jesus  the  son  of  Maryam,  and  she  gave  him  birth 
in  a  country  town,,  called  Beit  Lehm,  which  is  some 
miles  from  Jerusalem.  This  was  in  the  twenty- 
fourth  of  the  first  Kanun.  His  history  is  related 


The   copy   of  Leyden   bears   ^ 
There  were  many  traditions  among  the  Israelites." 


124  EL   MAS'tJDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

by  God  in  the  Koran*,  and  the  Christians  believe 
that  Jesus  observed  the  old  religion  of  his  nation. 
He  read  (lectured  on)  the  Pentateuch  and  other 
ancient  books  for  twenty-nine  or  thirty  years,  at 
Tiberias,  in  the  province  of  the  Jordan,  in  a  syna- 
gogue called  el-Madras  u^JsJU.  A  certain  day  he 
was  reading  the  Book  of  the  prophet  Esaias,  and 
he  saw  in  it  the  passage,  "Thou  art  my  prophet  and 
my  elect:  I  have  chosen  thee  for  me:"  he  closed  the 
book,  gave  it  to  the  minister  of  the  synagogue, 
and  went  out  saying,  "  The  word  of  God  is  now 
fulfilled  in  the  Son  of  Manf."  Some  say  Christ 
lived  in  a  town  called  Nasarah  (Nazareth),  in  the 
district  of  el-Lajjun  ^^.J^,  in  the  province  of  the 
Jordan.  Hence  the  Christians  have  (in  Arabic) 
the  name  Nasraniyah  lo^A^U  I  have  visited  that 
church:  it  is  in  high  veneration  with  the  Christians. 
There  are  some  coffins  of  stone,  with  dead  bodies 

in  them,  from  which  oil  comes  out,  of  the  consis- 

~  j 
tency  of  the  inspissated  juice  of  fruits  (Roob  v^0> 

in  which  the  Christians  find  their  blessing. 

The  Masih  came  to  the  lake  of  Tiberias,  where 
he  found  some  fishermen,  who  were  the  sons  of 
Zabada,  and  some  fullers.  Matta  (Matthew),  Yo- 
hanna  (John),  Markush  (Mark),  and  Luka  (Luke), 


*  In  the  third  Surah,  and  passim. 
t  Lukeiv.  16—21. 


AND    MINES    OF   GEMS.  125 

are  the  four  apostles  who  wrote  the  Gospel,  and 
preserved  the  history  of  the  Masih:  they  have 
related  in  it  his  birth  and  his  baptism  by  Yahya 
Ben  Zakariya,  who  is  called  John  Baptist  ^.^ 
tXfrxJJ,  in  the  lake  of  Tiberias,  from  which  the  water 
runs  into  the  Jordan ;  the  wonders  wrought  through 
him,  the  miracles  with  which  God  honoured  him, 
and  how  the  Jews  treated  him,  till  he  ascended  into 
heaven,  when  he  was  thirty-three  years  of  age. 

There  are  long  accounts  of  the  Masih,  Mary  am, 
and  Yusof  the  carpenter,  in  the  Gospel,  which  we 
forbear  inserting;  for  God  does  not  mention  them 
(in  the  Koran),  nor  has  his  prophet  Mohammed 
related  them. 


126  EL-MA$'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


SIXTH  CHAPTER. 

Those  who  lived  in  the  Fatrah ;  that  is  to  say,  in  the 
time  between  Christ  and  Mohammed. 

EL-MAS'UDI  says,  many  persons  who  lived  between 
Christ  and  Mohammed,  in  the  Fatrah,  professed 
the  unity  of  God,  and  believed  that  he  sends  (pro- 
phets). But  whether  there  has  been  a  prophet 
amongst  them  or  not  is  controverted.  Some  allege 
that  Hantalah  Ben  Safwan  ^yu*  ^^  XXk;^,  who 
was  a  descendant  of  Isma'il  Ben  Ibrahim,  has  been 
a  prophet,  and  was  sent  to  the  Ashab  er-Rass*, 


The  Ashab  er-Rass  are  brought  forward 
as  an  example  in  the  Koran  (xxv.  40),  together  with  the  'Adites 
and  Themudites,  as  a  nation,  who  have  been  punished  for  not 
having  listened  to  their  prophet.  The  commentators  of  the 
Koran  conceive  ashab  to  mean  inhabitants^  and  believe,  therefore, 
er-Rass  to  be  a  town.  They  have,  however,  been  so  much  at  a 
loss  to  find  the  site  of  this  town,  that  they  thought  it  might  be  on 
the  river  er-Rass,  or  the  Araxes  of  the  ancients  I  Now  sahib 
hardly  ever  means  inhabitants.  El-Fairuzabadi  (p.  763)  gives 
the  following  opinion : — "  Er-Rass  is  the  name  of  a  well  of  rem- 
nants of  the  Themudites,  in  which  they  smothered  \y^  their 
prophet,  not  believing  on  him."  This  leads  me  to  think  that 
rass  is  to  be  taken  as  an  infinitive,  and  ashab  er-rass  to  be 
rendered  by  smotherers. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  127 

who  were  equally  descended  from  Isma'il,  and 
divided  into  two  tribes,  one  of  which  was  called 

o  * 

Kodman  ^LctXS,  and  the  other  Yamin  (^-j-<^>  or 
Ra'wil  J^y^j?  both  of  which  were  in  Yemen.  When 
Hantalah  Ben  Safwan  rose  amongst  them,  by  the 
command  of  God,  they  killed  him.  A  prophet  of 
the  children  of  Israel,  of  the  tribe  of  Juda,  received 
therefore  the  revelation  of  God,  that  Bohkta  Nassar 
would  march,  by  divine  command,  against  them : 
and  he  vanquished  them.  To  this  allude  the  words 
of  God:  "  When  they  felt  our  strength,  they  were 
agitated  ....  dying  and  perishing."  It  is 
said  that  they  were  Himyarites,  and  this  is  sup- 
ported by  one  of  their  (Himyarite)  poets  in  an 
elegy: 

"  My  eyes  flow  in  tears  for  the  Ashab  er-Rass, 
the  Ra'wil,  and  Kodman:  the  punishment  which 
the  tribe  of  the  Kahtanites  suffered  caused  those  to 
submit  to  God  who  had  refused  to  do  so." 

It  is  stated  on  the  authority  of  Wahb  Ben 
Monabbih  that  Dul-Karnein,  who  is  the  same  per- 
son with  Alexander*,  lived  after  Christ,  in  the 


*  Other  passages  of  this  work  evince  an  intimate  acquaintance 
of  el-Mas'udi  with  the  history  of  Alexander  the  Great,  and  the 
Alexandrian  era.  But  it  is  the  habit  of  Arabic  historians,  and 
particularly  with  our  author,  to  give  the  different  traditions  which 
they  have  received  literally  as  they  heard  them,  even  if  they 


128  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

Fatrah.  He  had  a  vision,  in  which  he  saw  himself 
so  near  the  sun  that  he  seized  its  two  extremities 
^/JjjtM,  the  eastern  and  western.  He  related  this 
dream  to  his  people,  and  they  called  him  "  One  who 
has  both  horns"  (or  sides  of  the  sun)  ^jjtt^i. 
Many  different  opinions  respecting  him  have  been 
advanced,  which  are  to  be  found  in  our  works,  the 
Akhbar  ez-zeman  and  the  Kitab  el-ausat,  and  we 
shall  give  a  view  of  his  history  in  those  chapters 
of  this  book  which  treat  on  the  Greek  and  Byzan- 
tine sovereigns. 

In  the  same  way  the  historians  do  not  agree  on 
the  men  of  the  grotto  (the  Seven  Sleepers):  some 
say  they  lived  in  the  Fatrah ;  others  think  other- 
wise. We  shall  insert  a  concise  account  of  their 
history  in  the  (twenty-eighth)  chapter  on  the  Roman 
emperors  in  this  book.  For  the  rest  we  have 
their  adventures  related  in  the  Kitab  el-ausat,  and  in 
the  work  which  preceded  it,  the  Akhbar  ez-zeman. 

One  of  the  persons  who  lived  after  Christ,  in 
the  Fatrah,  was  George  UMA^S*.  His  birth  fell 


should  be  convinced  they  are  not  true.  Here  he  states,  more- 
over, his  authority.  This  anachronism  had  its  origin  probably  in 
a  king  of  Yemen,  who  had  the  name  Dul-Karnein  from  two  curls 
of  hair,  and  who  was  confounded  with  Alexander,  as  he  had  the 
same  epithet.  I  shall  again  speak  of  this  name  in  the  chapter 
on  the  kings  of  Yemen.  The  name  Dul-Karnem  is  mentioned  in 
the  eighteenth  chapter  of  the  Koran. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  129 

within  the  lifetime  of  some  of  the  apostles.  God 
sent  him  to  the  King  of  el-Mausil,  to  call  him  to 
the  true  religion,  and  though  the  king  killed  him, 
God  restored  him  to  life,  and  sent  him  a  second 
time  to  him :  the  king  killed  him  again ;  but  God 
resuscitated  him  once  more,  and  sent  him  a  third 
time:  now  the  king  burnt  him,  and  threw  the  ashes 
into  the  Tigris.  God  destroyed  the  king,  and  all 
his  subjects  who  had  followed  him.  So  the  story  is 
related  by  believers  of  the  Scriptures,  and  in  the 
books  on  the  beginning  and  on  the  biography  (of 
Mohammed),  by  Wahb  Ben  Monabbih  and  other 
authors. 

Another  man  of  the  Fatrah  was  Habib  en-Nejjar 
^Ls\M  s^*^  wn°  lived  at  Antioch,  in  Syria,  where 
there  reigned  a  tyrant,  who  worshipped  idols  and 
images.  Two  disciples  of  the  Masih  went  to  him, 
to  call  him  to  God.  He  imprisoned  and  ill-treated 
them,  till  they  were  aided  by  God,  who  sent  a  third 
man.  Who  he  was  is  controverted;  but  most 
authors  say  that  he  was  Peter,  which  is  the  Greek 
name  of  the  apostle  who  is  called  Sim'an  wlx»~>  in 
Arabic,  and  Sham'iin  in  Syriac.  This  is  Sham'un 
the  brasser. 

But  many  historians  and  the  Christians  of  all 
sects  are  of  opinion,  that  the  third  apostle,  through 
whom  they  were  aided,  was  Paul,  and  the  two 
others  who  had  been  committed  to  prison,  were 
Thomas  and  Peter.  They  had  a  long  interview 


K 


130  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

with  the  king,  showing  him  miracles  and  proofs: 
they  healed  those  born  blind,  and  the  lepers,  and 
restored  the  dead  to  life.  Paul  succeeded  in  ob- 
taining an  audience:  he  gained  his  favour,  and  the 
king  set  free  his  two  colleagues  from  prison.  Habib 
en-Nejjar*  came,  and  he  believed  on  them  when 
he  had  seen  their  signs.  God  relates  this  in  the 
Koran t,  in  the  words,  "  When  we  sent  two  men  to 
them;  but  they  charged  them  with  imposture. 
Wherefore  we  strengthened  them  with  a  third  one," 
&c.,  down  to  the  words  "  a  man  came  in  haste." 

Peter  and  Paul  were  killed  in  Rome.  Many 
persons  relate  that  they  were  crucified  with  their 
heads  downwards,  after  they  had  been  a  long  time 
in  contact  with  the  emperor  and  Saiman  ^^  0$*) 
the  sorcerer^.  After  the  Christian  religion  had 
become  victorious,  they  were  laid  in  a  coffin  of 
crystal,  and  deposited  in  a  church  of  that  city. 

We  have  related  this  in  oar  Kitab  el-ausat 
where  we  speak  of  the  curiosities  of  Rome,  and 
where  we  trace  the  history  of  the  disciples  of 
Christ,  and  their  dispersion  over  the  earth.  We 


*  A  mosque  in  the  middle  of  the  market  of  Antioch,  sacred 
to  this  Habib,  was  much  visited  by  pilgrims  at  the  time  of  el- 
Kazwini  ( Athar  el-bilad). 

f   Surah  xxxvi.,  from  verse  13  to  19. 

t  Simon  Magus,  to  whose  aeronautics  the  prayers  of  St. 
Peter  made  a  fatal  end. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  131 

shall  exhibit   a  summary  of  their   history  in  this 
book. 

The  contrivers  of  the  pit*  ^J^i   ^->\^\   lived 


*  An  allusion  to  this  story  being  found  in  the  Koran,  it  is 
related  in  the  commentaries  to  that  book,  and  almost  in  every 
Arabic  work  on  geography.  But  modern  authors  enrich  it  with 
edifying  additions  and  pious  alterations. 

The  fact,  as  it  is  related  by  our  author,  is  historical,  and 
happened  in  522  A.D.  The  heroism  of  a  Najranite  matron,  and 
of  a  boy  who  threw  himself  into  the  flames,  gave  rise  naturally 
to  the  popular  tradition  of  the  miracle  which  el-Mas'udi  relates, 
and  to  which  Mohammed  alluded  three  hundred  years  before 
him. 

Baronius  (Annal.  Eccl. ;  Lucas  1741,  Tom.  ix.,  pp.  309  et 
seq.  ad  annum  522  et  523)  reproduces  the  acta  St.  Aretha* 
martyris,  who  was  the  chief  of  the  Najranites.  These  acta  are 
exceedingly  curious;  and  to  judge  from  the  spirit  in  which  they 
are  written,  I  feel  confident  they  come  from  the  pen  of  an  Arab, 
and  were  possibly  originally  composed  in  that  language.  This 
would  be  an  important  addition  to  the  history  of  the  civilization 
of  the  Arabs.  The  frequent  allusions  to  the  Scriptures  evince 
an  intimate  acquaintance  of  the  author  with  the  Bible.  Lam- 
beccius  speaks  for  the  rest  of  another  work  which  exists  in  the 
emperor's  library  at  Vienna,  and  which  was  written  in  Tifar 
.lili  at  this  period,  and  may  serve  as  a  proof  of  the  literary 
activity  of  the  Arabs  before  Mohammed :  it  has  the  title  "  Abrahii 
regis  Homeritarum  leges  a  St.  Gregentio  Tapharensi  Episcopo 
compositae." 

The  persecution  of  the  Najranite  Christians,  and  the  conquest 
of  the  Abyssinians,  are  also  mentioned  by  Procopius  (De  bello 
Persico  i.,  20),  Cedrenus  (ad  annum  522),  Zonaras,  Nicephorus, 

K  2 


132  EL-MAS'UDl'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

also  in  the  time  of  the  Fatrah,  in  the  capital  of 
Najran,     in    Yemen,    during    the    reign    of   Du 


&c.  Comparing  the  Arabic  accounts  with  the  Greek  authors,  it 
is  possible  the  fact  was  this. 

Najran  was  favoured  by  nature,  and  so  famous  since  ancient 
times,  that  it  seems  to  have  formed  one  of  the  objects  of  the 
invasion  of  JElius  Gallus.  The  inhabitants,  ever  anxious,  as  it 
seems,  to  lead  the  Bedouins  to  their  interests,  raised  a  temple  in 
opposition  to  the  Ka'bah  of  Mekka,  which  was  called  the  Ka'bah 
of  Najran,  in  order  to  attract  pilgrims.  But  it  seems  that  they 
did  not  fully  succeed,  since  the  town  is  not  mentioned  amongst 
the  markets  of  the  Arabs.  This  failure  is  to  be  accounted  for  by 
their  situation  between  Mekka  and  San'a,  both  of  which  were 
sacred  by  age  and  many  popular  traditions,  acknowledged  by 
habit,  and  the  one  protected  by  the  league  of  the  Modhar  tribes, 
whose  centre  it  was,  whilst  the  other  was  the  capital  of  all  the 
Himyarite  tribes:  hence  the  tenets  of  the  Arians,  which  were 
preached  to  them  by  a  monk  in  the  fourth  century  of  the 
Christian  era,  were  welcome  to  them,  as  they  condemned  the 
black  stone  and  the  idols  of  the  Ka'bah,  to  which  the  Korai'shites 
owed  their  power,  and  gave  them  hope  to  come  to  the  possession 
of  the  Ghomdan  at  San'a.  The  sacred  well  of  this  Capitolium 
reminds  one  of  the  Zemzem  ;  and  the  four  sides,  painted  in  white, 
red,  yellow,  and  green,  seem  to  have  the  same  origin  as  the 
Ka'bah  (i.e.,  square  building),  of  which  there  were  several  in 
Arabia,  besides  that  of  Mekka;  and,  although  the  Ghomdan  was 
chiefly  sacred  to  the  planet  Venus,  the  seven  stories,  or  roofs, 
imply  a  clear  allusion  to  the  seven  planets. 

The  mystifications  of  Arianism,  however,  made  no  impression 
upon  the  sound  minds  of  the  Bedouins.  The  Najranites  sought, 
therefore,  in  treason  what  they  had  in  vain  contended  for  through 
enslaving  their  minds;  and  it  is  allowed  by  Christian  authors  that 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  133 

Nowas*,  who  killed  Du  Shenatirf  yU-fc  ^.  He 
was  a  Jew:  and  having  heard  that  there  were  fol- 
lowers of  the  religion  of  the  Messiah  in  Najran,  he 
came  himself  there,  sank  pits  in  the  ground,  filled 
them  with  glowing  fire,  and  called  the  inhabitants 
to  the  Jewish  religion:  those  who  followed  him 
were  free;  but  those  who  refused  to  obey  were 
thrown  into  the  fire.  There  came  a  woman,  with  a 
child  of  seven  months,  who  refused  to  abjure  her 


they  had  betrayed  their  country  to  the  King  of  Abyssinia, 
"  Dunaanus  (Du  Nowas)  rex,  tarn,  ut  genus  Christianorum 
vexaret,  quam,  ut  Eleslaano  regi  ^Ethiopum  molestiam  crearet, 
graviter  afflixit  cives  urbis  Nagran  in  Homeritide  sitse,  cui  pra3- 
fectus  erat  St.  Arethas." 

Dii  Nowas,  was  Lord  of  Phare,  which  is  spelt  Taphar  in  an 
ancient  Greek  Menologium,  quoted  by  Pagius ;  so  that  there  can 
be  no  doubt  but  that  Tifar  JJ&  is  meant.  He  professed  the 
Jewish  religion;  for  the  law  of  Moses  had  found  many  prose- 
lytes in  Arabia  by  its  sublime  simplicity;  and  being  the  protector 
of  Yemen,  he  was  of  course  obliged  to  check  the  conduct  of  the 
Najranites,  and  decided  to  eradicate  the  evil  which  was  owing 
to  their  religion.  But  the  /Ethiopians  revenged  the  blood  of 
their  brethren,  and  took  possession  of  Arabia,  until  a  reaction 
took  place,  in  which  the  Persians  were  called  in. 

*  Du  Nowas  means  the  man  with  the  curl,  for  he  had  a  black 
curl  hanging  over  his  back. 

t  Du  Shenatir  means  the  man  with  ear-rings,  shenatir  being 
the  Himyarite  word  for  ear-ring  3&j.i'.  El-Fairuzabadi  says, 
Du  Shenatir  had  this  surname,  because  he  had  one  finger  too  many. 
His  proper  name  was  Lakhti'ah  XxxAiL . 


134  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

religion.  She  was  taken  to  the  fire,  and  when  she 
was  frightened  God  gave  speech  to  the  child,  and 
it  said,  "Go  on,  mother,  in  thy  faith;  thou  wilt 
not  meet  a  fire  after  this."  They  were  both  thrown 
into  the  fire.  They  were  true  believers,  professing 
the  unity  of  God,  and  did  not  belong  to  the 
Christian  creed  of  this  age  (who  profess  the  trinity). 
Shocked  at  these  cruelties,  a  man  of  the  name  of 
Du  Tha'leban*  j,UX*S'  ^  (6Ubm)  went  to 
Caesar  to  ask  him  for  his  aid.  The  emperor  wrote 
to  the  Nejashi  (the  king  of  Abyssinia)  about  the  case, 
as  he  was  nearer.  This  gave  origin  to  the  invasion 
of  the  Abyssinians  in  Yemen,  who  kept  this  country 
in  subjection  till  (Yusoff )  Du  Yasan  ^y*j*  solicited 
the  assistance  of  several  kings,  which  was  at  last 
granted  to  him  by  Anushirwan,  as  we  have  de- 
scribed in  our  books,  the  Akhbar  ez-zeman  and  the 
Kitab  el-ausat;  and  we  shall  give  a  summary  of 
these  events  in  the  (forty-third)  chapter,  where  we 
speak  on  the  Adwa^  and  kings  of  Yemen.  The  story 
of  the  contrivers  of  the  pit  is  mentioned  in  the 


*  Procopius  gives  him  the  name  Kais. 

f  The  name  Yusof  is  only  in  the  Cambridge  copy.  Yazan 
is  a  Wadi  (in  Yemen),  and  Du  Yazan  a  Himyarite  king  who  was 
in  possession  of  this  Wadi.  (Kamus,  p.  1 81 6.) 

I  Adwa  \j&\  is  the  plural  of  Du,  and  means  literally  pos- 
sessed of:  here  it  implies  the  chiefs  whose  surnames  began  with 
Du. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  135 

Koran*,  from  the  words,  "Killed  are  the  con- 
trivers of  the  pit/'  to  the  words,  "They  had 
nothing  to  revenge  on  them  but  their  belief  on  the 
almighty  and  glorious  God." 

Khaled  Ben  Sinan  el-Absi  lived  also  in  the 
Fatrah:  his  full  name  was  Khaled  Ben  Sinan 
Ben'Ayyath  (Ghaith?)  Ben  JAbs  ^U-»  ^  «^ 
y^xc  ^  dvx  ^>.  He  has  been  mentioned  by 
the  Prophetf,  who  says,  ""  There  was  a  prophet 
who  has  been  destroyed  by  his  nation."  The  story 
is  this :  a  fire  rose  in  Arabia,  and  caused  a  great 
commotion  and  disturbances  amongst  the  Arabs; 
so  that  fire-worship  was  making  its  way  amongst 
them.  Khaled  took  a  club,  and  struck  on  the  fire, 
exclaiming,  "Begin!  begin!  every  grace  from  God 
alone  we  win :  I  enter  the  flames,  and  they  blaze 
high;  I  come  out  from  them,  and  my  reward  is 
nigh^:"  and  he  extinguished  the  fire.  When  he 
was  dying,  he  said  to  his  brothers,  "  When  I  am 


*  Surah  Ixxxv.,  from  the  fourth  to  the  eighth  verse. 

t  When  the  Beni  'Abs  sent  delegates  to  Mohammed  he 
seems  jiot  yet  to  have  been  aware  of  Khaled's  death  ;  so  that  it 
appears  this  religious  commotion  was  contemporaneous  with  Mo- 
hammed. (Siyar  el-Halebi,  Cairo,  1248,  A.H.  p.  378.) 

J   The  copies  differ  materially;  I  followed  this    reading:  — 


JJ  (read 


136  EL-MAS'UDi's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

buried,  a  herd  of  wild  asses,  of  the  Himyarites,  will 
come,  and  an  ass  without  a  tail,  who  goes  in  front 
of  them,  will  kick  with  his  hoof  on  my  grave. 
When  you  see  that,  open  the  grave,  for  I  shall 
come  forth  from  it,  and  give  you  information  about 
everything."  When  they  had  buried  him,  they 
saw  what  he  had  foretold;  and  they  intended  to 
take  him  out.  Some  of  them,  however,  objected  to 
it,  and  said,  "  We  fear  the  Arabs  will  blame  us  if 
we  disturb  the  rest  of  the  dead."  When  his  daugh- 
ter came  to  the  Prophet,  and  heard  him  reciting 
(the  words  of  the  Koran):  cc  Say!  he  is  the  only 
God  the  Eternal,"  she  said,  "  The  same  words 
have  been  used  by  my  father."  We  shall  further 
speak  of  this  man  in  another  part  of  this  book. 

£ 

El-Mas'udi  says,  Riat  esh-Shanni  &£A\  v^L^, 
(tfUJJ  v^)  lived  also  in  the  Fatrah:  he  belonged 
first  to  the  tribe  of  'Abd  el-Kais*,  and  then  to  the 
Shann  tribe.  He  was  a  believer  in  the  religion  of 
the  Messiah  (?),  previous  to  the  mission  of  Moham- 
med. [They  heard  a  voice  from  heaven :  "  Three 
persons  on  earth  are  good:  Riat  esh-Shanni,, 


*  'Abd  el-Kais  Ben  Aksa  iS*aS\  /.jj  (j*A*H  «>^ft  was 
the  father  of  a  tribe  which  belonged  to  the  Asad  family,  and  had 
its  quarters  in  el-Bahrain.  (Add.  MS.  of  the  Brit.  Museum, 
7596.)  The  Abucei  of  Ptolemy  seem  to  imply  this  tribe,  which 
was  very  powerful.  Shann  was  also  a  son  of  Aksa. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  137 

Bohairah  the  monk,  and  another  man  who  is  to 
come."  By  the  last  the  Prophet  was  meant*.]  It 
was  observed  that  the  grave  of  every  child  of  Riat 
was  bedewed  by  a  slight  rain. 

Another  man  who  lived  in  the  Fatrah  was 
As'ad  Abu  Karib  el-Himyarit.  He  was  a  believer 
in  the  Prophet  seven  hundred  years  before  his 
mission.  He  said, 

cf  I  declare  that  Ahmed  is  a  prophet  of  God,  the 
Creator  of  life ;  and  if  I  was  to  live  to  his  time  I 
should  be  his  Vizier  and  his  nephew." 

He  was  the  first  who  clad  the  Ka'ba  with 
leather,  saying, 

"  I  clothe  the  house  which  is  to  be  sacred  by 
the  command  of  God,  surrounding  it  with  a  rich 
cover  of  various  colours." 

Koss  Ben  Sa'idah,  of  the  tribe  of  lyad  Ben 
Nizar  Ben  Ma'add  j\y  /.^  <iL>J  ^  sJtcLa  ^.j  u*o 

*x**°  CU^  0>0  was  a  philosopher  of  the  Arabs,  and 
believed  that  God  sends  prophets.  It  is  him  who 
said,  "  Who  lives  dies,  and  who  dies  flies;  and  all 
what  is  growing  devours  what  is  going."  His 
wisdom  and  intelligence  became  proverbial.  El- 


*  This  sentence  is  only  in  the  copy  of  Leyden. 
f  His  full   name  is    L*j£XT     /.w    <-^J"   ^\    «Xx«*t  I      he 
was  the  middle  Tobba'. 


138  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


A'sha  ,<&fi5M  says,  "  Wiser  *  than  Koss,  and 
braver  than  the  inmate  of  the  cavern,  in  the  thick 
wood  at  Khaffan"  (i.e.  the  lion). 

There  came  delegates  from  lyad  to  the  Pro- 
phet, and  he  asked  them  about  Koss.  They 
replied  that  he  was  dead;  and  Mohammed  said, 
'"  It  is  as  if  I  saw  him  in  the  fair  of  'Okatf  l&Ke: 
he  was  sitting  on  a  red  camel,,  and  said,  '  O  people! 
assemble,  hear,  and  cry,  Who  lives  dies,  and  who 
dies  flies;  and  what  is  growing  devours  what  is 
going.  But  then,  the  heaven  gives  us  information, 

*  El-Mas'udf  writes  y^Jj  A,  +£.s»\  ;  but  the  saying  seems  to 
have  been  (JfJf  ^  t^k^J.  See  el-Mai'dani,  vol.  i.  p.  467,  and 
p.  189;  and  D'Herbelot. 

t  'Okat  is  the  fair  in  the  open  country  between  Nakhlah 
XX=£?  and  et-Tayif.  It  began  in  the  new  moon  of  Dul-Ki'dah 
and  lasted  twenty  days.  The  Arabic  tribes  used  to  assemble 
there  to  recite  their  poetries,  each  tribe  boasting  of  their  glory 
^^TlxAj.  From  this  fair  the  'Okati  leather  has  its  name. 
The  Arabs  used  also  to  ransom  their  prisoners  at  'Okat,  to  pay 
the  price  of  blood,  and  to  settle  their  quarrels  before  an  arbitrator 
*J*Ls.,  that  the  pilgrimage  to  which  they  proceeded  from  'Okat 
might  be  a  ceremony  of  national  unanimity  and  peace.  (MS.  of 
the  Brit.  Museum,  7353.)  The  words  j^'  ^  *£-»!  seem  to 
refer  to  arbitration  ;  for  en-Nowairi  informs  us  that  he  used  to  say, 

the  prosecutor  .^cjJ  ^  is  to  bring  evidence,  and  the  defendant, 
if  he  denies  the  charge,  is  to  swear.  Hence  it  would  appear  that 
he  acted  as  arbitrator.  Perhaps  I  ought  to  have  translated  the 
above  words,  "  a  better  arbitrator  than  Koss.0 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  139 

and  the  earth  calls  us  to  contemplation :  the  seas 
raise  waves,  and  the  stars  set:  the  roof  (of  the 
heavens)  is  raised,  and  the  ground  (of  the  earth)  is 
firmly  placed*.'  Koss  swore  by  God:  '  There  is  a 
faith  which  is  more  acceptable  to  the  Lord  than 
your  religion.  What  may  be  the  reason  that  men 
pass  away,  and  do  not  return  ?  Do  they  like  to  be 
there?  or  have  they  ended,  and  do  they  sleep? 
They  all  go  the  same  way,  although  their  actions 
are  different/  He  said  (continued  the  Prophet) 
some  verses,  which  I  have  forgotten." 

Abu  Bekr  es-Sadik  rose,  and  said,  "  I  recollect 
those  verses,  O  Prophet  of  God ;"  and  he  recited 
them  thus : — 

"  We  have  an  example  in  the  famous  men  who 
passed  before  us,  since  I  observe  they  went  towards 
death  without  resistance.  I  observed  the  same  in 
my  contemporaries:  they  fade,  great  and  little. 


En-Nowairl 

(p.  137  MS.  of  Leyden,   N.   273)   quotes  these  words  of  Koss, 
adding,     ^\    &\*    ^l^^     ^     ^    j^'j     ^     'if^'f 

The  solemn  protestation  which  follows  begins  in  en-Nowa'iri, 
"If  there  was  pleasure  on  earth,  we  should  have  to  expect 
sorrow  after  this  life.  There  is  a  faith,  &c."  These  words 
explain  the  meaning  of  the  sentences  which  follow. 


140  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

He  who  is  gone  will  never  return  ;  and  those  who 
are  still  alive  will  not  remain  behind.  I  am  sure 
no  exception  will  be  made  where  they  all  go  to*.0 

The  Prophet  said, ' l  God  may  be  merciful  to  Koss, 
and  I  hope  he  will  honour  him  with  his  bounty." 

El-Mas'udi  says,  Koss  made  himself  known  by 
many  poems,  sentences  of  wisdom,  and  distin- 
guished actions,  for  an  account  of  which  we  refer 
our  readers  to  our  book.,  the  Akhbar  ez-zeman  and 
Kitab  el-ausat,  where  we  have  also  spoken  of  his 
researches  in  medicine  and  soothsaying  from  birds 
and  other  omens,  and  his  knowledge  in  other 
branches  of  natural  philosophy . 

Another  famous  man  of  the  Fatrah  was  Zeid 
Ben  'Amr  Ben  Nofai'l  ,>/ju  ^j  ^^^  ^j  Abu 
Za'id,  the  son  of  Zeid  Joj  ^...j  *XA***  ^.j!,  was  one  of 
the  Tenf  (whom  Mohammed  had  promised  that 
they  would  enter  the  Paradise) ,  and  the  nephew  of 
'Omar  Ben  el-Khattab.  Being  against  idolatry,  he 
expressed  freely  his  opinion.  El-Khattab  informed 
the  ignorant  of  Mekka  about  it,  and  gave  him  into 

*  Death  is  the  phenomenon  which  calls  man  to  reflexion, 
although  he  may  still  live  in  that  happy  social  state  in  which  his 
vital  spirits  are  healthy  enough  to  enjoy  the  present,  regardless  of 
the  past  and  future :  hence  elegies  of  this  character  are  frequent 
amongst  the  Bedouins,  and  their  tunes  are  melancholy.  A  beau- 
tiful specimen  is  in  the  Hamasa,  p.  44. 

f  He  must  mean  Sa'd.  See  Reiske's  note  to  Abulfeda, 
Annales  Muslemici,  vol.  i.  to  p.  245. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  141 

their  power.  They  persecuted  him,  and  he  took 
up  his  abode  in  a  cavern,  in  Hera  *Jj£»*.  He  came 
secretly  to  Mekka,  whence  he  took  flight  to  Syria ; 
and  there  he  continued  his  speculations  on  religion, 
till  he  was  poisoned  by  the  Christians.  He  died 
in  Syria.  There  passed  several  things  between 
him,  the  king,  and  the  interpreter,  and  between 
him  and  some  Ghasanite  king,  at  Damascus,  which 
we  have  related  in  our  former  works. 

Omaiyah  Ben  Abi-s-Salt  eth-Thakefi  ^  **«\ 
c/j&Jt  <rJUfili  j.\  f  is  also  a  man  who  made  himself 
known  in  the  Fatrah :  he  was  a  poet,  and  a  very 
sound  man.  Being  in  commercial  connexions  with 
Syria,  he  met  there  with  the  believers  in  revelation, 
both  Jews  and  Christians:  he  read  himself  their 
(sacred)  books,  and  knew  that  a  prophet  would 
rise  amongst  the  Arabs.  In  several  poems  he  treats 
on  the  ideas  of  the  followers  of  religion,  describing 
the  heavens  and  earth,  sun  and  moon,  angels  and 
prophets.  He  celebrates  also  the  prophetic  mis- 
sion, the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  the  Paradise,  and 
hell.  He  sang  hymns  to  God,  acknowledging  his 
unity,  as  in  the  words : 

*  This  is  a  mount  three  miles  from  Mekka,   which   was  a 

favourite  summer  residence  of  Mohammed. 
&^j  s  *.*. 

t    X<w«\  is  the  diminutive  form  of  JLoJ  (a  female  slave),  and 

tl^JuaH  is  the  man  famous  in  single  combat.  (Hamasa,  p.  776  ; 
compare  p.  354.) 


142  EL-MAs'uni's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

"Praise  be  to  God.  None  is  like  him;  and 
who  does  not  profess  this  truth  is  unjust  against 
himself." 

The  following  terms  express  his  idea  of  the 
Paradise : 

"  There  is  no  idle  talk,  no  sinful  action,  nor  do 
they  contend  for  fame.  This  is  their  eternal  home." 

When  he  had  heard  of  the  mission  of  the 
Prophet  he  was  full  of  anger  and  indignation,  he 
came  however  to  Medina,  in  order  to  become  a 
Moslem,  but  envy  made  him  alter  his  resolution  and 
he  returned  to  et-Tayif.  One  day  when  he  was 
with  a  girl  at  a  drinking  party,  a  raven  came,  uttered 
three  sounds,  and  flew  a  way  again.  Omaiyah  asked, 
"  Do  you  know  what  the  raven  said?"  they  replied, 
"  No."  He  announced  that  Omaiyah  would  not 
drink  a  third  cup  before  he  would  die.  The  party 
expressed  that  it  was  not  true,  but  he  continued, 
"  Take  your  cups;"  and  when  the  third  cup  came 
to  Omaiyah  he  fainted  away,  and  gave  a  long  time 
no  signs  of  life.  Then  he  said,  tl  I  am  at  your 
service !  at  your  service ! — You  call  me  to  you.  I 
am  of  those  who  have  experienced  grace  and  not 
returned  the  praise  of  thanksgiving.  If  thou  par- 
donest,  O  God,  thou  wilt  forgive  all;  for  where  hast 
thou  a  servant  who  has  not  done  wrong?  "  Then  he 
said  the  following  verses: — 

"  The  day  of  judgment  is  a  serious  day;  and  to 
think  on  this  day  must  make  the  young  grey. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  143 

(i  Would  to  heaven  I  had  been  a  shepherd  of 
wild  goats,  on  the  summits  of  mountains,  before  it 
comes  to  me. 

"  Every  life  is  short,  even  should  it  last  an  age 
before  it  ends." 

After  he  had  said  these  verses  he  sighed,  and  in 
this  sigh  departed  his  soul. 

El-Mas'udi  says,  antiquarians  well  versed  in  the 

battle  days  of  the  Arabs,  and  in  the  history  of  past 

f 
times,  like  Ben  Dab  «^te  (^1  (v^  W0»  al"Haithern 

Ben  'Adi,  Abu  Mikhnaf  Lut  Ben  Yahya  and  Mo- 
hammed Ben  es-Sayib  el-Kelbi  c^vKM  «-vA***M  <^j^  «**^» 
state  that  the  following  story  was  the  origin  of  the 
habit  of  the  Koraishites  to  put  "In  thy  name,  O 
my  God,"  on  the  head  of  their  writings.  Omaiyah 
Ben  Abi-s-Salt,  the  Thakefite,  went  with  a  num- 
ber of  persons  of  his  tribe  and  others  to  Syria. 
On  the  return  of  the  caravan  they  halted  in 
some  station,  and  as  they  were  assembled  at  their 
supper,  a  little  serpent  made  its  appearance  and 
approached  to  them.  One  amongst  them  threw 
sand  on  its  face,,  and  the  serpent  went  back  again. 
They  made  themselves  ready  for  the  journey,  packed 
the  camels,  and  set  out  from  the  station.  A  short 
distance  from  it  an  old  woman  came  from  a  sand- 
hill leaning  on  a  stick,  and  said,  "  Why  have  you 
not  been  kind  enough  to  feed  an  orphan  girl  who 
came  to  you  at  supper?"  They  asked  her,  "Who 


144  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

art  thou?"  She  answered,  "  I  am  the  mother  of 
the  creeper.  You  shall  either  perish  in  some  years, 
or  by  the  Lord,  you  shall  err,  dispersed  through 
the  country."  Then  she  struck  with  her  stick  on 
the  ground  and  said,  stirring  up  the  sand,  "  Long 
be  to  their  homes  the  way,  and  their  animals  shall 
run  away ! "  The  camels  became  shy  as  if  every  one 
of  them  had  a  Satan  on  its  back;  nothing  could 
keep  them  and  they  dispersed  in  the  wadi.  We  were 
occupied  in  gathering  them  from  the  end  of  the  day 
to  the  next  morning,  and  we  hardly  succeeded  in 
bringing  them  together.  When  we  made  them 
kneel  down  to  receive  their  burthens  to  continue 
our  journey,  the  woman  made  again  her  appearance,, 
did  with  her  stick  as  on  the  first  time,  repeating  the 
same  words;  the  camels  became  shy,  and  we  were 
by  no  means  able  to  keep  them.  The  next  day  we 
attempted  again  to  collect  them  and  to  pack  them, 
but  the  woman  came  once  more,  and  having  done 
as  on  the  first  and  second  times,  the  camels  ran  again 
away.  The  next  night  at  moonlight,  we  were  in 
despair  for  our  animals  of  burthen  JQ&\,  and  we  said 
to  Omai'yah  Ben  Abi-s-Salt,  "  What  hast  thou  to  say 
on  our  situation?"  He  went  up  the  sand  hill  from 
which  the  woman  came,  and  having  gone  down  on 
the  other  side  of  the  hill  he  climbed  up  another,  and 
after  he  had  descended  from  that  hill,  he  saw  a 
Christian  chapel  in  which  candles  were  burning,  and 
a  man  with  white  hair  and  beard  was  laying  on  his 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  145 

side  across  the  entrance.  "When  I  stood  before 
him,"  continues  Omaiyah  in  his  tale,  "  he  raised 
his  head,  saying,  '  Hast  thou  a  follower?'  I 
answered,  '  Yes/  He  asked  further,  'From  whence 
does  thy  companion  speak  to  thee?'  I  replied, 
'  From  my  left  ear.'  He  enquired  about  the  colour 
of  his  dress,  and  I  answered,  'He  is  in  black.' 
1  This  is  the  habit  of  the  Genii,  thou  dost  better  not 
do  so.  In  this  affair  one  speaks  to  the  right  ear 
and  the  most  desirable  dress  is  white.  But  what 
do  you  want?'  I  told  him  the  story  of  the  old 
woman,  and  he  said  in  answer,  *  Thou  speakest 
truth.  But  she  is  not  true.  She  is  a  Jewish 
woman,  whose  husband  perished  many  years  ago, 
she  will  go  on  playing  the  same  trick  to  you, 
and  she  will  destroy  you  if  she  can.'  Omaiyah  said, 
*  How  can  we  get  out  of  it?'  He  answered, 
'  Assemble  your  camels,  and  if  she  comes  and  does 
what  she  has  done,  say  seven  times  in  a  high  voice, 
and  seven  times  in  a  low  voice,  "  In  thy  name,,  O 
God!"  and  she  will  not  be  able  to  do  you  any 
harm. '  '- 

Omaiyah  returned  to  the  caravan,  and  related 
there  what  he  had  heard.  The  old  woman  came 
and  did  as  she  had  done  on  former  occasions,  and 
he  pronounced  seven  times  in  a  high  voice,  and 
seven  times  in  a  low  voice,  "  In  thy  name,  O  God." 
After  that  the  camels  did  not  move.  The  woman 
said,  "  I  know  your  man,  he  is  white  at  the  top  and 

L 


146  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

black  at  the  bottom."  They  continued  their  journey ; 
and  the  next  morning  they  saw  that  Omai'yah  was 
attacked  with  leprosy  on  his  face,  neck,,  and  chest, 
whilst  the  lower  part  of  his  body  was  black.  When 
they  came  to  Mekka  they  related  this  event,  and 
the  inhabitants  of  that  city  began  to  put  at  the 
head  of  their  writings,  "  In  thy  name,,  our  God 
l*$Xn  jC***lj"  This  formula  was  in  use  till  the 
Islam  was  introduced ;  then  it  was  replaced  by  the 
formula,  "In  the  name  of  the  merciful,  clement 
God!" 

Omai'yah  had  several  adventures  besides  this, 
which  we  have  related  in  our  Akhbar  ez-zeman  and 
other  works. 

Warakah  (Warikah)  Ben  Naufel  Ben  Asad 
Ben  Abdul-' Ozza  Ben  Kosai'y  ^.^  JJ^j  (Jjrj  XS^ 
^A^i*  ^j  <fy*JJ  *XAC  ^j  *x^,  the  uncle  of  Khadijah, 
the  daughter  of  Khowai'lid,  the  wife  of  the  Prophet, 
lived  also  in  the  Fatrah.  The  perusal  of  the  Scrip- 
tures led  him  to  enter  into  discussions,  for  he  was 
anxious  to  pick  up  knowledge,  and  to  shake  off 
idolatry.  He  informed  Khadijah  that  Mohammed 
would  be  the  Prophet  of  the  Arabic  nation,  but  that 
he  would  be  ill-treated  and  disclaimed  as  a  story- 
teller. He  met  the  Prophet,  and  said  to  him,  "  O 
my  cousin  (dear  friend),  be  firm  in  thy  career,  and 
by  him,  in  whose  hand  is  the  soul  of  Warakah, 
thou  art  the  Prophet  of  this  nation.  Thou  wilt  be 
ill-treated,  and  called  a  liar.  They  will  drive  thee 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  147 

out  from  thy  house,  and  fight  against  thee.  My  only 
wish  is  to  be  still  alive  then,  that  I  could  lend  my 
aid  to  the  cause  of  God." 

It  is  controverted  whether  he  died  as  a  Christian 
or  as  a  Moslim ;  for  some  authors  say  that  he  was  no 
more  alive  when  Mohammed  entered  his  prophetic 
office,  whilst  others  bring  forward  the  following 
words,  which  he  said  in  praise  of  Mohammed: 

"  He  is  mild,  forgiving,  and  never  revengeful, 
refraining  anger  and  bitter  feelings  when  he  receives 
injury." 

Another  man  who  lived  in  the  Fatrah  was 
'Odasah,  a  freed  slave  of  'Otbah  Ben  Ilabi'ah 
Syujj  Cj^  *^c  £**  *~^*xc  *,  who  was  a  native  of 
Ninive ;  and  he  met  the  Prophet  at  et-Tayif,  when 
he  was  come  there  to  preach  the  Islam  to  that 
town.  He  had,  on  this  occasion,  long  discussions 
with  the  inhabitants,  in  the  palm-grove.  Although 
he  had  acknowledged  the  Prophet,  he  fell  as  a 
Christian  in  the  battle  of  Bedr. 

o  ^ 

Abu  Kais  Sarmah  Ben  Abi  Anas  &*j&  y^/Jf  ^»\ 
was  one  °f  the  Ansar  belonging  to 


*  'Otbah  was  the  father  of  Hind,  Mo'awiyah's  mother. 

t  The  author  of  the  Kamus  (p.  1650)  seems  not  to  be  very 

J       O 

sure  about  this  name;  he  says,   /.wl    3!     iy*t?    (•  ?i     *-«y^ 
2Loj40  ji\  j\  (jMJt  J-t  i*yi\  ^  (J*^^     Hence    I   preferred  the 

pronunciation  marked  in  the  copy  of  Leyden. 

L  2 


148  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


the  Beni  en-Nejjar  ^ls\M-  He  devoted  himself  to 
an  abstemious  life,  dressed  in  rough  clothes,  and 
disapproved  of  idolatry,  consecrating  the  house  in 
which  he  lived  to  a  chapel,  from  which  menstruat- 
ing women  and  polluted  persons  were  excluded  ; 
and  he  professed  to  worship  the  God  of  Ibrahim. 
When  the  Prophet  came  to  Medinah,  he  embraced 
the  Islam,  and  proved  a  good  Moslim.  For  him 
the  verse  of  the  Koran  *  was  revealed  which  is 
called^snJJ  x»t  (the  verse  of  the  day-break  J,  which 
runs,  u  Eat  and  drink,  until  you  can  plainly  dis- 
tinguish a  white  thread  from  a  black  thread  by  the 
day-break."  The  following  words  on  Mohammed 
have  been  said  by  him  :  '  '  There  lives  a  number  of 
ten  persons  amongst  the  Koraishites  who  are  visit- 
ing Mekka,  to  see  whether  they  find  a  man  who 
•loves  truth." 

Abu  'Amir  el-Ausi,  whose  name  was  'Abd 
'Amr  Ben  Saifi  Ben  en-No'man,  of  the  Beni  'Amr 
Ben  'Auf,  who  belong  to  the  el-Aus  tribe  ^-«U  ^>\ 


u»jW  c>  *•***  (jj-^  *)*  <&t  wno   ^s  the  same  person 
as  Abu  Hantalahj  and  has  the  surname  Ghasil  el- 


Malayikah  xL^I  J^^,  was  a  chief,  and  had  lived 
abstemious,  in  rough  clothes,  at  the  time  of  igno- 


*  In  the  second  Surah. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  149 

ranee.  When  the  Prophet  came  to  Medina,  he 
had  a  long  conversation  with  him:  subsequently  he 
left  that  city,  with  fifty  slave  boys,  and  died  in 
Syria,  as  a  Christian. 

Another  man  of  the  Fatrah  is  'Abdullah  Ben 
Jahsh  el-Asadi  tf*x*^  (jksi  /^j  <*MI  &*.&. :  he  was 
of  the  tribe  of  Asad  Ben  Khozai'mah  X^iy^,  and  the 
husband  of  Omm  Habibah,  who  was  the  daughter 
of  Abi  Sofyan  Ben  Harb,  before  she  was  married 
to  the  Prophet.  He  had  read  the  Scriptures,  and 
inclined  to  Christianity.  When  Mohammed  had 
entered  his  prophetic  office,  he  emigrated,  with 
other  Moslims,  to  Abyssinia,  and  with  him  his  wife, 
Omm  Habibah.  There  he  apostatized  from  the 
Islam,  and  died  as  a  Christian. 

S-      £ 

He  used  to  say  ^'A^^  USSVAJ  t>!  that  is  to 
say,,  "  We  see,  and  you  attempt  to  open  your  eyes." 
The  expressions  of  this  saying  are  taken  from 
young  dogs;  for  it  is  said  of  a  dog,  when  he  opens 

the  eyes  after  birth,  ^Jij  &3  (he  opens  his  eyes)  ; 
but  if  he  attempts  to  open  his  eyes,  and  is  unable 

*      £ 

to  do  it,  it  is  said  U>U>.  After  his  deatlv,  the 
Nijashi  (the  king  of  Abyssinia)  married  Omm 
Habibah,  the  daughter  of  Abi  Sofyan  to  the 
Prophet,  and  gave  her  a  dowry  of  four  hundred 
dinars. 

O-j 

Bohaira  l^os?  the  monk,  lived  also  in  the  Fatrah; 
he  was  a  believer  on  Christ,  and  his  name  in 


150  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

Christian  books  is  Serjis  (Sergius)  u*^.**.  Bohaira 
was  of  the  Abdulkais  tribe.  When  Mohammed 
went  to  Syria  with  Abu  Taleb,  Abu  Bekr,  and 
Belal,  at  an  age  of  thirteen  years,  on  mercantile 
business,  they  passed  by  Bohaira,  who  was  sitting 
in  his  cell,  and  he  recognized  the  Prophet,  com- 
paring his  appearance  and  the  signs  which  he 
bore  on  him  with  what  he  had  found  in  his  books, 
and  observing  the  cloud  which  shaded  him  whenever 
he  sat  down.  Bohaira  received  them  as  guests, 
paid  them  great  respects,  and  gave  them  refresh- 
ments. He  went  forth  from  his  cell  to  see  the  seal 
of  the  prophetship,  between  the  shoulders  of  the 
Prophet,  he  placed  his  hand  upon  it  and  believed  on 
him.  Bohaira  informed  Abu  Bekr  and  Belal  of  his 
destination,  and  he  asked  him  to  come  back  with 
him  the  same  way.  He  guarded  them  to  be 
watchful  for  him  against  the  believers  on  the 
Scriptures.  His  uncle,  Abu  Taleb,  having  received 
this  information,  returned  with  him.  When  he  was 
come  back  from  his  journey  to  Mekka,  he  began  his 
acquaintance  with  Khadijah,  and  the  signs  were 
wrought  which,  together  with  the  account  which  she 
received  of  his  journey,  made  her  believe  that  he 
was  a  prophet. 

El-Mas'iidi  says,  This  is  a  review  of  the  history 
from  the  Creation  as  far  as  we  have  followed  it  up. 
We  attended  only  to  those  facts  which  are  stated  in 
the  revelation  and  related  in  the  books  (Scriptures, 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  151 

particularly  the  Koran,)  and  which  have  been 
explained  by  the  prophets.  Now  we  shall  trace  the 
beginning  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  Hindus  and 
review  briefly  their  religious  speculations,  then  we 
will  follow  up  the  history  of  other  empires,  having 
given  an  account  of  the  history  of  the  Kings  of  the 
Israelites,  as  we  have  found  it  in  the  sacred  books. 


152  EL-MAS'IIDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


SEVENTH  CHAPTER. 

An  abridged  account  of  the  Hindus,  their  religious 
opinions,  and  the  origin  of  their  kingdoms. 

EL-MAS'UDI  says,  all  historians  who  unite  maturity 
of  reflexion  with  depth  of  research,  and  who  have  a 
clear  insight  into  the  history  of  mankind  and  its 
origin,  are  unanimous  in  their  opinion,  that  the 
Hindus  have  been  in  the  most  ancient  times  that 
portion  of  the  human  race  which  enjoyed  the  bene- 
fits of  peace  and  wisdom.  When  men  formed 
themselves  into  bodies,  and  assembled  into  commu- 
nities, the  Hindus  exerted  themselves  to  join  them 
with  their  empire,  and  to  subject  their  countries,  to 
the  end  that  they  might  be  the  rulers.  The  great 
men  amongst  them  said,  "  We  are  the  beginning 
and  end;  we  are  possessed  of  perfection,  pre-emi- 
nence, and  completion.  All  that  is  valuable  and 
important  in  the  life  of  this  world  owes  its  origin  to 
us.  Let  us  not  permit  that  anybody  shall  resist 
or  oppose  us;  let  us  attack  any  one  who  dares  to 
draw  his  sword  against  us,  and  his  fate  will  be  flight 
or  subjection." 

They  were  prevailed  upon  by  these  consider- 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  153 

ations  to  elect  a  king.  He  was  the  highest 
Barahman,  the  greatest  king,  and  the  foremost 
Imam.  In  his  days  flourished  philosophy,  and  the 
wise  men  stood  at  the  head  of  the  nation.  They 
extracted  iron  from  the  mines,  and  forged  swords, 
daggers,  and  several  sorts  of  warlike  instruments : 
they  raised  temples,  adorned  them  with  precious 
stones  of  the  finest  lustre,  represented  in  these  tem- 
ples the  spheres  of  the  heavens,  the  twelve  zodiacal 
signs,  and  the  stars.  They  gave  by  representation 
an  idea  of  the  system  of  the  worlds,  and  went  even 
so  far  as  to  show  by  these  means  the  influence  of 
the  stars  on  this  world,  and  the  way  in  which  they 
produce  the  different  animals,  both  rational  and 
irrational.  There  was  the  position  of  the  greatest 
ruler  to  be  seen,  that  is  to  say,  the  SUN. 

The  Barahman  wrote  a  book,  which  contained 
the  proofs  of  all  these  subjects,  and  conveyed  a 
clear  idea  of  them  to  the  minds  of  the  Exoteric 
J^xJt,  whilst  he  implanted  into  the  minds  of  the 
Esoteric  <_j^iLl  the  knowledge  of  what  is  above  all 
that,  pointing  to  him  who  is  the  first  cause,  and 
called  all  beings  to  existence,  embracing  them  with 
his  bounty.  The  Hindus  obeyed  this  king.  Their 
country  was  well  cultivated,  and  he  made  them 
enjoy  the  utmost  of  worldly  prosperity. 

He  assembled  the  wise  men,  and  they  composed 


154  EL   MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

during   his   reign    the    book   es-Sind-hind,    which 
means  ''The  last  end  of  the  ends*."     Upon  this 

Ja*»sls\j  j^^y\   i_Ax£T    <_*X£jJ    C^ejJ   xLejjj&M     +&* 

*  M.  Colebooke( Dissertation  on  the  Algebra  of  the  Hindus,) 
identifies  the  Sind-hind  with  the  Siddhanta  of  Brahmegupta,  who 
lived  about  twelve  hundred  years  ago.  The  meaning  of  Sind- 
hind,  as  explained  by  our  author,  confirms  the  identity  of  the 
two  words,  for  Siddhanta  means  the  perfect  end.  But  the 
Sind-hind  in  question  must  be  another  astronomical  work  of  the 
name  of  Siddhanta,  than  that  of  Brahmegupta;  for  the  Arkand 
and  Arjabhar  are  more  ancient  than  Brahmegupta,  whereas  they 
are  here  stated  to  be  derived  from  the  Sind-hind  ;  besides,  it  seems 
that  the  theories  here  alluded  to  by  el-Mas 'udi  are  of  an  earlier 
date  than  those  of  Brahmegupta.  This  is  of  importance  for  the 
history  of  astronomy,  and  particularly  for  the  history  of  the  dis- 
covery of  the  precession  of  the  equinox,  and  the  connexion  of 
this  theory  with  some  ancient  chronologies ;  for  it  would  appear 
that  the  Arabs  had  no  original  translation  of  the  Siddhanta  ;  but 
that  only  the  system  had  been  known  to  them  ;  and  if  later  authors 
allude  to  the  Sind-hind,  the  system  of  the  Siddhanta,  as  laid 
down  in  the  work  el-Khowarezmi,  which  bears  the  title  es-Sind- 
hind,  is  meant. 

This  is  clearly  stated  by  the  author  of  the  Fihrist,  who  must 
be  considered  as  the  highest  authority  in  these  points,  on  account 
of  his  exactness  in  bibliography  and  proximity  in  time,  having 
written  377  A.H.  :  ^^Jyu  *<**^  **>j&  J**'  O"^J  <j_>^ 
J04  Juu»SL  ^iJj*^  Jlx!^  b$\  *&j  ^c  "The  astrono- 
mers trusted  before  and  after  the  observation  on  his  two  tables, 
which  together  were  known  under  the  name  of  Sind-hind."  He 
means  the  tables  of  Mohammed  Ben  Musa  el-Khowarezmi,  who 
was  one  of  the  astronomers  of  el-Mamun.  Would  they  not  have 
taken  the  Siddhanta  itself  as  a  standard  work,  if  they  had  had 
another  translation  than  a  paraphrase  of  a  Persian  work  on  this 
system.  Compare  chapter  126  infra,  note. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  155 

book   other    works    are  founded,    as    the    Arjab- 

The  statement  of  the  Fihrist  is  further  explained  and  con- 
firmed by  el-Kefti  (Bibl.  Philosoph.  MS.  of  Leyden,  No.  159), 
who  states,  that  el-Khowarezmi  was  a  follower  of  the  Sind-hind, 
which  was  one  of  the  three  Hindu  systems  of  astronomy.  I 
insert  his  own  words,  without  correcting  the  faults,  and  without 
translation;  for  I  have  at  this  moment  no  means  of  verifying  the 
proper  names  which  occur  in  the  passage  :  — 


(3"***      (^   *X*:SS 


But  if  the  Arabs  have  not  been  in  possession  of  a  translation 
of  the  Siddhanta,  how  could  they  be  acquainted  with  the  system  ? 
Various  reasons  make  us  believe  that  they  received  it  from  the 
Persians,  whose  literary  connexion  with  the  Hindus  is  historically 
proved.  First,  the  theory,  as  it  is  exhibited  here,  seems  to  be  a 
combination  of  that  of  Persia  and  India,  as  further  notes  tend  to 
show.  Second,  almost  all  Arabic  astrology  comes  from  the  Per- 
sians, and  their  astronomy  was  derived  from  the  same  source 
previous  to  the  translation  of  the  ^eyia-rr]  trvvral-is.  For  this  rea- 
son most  terms  are  borrowed  from  the  Persians,  although  some 
of  them  may  ultimately  be  Sanscrit  ;  and  the  most  early  Arabic 
astronomers  were  natives  of  such  parts  of  Persia,  which  had  ever 
been  famous  schools  of  science,  as  Balkh,  &c.,  or  of  Harran. 
Third,  Hamzah,  of  Isfahan,  a  contemporary  of  el-Mas'iidi,  (apud 
Anquetil  Du  Perron,  torn,  ii.,  p.  352,)  refers  to  a  book  based  upon 


156  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

bar*  and  the  Almagest:  from  the  Arjabharthe  Ark- 

the  Avesta  of  Zoroaster,  which  contains  a  similar  theory.  "  Le 
dieu  supreme  a  fixe  a  12,000  ans  la  vie  (la  duree)  du  monde,  du 
commencement  a  la  fin.  Le  monde  resta  sans  mal  pendant  3000 
ans,  dans  sa  partie  superieure,"  &c. 

Es-Sind-hind  was.  therefore,  as  the  above  passages  unequivo- 
cally prove,  at  the  same  time  the  name  of  the  Siddhanta  system  of 
astronomy,  the  only  astronomical  system  of  the  Hindus  known  to 
the  Arabs;  and  of  an  original  Arabic  work  on  this  system. 
Admitting  that  it  was  considered  in  the  first  sense  as  a  Sanscrit 
word,  meaning  the  perfect  end,  I  should  suppose,  in  order  to 
account  for  the  seemingly  arbitrary  alteration  of  the  sound,  that 
it  is  in  the  second  sense  an  imitation  of  the  Sanscrit  term  in  two 
Arabic  words,  (as  the  Arabs  are  very  fond  of  plays  on  words,)  and 

that  one  ought  to  read  <X*gH  <XA«J. J<Ju*Ji  means  that  a  tradition 

is  mosnad,orthat  one  can  point  out  the  persons  through  whom  it  has 
been  handed  down,  up  to  Mohammed.  But  the  word  is  also  used 
in  a  similar  meaning  in  other  instances,  and  not  only  in  speaking 
of  traditions  as,  JsJJ  jfo  U,  ^  Vj  yJJ  iU  cAAixJJ  U^ 

oV*^  U^1*^  ^4&  ft^xM  <^*~»  ^UajuN).  "There  is  nota 
trace  to  be  found  of  the  philosophical  sciences  (in  the  Maghrib,) 
and  still  less  a  system,  because  the  continuance  of  instruction  has 
been  interrupted  by  the  destruction  of  civilization."  &^\  jj^ 
might  therefore  mean  continuance  of  (the  system)  of  the  Hindus 
or  introduction  of  the  Hindu  system  amongst  the  Mohammedans. 

Ya'kub  Ben  Tarik  o^Ub  /.jj  vy^V.  wrote  a  work,  in  two 
books,  the  first  of  which  contains  the  science  of  the  spheres  of 
the  heaven ;  and  the  second  shows  how  they  exercised  their  influ- 
ence upon  the  fate  of  dynasties.  He  professed  to  follow  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Siddhanta,  and  calls  his  work  Zij  es-Sind-hind.  Of  a 
more  scientific  character  seems  to  be  the  Zij  es-Sind-hind  of  Ibn 
Amahurji^.LcJ,  whose  full  name  is  Abul-Kasim  'Abdullah  Ben 
Amahur.  These  two  authors  lived  both  before  the  middle  of 
the  fourth  century. 

*  This  is  the  name  for  aryabhatta.     The  Sanscrit  t,  it  is  to  be 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  157 

and*  derives  its  origin,  and  from  the  Almagest  the 
book  of  Ptolemy  t,  and  subsequently  the  Astrono- 
mical Tables;}:  have  been  based  upon  them. 

They  invented  the  nine  figures  which  form  the 


read)  Xx 


remembered,  is  the  character  of  a  peculiar  sound  often  mistaken 
for  r,  and  which  the  Arabs  were  likely  so  to  write,  rather  than 
with  a  te  or  a  tau.  The  Hindi  t  is  generally  written  by  the 
English  in  India  with  an  r  ;  example,  Ber  (vatd,*)  the  Indian  fig, 
vulg.  Banian  tree  (Colebrooke  ibidem}. 

*  Arkand  is  a  corruption  of  Area,  which  is  still  prevalent  in 
the  vulgar  Hindi  (Idem^  ibidem). 

f  The  words,  "  The  Book  of  Ptolemy,"  are  probably  an  appo- 
sition to  Almagest  instead,  "  which  is  a  book  of  Ptolemy."  In 
this  case,  the  names  of  the  numerous  works  which  owe  their 
origin  to  the  Almagest,  are  left  out  by  the  copyist.  Not  only  all 
MSS.  of  el-Mas'udi,  but  also  the  transcript  of  this  passage  in 
en-Nowairi  (MS.  of  Leyden,  N.  273,  p.  956)  has  this  mistake. 
If  the  words,  "  The  books  of  Ptolemy,"  are  not  an  apposition, 
el-Mas'udi  must  mean  the  liber  quadripartitus  of  Ptolemy  ; 
for  he  knew  perfectly  well  that  the  Almagest  is  the  work  of 
Ptolemy,  and  calls  him  occasionally  "  the  author  of  the  Almagest." 

t  Cl>Ls£  \JJ,  sing.  f~\'fi\.  This  word  is  derived  from  the 
Persian  *\  (a  corde),  and  means  the  Astronomical  Tables  upon 
which  the  Astronomical  Kalendar 


is  made.      From  this  word  &s:!yj  is   to  be  distin- 
guished, which  is   derived  from  the    Persian  J-,\»   (birth),  and 


158  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

numeric  system  of  the  Hindus*.  Barahman  was 
the  first  who  explained  the  apogseon  of  the  sun; 
and  stated  that  the  apogseont  is  three  thousand 
years];  in  every  sign  of  the  Zodiac:  at  present, 

i_#I   S5ULS   z^$  J   ^  W  j*>  u"*^J  ^  4  (Jtf 

means  the  square  or  circle  drawn  round  the  stars  in  a  certain 
region  of  the  heavens  by  astrologers  in  casting  nativity.  (MS. 
of  Leyden,  N.  514.) 

*  The  Zero,  which  is  expressed  by  a  dot  by  the  Arabs,  is 
not  considered  as  a  figure. 

-j-  Auj,  apogeum,  is  a  term  borrowed  from  the  Persian,  in  this 
language  it  is  written,  x.^  or  S$\  ug.  g>}$\  jfo  the  orbit 
of  the  apogeum  is  the  name  for  the  ecliptic,  which  is  also  called 
the  excentric  orbit  %TJMjr  JULj  <j5jM?  because  its  centre  does 
not  coincide  with  the  centre  of  the  earth.  The  period  of  a  revo- 
lution of  this  orbit  is  called yuga  of  the  solstice  in  Sanscrit,  hence 
it  is  very  likely  that  the  Persian  word  ug,  is  derived  from  yuga. 
These  two  words  have  a  great  affinity  with  the  Greek  mwj/,  which 
is  to  be  written  with  a  digamma.  It  seems  that  this  term 
migrated  and  changed  its  meaning  with  the  idea. 

f  Siirya  Siddhanta,  and  the  herd  of  Hindu  astronomers, 
reckon  the  motion  of  trepidation  to  a  degree  and  a-half  in  a  cen- 
tury; whereas  here  one  degree  is  reckoned.  It  is  therefore  very 
likely  that  the  researches  of  these  astronomers  had  not  been  known 
to  el-Mas'udi,  else  he  would  have  taken  them  up  the  readier  as 
el-Battani  had  come  nearly  to  the  same  result  about  thirty  years 
before  the  Meadows  of  Gold  was  written ;  computing  the  motion 
of  the  stars  at  a  degree  in  sixty-six  years.  The  period  of  three 
thousand  years  is  mentioned  in  the  Zend-Avesta,  (Boun-Dehesch, 
Paris  1771,  torn,  ii.,  pp.  345  and  347).  The  circumstance 
that  el-Mas'udi  takes  no  notice  of  the  corrections  of  the  trepidation 
which  had  been  discovered,  is  a  corroboration  of  what  is  said  in 
the  note,  p.  154,  supra. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  159 

that  is  to  say,  in  332  A.H.,  it  is  in  the  Gemini, 
according  to  his  opinion.  When  it  comes  into  the 
signs  of  the  southern  hemisphere,  the  face  of  the 
earth  will  be  changed,  and  what  is  now  inhabitable 
will  turn  uninhabitable,  *  and  vice-versa ;  for  the 
south  will  be  north,  and  the  north  south  *.  He 
deposited  the  dates  of  the  formation  (of  the 
planetary  system)  in  a  golden  house:  they  form  the 
most  ancient  (astronomical)  chronology,  and  the 


xj     ^ 9 


*  The  Arabs  believed  the  south -pole  to  be  the  extreme  of 
heat,  as  the  north -pole  is  the  extreme  of  cold,  and  they  thought 
that  it  is  for  this  reason  that  the  southern  hemisphere  is  uninhabi- 
table ;  and  that  this  would  be  changed  when  the  apogaeon  of  the 
sun  would  be  in  the  southern,  and  the  perigseon  in  the  northern 
hemisphere.  Compare  the  next  chapter. 

|  These  words  are  only  in  the  copy  of  Cambridge,  and  in  the 
extract  which  en-Nowa'iri  gives  of  this  passage. 

J  One  copy  bears  »  and,  instead  of  ^  on,  which  alters 
somewhat  the  meaning.  Other  variants  of  some  importance  are 
inserted  in  the  text  between  crotchets. 


160  EL-MAS'tJDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

basis  upon  which  the  Hindus  make  the  kalendars 
(of  the  changes)  of  the  moon,  and  calculate  the 
rising  of  the  full  moon  for  India;  but  not  for  other 
countries.  They  comment  much  on  the  moon; 
but  we  cannot  insert  wliat  they  say  on  it  in  this 
book,  it  being  a  work  on  history,  and  not  on  philo- 
sophical inquiries  and  speculations;  besides,  we 
have  given  a  summary  of  these  subjects  in  our 
Kitab  el-ausat. 

Some  Hindus  believe  that  the  world  is  regene- 
rated every  thousand  Hazarwan*,  and  that  as  often  as 


U^k  }  (read 
read)  i^\ 

UAxT          6    &\ 


u* 


f  The  MS.  of  Cambridge  and  two  other  copies  bear  "  every 
seventy  thousand  years  of  the  Hazarwan."  As  copies  do  not 
agree,  the  following  correction  may  be  admissible,  considering  the 
the  word  thousand  put  in  by  the  way  of  exaggeration :  "  every 
seventy-two  Hazarwan."  A  Hazarwan  would  mean  in  this  case 
a  maha  yuga;  and  the  period  in  question  would  be  a  Menu  yuga, 
which  consists  of  seventy-two  maha  yugas,  or  three  hundred 
and  eleven  million,  forty  thousand  years.  (Aryabhatta,  apud 
Colebrooke.) 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  161 

this  period  expires,  existence  is  renewed*,  the  pro- 
pagative  power  returns,  quadrupeds  again  pasture, 


By  reading  ]&*  M#,  instead  of  *JU*  year,  before  Hazar- 
wan  as  XJu*»  can  have  no  meaning,  and  is  left  out  in  some  copies  ; 
the  number  of  years  would  agree  with  the  time  generally  assigned 
to  the  four  yugas  together,  viz.,  seven  millions,  six  hundred  thou- 
sand years,  save  the  number  of  zeros. 

*  This  theory  was  not  only  familiar  to  the  Hindus  and  Per- 
sians, but  the  ages  of  the  world  of  Greek  and  Latin  poets  owe  to 
it  their  origin.  According  to  Plato,  in  his  Timaeus,  the  Greeks 
had  received  from  the  Egyptians  the  doctrine  of  the  earth's 
undergoing  certain  dissolutions,  effected  by  the  alternate  violence 
of  water  and  fire,  which  were  succeeded  by  regenerations,  and 
followed  one  another  periodically.  They  were  called  apocatastasis, 
and  J.  Firmicus  computes  that  there  is  a  period  of  three  hundred 
thousand  years,  from  one  mundane  apocatastasis  to  another.  In 
an  Egyptian  narration  relative  to  Osiris  and  Typhos,  preserved 
by  Synesius,  we  find  also  an  allusion  to  the  greater  mundane 
apocatastasis.  And  it  is  curious  that  this  doctrine  was  not  yet 
lost  in  Egypt  after  the  conquest  of  the  Arabs.  The  reader  will 
find  some  extracts  from  el-Makrizi  in  the  notes  to  the  thirty-first 
chapter,  where  they  are  mentioned  in  the  most  fabulous  shape  ; 
but  such  confirmations  teach  us  to  appreciate  and  explain  fables,  if 
sacred  by  antiquity,  and  the  belief  of  a  whole  nation. 

It  would  appear  from  a  tradition  of  Wahb  Ben  Monabbih, 
that  the  ancient  Arabs  had  equally  some  notions  of  a  periodical 
destruction  of  the  earth,  which  was  effected  by  water,  according  to 
their  opinions.  They  supposed,  namely,  that  the  fish  and  the 
bull,  who  support  our  planet  (see  p.  44,  supra),  swallow  up  the 

M 


162  EL-MAS'fjDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

the  waters  flow,  animals  creep,  herbage  grows,  and 
breezes  breathe  through  the  air.  Most  of  the 
Hindus  are  of  opinion  that  certain  cycles  return 
periodically,,  beginning  through  powers*  whose  cor- 


(read  eXxxj 


water  till  they  are  full,  and  then  a  universal  flood  would  take 
place. 

Respecting  similar  doctrines  with  the  Chinese,  the  reader  may 
consult  Bailly,  Hist,  de  1'  Astronomic. 

*  These  powers  are  the  IDEAS  of  Plato.  Our  author  adheres 
closely  tothe  spirit  of  the  Hindus  ;  for  the  Arabs,  who  followed  the 
dialetic  philosophy,  as  it  is  more  congenial  with  the  Arabian  nation 
and  religion,  considered  the  principle  of  life  in  matter  as  a  mere  form 
of  its  existence,  and  used  therefore  the  word  2,*.^  form,  in  the 
above  meaning.  In  this  sense,  says  Ibn  Khaldun, 


"  the  natural,  first  and  sole  reason  is,  that  the  dynasty  and  royalty 
is  for  civilized  society  what  the  form  is  for  matter:  it  is  the 
shape  which  preserves  its  existence  through  its  own  peculiarity." 

As  it  appears  to  be  of  some  importance  to  have  a  clear  notion 
of  the  signification  of  the  word  ^-  <J>,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to 
add  examples  where  it  has  very  nearly  the  same  meaning  as  in  the 
text.  XXfeUJt  Jult  \  (read  Sulx&t)  VU&1  ^  LJ/i  <£ 


l      (Ibn    Khaldun's    Proleg.   in 
the  last  chapter  of  the  fifth  book). 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  163 

poreal  existence  sleeps  in  latent  life;  but  their 
nature  is  mighty,  and  their  essence  is  immutable. 
They  define  the  limits,  and  fix  the  time  required  for 
the  process  (of  the  re-incarnation  of  these  powers), 
which  forms  the  great  cycle  and  developement. 
They  place  it  into  the  abyss  of  ages,  and  calculate 
the  time  from  its  beginning  to  the  end  to  thirty-six 
thousand  years,  repeated  in  twelve  thousand  years 
(periods)*.  This  forms  with  them  the  Hazerwan, 


"  We  have  already  stated  with  respect  to  penmanship,  that 
it  exists  in  the  rational  soul  of  man  as  faculty  (power),  which 
will  not  be  developed  from  possibility  (power)  to  reality  except 
by  the  introduction  of  sciences." 

The  same  author  uses  this  word  exactly  in  the  same  meaning 
in  several  other  instances  as,  JjuW  JJ  s 

^UU  ^  vw.UxH  wyu,  JJ  ^ 
"  One  must  know  the  relation  of  these  quantities  in  order  to  be 
able  to  bring  plans  into  execution,  (literally  to  draw  plans  out  from 
power  to  reality,)  according  to  certain  rules." 

*  This  gives  four  hundred  and  thirty-two  millions  of  years 
If  we  take  two  zeros  away,  we  have  the  number  of  years  assigned 
by  Aryabhatta  to  the  maha  yuga,  and  if  we  add  one,  we  have  that 
of  the  calpa  of  Brahmegupta.  But  all  MSS.  agree,  and  the 
expression  is  such,  that  each  of  these  changes  would  be  arbitrary, 
The  one  factor,  thirty-  six  thousand,  is  the  anciently  supposed  time 

M  2 


164  EL-MAS'uDi's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

which  developes  and  influences  the  powers.  The 
(lesser)  cycles  render  everything  that  exists  in 
them  longer  or  shorter  (according  to  the  age  of  the 
world).  The  life  of  things  is  longest  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  renovation  (or  great  cycle);  for  as  it  is 
just  opened,  the  powers  are  more  free  in  their 
action;  whereas  the  lives  are  shortest  at  the  end  of 
the  renovation,  for  the  cycle  is  more  narrow  ;  they 
are  confined:  and  the  frequent  repetitions  (of  the 


of  one  re  volution  of  the  equinox  through  the  zodiac,  and  the  other 
factor,  twelve  thousand,  expresses  the  number  of  an  age  of  the  Gods 
according  to  Menu  (Institutes,  i.  71),  and  corresponds  with  the 
great  cycle  of  the  Persians,  after  which  Ormuzd  would  be 
victorious  over  Ahriman:  perhaps,  every  one  of  these  years 
has  been  considered  by  the  Persians,  at  a  later  period,  as  a  revo- 
lution of  the  equinox  or  thirty-  six  thousand  years;  in  order  to 
make  agree  the  chronology  of  their  sacred  books  with  that  of 
Hindu  astronomers,  just  as  our  geologists  make  the  seven  days 
of  the  creation  longer  periods  of  time.  This  explains  the  some- 
what singular  expression  of  the  original  "  repeated  in  twelve 
thousand  years  ;"  for  only  one  copy  bears  the  more  natural 
expression,  "  multiplied." 

There  is,  therefore,  not  one  date  in  this  theory  which  is  not 
found  in  the  Persian  cosmogony,  as  well  as  in  that  of  the  Hindus. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS  165 

incarnation  or  becoming  life  of  the  powers)  are 
injurious  to  the  lives;  because  the  powers  of  the 
bodies  and  the  purity  of  matter  are  predominant  at 
the  beginning  of  the  cycle,  and  free  in  their  mani- 
festation: for  purity  is  anterior  to  impurity,  and 
limpidity  is  above  the  dregs,  and  the  length  of  life  is 
in  proportion  with  the  purity  of  the  crasis  ;  and  the 
powers  which  animate  the  elements  (or  matter)., 
extend  the  influence  of  their  perfection  to  the  mix- 
tures (bodies)  which,  as  they  form  the  wordly 
existence,  are  the  source  of  deterioration,  alteration, 
and  decay.  But  at  the  latter  part  of  the  great 
cycle,  and  the  end  of  the  great  developement,  the 
appearance  of  things  will  be  deformed,  the  souls 
weak,  and  the  crasis  impure;  the  powers  are  im- 
paired, what  is  perishable  goes  to  decay,  and  every- 
thing goes  in  inverted  narrow  cycles  ;  wherefore  the 


U  * 
(read 


166  EL-MAS'tJDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

space  of  life  is  no  longer  computed  by  a  period  of 
ages  (but  only  by  years). 

The  Hindus  assign  the  reasons  upon  which  the 
theories  which  we  have  just  given  are  based.  They 
allege  proofs  on  the  first  origin  (of  all  things),  and 
on  the  distinctions  of  the  cycles  of  the  Hazarwans, 
as  we  have  explained  them ;  and  they  teach  various 
mysteries  and  subtilties  respecting  the  soul;  its 
connexion  with  supernatural  things,  and  its  origin 
which  proceeds  in  the  direction  from  above  down- 
wards ;  and  other  doctrines  which  have  been  laid 
down  by  el-Barahman  in  the  beginning  of  the  time. 

El-Barahman  reigned  until  he  died,  three  hun- 
dred and  sixty-six  years.  His  descendants  have  the 
name  Brahmins  x$\j^\  up  to  our  time.  They 
are  in  high  respect  with  the  Hindus,  and  form  their 
highest  caste  and  their  nobility.  They  abstain  from 
all  animal  food,  and  men  and  women  wear  a  yellow 
thread  on  their  necks,  which  is  put  on  like  the  belt 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  167 

of  a  sword,  as  a  mark  of  distinction  between  them 
and  other  castes  of  their  nation. 

In  ancient  time  and  during  the  reign  of  el- 
Barahman,  there  assembled  seven  sages  (Rishis?) 
of  the  Hindus,  to  whom  the  nation  looked  up,  in 
the  golden  house;  and  they  said  to  one  another, 
(f  Let  us  unite  our  speculations  to  decypher  what  is 
the  state  and  mystery  of  this  world ;  where  we  come 
from,  and  where  we  are  going  to ;  and  whether  we 
are  created  from  nothing  to  proceed  to  the  essence  of 
wisdom  or  the  reverse  ?  and  whether  the  Creator  who 
is  the  cause  of  our  existence  and  who  gives  growth 
to  our  bodies,  derives  any  benefit  from  having  made 
us?  or  whether  he  averts  any  disadvantage  from 
himself  in  making  us  fade  from  this  world?  Whe- 
ther he  is  susceptible  of  want  and  diminution  as  we 
are,  or  whether  nothing  influences  him?  but  if  so, 
why  does  he  destroy  and  annihilate  us,  after  he  has 
called  us  to  existence,  and  after  we  have  enjoyed 
ourselves?" 

The  first  of  'the  sages,  to  whom  all  others 
looked  up,  said,,  "Do  you  find  one  man  who  has  a 
correct  notion  of  things,  present  or  distant,  and 
who  is  certain  and  positive  (in  his  knowledge)." 

The  second  wise  man  said,  "  If  the  wisdom  of 
the  Almighty  had  come  into  any  one's  mind,  it 
would  be  a  diminution  of  his  wisdom.  The  object 
is  incomprehensible,  and  human  reason  is  too  short 
to  understand  matters." 

The  third  sage  said,  "  We  must  begin  our  study 


168          EL-MAS'UDI'S  MEADOWS  OF  GOLD, 

with  the  knowledge  of  ourselves,  for  this  is  the 
thing  nearest  to  us,  before  we  enter  into  investiga- 
tions of  what  is  distant  from  ourselves*." 

The  fourth  sage  said,  "  The  experience  of  every 
man,  whatever  field  he  may  have  chosen,  proves 
that  he  requires  in  it  self-knowledge. " 

The  fifth  sage  said,  "  Hence  it  is  required  to  be 
in  connexion  with  wise  men,  in  order  to  be  assisted 
by  their  wisdom." 

The  sixth  wise  man  said,  "  It  is  necessary  for 
any  man  who  loves  his  own  happiness,  not  to 
neglect  it,  particularly  since  the  stay  in  this  world 
is  limited,  and  since  it  is  certain  that  we  must 
leave  it." 

The  seventh  sage  said,  c<  I  do  not  understand 
what  you  say,  but  I  know  that  I  came  into  this 
world  without  my  will ;  that  I  lived  in  it  astounded 
with  what  I  see;  and  that  I  am  sorry  to  leave  it." 

The  Hindus  agreed  at  all  times  respecting  the 
opinions  of  these  seven  sages.  Everybody  followed 

*  This  sentence  is  not  to  be  understood  in  the  moral  meaning, 
that  one  ought  to  know  one's  own  frailties,  but  that  man  is  the 
microcosmos,  which,  if  well  understood,  leads  to  the  knowledge  of 
everything  else,  or  rather,  that  the  human  mind  is  the  mirror 

of  the  universe. 

Quid  mirum  noscere  mundum 

Si  possent  homines,  quibus  est  et  mundus  in  ipsis ; 
Exemplumque  Dei  quisquis  est  in  imagine  parva? 

(Manilius.) 

F.  Hegel  believes  that  the  yva>6i  atavrov  of  Solon,  is  to  be 
taken  nearly  in  the  same  meaning. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  169 

(originally)  their  doctrines  and  professed  their 
system;  but  in  subsequent  times,  they  no  longer 
agreed  respecting  their  systems  and  doctrines,  and 
they  split  into  seventy  distinct  sects. 

El-Mas'udi  says,  in  the  book  of  Abul-Kasim 
el-Balkhi,  called  "  The  Fountains  of  questions  and 
answers,"  tSUl^i^  JoUJll  ^#&  and  in  the  work  of 
el-Hasan  Ben  Musa  en-Nubakhti  *  ^^  ^j  (jju»^.!, 
which  has  the  title,  "  On  the  philosophical  and 
religious  doctrines  and  the  sects  of  the  Hindus; 
their  opinions,  the  causes  which  gave  rise  to  them, 
and  the  reasons  why  they  burn  themselves  and 
inflict  various  torments  upon  themselves  ;"  v^* 


not  a  word  is  said  of  all  we  have  just 
explained,  nor  do  they  allude  to  the  subject  on 
which  we  have  spoken. 

Authors  do  not  agree  concerning  the  Barahman: 
some  believe  him  to  be  Adam  and  a  prophet  for 
the  Hindus;  others  think  that  he  was  a  king,  as  we 
have  stated  ;  and  this  is  the  opinion  most  universally 
received. 


*  This  patronymic  is  variously  spelt,  o&c'JJJt  (MS.  of 
Cambridge,)  CfjvaCyJJ  (MS.  of  Leyden;)  <sCa=?yiJl  (Fihrist  el- 
Kotob,  p.  120,)  <£a$'j%\  (et-Tanbih,  fol.  221,  verso).  Compare 
Chapter  126,  infra. 


170  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

The  Hindus  lamented  in  the  deepest  mourning, 
the  death  of  the  Barahman.  They  made  his  eldest 
son  king,  who  had  been  designed  by  his  father  to  be 
his  successor,  and  to  whom  he  had  given  his 
instructions.  His  name  was  el-Bahbud  ^xfcUU 
(:>y&UJj).  He  followed  the  example  of  his  father  in 
his  government;  he  had  the  best  views,  built  new 
temples,  invested  the  wise  men  with  power, 
increased  their  dignity,  encouraged  them  to  teach 
wisdom,  and  sent  them  out  to  acquire  it  (by 
travelling).  He  reigned  till  he  died  one  hundred 
years.  In  his  reign  the  game  of  tables  or  backgam- 
mon* JjxM  was  invented.  This  game  shows  how 
one  obtains  gain,  for  it  is  neither  the  result  of 
sagacity  and  contrivance,  nor  is  subsistence  earned 
by  cleverness  in  this  world.  Some  say  Azdeshirf 
Ben  Babek  invented  the  game  of  the  tables  and 
played  it  first.  He  expressed  in  this  game  the  acti- 
vity of  the  world  and  its  inhabitants,  and  the  differ- 
ence of  their  conditions.  The  twelve  points  of  the 
tables  answer  to  the  twelve  months  of  the  year,  and 
the  thirty  tablemen  <->*&  are  expressive  of  the  thirty 
days  of  the  month.  The  dice  are  meant  as  symbols 

*  T.  Hyde  wrote  a  prodigiously  learned  Historia  Nerdiludii, 
which  forms  the  second  book  of  his  Historia  Shahiludii. 

t  r>-£»JjU  The  MS.  of  Leyden  which  is  very  correct,  writes 
this  name  constantly  with  •  instead  of  ..  Compare  the  observa- 
tion of  Fleischer  on  this  subject,  (Abulfeda,  p.  206.) 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  171 

of  fate  and  the  way  in  which  it  deals  with  mankind; 
for  the  player  who  is  favoured  by  luck,  will  attain  in 
this  game  what  he  wishes,  whilst  the  clever  and 
provident  is  less  lucky  than  another,  if  the  other  is 
favoured  by  fortune ;  for  gain  and  good  fortune  are 
a  mere  chance  in  this  world. 

After  el-Bahbud  reigned  Ramah  st^,  (WU^  or 
^LoJj),  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  years.  There 
are  different  histories  and  accounts  extant  of  this 
king.  He  had  several  wars  with  the  kings  of  Persia 
and  China,,  the  leading  points  of  which  are  related  in 
our  former  works. 

After  him  came  Fur  ^  (Porus)  to  the  throne. 
Alexander  gave  him  a  battle,  and  killed  him  in  a 
single  combat,  after  a  reign  of  one  hundred  and 
forty  years.  Then  succeeded  Daisalem  jJu*oJ 
(fa  f  UMJ,)  who  is  the  author  of  Kalilah  wa  Dimnah, 
which  has  been  translated  by  Ibn  el-Mokaffa'. 
Sehl  Ben  Harun  composed  a  book  for  el-Mamun, 
entitled  "  The  fox  and  the  boar"  a^ic  ^  sxXxS  ^->\3S, 
in  which  he  imitates  the  Kalilah  wa  Dimnah, 
writing  on  the  same  heads,  and  narrating  the  same 
parables;  but  his  book  is  superior  in  beauty  of 
style.  He  reigned  one  hundred  and  twenty  years. 
Some  give  a  different  number  of  years. 

Then  succeeded  Balhit  dv^Xj  (clv^Xj).  In  his 
reign  the  game  of  chess  g^ax*  was  invented,  and 
he  recommended  the  play  in  preference  to  back- 


172  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

gammon,  pointing  out  that  the  clever  is  the 
winner,  and  not  the  idiot.  He  studied  the  numbers 
(of  the  product  of  the  squares)  of  this  game^  and 
wrote  a  work*  on  the  subject  for  the  Hindus^ 
which  is  known  under  the  title  Tor  ok  Hankd  ta'idd 


By  these  means  chess  became  their  favourite  game, 
and  he  used  to  play  it  with  the  wise  men  (of  his 
court),  and  gave  to  the  pieces  the  figure  of  men 
and  animals,  distinguishing  them  by  certain  degrees 
and  ranks,  as  the  king  *1&J,  the  administrator 
jo*xU  (the  queen),  the  officer  yMjjJI  (the  bishop)  ; 
similar  offices  are  represented  in  other  pieces. 

He  laid  also  an  allegory  of  the  higher  bodies  in 
the  chess,  that  is  to  say,  of  the  stars  of  the  heavens, 
observing  the  number  seven  and  twelve.  Every 
piece  was  consecrated  to  a  star.  This  game  served 
also  to  preserve  the  empire  ;  for  whenever  they  had 
to  do  with  an  enemy  and  the  stratagems  of  war, 
they  represented  on  the  chess-board  the  movements 

of  the  troops,  both  light  and  heavy  ^^  J^-U. 
The  Hindus  have  a  method  in  the  multiplica- 


*  A  similar  work  has  been  written  by  the  Arabic  mathema- 
tician, Abu  Yusof  el-Missisi]  ^aAXOtJij  whose  full  name  was 
Ya'kiib  Ben  Mohammed,  under  the  title  O 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  173 

tion  of  the  squares  of  the  chess-board,  which  they 
keep  secret.  The  result  of  this  multiplication  is 
a  number  which  exceeds  the  astronomical  dates, 
and  those  of  the  first  cause,  amounting  to 
18,446,744,073,709,551,615.  The  series  of  the 
thousands  is  this:  the  first  number  is  to  be  pro- 
nounced with  six  times  thousand*,  then  comes 
thousand  five  times,  then  four  times,,  then  three 
times,  then  twice,  then  thousand  is  to  be  pronoun- 
ced once. 

The  Hindus  attribute  to  itf  a  meaning  by 
which  one  may  explain  what  is  to  happen  in  future 
ages  and  centuries,  and  the  influence  which  the 
heavenly  bodies  have  on  this  world ;  and  by  it  may 
be  predicted  how  long  the  human  soul  is  to  dwell  in 
this  world. 

The  Greeks,  Romans,  and  other  nations,  con- 
nect equally  various  theories  with  chess  t.  It  is 


*  The  Arabs,  like  the  Teutonic  languages,  have  no  words 
which  comprises  a  higher  number  than  a  thousand.  They  express 
therefore  a  million  by  thousand  times  thousand,  and  so  on  with  any 
higher  number.  In  order  to  avoid  mistakes,  they  add  at  the  end 
how  often  thousand  is  to  be  taken  or  multiplied  with  itself,  as  is 
here  the  case. 

f  The  author  leaves  it  uncertain  whether  he  means  the  game 
of  chess,  or  the  above  number. 

J  It  seems,  indeed,  that  the  game  of  chess  attracted  even 
in  Europe,  a  much  greater  attention  in  the  middle  ages  than 
at  present;  as  may  be  exemplified  by  the  existence  of  some 


174  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

played  in  different  ways,  as  is  explained  in  the 
books  written  by  the  Shatrenjees*  on  this  subject, 
by  early  writers,  as  well  as  by  es-Suli  and  el-'Adeli 
J*xx!^  d**A\>  wno  are  the  best  players  in  our  days. 
Belhith  ci^^L  reigned  till  he  died,  eighty  years, 
or,  according  to  other  copies  (of  the  work  from 
which  we  derive  our  account),  one  hundred  and 
thirty  years. 


German  manuscript,  which  contains  a  poem  on  this  subject,  in  the 
Library  of  the  Arsenal  at  Paris,  (MS.  Allem.  No.  6).  It  is  a 
thick  quarto  written  in  the  year  1418,  but  the  author,  whose  name 
is  MICHAEL  SCHERER  of  Strasburg,  says  himself,  that  he  com- 
posed it  in  1337,  after  a  Latin  work  on  the  same  subject.  The 
allegorical  meaning  of  the  pieces,  moral  precepts,  and  even 
theological  disquisitions,  form  the  greater  portion  of  its  contents, 
but  there  are  also  some  curious  historical  facts  related  in  it. 

The  Dutch  are  in  possession  of  a  similar  poem  of  ancient  date. 

*  As  the  luxurious  Mamun  happened  to  be  fond  of  the  chess- 
board, a  number  of  men  studied  the  game  and  wrote  on  the 
subject,  collecting  and  inventing  traditions  to  prove  that  this  game 
was  permitted,  enquiring  into  the  history  and  fixing  the  rules  to  be 
observed  in  playing.  These  men  were  called  • ±*^J[a.£A\.  An 
Arabic  work  of  this  nature,  by  el-Hasan  el-Basri,  is  in  Mr.  Rich's 
collection  in  the  British  Museum  in  London,  (No.  75 15,)  but  it 
contains  no  historical  facts  not  found  in  Hyde's  Historia  Shahi- 
ludii  and  Sir  W.  Jones'  works,  (vol.  i.  p.  521.)  More  curious 
are  the  details  which  en-Nowa'iri  furnishes  on  this  subject,  in  his 
Encyclopaedia.  On  the  literary  history  previous  to  el-Mas'iidi, 
concerning  this  subject,  as  well  as  any  other  of  which  our  author 
speaks,  the  reader  may  consult  the  additional  notes. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  1/5 

He  was  succeeded  by  Kurush*,  who  introduced 
new  religious  ideas  amongst  the  Hindus,  as  he 
thought  them  suited  to  the  spirit  of  the  time ;  and 
adapted  to  the  tendency  of  his  contemporaries, 
relinquishing  former  systems. 

In  his  reign  lived  es-Sondbad  ^L^x^,  who  is  the 
author  of  the  book  The  seven  Vezirs,  the  teacher  and 
boy,  and  the  wife  of  the  king  jkx+Wj  &***»\\  \jj£\  <-A^* 
JJJIJ  s!j*«t*  *&*J\j.  This  is  the  book  which  bears  the 
name  Kitdb  es-Sondbdd  ^U«XJUJ1  vlxf.  In  the 
library  of  this  king  the  large  work  "  On  pathology 
and  therapeutics"  CLjW^xU^  * \^\  j  J^M  AJ^JUJ  ^ 
was  compiled  J^,  with  drawings  and  pictures  of 
the  plants. 

This  king  reigned  till  he  died,  one  hundred 
and  twenty  years.  After  his  death  the  Hindus 
disagreed  in  point  of  religion :  they  divided  them- 
selves into  parties,  and  formed  distinct  states;  and 
every  chief  made  himself  independent  in  his  district. 
Es-Sind  was  ruled  by  its  own  king;  another  king 
reigned  in  el-Kinnauj;  another  over  Kashmir 
jx^3  yoj\  ;  and  another  resided  in  the  city  of  el- 
Mankir  (Monghir?)  j+&&\>  which  is  the  great 
metropolis.  He  was  the  first  who  had  the  name 

*  LTJU^*  This  is  the  way  in  which  Abulfaragius  (Hist- 
dynast,  p.  82.)  writes  the  name  of  Cyrus.  En-Nowairi  writes 
the  name  of  this  Hindu  king  ni*J"  Kush. 


176  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


el-Ballahra  c^XxM  (^JuJ\),  which  became  subse- 
quently the  title  of  every  sovereign  of  that  great 
capital,  down  to  our  time,  which  is  the  year 
332  A.H. 

India  *  is  a  vast  country,  having  many  seas  and 


0j\  Literally,  the  country  of  the  Hindus,  which,  it 
must  be  remembered,  comprizes  only  the  south  and  east  of  the 
peninsula :  whereas  the  north-eastern  part  is  called  by  the  Arabs, 
the  country  of  the  Sind  nation. 

As  in  the  translation  the  name  of  the  country  in  most  cases 
is  substituted  for  expressions  like  bilad  es-Sin,  (the  dominions  of 
the  Chinese,)  ardh  er-Rum,  (the  country  of  the  Byzantines,) 
memlekat  el-Jelalikah,  (the  kingdom  of  the  Galicians,)  &c.:  it  is 
well  to  notice  the  peculiarity  of  the  Arabs  in  this  respect,  which 
is  characteristic,  and  which  may  also  be  observed  in  Genesis. 

As  we  adapt  our  notions  of  others  to  our  own  ideas  as  pro- 
duced by  circumstances  and  education,  just  as  the  hump-backed 
will  paint  every  body  with  a  hunch; — the  wandering-  Arabs 
who  have  no  country,  being  solely  connected  by  the  feelings  and 
pride  of  their  tribes  Xxxxax!!,  cannot  conceive  how  any  nation 
can  be  so  degraded  as  to  be  dependent  upon  a  country  or  any 
other  possession :  they  estimate  the  honesty  and  value  of  a  man 
after  what  he  is,  and  not  (as  it  is  the  case  in  modern  legislation,) 
after  what  he  possesses.  Hence  they  consider  the  name  of  every 
country  as  that  of  a  tribe,  and  are  most  anxious  to  find  out  or 
to  invent  the  genealogy  of  the  patriarch  (father)  of  such  a  tribe, 
as  they  know  the  ancestors  of  their  own  tribes ;  so,  for  instance, 
they  received  from  the  Persians  the  name  of  Chin  ^£>~,  •  which 
means  China  (the  country),  but  the  Arabs  consider  it  as  the 
name  of  the  father  of  the  nation  (tribe),  and  consequently  of  the 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  177 

mountains,  and  borders  on  the  empire  of  ez-Zanij, 
which  is  the  kingdom  of  the  Maharaj  g|j$U»  the 
king  of  the  islands,  whose  dominions  form  the 
frontier  between  India  and  China,  and  are  con- 
sidered as  part  of  India. 

The  Hindu  nation  extends  from  the  mountains 
of  Khorasan  and  of  es-Sind  as  far  as  et-Tubbet. 
But  there  prevails  a  great  difference  of  feelings, 

nation  itself;  and  they  called  the  country  the  territory  of  the 
Fin  or  Sin  (Chinese). 

In  subsequent  times,  however,  when  the  victorious  Arabs  had 
settled  in  cities,  the  tribe  feeling  gave  way  to  the  habits  of  settled 
life,  and  the  names  of  countries  are  in  later  authors  again  con- 
sidered as  such. 

This  will  explain  the  form  of  the  word  XxJ&Jj  (Galicia,) 
and  some  other  proper  names  which  else  must  appear  arbitrary ; 
it  is  the  plural  of  cJiXiJ  or  Gallic  (Gallicus),  just  as  X*a^cl£JJ 
is  the  plural  of  (ja£Jl  or  comes,  (count). 

In  the  history  of  Europe,  we  find  that  proper  names  have 
changed  in  the  same  way  their  meaning  by  the  change  of  facts, 
as  with  the  Arabs  by  the  change  of  notions ;  so  were  the  Parisii, 
Lugduni,  &c.,  originally  tribes,  and  now  they  are  cities. 

Here  an  addition  to  the  note,  p.  19  supra,  may  find  place. 
It  is  stated  there  that  the  military  cantonments  were  called  Misrs, 
which  means  Egypts.  The  Western  Arabs  being  in  constant 
contact  with  the  Egyptians,  became  necessarily  aware  of  their 
settled  condition  ;  and  Misr  means,  therefore,  the  country  of  Egypt 
(and  not  the  nation,)  at  all  periods  of  the  Arabic  language.  It 
was  therefore  very  natural  that  they  should  say,  we  Egyptianize 
yj&+j,  when  they  settled  in  those  cantonments.  Hence  y^oaJJ 
means  with  Ibn  Khaldun  constantly — a  country  where  the  inha- 
bitants are  settled  and  civilized. 

N 


178  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

language,  and  religion,  in  these  empires;  and  they 
are  frequently  at  war  with  each  other.  The  most 
of  them  believe  on  the  metempsychosis,  or  the 
transmigration  of  the  soul.  The  Hindus  are  dis- 
tinct from  other  black  nations,  as  the  Zanj  gjtt> 
ed-Demadem  ^U«xJl  (-aUyj),  and  others,  in  point 
of  intellect,  government,,  philosophy,  colour,  appear- 
ance, good  constitution,  talent,  and  intelligence. 
Galen  says  that  the  Negroes  have  ten  qualities 
which  are  peculiar  to  them,  and  not  found  in  any 
other  nation  :  crisp  hair,  scanty  eye-brows,  expanded 
nostrils,  thick  lips,  sharp  teeth,  stinking  skin,  black 
complexion,  fissures  in  the  skin  of  their  hands  and 
feet,  long  am  mentulam,  and  great  levity.  The  same 
author  states  further,  their  levity  is  owing  to  the 
bad  quality  (organisation)  of  their  brains ;  for  this 
renders  their  intellectual  faculties  weak.  What 
other  authors  say  on  the  levity  of  the  Negroes,  and 
their  gay  temper,  and  on  the  still  higher  degree  of 
levity,  which  is  peculiar  to  the  Zanj,  and  which 
distinguishes  them  from  other  Negroes,  is  to  be 
found  in  our  former  works. 

Ya'kub  Ben  Ishak  el-Kindi  ui*£\  ^j  vy^ 
c^jJ^M  asserts,  in  a  memoir  on  the  influence  of  the 
higher  individuals  (i.e.  stars)  and  heavenly  bodies 
upon  this  world  -U*.=»^  *tjkd\  ^sUsSM  JUit  ^  *^ 
fUxil  *«k£  ^  Xj^UvJ!,  that  God  has  arranged 
it  so  that  everything  that  he  has  created  acts  at 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS. 


179 


the  same  time  as  cause  upon  others,  and  the  cause 
produces  an  effect  in  the  object  upon  which  it  acts, 
which  corresponds  with  the  cause;  but  the  object, 
which  is  passive,  does  not  create  any  impression 
upon  the  cause,  which  is  active.  Spirit  is  the  cause 
of  heaven  jfaJJ*,  and  not  its  effect:  hence  it  does 


*  Arabian   astronomers    express   thus   their  notions    of  the 
heaven  or  sphere.     Lnw^JJ  ^c  Jf^s=U>  tf^ 


"  The  heaven  is  a  simple  body  (not  compounded,)  which  has 
the  shape  of  a  ball  (ii.  4),  and  turns  round  its  own  centre,  which 
it  fully  surrounds  (i.  2).  It  has  neither  levity  nor  gravity 
(i.  3),  and  it  possesses  not  heat,  cold,  moisture,  nor  dryness,  nor 
is  it  susceptible  of  separation  or  coalition." 

With  this  may  be  compared  the  words  in  the  Ayeen  Akberi, 
(vol.  iii.  2,)  where  it  is  said  that  this  is  the  opinion  of  the  '  er- 
sians,  Egyptians,  and  Greeks,  and  that  the  heaven  is  eternal,  and 
endowed  with  reason. 

The  references  which  I  added  in  the  translation,  refer  to 
Aristotle's  book  de  Ccelo,  where  the  same  ideas  are  expressed. 
Here  another  passage  of  Aristotle,  relative  to  the  same  subject, 
may  be  quoted,  which  sets  the  belief,  that  the  heaven  exercises  an 
influence  upon  the  earth  and  its  inhabitants,  in  its  proper  light,  and 
connects  the  notions  of  the  Hindus,  Persians,  and  Greeks,  on 
this  subject. 

Qvpavov  8e  KOI  aorpow  ova-Lav  p.ev  alOepa  ffaXov/MP,  ovx  coy  nvcs, 
8ta  ro  TTvpos  &r)  ov(rav,  cu&cr&u,  Tr\r)p,p.€\ovvTcs  Trepl  rr\v  ir\f1crTov  Trvpos 
aTnjAXa-yfiei/?;!/  Swap-iV  aXXa  8m  TO  deWc'iv  KVK\o<popovp,€vr)v  oroi^eToj/ 
ovvav  crepov  ra>v  recro-apwj/,  a^parov  re  KOI  Selov.  Arist.  de  Mundo, 
cap.  2,  vol.  i.  p.  465. 

<;  We  call  the  matter,  of  which  the  heaven  and  the  stars  con- 

N   2 


180  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

not  receive  impressions  from  it.     It  is,  however,  a 


sist,  ETHER  ;  not  because  it  is  a  fire  as  some  believed,  who  had 
exceedingly  wrong  notions  respecting  that  power  (matter),  which 
is  very  far  from  being  a  fire;  but  because  it  is  an  ELEMENT 
which  observes  the  circular  form  in  its  motion,  and  it  is  different 
from  the  four  other  elements,  being  everlasting  and  divine." 

It  is  strange  that  this  fifth  element  of  Aristotle  has  never  been 
noticed,  although  the  four  elements  have  found  advocates  in  the 
German  Metaphysico-physiologists,  (see  Carus,  Lehrbuch  der 
Physiologic,  vol.  i.,)  in  whose  system  it  would  suit  admirably  well. 

But  the  doctrine  of  a  fifth  element  is  much  more  ancient  than 
Aristotle,  even  amongst  the  Greeks.  Ocellus,  (translation  of 
Taylor,  p.  10,)  who  lived  about  five  centuries  before  Christ,  at 
the  time  of  Pythagoras,  seems  to  have  had  the  same  notions  of  it 
as  Aristotle.  "  But  the  Fates  themselves  distinguish  and  separate 
the  impassive  part  of  the  world  from  that  which  is  perpetually 
moved  (mutable).  For  the  course  of  the  moon  is  the  isthmus 
of  immortality  and  generation.  The  region  indeed  above  the 
moon,  and  also  that  which  the  moon  occupies,  contain  the  genus 
of  the  gods;  but  the  place  beneath  the  moon,  is  the  place  of 
strife  and  nature." 

The  idea  of  Jive  elements  is  general  amongst  the  Hindus. 
They  call  the  ether,  Akas;  and,  although  its  natural  place  is, 
as  with  the  Greeks,  above  the  other  elements,  it  pervades  every- 
thing and  is  the  vehicle  of  sound.  Amongst  the  ancient  Persians 
it  seems  to  have  been  considered  even  as  the  principle  of  vege- 
tative life,  hence  the  Zend-Avesta  calls  it  "  un  feu  qui  ne  brule 
pas  et  qui  anime  tous  les  etres."  It  was  probably  after  the  Per- 
sian idea  that  some  Greek  philosophers  believed  the  ether  was  a 
fire.  The  Arabs  have  probably  found  this  theory  of  the  heaven 
in  the  schools  of  Persia,  before  they  have  been  acquainted  with 
the  writings  of  the  Greeks,  after  which  they  have  put  it  in  a 
scientific  shape. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  181 

law  in  nature  that  the  spirit*  follows  the  organisa- 
tion of  the  body,  if  there  is  nothing  in  the  way. 
So  it  is  with  the  Zanji.  His  country  being  very 
hot,  the  heavenly  bodies  exercise  their  influence 
upon  it,  and  predispose  in  the  humours  a  tendency 
to  go  to  the  upper  parts  of  the  body:  hence  their 
eyes  are  large,  the  lips  thick,  the  nose  flat  and  big, 
and  the  head  high.  The  crasis  of  the  brain  is, 
therefore,  out  of  proportion,  and  the  mind  cannot 
perfectly  manifest  its  action ;  the  nicety  of  dis- 
tinctions and  the  action  of  the  understanding  are 
confused.  Ancient  and  modern  authors  have 

The  heavens,  or  spheres,  which  preside,  according  to  the 
astrologers,  over  the  destiny  of  this  world  are,  therefore,  not 
different  from  the  ether  of  the  philosophers,  which  is  the  divine 
element  of  life ;  nor  from  the  Zeus  of  the  Greeks,  and  the  Hawa 
<gj£\  (air)>  which  was  worshipped  by  the  Arabs,  before  the 
Islam,  as  we  learn  from  the  Koran,  where  it  is  said,  ^  CoLsl 
x\*£>  <XA!\  <Xi.J,  and  from  a  tradition  of  Ibn  'Abbas.  See  also 
Maimonides,  p.  157  of  the  Engl.  Transl. 

*  In  the  Cambridge  copy  the  quotation  from  el-Kindi  is  left 
out  altogether.  From  an  allusion  of  Ibn  Khaldun  to  this  passage 
of  our  author,  on  the  Negroes,  it  would  appear  that  he  did  not 
find  it  in  his  copy  again. 

The  MS.  of  Leyden  bears  ^*\A!^  instead  of  yjijjl,  which 
is  only  found  in  the  (for  the  rest  very  incorrect,)  copy  of  the 
Asiatic  Society  of  Paris.  However,  if  this  reading  was  not  con- 
firmed by  the  context,  it  might  safely  be  adopted  on  the  authority 
of  Aristotle,  from  whom  the  whole  of  el- Kindt's  reasoning  is 
borrowed.  At  Sidvoiai  eTrovrai.  TOIS  O-W/LUWI,  Physiogn.  cap.  1. 


182  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

spoken  on  the  causes  under  the  influence  of  which 
the  Negroes  are  placed;  and  they  entered  upon 
their  position  relative  to  heaven,  the  seven  planets, 
and  particularly  the  five  planets,  which  preside 
over  their  developement,  and  have  alone  influence 
upon  the  formation  of  their  bodies.  But  this  hook 
is  not  solely  devoted  to  this  subject.  We  state 
here  only  the  facts  as  they  have  been  advanced  by 
various  authors,  referring  for  further  details  and  the 
exposition  of  their  arguments  in  proof  of  those 
facts,  to  our  book  the  Akhbar  ez-zeman.  We  have 
also  explained  in  that  book  the  theory  of  those 
astrologers  and  astronomers  who  ascribe  the  cha- 
racter of  the  Negroes  to  Saturn,  as  this  is  expressed 
in  the  verses  of  some  modern  Mohammedan  writer: 
"  One  of  them  (the  planets)  is  Saturn,  who  is 
an  old  man  and  powerful  king.  His  complexion  is 
black  *,  and  this  is  the  colour  of  his  dress,  and  of 
his  sulky  mind.  He  exercises  his  influence  upon 
the  Zanj  and  the  slaves,  and  to  him  leadf  and  iron 
are  sacred." 


*  This  description  of  Saturn  answers  exactly  the  picture  which 
el-Kazwmi  gives  of  this  planet,  which  is  to  be  found  beautifully 
illuminated,  in  a  MS.  of  the  East  India  House,  No.  1 377,  and  in  its 
outlines  in  the  Fundgruben  des  Orients,  vol.  i.,  but  there  it  looks 
the  contrary  way  by  a  mistake  of  the  artist. 

f  A  slight  alteration  would  change  the  sense  into  "  and  he 
is  the  enemy  of  iron."  This  is  more  probable  because  iron  was 
sacred  to  Mars,  and  has  still  the  name  of  this  planet  in  medicine; 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  183 

Tawus  el-Yemani,  the  companion  of  'Abdullah 
Ben  el-  'Abbas  ^j\  aHJ  *x>^  t-^U?  jl^l  u^lk 
u^U*!!  would  not  eat  any  meat  slain  (or  sacrificed) 
by  a  Zanji.  He  used  to  say,  a  Zanji  was  a  hideous 
slave.  We  have  heard  that  Abul-'Abbas  er-Raddhi 
Ben  el-Moktader  would  never  take  anything  from 
the  hand  of  a  black  man,  saying  he  was  a  hideous 
slave.  I  do  not  know  whether  he  has  initiated 
Tawus  in  his  system,  or  in  a  sort  of  philosophical 
and  religious  sect. 

'Amr  Ben  Bahr  el-Jahit  k^  lit  j^s?  ^j  ^ 
wrote  a  book  "  On  the  national  pride  of  the 
Negroes,  and  their  disputes  with  the  white  men." 


No  king  can  succeed  to  the  throne,    according 
to  Hindu  laws,  before  he  is  forty  years  of  age,  nor 


for  physicians  acknowledge  that  their  art  originated  from  astro- 
logy to  this  day,  in  this  as  well  as  in  some  other  names,  as 
lunar  caustic  (Nitrate  of  silver).  Mercury,  crystals  of  Venus 
(neutral  sulphate  of  copper),  &c.  Not  only  metals,  but  everything 
on  earth  had  a  patron  in  one  of  the  planets  with  the  astrologers, 
and  almost  everybody  was  as  far  an  astrologer  as  his  scientific 
education  went.  And  it  appears  that  in  the  dark  ages  a  medicine 
was  considered  as  the  mediator  between  its  respective  star  and 
the  patient;  and  hence  it  had  frequently  no  efficacy  if  not  prepared 
under  a  certain  constellation.  These  follies  seem  to  have  origi- 
nated in  the  ancient  religion  of  the  Sawad  of  the  Tigris  and 
Euphrates.  Compare  Maimonides,  English  Translation  of  Dr. 
Townley,  p.  158;  and  Zend-Avesta,  i.  2,  p.  28. 


184  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

appears  their  sovereign  ever  before  the  public, 
except  at  certain  times,  which  are  fixed  at  long 
intervals,  and  then  it  is  only  for  the  inspection  of 
state  affairs;  for,  in  their  opinion,  the  kings  lose 
their  respect  and  give  away  their  privileges  if  the 
public  gazes  at  them*.  The  measures  of  govern- 
ment must  be  carried  by  mildness  in  India,  and  by 
degradation  from  a  higher  rank. 

El-Mas'udi  says.,  I  have  seen  in  the  country  of 
Serendib  (Ceylon),  which  is  an  island  of  the  sea, 
that  when  a  king  dies,  he  is  laid  upon  a  car,  with 
small  wheels,  and  made  for  the  purpose.  His  hair 
touches  the  ground,  and  a  woman  with  a  broom  in 
her  hand  sweeps  dust  on  his  head,  crying  out,  "  O 
people,  this  was  yesterday  your  king,  and  you  were 
bound  to  listen  to  his  orders.  See  what  now  has 
become  of  him!  He  has  left  this  world,  and  the 
King  of  the  kings  has  taken  his  soul  (life)  f .  He 
alone  is  living,  and  dies  not.  Do  not  be  given  to 
life  after  this  example."  These  words  have  the  ten- 
dency to  exhort  to  a  pious  and  abstemious  life  in 
this  world.  After  a  procession  with  the  body 


*  Institutes  of  Menu,  vii.  6,  "  Nor  can  any  human  creature 
on  earth  gaze  on  him  (the  king)." 

f  "  The  king  of  death  has  taken  his  soul  into  eternal  *o«X» 
life.  Thus  bears  the  copy  of  Cambridge,  but  *j«X5  has  not 
the  signification  which  the  context  would  give  to  the  word,  if  the 
passage  was  correct. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  185 

through  the  streets  of  the  town,  they  divide  it  into 
four  parts,  and  burn  it  with  sandal-  wood,  camphor, 
and  other  perfumes  which  they  have  prepared:  the 
ashes  are  thrown  to  the  winds.  This  is  the  funeral 
ceremony  for  kings  and  their  courtiers  of  the  most 
nations  of  India  *.  They  state  the  reason  for  so 
doing,  and  the  object  which  they  have  in  view. 

The  royalty  is  limited  upon  the  descendants  of 
one  family,  and  never  goes  to  another  f.  The 
same  is  the  case  with  the  families  of  the  vizier, 
kadhi,  and  other  high  officers.  They  are  all  (here- 
ditary and)  never  changed  nor  altered  J. 

The  Hindus  abstain  from  (spirituous)  liquors 
i_>^.£!\$,  not  in  obedience  to  some  religious  precept, 
but  because  they  do  not  choose  to  take  a  thing 
which  overwhelms  their  reason,  and  makes  cease  the 
dominion  which  this  faculty  is  to  exercise  over  men. 
If  it  can  be  proved  of  one  of  their  kings,  that  he 
has  drunk  (wine)  ,  he  forfeits  the  crown  ;  for  he  is 
(not  considered  to  be)  able  to  rule  and  govern  (the 
empire)  if  he  is  given  to  such  habits  ||. 

They  hear  frequently  songs  and  musical  per- 
formances <|&U^  ^UvJi,  and  they  have  various  sorts 


*  Compare  ancient  accounts  of  India  and  China,  p.  31. 
f  Ibidem,  p.  32. 

J   The  king  must  appoint  seven  or  eight    ministers   whose 
lineage  is  noble.     Menu,  vii.  84. 

§  Ancient  accounts  of  India  and  China,  p.  33. 
||   Compare  Institutes  of  Menu,  v,ii.  47,  50. 


186  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

of  musical  instruments  which  produce  on  man  all 
shades  of  impressions  between  laughing  and  crying. 
Sometimes  they  make  girls  drink  (wine),  to  excite 
them  to  show  their  mirth  in  their  presence,  and  in 
order  to  be  inspired  with  gaiety  by  their  merriment. 

The  Hindus  have  various  interesting  institu- 
tions, and  are  rich  in  curious  facts.  We  have 
given  many  sketches  from  their  history  and  biogra- 
phy (manners)  in  our  book,  the  Kitab  Akhbar  ez- 
zeman,  and  Kitab  el-ausat.  A  specimen,  however, 
shall  be  inserted  here. 

One  of  the  most  curious  stories  of  the  kings  of 
the  Hindus,  and  a  strange  (yet  characteristic)  ex- 
ample of  the  line  of  conduct  of  the  most  ancient 
Hindu  kings,  and  their  institutions.,  is  (exhibited  in 
the  following  narration)  of  a  king  of  el-Komar* 
j($l\  (Comorin).  From  this  kingdom  and  tract  of 
India  the  Komdri  aloes  c?^l$Jl  J^c  has  its  name. 
This  country  is  not  an  island  of  the  sea,  but  it 
belongs  to  the  continent,  and  is  very  mountainous. 
Few  parts  of  India  are  more  populous  than  this, 
and  the  inhabitants  distinguish  themselves  before 
the  other  Hindus  by  their  agreeable  breath,  which 
they  acquire  by  rubbing  their  teeth  with  aloes- wood, 
as  it  is  the  habit  amongst  the  Mohammedans. 
They  consider,  like  the  Mohammedans,  fornication 

*  Compare  ancient  accounts  of  India  and  China,  p.  65,  et 
seqq. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  187 

to  be  unlawful,  and  they  avoid  (like  them)  unclean- 
liness,  and  the  use  of  wine.  In  this  practice  the 
Hindus  of  the  higher  ranks  are  like  those  of  the 
lower  classes. 

They  (the  inhabitants  of  el-Komar)  are  for 
the  most  part  infantry,  on  account  of  the  mountain- 
ous character  of  the  country,  which  is  broken  by 
rivers,  and  has  few  plains,  or  high  table-lands  ^Lcr'J. 
The  country  of  el-Komar  is  the  point  of  communi- 
cation with  the  dominions  of  the  Maharaj  ^\^^\9 
the  king  of  the  islands,  as  the  Isle  of  ez-Zanij, 
Kolah  XXT,  Serendib  i-vA>j~»  (Ceylon),  and  other 
islands. 

It  is  related  that  an  inconsiderate  man  ruled  in 
ancient  times  over  el-Komar.  One  day  he  sat  on 
the  royal  throne  in  his  palace,  which  stood  on  a 
large  river  of  sweet  water,  like  the  Tigris  or  Eu- 
phrates, and  was  one  day's  journey  from  the  sea. 
The  vizier  was  with  the  king,  who  said  to  him, 
"The  splendour  and  high  civilization  of  the  empire 
and  islands  of  the  Maharaj  are  celebrated.  This 
excites  a  desire  in  my  mind  which  I  wish  to 
realize."  The  vizier,  a  prudent  man,  who  knew 
the  levity  of  his  master,  asked  him  "What  is  thy 
desire,  O  king?"  "  I  wish,"  replied  the  king,  "  to 
see  the  head  of  the  Maharaj,  the  king  of  ez-Zanij, 
laying  (in  a  dish)  at  my  feet."  The  vizier  saw 
that  envy  had  inspired  him  with  these  thoughts, 


188          EL-MAs'uni's  MEADOWS  OF  GOLD, 

and  he  said,  after  some  consideration,  "  I  do  not 
think  the  king  will  permit  this  idea  to  rest  in  his 
mind,  as  there  has  never  existed  any  difference 
between  us  and  that  nation,  neither  of  yore,  nor  of 
late;  nor  have  they  ever  done  us  any  harm.  Be- 
sides they  are  far  from  us,  in  islands,  and  by  no 
means  neighbours ;  nor  have  they  any  design 
against  our  possessions.  The  distance  between  the 
dominions  of  the  Maharaj  and  those  of  el-Komar, 
is  from  ten  to  twenty  days  across  the  sea.  It  is 
therefore  better,  O  king,"  continued  the  vizier,  "  not 
to  persist  in  this  scheme."  The  king  made  no  reply, 
he  was  enraged  with  anger,  and  shut  his  ear  to 
advice.  He  acquainted  his  officers  and  the  chiefs 
of  his  men,  who  were  present,  with  his  project ;  and 
so  it  was  divulged,  and  went  from  tongue  to  tongue 
till  it  reached  the  Maharaj,  who  was  a  prince  of 
great  prudence,  and  a  middle-aged  man. 

The  Maharaj  called  his  vizier,  related  to  him 
the  account  which  he  had  received,  and  said,  "  Con- 
sidering the  project  of  this  madman,  which  has 
come  to  publicity,  and  the  intentions  which  he  has 
formed,  with  his  inexperienced  and  overbearing 
spirit,  and  after  his  words  have  become  generally 
known,  we  can  no  longer  preserve  peace  with  him, 
he  has  forfeited  the  crown,  and  deserves  to  be 
deposed."  The  king  ordered  his  vizier  to  observe 
secrecy  of  what  had  passed  between  them,  and  to 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  189 


prepare  a  thousand  of  the  best   ships 
V^XJ  k«sjt,  with  full  equipment,  to  provide  them 
with  the  arms  necessary,  and  to  man  them  with  a 
sufficient  number  of  the  best   soldiers.     He  pre- 
tended that  these  preparations  were  meant  for  an 
excursion   into   his    islands,    and  he  wrote  to  the 
kings  (governors)  of  these  islands,  who  were  under 
his  sway,  and  his  subjects,  that  he  had  the  intention 
to  pay  them  a  visit,  and  to  make  an  excursion  to 
their  islands.     This  rumour  spread,  and  the  king 
of  every  island  made  all  possible  preparation  for  the 
reception  of  the  Maharaj.     When  everything  was 
ready  and  in  order,  he  went  on  board  and  sailed 
with  the  army  to  the  kingdom  of  el-Komar.     The 
king  of  el-Komar  was  not  aware  of  the  expedition 
before  he  came  up  the  wadi  (river,)  which  washes 
the  walls  of  the  royal  palace.     The  Maharaj  ordered 
his  men  to  make  an  assault  upon  (the  palace,)  and 
they  surrounded  it  unaware,  and  took  possession  of 
it.     The  inhabitants  appeared  before  the  Maharaj, 
he  ordered  to  proclaim  "quarter,"  and  sat  on  the 
throne  on  which  the  king  of  el-Komar  used  to  sit, 
who  was  now  a  prisoner,  and  commanded  to  bring  the 
king  and  his  vizier  in  his  presence,  and  said,  "  What 
gave  rise   to   those   intentions   which    are    beyond 
thy  power?    And  if  thou  hadst  attained  thy  object 
thou  wouldst  not  have  been  the  happier."     The 
facility  of  the  execution  of  the  project  did  not  afford 
any  excuse  (to  the  captive  king),  and  so  he  remained 


190  EL-MAS'tJDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

silent.  "If  thy  desires/'  continued  the  Maharaj, 
"to  see  my  head  before  thee  in  a  dish  had  been 
joined  with  the  intention  to  make  thyself  master  of 
my  dominions,  and  the  throne,  and  to  spread 
destruction  in  any  part  of  the  country,  I  should 
do  the  same  thing  to  thee.  But  thou  hast  dis- 
tinctly expressed  thy  object,  and  I  will  now  visit 
it  on  thee;  and  I  will  return  to  my  country 
without  touching  anything  in  thy  empire  either 
small  or  great.  Thou  shalt  be  an  example  for 
posterity,  that  none  may  dare  to  transgress  the 
portion  which  Providence  has  given  to  him*." 

After  these  words  he  beheaded  him  ;  and  turning 
to  the  vizier,  "Thou  hast  tried  all,"  said  he,  "  that 
a  good  vizier  can  do:  I  know  thou  gavest  good 
advice  to  thy  master,  which  he  ought  to  have 
accepted  :  consult  who  may  be  most  fit  to  succeed 
this  madman,  and  put  him  on  the  throne."  The 
Maharaj  returned  immediately  to  his  country,  and 
neither  he  nor  anybody  of  his  army  touched  anything 
in  the  kingdom  of  el-Komar. 


LAJK  CyJ*1  JJJ  jCx3  *XT   Jji  ^ 

M.   Renaudot   had  evidently  the  same 

words  which  are  transcribed  here  ;  but  he  differs  from  the  above 
translation. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  191 

When  the  Maharaj  was  come  back  into  his 
dominions,  he  sat  on  his  throne,  from  whence  he 
enjoyed  the  view  over  a  hay  which  was  called  the 
Bay  of  the  Ingot  of  Gold  «-^jJJ  ^xJ*  ^»^5  and 
before  him  was  placed  the  dish  with  the  head  of  the 
king  of  el-Komar.  He  assembled  the  great  men  of 
his  kingdom,  narrated  to  them  his  exploits,  and 
exposed  the  reason  which  had  brought  him  under 
the  necessity  of  undertaking  them.  He  was 
received  with  the  marks  of  admiration,  and  prayers 
for  his  welfare.  Then  he  gave  orders  to  wash 
the  head  of  the  king  of  el-Komar,  to  embalm  it,  and 
to  send  it  in  a  vase  to  the  king  who  had  succeeded 
him  in  el-Komar;  and  he  wrote  to  him:  ll  Our 
motive  in  acting  as  we  have  done  with  thy  prede- 
cessor having  been  his  hostile  intentions  towards 
us  and  to  offer  an  example  to  his  equals,  it  appears  to 
us  well  to  send  back  his  head  to  thee,  since  we  have 
obtained  our  object,  as  there  is  no  use  in  keeping  it, 
for  this  trophy  would  not  add  to  the  glory  of  our 
victory."  The  news  of  this  action  reached  the 
ears  of  the  kings  of  India  and  China,  and  the 
Maharaj  rose  greatly  in  their  estimation ;  and  since 
this  time,  the  kings  of  el-Komar  turn  their  faces 
every  morning  towards  ez-Zanij,  and  prostrate  them- 
selves to  express  their  veneration  for  the  Maharaj. 

*  ..^A!  Seems  to  be  the  technical  term  for  ingot,  in  Arabic 
coinage;  at  least  it  is  used  as  such  by  en-Nowairl. 


192  EL-MAS'tJDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

El-Mas'udi  says,  the  meaning  of  the  words 
v-^>  &\  ^J  ^j^Xc  (the  bay  of  the  ingot  of  gold)  is 
this,  the  palace  of  the  Maharaj  stands  on  a  little 
bay  ^Jvr,  which  is  in  connexion  with  the  greatest 
strait  of  ez-Zanij.  At  high  tide  this  strait  is  filled 
with  sea  water,  and  at  low  tide  sweet  water  flows  in 
it.  The  treasurer  ^Lc^j  of  the  king  goes  every 
morning  into  this  bay,  carrying  an  ingot  of  gold 
with  him  of  several  pounds  UuJ,  but  we  do  not  know 
its  exact  weight.  He  throws  it  before  the  king 
into  the  bay.  When  the  tide  comes  in,  the  water 
covers  this  and  other  ingots  which  may  be  there; 
and  when  the  water  retires,  it  appears  again,  and  it 
shines  in  the  sun.  The  king  sits  in  the  room  of 
reception  from  which  he  delights  to  see  it  .The  habit 
of  throwing  every  day  a  golden  ingot  into  this  bay,  is 
continued  during  the  whole  reign  of  the  same  king, 
and  they  are  never  touched.  When  the  king  dies, 
his  successor  has  them  all  taken  out,  and  none  of 
them  are  put  into  the  bay  again;  but  they  are 
counted,  melted,  and  distributed  among  the  royal 
household;  amongst  the  men,,  women,  children, 
leaders,  and  servants ;  to  every  one  according  to  his 
station,  and  the  class  to  which  he  belongs;  and 
what  remains  is  given  to  the  poor  and  indigent. 
The  number  of  golden  ingots  and  their  weight 
is  registered,  and  it  is  said  such  and  such  a  king 
reigned  so  many  years,  and  left  such  and  such 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  193 

a  number  of  ingots,  of  such  a  weight  in  the  royal  bay, 
for  distribution  after  his  death.  Kings  who  had 
a  long  reign,  set  their  glory  on  leaving  many 
ingots. 

The  greatest  king  of  India  in  our  times  is  the 
Ballahra,  the  lord  of  El-Mankir.  The  most  kings 
of  India  turn,  in  their  prayers,  their  face  towards 
him;  and  they  pray  (adore?)  his  messengers  yiT^ 


when  they  receive  them.  The  dominions  of  the 
Ballahra  border  on  many  other  kingdoms  of  India. 
Some  kings  have  their  territory  in  the  mountains, 
and  are  not  in  possession  of  a  sea,  as  the  er-Ray 
<$VjJJ  (Raja),  who  is  the  king  of  el-Kashmir  J*C&A!I 
>  and  the  king  of  et-Tafi  ^UUt  (^UJl  or 
and  other  Hindu  sovereigns.  Others 
are  in  possession  of  land  and  sea.  The  country  of 
the  king  el-  Ballahra  is  eighty  Sindi  farsangs  ^w  ^ 
x>jJLo,  from  the  sea;  every  such  farsang  has  eight 
miles.  His  troops  and  elephants  are  innumerable, 
and  his  army  consists  mostly  of  infantry,  for  his 
dominions  are  mountainous.  At  some  distance 
from  him  is  the  territory  of  Barudah  22^  (*#^ 
or  *£f>  or  *jjj})9  who  is  one  of  those  kings  of 
India  who  have  no  sea,  and  resides  in  the  town  of 
el-Kinnauj*.  This  is  the  name  for  every  sove- 


*  In  other  passages  of  this  work  the  title  of  this  king  is 

O 


194  EL-MAS'tJDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

reign  who  rules  over  this  country.  He  has  large 
armies  garrisoned  in  the  north  and  south,  and  in 
the  east  and  west;  for  he  is  surrounded  by  warlike 
neighbours.  We  shall  insert  a  general  account  of 
the  kings  of  es-Sind  and  India,  and  of  other  places 
of  the  world,  farther  on  in  this  book,  where  we 
speak  of  the  seas,,  their  wonders,  and  of  the 
nations,  kings,  &c.,  in  them,  and  round  them.  We 
have  treated  on  these  subjects  in  our  former  works. 
There  is  no  strength  nor  power  except  in  God. 

clearly  written  Budah  k'^j.  The  name  or  title  of  the  king  of 
el-Kinnauj,  at  the  time  of  the  conquest  of  Mahmud  of  Ghizna, 
was  Rajbal 


AND    MINES    OP    GEMS.  ]  95 


EIGHTH  CHAPTER. 

On  the  globe,  the  seas,  the  beginning  of  rivers,  the 
mountains,  the  seven  climates,  the  stars  which 
preside  over  them,  the  order  of  the  spheres,  and 
other  subjects. 

EL-MAS'UDI  says,  the  mathematicians  have  divided 
the  earth  into  four  quarters,  the  east,  west,  north, 
and  south.  Another  division  is  into  the  inhabited 
and  uninhabited,  cultivated  and  uncultivated  world. 
They  say  the  earth  is  round,  its  centre  falls  in  the 
midst  of  the  heaven,  and  the  air  surrounds  it  from 
all  sides.  It  is  the  dot  (centre)  in  reference  to  the 
zodiac. 

The  cultivated  land  is  considered  to  begin  from 
the  Eternal  Islands  (Fortunate  Islands)  jo^il 
okxJlii,  in  the  Western  Ocean,  which  is  a  group  of 
six  flourishing  islands,  and  to  extend  as  far  as  the 
extremity  of  China  ^xaJJ.  They  found  that  this  is 
a  space  of  twelve  hours  (of  the  daily  revolution  of 
the  sun) ;  for  they  know  that  when  the  sun  sets  in 
the  extremity  of  China,  it  rises  again  in  the 
cultivated  islands  of  the  Western  Ocean ;  and  when 
it  sets  in  these  islands,  it  rises  in  the  extremity  of 
China.  This  is  half  the  circumference  of  the  earth, 

o  2 


196  EL-MAS'UDl'.S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

and  the  length  of  the  cultivated  parts  of  the  globe, 
which,  if  reduced  into  miles,  amounts  to  thirteen 
thousand  five  hundred  geographical  miles  *. 

The  researches  into  the  breadth  of  the  culti- 
vated land  have  shown  that  it  extends  from  the 
equator  as  far  north  as  the  isle  of  Thule  Jp,  which 
belongs  to  Britannia  XAJU^J,  and  where  the  longest 
day  has  twenty  hours. 

They  state  that  there  is  a  point  of  the  equator 
of  the  earth  between  east  and  west,  which  falls  in 
an  island  between  India  and  Habesh  (Abyssinia), 
somewhat  south  of  these  two  countries;  and  as 
it  is  in  the  middle,  between  north  and  south,  so 
it  is  in  the  middle  between  the  Fortunate  Islands 
and  the  utmost  cultivated  districts  of  China;  and 
this  is  known  by  the  name  of  the  Dome  of  the  earth 
u*j  $\  Xxi',  and  defined  by  the  description  which  we 
have  just  givenf. 

*  Literally  "of  those  miles  which  are  in  use  in  measuring  the 
circumference  of  the  earth." 

f  Messrs.  Reinaud  and  Baron  Slane,  (Aboulfeda,  p.  376,) 
collected  the  most  important  passages  from  Arabic  authors, 
bearing  on  this  dome  of  the  earth,  and  traced  the  origin  of 
the  idea  to  India.  But  it  appears  it  also  existed  amongst  the 
ancient  Greeks. 

6s  ('OSuo'evs)  8»)  drjdd  <f)i\a)v  OTTO  TrfjfMaTa  nd^fi, 

Nqo-os  fv  dfjiffripvTr),  061  T  OM$AAO2  eori  6a\d(T(Tr)5. 

Homer,  Odyss.  i.  51. 

The  navel  of  the  earth  is  also  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures; 
but  as  the  Greeks  have  neglected  this  idea  in  subsequent  time,  it 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  197 

The  breadth  from  the  Isle  of  Thule  to  the 
equator  makes  nearly  sixty  degrees:  this  is  one- 
sixth  of  the  circumference  of  the  earth.  This 
sixth,  which  represents  the  breadth  of  the  cultivated 
parts  of  the  earth,  multiplied  with  one-half,  which 
expresses  the  length,  gives  as  product  the  extent  of 
the  cultivated  world  (jji/*JJ  of  the  northern  hemi- 
sphere. This  product  is  half  one-sixth  (or  one- 
twelfth)  of  the  surface  of  the  globe. 

THE  SEVEN  CLIMATES*.     The  first  climate  is  the 

seems  that  it  had  arisen  from  considering  the  earth  as  a  round 
plain,  convex  in  the  centre,  which  is  this  dome.  It  belongs  there- 
fore to  the  doctrine  of  the  Jummoodeep  of  the  Hindus,  about 
which,  the  reader  may  compare  Ayeen  Akberi,  vol.  iii.,  p.  25. 

Bazih  s^Lj  is  a  town  near  the  dome  of  the  earth,  on  the  same 
meridian  as  Khojandah,  in  Transoxania;  and  this  meridian  was 
considered  as  the  absolute  division  between  east  and  west  (Meta- 
tih  el-'olum). 

*  The  basis  of  all  researches  in  ancient  history  must  unques- 
tionably be  to  trace  when  and  where  ideas  have  risen  ?  how  they 
have  been  propagated?  what  changes  they  underwent?  and 
what  was  their  influence  upon  the  life,  freedom,  and  happiness  of 
man  in  their  different  phases.  It  is  in  this  point  of  view  that  this 
notice  of  our  author  on  the  seven  climates  is  important,  for  it 
shows  us  that  it  is  neither  an  invention  of  the  Greeks,  as  Pliny 
observes  (lib.  vii.,  cap.  39),  nor  originally  founded  upon  the 
observations  of  the  gnomon  having  reference  to  the  northern 
latitude,  as  the  same  author,  and  everybody  else  after  him, 
believed. 

The  seven  climates,  as  we  see  here,  are  independent  of  the 
latitude  of  places ;  and  owe  their  origin  to  the  circumstance  that, 


198  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

country  of  Babil,  which  includes  Khorasan,  Faris, 

in  the  star  worship,  every  part  of  the  earth  was  sacred  to  one  of 
the  seven  planets. 

This  was  not  only  the  habit  amongst  the  Persians,  but  we  find 
that  they  have  been  imitated  by  Ptolemy,  who  assigns  equally 
to  every  country  a  planet  as  a  patron,  in  his  Tetrabiblos.  I  have 
no  means  of  referring  to  this  book  at  present,  and  do  not  remem- 
ber whether  he  makes  the  same  divisions,  but  nothing  is  more 
natural  than  that  the  city  of  Baal  or  Babylon,  [for  even  Arabic 
writers  (et-Tanbih,  fol.  25.  verso,)  confess,  that  the  Persians  and 
Nabathaeans  derive  Babel  from  Bil  J^,,  which  means  the  planet 
Jupiter  c5^p.^JL\  J  should  be  sacred  to  Jupiter ;  and  the  countries 
of  the  black  nations  to  the  dark  and  gloomy  Saturn ;  whilst  the 
lively  Arabs  worshipped  particularly  the  bright  star  of  Venus  in 
San'a ;  Thaut  was  the  god  of  the  grave  Egyptians,  and  it  is  very 
likely  that  the  Sabeans  of  Harran,  worshipped  the  moon  in 
preference  to  other  planets ;  the  warlike  Turks,  or  Tartars,  found 
in  Mars  their  patron ;  whilst  the  most  eastern  country,  the  Shave 
of  the  Zend  books,  was  naturally  sacred  to  the  sun. 

As  we  conclude  that  a  map  in  which  the  first  meridian  goes 
through  Greenwich,  has  been  made  in  England,  so  we  can  have 
no  doubt  that  a  division  of  the  globe,  in  which  Babel  stands  on  the 
head,  has  been  made  in  Babylonia;  for  the  rest  we  have  a  direct 
proof  in  the  Tenblh,  where  the  author  says  distinctly  that  the 
Persians  divide  the  earth  into  seven  climates,  consecrating  them 
to  the  seven  planets.  Maimonides,  Nev.,  p.  iii.,  cap.  27,  assigns 
the  division  of  the  earth  after  the  seven  planets  to  the  Sabeans 
(Chaldeans). 

The  Zendavesta  mentions  these  seven  climates  in  several  places, 
but  the  fire  worshippers  leave  out  the  planets  who  presided  over 
them.  The  Zend  word  for  climate  is  Keshvar. 

It  is  very  curious  that  Pliny  includes  all  the  countries  in  the 
first  climate,  which  we  find  in  el-Mas'iidi  as  being  subordinate  to 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  199 

el-Ahwas,  el-Mausil,  and  the  Jebal*.  The  Aries 
and  Sagittarius  are  the  zodiacal  signs  of  this  climate, 
and  Jupiter  is  its  planet. 

The  second  climate  includes  es-Sind,  India, 
and  es-Sudan  (Nigritia):  their  sign  is  Capricorn, 
and  their  planet  Saturn. 

The  third  climate  is  Mekka,  Medina,  Yemen, 
et-Tayif,  the  Hejaz,  and  the  intermediate  countries: 
their  sign  is  Scorpio,  and  their  star  is  Venus. 

The  fourth  climate  is  Egypt  t,  Afrikiyah  (Africa 

it.  He  names  (lib.  vi.  cap.  39,)  Parthyene  (Khorasan) ;  Persae 
(Faris) ;  Susiane  (el- Ahwaz) ;  and  Mesopotamia  (el-Mausil)  : 
although  these  countries  belong,  according  to  Pliny's  principle  of 
division,  to  the  third  climate.  Nobody  will  therefore  say  the 
division  of  the  earth  into  seven  climates  was  a  Greek  invention,  or 
was  originally  made  according  to  the  latitude  of  the  places, 
although  the  honour  of  having  reduced  it  to  this  more  scientific 
principle  is  owing  to  the  Greeks. 

*  These  countries  formed  the  Iran  or  holy  land  of  the  Per- 
sians, which  is  called  KHOUNNERETS  in  the  Zend  books.  This 
name  would  be  an  additional  proof  to  confirm  what  has  been  stated 
in  the  preceding  note,  if  such  was  required.  The  Keschvar  or 
climate  of  Khounnerets,  means  the  climate  of  Babel,  (exactly  the 
same  as  our  author  calls  it),  for  el-Mas'udi  informs  us  in  the 
Tanblh  (MS.  337,  de  St.  Germain,  Royal  Library  of  Paris,  fol. 
25,  recto))  that  Kha'inereth  C,J.AAS*.  is  the  Assyrian  or  Chaldean 
name  of  Babylon.  This  throws  a  great  deal  of  light  on  the 
Zendavesta;  for  Khounnerets  is  mentioned  as  the  most  sacred 
place.  It  may  lead  to  important  conjectures,  why  this  climate  has 
its  name  from  Babel  and  not  the  pure  Persian  name  Iran. 

T   This  climate  has  the  name  of  Arze  in  the  Zend  books,  and 


200  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

provincia),  el-Berber,  Spain,  and  the  interjacent 
countries:  their  sign  is  the  Gemini,  and  their 
planet  is  Mercury. 

The  fifth  climate  is  Syria  and  el-Jezirah  (Meso- 
potamia)*: their  sign  is  the  Aquarius,  and  their 
planet  the  Moon. 

The  sixth  climate  is  et-Turk  (Turkestan),  el- 
Khazar  j^\9  ed-Dailom  jju<x!l,  and  es-Sakalibah 
XxJUuoJJ  (Slavonians)  f:  their  sign  is  the  Cancer,  and 
their  star  is  Mars. 

The  seventh  climate  is  ed-DabilJ 


or  J^JJl,  and  China:  their  zodiacal  sign  is  the 
Libra,  and  their  planet  the  Sun. 

Hosain  the  astronomer,  who  is  the  author  of 
the  Astronomical  Tables  p.^Jl  J  g$\\  v^>  relates 
from  Khaled  Ben  'Abdul-Melik  el-Marwazi  tfj^Xt 
G^jJtAO'  and  the  others  who  have  observed  the  sun 
in  the  plains  of  Sinjar  ^l^uw,  in  Diyar  Rabi'ah§,  by 
order  of  el-Mamun,  that  the  length  of  one  degree 

the  chief  of  this  climate  is  there  (Boun-Dehesch,  cap.  xxx,  p. 
408),  said  to  be  Schaschega,  which  is  clearly  the  name  of  the  Sesak 
of  the  Scriptures.  It  would  not  be  difficult  to  find  out  the  nameg 
of  the  chiefs  of  the  other  climates,  if  it  was  worth  while. 

*  One  copy  adds  "  and  er-Rum,"  the  Byzantine  empire. 

f  These  nations  and  countries  were  all  on  the  coasts  of  the 
Caspian. 

f  Perhaps  Daibol,  which  is  the  last  seaport  in  es-Sind,  is  to  be 
read. 

§  The  llabi'ah  tribe  held  the  South  of  Mesopotamia. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  201 

of  the  earth  is  equal  to  fifty-six  miles :  they  mul- 
tiplied this  number  with  three  hundred  and  sixty, 
and  found  the  circumference  of  the  globe,  which  is 
covered  with  land  and  seas,  to  be  twenty  thousand 
one  hundred  and  sixty  miles.  The  circumference 
of  the  earth,  multiplied  with  seven,  gives  as  pro- 
duct one  hundred  and  forty-one  thousand  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty;  and  this,  divided  with  twenty- 
two,  gives  the  length  of  the  diameter  ^3  of  the 
earth  as  the  result,  viz.,  six  thousand  four  hundred 
and  fourteen  miles,  and  nearly  half  a  tenth  of  a 
mile.  The  length  of  the  radius  of  the  earth  is 
three  thousand  two  hundred  and  seven  miles,  six- 
teen minutes,  and  two-thirds  of  a  second,  which  is 
equal  to  one-fourth  and  the  fourth  part  of  one-tenth 
of  a  mile  (eleven-fortieths).  A  mile  has  four  thou- 
sand black  cubits :  these  are  the  cubits  which  have 
been  introduced  by  the  Khalif  el-Mamun  for  mea- 
suring cloths,  buildings,  and  grounds:  one  cubit 
has  twenty-four  inches  £*j&\. 

The  philosopher  o^X/jUt  (Ptolemy)  gives  an 
account  in  his  book  entitled  "Gighrafia"  loiyL*. 
(yecoypa^ia)  of  the  world,  its  towns,  mountains, 
seas,  islands,  rivers,,  and  wells.  He  describes  the 
inhabited  towns  and  cultivated  tracts.  There  were, 
according  to  him,  four  thousand  five  hundred  and 
thirty  towns  in  his  time.  He  names  these  towns, 
adding  to  every  one  of  them  in  what  climate  it  is 
situated.  He  says  in  his  book  what  colour  the 


202  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

mountains  of  the  world  have,  red,  yellow,  green, 
or  any  other  colour.  There  are  about  two  hundred 
mountains  (named  by  Ptolemy).  He  gives  their 
dimensions,  mentions  the  mines  which  are  in  them, 
and  the  mass  of  which  they  consist  (or  the  gems 
found  in  them).  The  philosopher  says  that  the 
seas  which  surround  the  globe  are  five  seas.  He 
names  the  islands  which  are  in  them,  stating  whe- 
ther they  are  cultivated  or  not;  but  only  the  more 
celebrated  islands  are  mentioned,  and  not  those 
which  are  less  known.  So,  for  instance*,  there  is 
an  Archipelago  in  the  Abyssinian  Sea,  consisting 
of  nearly  one  thousand  islands,  called  ed-Dinjat 
£»L*u&Jl  (^LsryjjOi),  all  of  which  are  cultivated. 
The  distance  from  one  island  to  another  is  two  or 
three  miles,  more  or  less. 

He  states  in  his  geography  that  the  sea  of  the 
Byzantine  empire  and  of  Egypt  (the  Mediterranean) 
begins  from  the  sea  of  the  idols  of  copper  (Columrus 
Herculis) ;  that  the  number  of  all  the  great  springs 
on  earth  is  two  hundred  and  thirty,  not  counting 
the  lesser  ones;  that  there  are  two  hundred  and 
ninety  great  and  perennial  rivers;  and  that  the 
extent  of  every  one  of  the  seven  climates,  which 
we  have  just  mentioned,  is  nine  hundred  farsangs 


The  Cambridge  copy 
bears  Aj  ^  j$*j  »  an(^  ^le  mentions  that  there  is  an  Archipelago. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  203 

square.  Some  seas  have  cultivation  (in  islands); 
others  have  none.  Into  the  number  of  the  latter 
enters  the  ocean,  or  the  sea,  which  surrounds  the 
world  kxsi?J  ^i.  The  reader  will  find  in  the  fol- 
lowing pages  a  description  of  the  division  of  the 
seas.  They  are  all  represented  in  the  geography 
(of  Ptolemy)  in  drawings  of  different  colours,  di- 
mensions, and  forms.  Some  have  the  form  of  a 
cloak  ^U^Xxk,  some  of  an  armour,  and  others  of 
intestines*,  and  are  round,  or  triangular;  but  the 
names  in  that  book  are  in  Greek :  hence  they  are 
unintelligible. 

The  diameter  of  the  earth  is  two  thousand  one 
hundred  farsangs  [but  the  correct  number  is  one 
thousand  six  hundred  farsangs f] :  a  farsang  is  equal 
to  one  thousand  six  hundred  cubits. 

The  orbit  of  the  lowest  star  is  the  sphere  (or 
heaven)  of  the  moon,  and  has  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty  far- 
sangs in  circumference.  The  diameter  of  the 
heaven,  from  the  limit  of  the  head  of  the  Aries  to 
the  limit  of  the  head  of  the  Libra,  measures  forty 
thousand  farsangs. 


*  This  word  •  L*ax>,  intestine,  is,  I  believe,  not  found  in 
any  dictionary.  It  is,  however,  used  in  vulgar  Arabic,  and  fre- 
quently found  in  books. 

f  This  correction  is  only  in  one  copy. 


204  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


There  are  nine  spheres  (or  heavens)  cftUi.  The 
first;  which  is  the  smallest,  and  nearest  to  the  earth, 
is  the  sphere  of  the  Moon^W*;  the  second  is  the 
sphere  of  Mercury  JjlkxJ!;  the  third,  of  Venus 
*jj*>j$\;  the  fourth,  of  the  Sun  y^^t;  the  fifth,  of 
Mars  £jtt  ;  the  sixth  of  Jupiter  <gJrJ&\  ;  the 
seventh,  of  Saturn  J^JJ;  the  eighth,  of  the  fixed 
stars;  the  ninth,  of  the  Zodiac  ^$j&.  The  form 
of  these  spheres  is  like  one  ball  in  another.  The 
sphere  of  the  Zodiac  is  called  the  universal  sphere 
^XSftjfo.  The  revolution  of  this  sphere  is  the 
cause  of  day  and  night  ;  for  it  carries  the  sun, 


*  The  word  Kamar  (moon),  says  en-Nowairi,  means  white ;  Zoh- 
rah  (Venus)  resplendent,  Zonal  (Saturn)  is  explained  as  meaning 
ill-natured  and  wandering;  Mirrikh  (Mars),  say  some  authors, means 
originally  an  arrow  without  feathers,  and  this  name  was  applied  to 
Mars  on  account  of  its  irregular  course ;  others  seek  for  a  more 
natural  meaning  of  this  word,  and  derive  it  from  the  name  of  a 
tree  called  markh  ^  ^9  the  branches  of  which  are  rubbed  against 

each  other  and  produce  fire;  'Utarid  (Mercury),  says  the  same 
author,  means  a  penman :  and,  indeed,  this  planet  is  represented 
as  such ;  but  whether  this  word  is  ever  used  for  penman  in  Arabic 
is  more  than  doubtful.  Ibn  Bai'tar  mentions  a  plant  which  is 
called  Sonbal  er-Rumi  by  the  Arabs,  and  'Utarid  by  the  Naba- 
theans.  This  might  lead  to  the  opinion  that  this  strange-sounding 
word  derives  its  origin  in  its  astronomical  meaning,  as  well  from 
that  language,  to  which  several  other  terms  and  notions  of  Arabic 
astronomy  seem  to  owe  their  origin. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  205 

moon,  and  all  the  stars,  once  in  a  day  and  night, 
with  itself,  in  the  direction  from  east  to  west,  round 
the  two  poles,  which  are  fixed  the  one  in  the  north, 
and  this  is  the  pole  of  the  Bear ;  and  the  other  in 
the  south,  which  is  the  pole  of  Canopus.  The 
signs  of  the  zodiac  have  no  other  sphere  than  this ; 
for  they  are  certain  places  in  heaven  which  have 
received  this  name*,  in  order  to  fix  after  them 
the  position  of  the  stars,  in  reference  to  the  uni- 
versal sphere.  The  sphere  of  the  zodiac  must  there- 
fore be  narrow  towards  the  two  poles,  and  become 
wide  in  the  middle, 

The  line  which  cuts  the  sphere  in  two  halves 
running  from  the  east  to  the  west  is  called  the 
equinoctial  line  J^tt\  Jjo^  *jjte-  Both  poles  are  at 
the  same  distance  from  this  line.  It  has  the 
name  equinoctial  line,  because  when  the  sun  is  upon 
it,  day  and  night  are  equal  in  all  countries  of  the 
world.  The  direction  from  north  to  south  in  the 
sphere  is  called  latitude  o^c>  and  the  direction 
from  east  to  west  longitude  J^.  The  spheres  are 
round;  they  include  the  world  (earth),  and  turn 
round  the  centre  of  the  earth,  which  stands  like  the 
centre  of  a  circle  in  the  middle  of  them.  The 


*  This  explains  why  the  Signs  of  the  Zodiac  were  called  boruj, 
sing,  borj,  which  means  stronghold,  or  fortress,  and  answers  to  the 
Persian  word  Alborj,  and  the  German  Burg,  Berg. 


206  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

spheres  of  the  heaven  are  nine;  the  nearest  is  the 
sphere  of  the  moon,  above  it  is  the  sphere  of  Mer- 
cury, then  that  of  Venus,  then  the  sphere  of  the  sun, 
which  is  in  the  middle  between  the  seven  spheres  (of 
the  planets);  above  the  sphere  of  the  sun  is  that  of 
Mars,  then  the  sphere  of  Jupiter,  then  the  sphere  of 
Saturn.  In  every  one  of  these  seven  spheres  there  is 
only  one  star.  Above  Saturn  is  the  eighth  sphere,  in 
which  are  the  signs  of  the  zodiac,  and  all  other 
stars.  The  ninth  sphere  is  the  largest  and  widest, 
it  is  called  the  greatest  sphere,  and  includes  all 
others  which  we  have  just  enumerated,  with  the  four 
temperaments  and  all  qualities*.  There  is  no  star 
in  it.  It  turns  from  east  to  west,  making  one  com- 
plete revolution  every  day.  And  in  its  revolution 
it  carries  with  itself  all  the  spheres  which  are  below 
(within)  it.  But  the  seven  spheres  (of  the  planets) 
turn  from  west  to  eastt.  The  ancients  prove  what 


*  XJuXiU  £A^  ZxjjM  £>ULM,  literally  "the  four 
natures,  and  every  quality."  The  four  natures  imply  warmth 
and  cold,  dryness  and  wet.  Two  of  these  qualities  were  consi- 
dered as  necessary  for  the  existence  of  a  body  as  the  three  geo- 
metrical dimensions.  Arabic  pharmacologists  begin,  therefore, 
the  description  of  drugs  by  stating  which  two  of  these  qualities,  or 
temperaments,  they  possess. 

Quality  XJuXiJ  is  the  characteristic  property  which  distin- 
guishes one  individual  from  another.  (Bahr  el-Jewahir.) 

f  This  astronomical  theory  is  copied  from  Ptolemy,  and  is  of 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  207 

we  have  said  with  many  arguments,  but  it  would  be 
too  long  to  repeat  them  here. 

The  stars  visible  to  the  eye  and  all  others  are  in 
the  eighth  sphere,  which  does  not  make  its  revolu- 
tions round  the  pole  of  the  general  sphere  (being 
excentric).  They  bring  as  proof  for  the  difference 
of  the  motion  of  the  sphere  of  the  zodiac  from  that 
of  the  other  spheres,  that  the  twelve  zodiacal  signs 
follow  each  other  in  their  course,  without  change  in 
their  relative  position  and  alteration  in  their  motion 
in  rising  and  setting.  Every  one  of  the  planets  has 
a  different  motion,  for  there  is  a  discrepancy  in  their 
course ;  sometimes  the  motion  is  quicker,  sometimes 


little  interest.  I  give  the  explanation  of  the  idea  of  the  seven 
spheres  in  the  precise  words  of  La  Place  (Exposition  du  Systeme 
du  Monde,  Paris,  1808,  p.  343):  "  Ptolemee  1'adopta  (the  theory 
of  the  circular  and  uniform  motion),  et  pla^ant  la  terre  au  centre 
des  mouvements  celestes,  il  essaya  de  representer  leur  inegalite 
dans  cette  hypothese.  Que  Ton  imagine  un  mouvement  sur  une 
premiere  circonference,  dont  la  terre  occupe  le  centre,  celui  d'une 
seconde  circonference  sur  laquelle  se  meut  le  centre  d'une  troisieme 
circonference,  et  ainsi  de  suite  jusqu'a  la  derniere,  que  1'astre 
decrit  uniformement.  Si  le  rayon  d'une  de  ces  circonference s 
surpasse  la  somme  des  autres  rayons,  le  mouvement  apparent  de 
1'astre  autour  de  la  terre  sera  compose  d'un  moyen  mouvement 
uniforme,  et  de  plusieurs  inegalites  dependantes  des  rapports 
qu'ont  entre  eux  les  rayons  des  diverses  circonferences  et  le 
mouvement  de  leur  centre  et  de  1'astre ;  on  peut  done,  en  multi- 
pliant,  et  en  determinant  convenablement  ces  quantites,  repre- 
senter toutes  les  inegalites  de  ce  mouvement  apparent." 


208  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

it  goes  towards  the  south,  other  times  to  the 
north. 

They  (the  astronomers),  define  the  SPHERE 
JjjU!  as  the  end  Sul^iM  (universe),  for  it  embraces 
the  higher  and  lower  nature*.  The  definition  in 
reference  to  its  natural  quality  is,  that  it  is  a  round 
form,  and  the  largest  (concrete)  form  which  includes 
all  others  f. 

The  rapidity  of  the  motion  of  these  stars  is 
different,  so  the  moon  stays  in  every  sign  (of  the 
zodiac)  two  days  and  half  a  day,  and  she  goes 
through  all  the  heaven  in  one  month  ;  the  sun  stays 
in  every  sign  one  month;  Mercury  stays  fifteen 
days;  Venus  twenty-five  days;  Mars  stays  in  every 
sign  of  the  zodiac  forty-five  days;  Jupiter  stays  in 
every  sign  of  the  zodiac  one  year,  and  Saturn 
remains  thirty  months  in  every  sign  of  the  zodiac. 

Ptolemy,  the  author  of  the  Almagest  ^- 


*  The  ether  and  the  four  elements  of  the  earthly  bodies  :  the 
former  has  its  natural  place  above  the  lunar  region,  and  is  the 
essence  of  life  ;  whilst  the  latter  form  the  dead  mass  of  bodies. 
Compare  the  note  to  p.  179,  supra. 

f  El-Khalil,  the  great  grammarian,  defines  the  word  better: 
*UwJJ  i*fijj*  *&  jfollj  "felek  (sphere)  is  the  round  of  the 
heaven:"  the  word  has,  therefore,  originally  only  reference  to 
the  form,  and  not  to  the  matter;  and  this  is  borne  out  by  the 
original  signification  of  the  word,  for  it  means  anything  round  : 
hence  it  would  appear  that  all  these  ideas  have  not  been  in  the 
nation,  but  have  been  imported,  for  else  they  would  have  a  word. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  209 

states,  the  circumference  of  the  earth,  with  all  its 
mountains  and  seas,  is  twenty-four  thousand  miles; 
and  its  diameter,  that  is  to  say,  its  width  and  depth, 
seven  thousand  six  hundred  and  thirty-six  miles. 
These  data  were  found  by  taking  the  northern  alti- 
tude in  two  towns  which  are  under  the  same  meri- 
dian, namely,  at  Tadmor,  which  is  in  the  desert 
between  Syria  and  el-Trak,  and  at  er-Rakkah. 
They  found  the  town  of  er-Rakkah  to  be  under  the 
thirty-fifth  and  one-third  degree  of  northern  alti- 
tude, whilst  the  elevation  of  the  north  pole  in 
Tadmor  is  thirty-four  degrees.  The  difference 
between  both  is  one  and  one-third  degree.  Then 
they  measured  the  distance  between  Tadmor  and 
er-Rakkah ;  and  they  found  it  to  be  sixty-seven  miles. 
Sixty- seven  miles  of  the  earth  is  therefore  the 
known  quantity  yfclliM  of  the  circle  jfoW.  They 
divided  the  whole  circle  into  three  hundred  and 
sixty  degrees,  for  a  reason  which  they  state  ;  but  it 
would  be  against  our  object  to  demonstrate  it  here. 
This  division  is  correct  in  their  opinion;  for  they 
found  that  the  heaven  is  divided  into  twelve  parts 
by  the  zodiacal  signs,  and  the  sun,  remaining  in 
every  sign  one  month,  goes  through  the  whole 
heaven  in  three  hundred  and  sixty -five  days. 

The  sphere  which  makes  the  daily  revolution 
turns  round  an  axle  and  two  poles,  just  like  the 
wheel  of  the  carpenter  or  turner,  who  makes  balls, 
boxes,  and  other  articles  of  wood.  Those  who  live 

p 


210  EL   MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

in  the  middle  of  the  earth,  that  is  to  say,  on  the 
equator,  have  all  the  year  round  day  and  night  of 
equal  length;  and  they  see  both  poles,  the  north 
and  south  poles ;  whilst  those  who  inhabit  the 
northern  hemisphere,  see  only  the  north  pole  and  the 
Bear,  but  not  the  south  pole,  nor  the  stars  near  it. 
For  this  reason  they  never  see  the  Canopus  in 
Khorasan,  whilst  it  may  be  observed  in  el-'Irak 
some  days  in  the  year.  If  a  camel  looks  at  this 
star  it  will  die,  according  to  the  common  belief 
which  we  have  related,  together  with  the  reason 
which  is  assigned  that  it  should  be  fatal  only  to 
this  species  of  quadrupeds.  In  the  northern  coun- 
tries they  never  see  the  Canopus  all  the  year  round. 
The  different  schools  of  the  sciences  of  the  spheres 
and  stars  do  not  agree  about  the  axles  upon  which 
the  heaven  rests,  whether  they  are  immoveable,  or 
whether  they  have  a  rotatory  motion.  Most  of 
them  are,  however,  of  opinion  that  they  do  not 
move.  The  reader  may  find  a  further  develope- 
ment  of  the  opinions,  whether  these  axles  are 
immoveable,  or  whether  they  form  part  of  the 
sphere  (and  turn)*,  in  our  former  works. 


*  There  seems,  notwithstanding  the  gross  notions  alluded 
to  in  this  passage,  to  have  prevailed  a  dark  idea  of  the  mutual 
attraction  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  amongst  the  Arabs,  at  least  el- 
Makrizi  informs  us  that  some  astronomers  suppose  that  the  earth 
is  attracted  from  all  sides  by  the  heaven,  as  by  a  magnet. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  211 

The  philosophers  are  at  variance  about  the 
form  of  the  seas.  Most  of  the  ancients,  such  as  the 
mathematicians  of  the  Hindus  and  Greeks,  believe 
that  they  are  convex  ^»»\A**O  (round).  This  hypo- 
thesis, however,  is  rejected  by  those  who  follow 
strictly  the  revelation*.  The  former  bring  for- 
ward many  arguments  in  proof  of  their  statement. 
If  you  sail  on  the  sea,  land  and  mountains  disap- 
pear gradually,  until  you  lose  even  the  sight  of 
highest  summits  of  the  mountains,  and,  on  the 
contrary,  if  you  approach  the  coast,  you  gra- 
dually perceive,  first,  the  mountains,  and,  when 
you  come  nearer,  you  see  the  trees  and  plains. 

This  is  the  case  with  the  mountain  of  Doma- 
wand  jJ^Ufc>  between  er-Rai  and  Taberistan.  It  is 
to  be  seen  at  a  distance  of  one  hundred  farsangs,  on 
account  of  its  height:  from  the  summit  rises  a 
smoke ;  and  it  is  covered  with  eternal  snow,  owing 
to  its  elevation.  From  the  foot  of  the  mountain 
gushes  forth  a  copious  river,  the  water  of  which  is 
impregnated  with  sulphur,  and  of  a  yellow  hue 
like  the  colour  of  gold.  The  mountain  is  so  high 


They  probably  oppose  passages  of  the   Koran,  like  these, 
or 


P  2 


01     UJ 


212  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

that  about  three  days  and  nights  are  required  to 
ascend  it.  When  on  the  top,  a  platform  is  dis- 
covered, of  about  a  thousand  cubits  square ;  but 
as  seen  from  below,  it  appears  as  if  terminating 
in  a  cone.  This  platform  is  covered  with  red 
sand  (scoriae?),  into  which  the  feet  sink.  No 
animal  can  reach  the  summit,  not  even  a  bird,  on 
account  of  the  height,  the  wind,  and  the  cold.  On 
the  top  are  about  thirty  holes,  from  whence  issues 
clouds  of  sulphurous  smoke,  which  is  seen  from 
the  sea.  From  the  same  wind-holes  < AJJ^  pro- 
ceeds, sometimes,  a  noise  to  be  compared  with 
the  loudest  thunder,  which  is  accompanied  with 
flames.  It  frequently  happens  that  a  man  who 
exposes  himself  to  danger,  by  climbing  up  to 
the  highest  mouths  of  these  holes,  brings  a  yellow 
sulphur  back  like  gold,  which  is  used  in  different 
arts,  in  alchemy,  and  for  other  purposes*.  From 


*  'Ali  Ben  Zorairah  g^,  ^^  (^^  ^c,  a  man  well  versed  in 
natural  philosophy,  who  made  himself  known  through  many 
works,  says,  that  he  has  ascended  this  mountain,  with  several 
persons  of  Khorasan,  and  gives  almost  literally  the  same  descrip- 
tion as  el-Mas'udi ;  so  that  it  is  probable  our  author  has  derived 
his  account  from  him — if  he  is  earlier. 

El-Kazwini,  in  whose  'Ajaib  el-Makhlukat  the  above  author 
is  quoted,  gives,  under  the  head  jebal  en-nar  (volcanoes),  the 
following  account: — 

"  Volcanoes   are  numerous.     There  is  one  in  Turkestan  with 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  213 

the  top  the  mountains  all  around  appear  like  hillocks, 
however  high  they  may  be.  This  mountain  is 
about  twenty  farsangs  from  the  Caspian.  If  ships 
sail  in  this  sea,  and  are  very  distant,  they  will  not 
see  it ;  but  when  they  go  towards  the  mountains  of 
Taberistan,  and  are  within  a  distance  of  one  hun- 
dred farsangs,  they  perceive  the  north  side  of  this 
mountain  of  Domawand ;  and  the  nearer  they  come 
to  the  shore  the  more  is  seen  of  it.  This  is  an 
evident  proof  of  the  spherical  form  of  the  water  of 
the  sea,  which  has  the  shape  of  a  segment  of  a 
ball. 

In  the  same  way  if  a  man  sails  on  the  sea  of 
er-Rum,  which  is  the  same  as  that  of  Egypt  and  of 
Syria,  he  loses  sight  of  the  mount  el-Akra*  £^*^» 
which  has  a  height  beyond  measure,  and  is  near 
Antakiyah  (Antioch)  X/J1W,  and  of  the  mountains  of 
el-Ladikiyah  3ui'i&H  (Laodicea),  Atrabolos 
(Tripolis),  and  those  of  the  Isle  of  Kobros 
(Cyprus),  and  other  places  in  the  Byzantine  empire ; 


a  grotto,  which  may  be  compared  to  a  large  house  ;  and  every 
animal  that  goes  into  it  dies  instantly  :  another  is  in  Kolistan  (?) 


/.  ^ 

There  is  a  place  in  this  mountain  which  causes  instant  death 
to  every  bird  that  approaches  it  :  it  is  therefore  surrounded  with 
dead  animals.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  Domawand  is  another 
mountain,  like  the  mountain  of  Domawand:  at  night  fire  is  seen 
burning  on  the  summit,  and  smoke  issues  during  the  day.] 


214  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

and  he  does  not  see  these  places  although  nothing  is 
between  him  and  them.  We  shall  give  a  more 
complete  account  of  the  mountain  of  Domawand  in 
this  book,  relating  what  the  Persians  say  of  it. 
Edh-Dhahhak,  with  many  mouths*,  is  bound  with 
iron  on  the  summit  of  this  mountain.  The  holes 
on  its  top  are  some  of  the  great  chimnies  (craters)  f 
of  the  earth. 

There  are  many  disputes  respecting  the  size  of 
the  globe.  Most  mathematicians  believe  that  the 
distance  from  the  centre  of  the  earth  to  the  limit  of 
air  and  fire  (atmosphere)  amounts  to  one  hundred 
and  sixty-eight  thousand  miles.  The  earth  is 
somewhat  more  than  thirty-seven  times  greater 
than  the  moon,  thirty-two  thousand  times  greater 
than  Mercury,  and  twenty-four  thousand  times 
greater  than  Venus;  but  the  sun  is  one  hundred 
and  sixty  times  and  one-fourth  and  one-eighth 
times  greater  than  the  earth,  and  two  thousand  six 
hundred  and  forty  times  larger  than  the  moon;  so 
that  the  whole  earth  is  equal  only  to  half  a  tenth 
(one-twentieth)  of  one  degree  of  the  sun.  The 


J'lxv/oJi  "the  Laugher,"  is  one  of  the  Arabic 
names  for  Zohak,  the  Semitic  invader,  in  the  Persian  empire. 
Some  identify  him  with  Nimrod.  The  popular  tradition,  that  he 
is  tied  on  mount  Domawand,  is  confirmed  by  Ferdusi  and  the 
Zend  books. 
t  Ubl  sing. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS,  215 

diameter  of  the  sun  is  forty-two  thousand  miles. 
Mars  is  sixty-three  times  larger  than  the  earth  ;  its 
diameter  is  eight  thousand  seven  hundred  miles. 
Jupiter  is  eighty-two  times  and  one-half  and  one- 
fourth  (three-quarters)  larger  than  the  earth ;  its 
diameter  is  thirty-three  thousand  two  hundred  and 
sixteen  miles.  Saturn  is  ninety-nine  and  a  half 
times  as  large  as  the  earth;  its  diameter  being 
thirty-two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-six 
miles.  The  bodies  of  the  fixed  stars  of  the  first 
magnitude,  of  which  there  are  fifteen,  are  every  one 
of  them  ninety-four  and  a  half  times  greater  than 
the  earth. 

DISTANCES  OF  THE  STARS  FROM  THE  EARTH. 
When  the  moon  is  nearest  to  the  earth  the  distance 
is  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  thousand  miles, 
and  when  it  is  remotest  from  our  globe,  it  amounts 
to  four  million  one  hundred  and  nineteen  thousand 
six  hundred  miles.  The  greatest  distance  of  the 
sun  from  the  earth  is  four  million  eight  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand  miles  and  a  half :  the  greatest 
distance  of  Mars  is  somewhat  more  than  three  hun- 
dred and  thirty  million  six  thousand  miles.  The 
greatest  distance  of  Jupiter  from  the  earth  is  some- 
what more  than  fifty-four  million  one  hundred  and 
sixty  thousand  miles:  the  greatest  distance  of 
Saturn  is  more  than  seventy-seven  million  miles. 
The  greatest  distances  of  the  fixed  stars  are  in  the 
same  proportions.  Upon  the  divisions,  degrees, 


216  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

and  distances,  which  we  have  mentioned,  the  calcu- 
lations of  time  and  eclipses  are  founded.  The 
principal  instruments  for  astronomical  observation 
are  the  astrolabes  CL>lj^k-»^I  (armillary  spheres). 
Books  have  been  written  entirely  on  this  subject. 
We  have  devoted  this  chapter  to  the  explanation  of 
some  of  those  matters  which  are  the  subject  of  so 
many  discussions.  Our  observations  may  serve  as  a 
guide  to  enter  deeper  into  this  subject,  on  which  we 
have  treated  more  fully  in  our  former  writings. 
Those  inhabitants  of  Harran*  who  profess  the 


*  Abulfaragius  states,  that  Harran  was  built  by  Kainan,  and 
so  called  after  his  son.  This  town  is  mentioned  in  Genesis,  and 
by  several  Latin  and  Greek  authors.  The  passages  of  the 
classics  respecting  Harran,  have  been  collected  by  Vadianus. 

It  is  probably  owing  to  its  advantageous  situation,  that  Mer- 
wan  the  last  Oma'iyide  Khalif  in  the  East,  chose  it  as  his  residence, 
and  built  there  a  palace  at  the  expense  of  several  millions  of  Dir- 
hems.  The  Abbasides  may  have  felt  repugnance  to  take  their  resi- 
dence in  this  town,  in  which  Ibrahim  the  predecessor  of  es-Seffah 
the  founder  of  their  dynasty,  suffered  death  after  long  imprison- 
ment. But  under  the  Seljuks,  Atabeks,  and  as  late  as  the  crusades, 
Harran  was  a  place  of  importance  and  frequently  the  site  of  one 
of  the  feudal  sovereigns;  it  flourished  particularly  under  the 
Beni  Hamdan,  who  ruled  over  Mesopotamia,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  fourth  century  of  the  Hijrah. 

It  seems  that  Harran  has  always  been  one  of  the  principal 
sites  of  learning.  Near  this  town  was  a  sacred  place  of  the 
Sabeans ,  and  the  Harranians  continued  faithful  to  their  religion, 
which  was  that  of  the  ancient  Chaldeans,  after  the  rise  of  the 
Abasside  dynasty,  although  the  population  round  them  had  twice 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  217 

religion  of  the  Sabeans*,  and  who  aspire  by  trum- 

changed  their  faith:  first  they  embraced  Christianity,  and  then 
they  professed  the  tenets  of  Mohammed. 

Their  yearly  pilgrimage  to  the  pyramids  in  Egypt,  brought 
them  into  contact  with  the  Alexandrians ;  this  led  to  an  exchange 
of  ideas  which  is  very  perceptible  in  the  writings  of  the  latter, 
and  which  encouraged  the  literary  activity  amongst  the  Sabeans 
of  Harran,  so  much,  that  the  greatest  share  in  the  regeneration 
of  the  philosophical  sciences  amongst  the  Arabs  is  owing  to  them. 
All  armillary  spheres  and  other  astronomical  instruments  were 
originally  made  by  them ;  and  a  number  of  Harranians  distinguished 
themselves  as  translators  or  original  authors,  at  the  earliest  period 
of  Arabic  literature,  as  Thabet  Ben  Korrah,  his  master  in  astro- 
nomy BenKamita  UiA+5,  el-Battam  ^IxxJJ,  Ibn  er-Ruh  _.  ^\9 
the  Sabean,  and  many  others,  which  will  be  mentioned  in  another 
place  of  this  book. 

*  Hottinger  devotes  the  eighth  chapter  of  the  first  book  of  his 
Historia  Orientalis  to  the  exposition  of  the  Sabean  religion.  He 
follows  up  his  subject  with  much  learning,  and  had  a  most  excel- 
lent guide,  having  made  use  of  the  Fihirst  of  Mohammed  Ben 
Ishak  en-Nadim,  (not  el-Kadim  or  prisons  as  he  writes,)  known 
under  the  name  of  Abul-Faraj  Ben  Abi  Ya'kub,  who  wrote  in 
377,  A,H.,  and  died  in  385. 

Hottinger  knew  neither  the  title  of  the  book  nor  the  age  when 
the  author  lived.  Both  are  of  importance,  for  the  date  shows 
that  he  was  contemporary  with  men  who  professed  this  religion; 
and  to  be  the  author  of  the  Fihirst  gives  him  the  character  of  an 
exceedingly  learned  and  exact  writer. 

He  lived  most  likely  in  Babylonia,  and  was  thus  in  constant 
contact  with  Sabeans.  We  may  therefore  perfectly  rely  on  what  he 
says.  His  treatise  on  Sabeanism  and  other  religions,  forms  the  last 
chapter  of  the  Fihrist;  this  is  the  third  of  the  last  volume,  of 
which  there  is  an  ancient  and  perfectly  correct  MS.  at  Leyden. 


218  EL-MAS'tJDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

pery  pretensions*,  to  the  knowledge  of  ancient 
philosophy,,  although  they  are  uninstructed  in  the 

With  more  caution  the  extracts  which  Hottinger  gives  from 
Maimonides  must  be  used. 

It  has  been  advanced  by  Spencer  (De  Leg.  Hebr.)  that  the 
Sabeans  are  very  modern  and  not  more  ancient  than  Mohammed, 
for  they  are  the  first  time  mentioned  in  the  Koran.  Now  Sabi  is  an 
Arabic  word,  applied  to  almost  all  Gentiles ;  therefore,  no  wonder 
if  the  word  is  found  only  in  the  writings  of  Arabic  or  Rabbinical 
authors,  and  the  Koran  is  the  most  ancient  book  in  Arabic  litera- 
ture, excepting  some  poems  collected  afterwards.  Hamzah,  of 
Ispahan,  (MS.  of  Leyden,)  informs  us  that  the  name  of  Sabeans 
meant  originally  a  sect  of  Christians,  and  has  not  been  applied  to 
the  Harranians  before  the  time  of  el-Mamun,  when  they  adopted 
this  name  in  order  to  escape  a  prosecution.  Still  more  pre- 
posterous is  the  opinion  expressed  in  Calmet's  Fragments, 
DC XIII.,  where  Sabeism  is  derived  from  St.  John  the  Baptist. 

Arabic  authors  who  have  lived  with  the  Sabeans,  state  unani- 
mously that  they  worshipped  principally  the  seven  planets.  Sup- 
posing this  worship  had  been  recently  introduced  in  Harran,  it  was 
certainly  ancient  amongst  their  brethren  the  Canaanites,  (both  the 
Harranians  and  Canaanites  spoke  the  Aramean  language) ;  for 
Manassah  received  from  them  the  same  religion  (2  Kings,  xxxiii.), 
we  may  therefore  safely  suppose  that  the  Sabeans  were  not 
materially  different  from  the  Chaldeans,  who  are  called  astrologers 
on  account  of  their  star  worship.  Perhaps  the  Sabeans  of  Harran 
are  the  Orcheni  of  Strabo  (Lib.  xvi.,  p.  701),  who  were  a  sect 
of  Chaldeans  in  Mesopotamia. 

Strabo  and  other  Greek  authors  agree  with  the  Arabs  in 
making  the  Chaldeans  astrologers  and  star  worshippers ;  but  we 
have  to  account  for  the  allusions  made  to  them  in  the  Scriptures, 
from  which  it  might  appear  that  they  worshipped  almost  merely 

*  Literally,  "  And  are  the  rabble  of  ancient  philosophers." 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  219 

wisdom      of     the      Greeks     (Chaldeans?),     have 

idols.  On  examining  the  names  of  those  idols,  we  find  that  they 
are  the  Semitic  names  of  the  planets.  Aserah  JTV10N  <>r  Astarte, 
is  az-Zohrah  syfc-JN  the  Arabic  name  for  the  planet  Venus ;  which 
was  also  called  Balthi  ^XxJ\  (Beltis  in  Greek  authors). 
Thamus  may  be  taken  for  shomus  u*j.$£JJ,  plural  of  shams,  the 
sun,  for  Adonis,  with  whom  this  deity  is  identified  by  Jerom,  is 
the  sun  as  well;  Merodach  is  Merrikh,  the  name  of  the  planet 
Mars  in  Arabic,  the  word  is  derived  from  mar  ad  ^w«,  which 
means  to  be  rebellious  both  in  Arabic  and  Hebrew;  and  as  the 
original  meaning  of  marad  is  the  same  as  that  of  maras  ^wo 
and  marakh  £•}<*,  it  seems  that  only  mar  is  the  primitive  syllable, 
it  is  therefore  not  surprising  to  find  the  name  of  this  planet 
written  Merodach,  Merrikh,  and  Mars.  Nebo  means  a  prophet, 
which  is  the  name  of  Mercury  or  'Utarid  amongst  the  Sabeans; 
for  this  planet  is  the  patron  of  the  priestclass ;  as  it  has  already 
been  noticed  by  Norberg,  who  establishes  the  fact  by  the  testimony 
of  the  Syro-Chaldeans. 

Baal  means  lord,  and  is  the  name  for  Jupiter,  but  frequently 
applied  to  the  sun ;  perhaps  some  of  the  sects  of  Chaldeans  con- 
sidered the  sun  as  lord,  and  called  it  consequently  Baal :  the 
identity  of  Baal  with  Jupiter  is  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of 
Herodotus,  which  is  worth  more  than  that  of  all  later  authors, 
who  transcribed  one  another  as  far  as  it  suited  their  purpose,  and 
referred  in  their  learned  ignorance  to  books  and  never  to  what 
they  could  have  witnessed  themselves.  See  also  p.  1 99  supra  note. 

More  examples  could  be  added  and  errors  of  mythologists  cor- 
rected, but  these  will  do  for  our  purpose.  The  representations  of 
the  stars  as  idols,  seem  therefore  to  have  been  intended  for  the 
exoteric;  for  we  must  distinguish  here  more  than  with  any  other 
nation  between  the  notions  of  the  exoteric  and  those  of  the  un- 
initiated. The  reader  will  find  a  developement  of  the  former 
in  the  additional  notes  to  this  chapter. 


220  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

adopted  a  gradation  of  the  priests  in  their  temples, 
which  is  an  imitation  of  the  system  of  the 
nine  spheres*.  The  highest  priest  is  called  rds 


*  El-Makrizi  (MS.  of  the  Earl  of  Munster,  vol.  iii.,  Korrah 
40)  says  nearly  the  same  thing  of  the  priests  of  ancient  Egypt  ; 
"  A  priest  who  has  served  the  seven  planets  seven  years,  has  the 
title  Bahir  jJ&L,  and  a  priest  who  has  served  them  forty-nine 
years,  seven  years  each,  has  the  title  Katir  »k|y  '•>  he  enjoys  such 
high  honours  that  the  king  rises  before  him,  allows  him  to  sit 
down  on  his  side,  and  consults  him  in  every  action  which  he  does. 
Then  the  other  priests  come  in,  and  with  them  the  artisans,  and 
stand  opposite  the  Katir.  Every  one  of  their  priests  is  exclusively 
destined  for  the  service  of  one  planet,  and  he  must  not  pass  to 
another.  He  is  called  a  servant  of  such  a  planet,  so  one  says 
the  servant  of  the  moon,  the  servant  of  Mercury,  the  servant 
of  Venus,  the  servant  of  the  sun,  the  servant  of  Mars,  the  servant 
of  Jupiter,  and  the  servant  of  Saturn.  When  they  are  all  mar- 
shalled, the  Katir  says  to  one  of  them,  Where  is  thy  Lord  to  day  ? 
and  he  answers,  in  such  a  sign  of  the  zodiac,  and  in  such  a  degree 
and  minute.  Then  he  asks  the  next,  and  so  he  goes  through  all 
of  them  ;  and  when  he  knows  their  position  in  reference  to  the 
sphere  of  the  zodiac,  he  says  to  the  king,  you  ought  to  do  such 
and  such  a  thing  to-day:  he  tells  him  what  he  is  to  eat,  when  he 
may  go  into  his  harem,  when  he  is  to  go  on  horseback,  and  so 
on,  to  the  most  minute  thing.  A  secretary  writes  down  every 
word  that  he  says.  Then  the  Katir  turns  to  the  artisans,  and 
orders  them  what  they  are  to  do/'  &c. 

f  The  word  Stt^T  is  not  in  the  copy  of  Cambridge.     The 
variants  between  crotchets  are  all  from  the  Cambridge  copy. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  221 

Komorr*.  The  Christians,  who  came  after  them, 
arranged  the  orders  of  priests  in  their  hierarchy 
after  the  system  which  had  been  laid  down  by  the 
Sabeans.  The  Christians  call  this  gradation  ordina- 


(read 


*  This  word  is  met  with  in  the  Scriptures  (2  Kings,  xxiii.  5, 
&c.),  where  it  is  exactly  spelt  as  here  "1D3.  The  Hebrew  language 
does  not  afford  an  explanation  of  its  meaning ;  for  those  which 
have  been  advanced,  as  that  it  means  black,  or  priest  of  the 
moon  ^5  (o  and  not  with  a  J),  are  not  founded.  In  Arabic  it 
means  penis,  or  longum  penem  habens  vir,  and  it  is  exceedingly 
likely  that  this  word  was  taken  in  this  meaning,  for  the  office 
of  the  Komorr  answered  to  that  of  Batrick,  which  represents,  as 
we  may  observe,  something  higher  than  the  ninth  sphere.  Arabic 
astrology,  which  is  the  daughter  of  the  Pagan  religions  of  Asia, 
places  there  the  procreative  power,  which  the  Arabs  sometimes 
call  God,  and  sometimes  the  throne  of  God ;  for  an  incorporeal 
being  is  not  so  well  adapted  to  the  system.  In  the  first  mean- 
ing, says  our  author,  page  46,  supra,  "  God  commands,  and  there 
flows  what  he  likes  from  heaven  to  heaven  (or  sphere  to  sphere)," 
&c.  And  in  the  second  meaning,  we  read,  in  el-Kazwini,  "  Some 
Moslims  make  agree  the  revelation  of  God  and  the  opinion  of 
the  philosophers,  and  think  that  this  sphere  is  the  stool,  and  the 
tenth  sphere,  which  is  the  greatest  of  all,  is  the  throne  of  God." 


222  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

tion  (el-'Atab).     The  first  (lowest)  order  is  es-Salt*, 


*  The  Salt  answers  to  the  Ostiarius  in  the  Roman  degrees 
of  ordination,  and  to  the  sphere  of  the  moon,  in  ancient  astrology. 
As  it  may  lead  to  interesting  comparisons  between  the  exoteric 
notions  and  the  various  forms  under  which  they  were  made 
available  to  the  uninitiated,  the  characteristics  of  the  seven 
spheres  and  planets  are  detailed  in  this  and  the  following  notes 
after  Abu  Ma'sher,  Balinos,  and  el-Kazwmi,  and  occasionally 
their  views  have  been  compared  with  those  of  the  Greeks,  and  of 
the  Zend-Avesta,  to  show  the  identity  of  ancient  religions,  philo- 
sophy, and  astrology. 

The  moon  is  a  female  planet  (Zendavesta,  vol.  ii.,  382; 
Arist.  Hist.  Anim.,  vii.,  2;  Pliny,  lib.  ii.,  104),  and  has  an  affi- 
nity with  the  female  element  the  water  which  she  attracts  ;  and 
hence  she  causes  the  tide  (Zendav.,  tome  ii.,  370,  385  ;  Pliny, 
ibidem).  She  is  the  concentration  of  light,  and  was,  before  the 
introduction  of  Greek  astronomy  amongst  the  Arabs,  believed  to 
shine  with  her  own  light  (Zendavesta,  vol.  ii.,  18,  and  p.  80, 
supra).  She  is  the  planet  which  gives  fertility,  increases  the 
seed,  animal  warmth,  and  affection  (Zendavesta,  i.  26,  p.  426  ; 
Aristotle,  de  Generat.  Animalium,  ii.  4).  To  the  moon  silver  is 
sacred  amongst  the  metals,  and  white  amongst  the  seven  colours, 
every  one  of  which,  it  seems,  was  considered  to  be  fixed  in  a 
metal,  and  sacred,  together  with  the  respective  metal,  to  one  of 
the  seven  planets.  All  white  or  grey  animals,  of  a  meek  tem- 
per, are  equally  consecrated  to  her,  particularly  such  birds,  also 
mules,  fruit-trees,  &c.  The  sphere  of  the  moon  is  the  isthmus  of 
immortality  ;  under  it  is  the  fire  and  air  (atmosphere)  of  the  earth, 
which  is  mutable  ;  but  above  the  moon  everything  is  pure  and 
divine  (supra  lunam  pura  omnia  ac  diuturnae  lucis  plena:  Pliny, 
lib.  ii.,  cap.  7)  :  hence  she  is  called  the  gate  of  the  heaven,  and 


s         AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  223 

the   second    Aghsat  *,    the    third   Nudakirf,    the 


the  order  of  priests  sacred  to  her  sphere  must  naturally  be  the 
Ostiarius,  or  Porter. 

The  moon,  considered  as  a  goddess,  is  frequently  not  distin- 
guished from  Venus. 

*  To  this  order  answers  the  atmosphere,  or  sphere  of  Mer- 
cury, which  is  three  hundred  and  eighty-eight  thousand  four 
hundred  and  eighty-miles  thick.  The  planet  itself  is  described  as 
radians  by  Pliny  (ii.,  29),  an  epithet  which  is  equally  given  to 
the  sun  by  the  same  author.  It  is  probably  this  quality  of  diffus- 
ing its  rays  which  has  also  been  noticed  by  astrologers,  that  this 
planet  is  considered  to  diffuse  the  light  of  wisdom  and  knowledge. 
He  is  the  god  of  penmanship  XjlxXf  \,  and  a  child  born  under  the 
influence  of  this  planet  will  be  meek  and  clever.  It  was,  at  all 
events,  a  correct  notion,  that  the  next  step  after  the  gate  of  the 
heaven  should  be  the  pons  asinorum,  and  that  wisdom  should  be 
the  first  degree  in  heaven,  and  in  the  hierarchy  within  the  gate : 
hence  this  order  in  the  Catholic  Church  is  called  Lectorship,  and 
the  Lector  receives  a  book  at  the  Ordination.  The  astrologers 
are  probably  equally  right  in  calling  the  patron  of  the  Savans 
and  priests  cJi^UU  (the  unprincipled,  or  hypocrite).  They  say 
that  he  adds  energy  both  to  lucky  and  unlucky  constellations,  as 
he  happens  to  meet  them. 

•)•  This  order  answers  to  the  sphere  of  Venus,  which  is  three 
million  seven  hundred  and  ninety-five  thousand  and  ninety- two 
miles  thick.  The  lovely  star  which  animates  this  sphere,  and 
keeps  always  near  the  sun  like  a  lover,  and  approaches  to  him,  or 
recedes  for  a  short  time  like  a  coquette,  was  represented  as  the 


224  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

fourth  Shemasheryam  *,  the  fifth  Kissis  f,  the  sixth 


beauty  of  the  heavens  at  all  times  and  by  all  nations.  Arabic 
astrologers  call  her  the  lesser  luck  JU^M  <>sx*JJ,  and  ascribe  to 
her  influence  mirth  and  love.  Pliny  and  the  Zend-books  agree 
with  them  in  assigning  to  her  the  procreative  (not  generative) 
power.  To  this  star  brass  was  sacred,  and  the  green  colour 
(verdigris);  also  fish,  serpents,  bees,  grapes,  sparrows.  The 
ancient  Christian  Church  seems  to  have  found  no  higher  ideas 
respecting  the  lucky  influence  of  this  star  amongst  the  Sabeans, 
than  that  it  averts  evil;  hence  this  order  has  the  power  of 
destroying  the  bad  effects  of  evil  spirits,  and  the  priests  of  this 
order  are  called  Exorcistes  in  Greek  and  Latin.  If  there  was  no 
other  evidence  of  the  mixed  nature  of  the  Ritual  of  the  Romish 
Church,  the  gross  superstition  of  having  an  order  of  exorcists 
would  be  proof  enough. 

*  The  Greek  name  of  the  order  is  Acoluthos  (follower)  :  he 
has  the  same  office  as  the  clerk  in  the  Anglican  Church.  The 
order  answers  to  the  sphere  of  the  sun,  which  is  ten  million  one 
hundred  and  seventy-six  thousand  nine  hundred  and  ninety-eight 
miles  thick,  and  was  considered  as  the  mediator,  as  will  be  shown 
in  the  additional  notes.  The  Acoluthos  is  the  highest  of  the  four 
minor  orders,  and  is  also  the  mediator  between  the  people  and 
higher  orders,  as  the  sun  between  the  lower  and  higher  planets. 

f  The  sphere  which  corresponds  with  this  order  is  that  of 
Mars,  which  is  ten  million  one  hundred  and  seventy-six  thousand 
nine  hundred  and  ninety-eight  miles  thick.  The  blood-red  colour 
of  this  planet  has  brought  it  into  discredit  with  astrologers,  who 
call  it  the  lesser  misfortune  JU^J  y**^\J!,  besides  its  course 
appeared  to  the  ancients  (Pliny,  ii.,  cap.  15)  so  irregular,  that 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  225 

Barduth  *,  the  seventh  Huzabiskatos  f  :  he  is  after 


they  are  justified  in  calling  him  the  Marikh,  rebellious.  He  is 
the  god  of  iron,  and  the  red  colour  (peroxyde  of  iron),  of  war, 
lions,  tigers,  hyaenas,  of  the  Turks,  and  everything  terrible. 
Under  his  protection  are  birds  of  a  red  colour,  and  the  lapwing 
«\^>J^J!,  which  is  one  of  the  best  known  ill  omens  in  Oriental 
superstition. 

*  This  order  was  the  representation  of  the  sphere  of  Jupiter, 
and  is  called  Diaconate  in  Greek  and  Latin.  I  am  not  suffi- 
ciently acquainted  with  its  office  and  ceremonies  to  know  its 
relation  to  this  sphere.  Jupiter  is  the  greatest  of  all  the  planets, 
and  if  the  ether  was  the  essence  of  the  heavens,  and  the  stars 
like  the  souls  of  the  ether,  this  star  had  a  natural  claim  to  be  the 
lord  of  all  other  planets.  The  astrologers  call  him  the  great 
luck  rS$\  JuuJl*  and  ascribe  to  him  all  the  good.  To  Jupiter, 
blue  (the  colour  of  the  sky),  and  copper  (vitriol,  or  sulphate  of 
copper),  is  sacred  ;  also  emerald,  onyx,  jasper,  ruby,  and  all  sorts 
of  precious  stones  ;  farther  musk,  wheat,  and  every  thing  that  is 
esteemed. 

f  This  order  represents  the  highest  of  all  the  planetary 
spheres  ;  that  of  Saturn,  which  is  twenty-one  million  six  hundred 
and  six  miles  thick.  Saturn  is  represented  as  an  old  man,  and 
this  is  the  name  of  this  order  in  the  ancient  Christian  Church; 
for  Presbyter  has  the  same  signification.  Arabic  astrologers  call 
Saturn  the  great  misfortune  jS$\  ^r^xM,  and  Pliny  seems  to 
think  that  this  planet  must  be  cold  and  dreary,  on  account  of  its 
great  distance  from  the  sun. 

To  Saturn  the  heavy  and  ignoble  metal  lead,  and  black  is 
sacred,  and  all  unclean  animals,  as  pigs,  dogs,  &c. 

[The  Reader 
Q 


226  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

the  Bishop.  The  eighth  is  the  Akkaf  *;  the  ninth 
is  the  Mitran  (Metropolitan),  which  means  the 
head  of  the  town.  And  above  all  these  ranks  is 
the  Batric  (Patriarch),  which  means  father  of  the 
fathers,  or  of  the  mentioned  orders,  and  the  laymen. 


The  reader  will  find  in  the  additional  notes  to  this  chapter  at 
the  end  of  this  volume,  more  philosophically  accounted  for,  the 
qualities  attributed  to  the  spheres  of  the  heaven  and  the  planets. 

*  This  is  a  corruption  of  eVto-KOTroy,  Bishop,  or  literally  who 
inspects  from  above.  This  appellation  is  very  well  chosen  ;  for 
the  order  represents  the  signs  of  the  zodiac  which  do  look  down 
from  above  on  the  planets. 

f  I  transcribed  the  copy  of  Mr.  Gayangos,  with  all  its  faults 
in  order  to  give  to  the  reader  the  variants  which  it  presents  in  the 
names  of  the  orders: 

Lf* 


Lo     ^C    l^Jol^      ^  Xi^Xfj  XA-J^J    <Sj\*s>\\ 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  227 

This  is  the  opinion  of  the  Esoteric  Christians 
respecting  these  orders  ;  but  the  Exoteric  give  other 
reasons,  alleging  that  a  king  had  introduced  them 
and  other  things  which  it  would  be  useless  to 
relate.  These  are  the  orders  of  the  Melikites 
(Orthodox),  who  form  the  main  body,  and  are  the 
original  Christians ;  for  the  Eastern  Christians,  or 
'Ibad*,  who  are  called  Nestorians  and  Jacobites,  are 
branches  of  them,  and  their  imitators.  The  Chris- 
tians took,  as  we  have  said,  the  whole  of  the  insti- 


*  Other  Arabic  authors  take  the  name  'Ibadites  in  a  more 
limited  sense,  applying  only  to  the  Christians  of  el-Hirah. 

Q  2 


228  EL-MAS  UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

tution  of  their  orders  from  the  Sabeans:  Kissis, 
Shemas,  and  other  ranks. 

Manes  rose  as  Heresiarch  after  the  Messiah, 
and  Ibn  ed-Dai'san  and  Marcion  followed  his  ex- 
ample. From  Manes  the  Manicheans  have  their 
name ;  from  Marcion  the  Marcionites  ;  and  from 
Ibn  ed-Daisan  the  Daisanites.  In  subsequent  times 
rose  from  them  the  Mozdakians,  and  other  sects, 
who  follow  the  Dualistie  doctrine. 

The  reader  will  find  in  our  books,,  the  Akhbar 
ez-zeman,  and  the  Kitab  el-ausat,  a  number  of 
anecdotes  respecting  these  sects,  and  an  account  of 
the  fabulous  stories  which  they  tell,  and  of  their 
laws  which  they  assign  to  God,  although  they  are 
made  by  man.  We  have  also  treated  on  these 
sects  in  our  book  "  On  the  various  opinions  on  the 
principles  of  religion0  ^\  J  c^UiU  ^  VUT 
CjUUx!!.  We  have  spoken  of  the  books  of  these 
religious  opinions,  and  the  destruction  of  these 
sects,  in  our  work  entitled  the  "Explanation  of 


read) 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  229 


the  principles  of  religion" 
In  these  chapters  we  enter  on  the  points  on  which 
scholastic  theology  dwells,  and  which  are  the  prin- 
ciple objects  to  be  described.  We  allude  only  to 
striking  facts,  by  way  of  narrative,  and  with  the 
view  to  give  an  insight  into  the  history  of  the  sects, 
lest  this  book  should  be  found  defective  in  such  in- 
formation respecting  them,  as  a  well-informed  man 
ought  to  know;  but  we  do  not  mean  to  enter  into 
any  polemic  discussions. 


230  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


NINTH  CHAPTER. 


A  concise  account  of  seas  that  have  changed  their 
places,  and  of  great  rivers. 

THE  author  of  the  Logic  <JikzJ,J  (Aristotle)  says, 
that  the  seas  change  their  places  in  the  lapse  of 
centuries  and  the  length  of  ages.  And  indeed  all 
seas  are  in  a  constant  motion;  but  if  this  motion  is 
compared  with  the  volume  of  water,  the  extent  of 
their  level,  and  the  depth  of  their  abysses,  it  is  as  if 
they  were  quiet.  There  is,  however,  no  place  on 
earth  that  is  ever  covered  with  water  nor  one  that  is 
ever  land,  but  a  constant  revolution  takes  place 
effected  by  the  rivers  which  may  run  in  one  place 
or  discontinue  their  course,  for  this  reason  the 
places  of  sea  and  land  change,  and  there  is  no 
place  on  earth  always  land  nor  always  sea.  At 
periods  there  will  be  land  where  there  once  has  been 
sea;  and  the  sea  will  occupy  what  one  time  has  been 
land.  These  revolutions  are  caused  by  the  course 
and  origin  of  the  rivers,,  for  places  watered  by 
rivers  have  a  period  of  youth  and  decrepitude,  of 
growth  and  of  life  and  death,  like  animals  and  plants, 
with  the  difference  that  growth  and  decay  in  plants 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  231 

and  animals  do  not  manifest  themselves  now  in  one 
part  and  then  in  another,  but  all  parts  grow 
together,  so  they  wither  and  die  at  the  same  time. 
But  the  earth  grows  and  declines  part  by  part. 
This  is  also  connected  with  the  revolutions  of  the 
sun. 

The  learned  are  at  variance  about  the  rivers  and 
springs,  and  their  origin.  Some  are  of  opinion  that 
all  have  the  same  ultimate  source,  namely,  the 
greatest  sea.  This  is  the  sea  'adab  c_>  «xc  j^e,  and 
not  the  Okianos  (the  Atlantic).  Others  suppose 
that  the  water  is  in  the  earth  in  the  same  way  as  the 
veins  in  the  body.  Some  reason  thus  :  It  is  a  law  of 
nature  that  the  surface  of  the  water  be  level,  but 
as  the  earth  is  in  some  places  high  and  in  others 
deep,  the  water  goes  to  the  deepest  part,  and  when 
it  is  enclosed  in  caverns  it  has  a  tendency  to  form 
steam,  which  produces  a  pressure  on  the  earth  from 
beneath  ;  it  gushes  forth  and  gives  origin  to  springs 
and  ( rivers.  Frequently  water  is  the  product  of  the 
air  which  is  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  for  water  is 
no  element  djJU&wf  o-rot%etoz/),  but  it  is  the  product 
of  the  rottenness*  and  the  exhalations  of  the  earth. 
We  forbear  mentioning  here  the  various  controver- 
sies which  are  extant  on  this  head  for  fear  of  tres- 


*  X>*A£  This  is  a  medical  term  which  means  gangrene,  and 
implies  the  last  stage  of  inflammation  which  precedes  it. 


232  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

passing  our  limits,  for  we  mean  to  abridge  what  we 
have  said  in  other  works  in  detail. 

Much  has  been  said  on  the  beginning,  course, 
length,  and  end  of  large  rivers;  like  the  Nile,,  the 
Euphrates,  the  Tigris,  the  river  of  Balkh  or  Jaihun, 
the  river  Mihran  j,|^-o  in  es-Sind  JsJUJJ  cSo^-*' 
the  Ganges  <j~s^>  which  is  a  large  river  in  India, 
and  the  Atanabus  u*oUkJ  (Danube),  which  falls 
into  the  sea  Nitus  (Black  Sea),  and  other  large 
rivers.  I  saw  in  the  geography  (of  Ptolemy),  a 
drawing  of  the  Nile  as  it  comes  forth  from  the 
mountain  el-Komr  j$\  J,**-,  rising  from  twelve 
sources  ;  then  the  water  falls  into  two  lakes  which 
are  like  the  marshes  (of  Babylonia  between  Wasit 
and  el-Basrah)  ;  further  on  the  water  is  collected  in 
its  course  into  one  stream  which  passes  sandy 
districts,  and  (on  the  foot  of)  mountains.  It  pro- 
ceeds, flowing  through  that  part  of  the  country  of  the 
Sudan  (Negroes),  which  borders  on  the  country  of 
the  Zanj,  and  a  branch  g^L  goes  off  from  it  into 
the  sea  of  the  Zanj  ^'^j^»  This  is  the  sea  of  the 
island  Kanbalu*  which  is  well  cultivated,  and  the 
inhabitants  are  Moslims  but  they  speak  the  Zanjee 
language.  The  Mahomedans  have  conquered  this 
island  and  made  the  inhabitants  prisoners,  just  as 
they  have  taken  the  isle  of  Crete  (jiJajjj'J  in  the 


*  The  MS.  bears 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  233 

Mediterranean.  This  happened  at  the  beginning  of 
the  'Abbaside  and  end  of  the  Omaiyide  dynasties. 
From  this  island  to  'Oman,  the  distance  is,  according 
to  the  account  of  the  sailors,  about  five  hundred 
farsangs  by  sea.  This  however  is  a  mere  conjecture, 
and  not  geometrically  measured.  Many  of  the  sailors 
of  Smlf  and  'Oman  who  visit  this  sea,  say,  that  they 
found  in  it,  at  or  before  the  time  when  the  Nile 
increases  in  Egypt,  different  colours  within  the 
small  space  in  which  the  river  continues  its  course 
in  the  sea,  for  it  forces  its  way  to  some  distance  on 
account  of  its  rapidity.  The  river  comes  from  the 
mountains  of  the  Zanj  and  is  above  a  mile  wide. 
The  water  is  sweet  and  becomes  muddy  at  the  time 
of  the  increase.  There  live  in  it  susmdr  (alliga- 
tors) ^Uw^xJ!  which  means  crocodiles  like  those  in 

the  Nile  of  Egypt,  they  are  also  called  Warl  ^\. 
El-Jahit  supposes  that  the  river  Mihran  in 
es-Sind  is  the  Nile,  alleging  as  a  proof  that  cro- 
codiles live  in  it.  I  cannot  understand  how  this 
proof  can  be  conclusive.  This  he  states  in  his  book 
"  on  the  leading  cities  and  the  wonders  of  the  coun- 
tries" (^tXXxJJ  4-^b^^La^^!  i_>ur.  It  is  an  excel- 
lent work,  but  as  he  has  never  made  a  voyage  and  few 
journies  and  travels  through  kingdoms  and  cities, 
he  did  not  know  that  the  Mihran  of  es-Sind  comes 
from  the  well-known  sources  of  the  highland  of  es- 
Sind,  from  the  country  belonging  to  Kinnauj 


234  EL-MASJUDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

£ 

in  the  kingdom  of  Budah  **#,  and  of  Kashmir 
5,  el-Kandahar  ^Lfrjafl!,  and  et-Takin  (sfU&\ 
,  the  tributaries  which  rise  in  these  coun- 
tries run  to  el-Multan  and  from  thence  the  united 
river  receives  the  name  Mihran.  El-Multan 
^lU^U  means  meadows  of  gold.  The  King  of 
el-Multan  is  a  Kora'ishite,  and  of  the  children  of 
Osamah  Ben  Lawi  Ben  Ghalib  ^j  c5>J  ^j  2UL-J 
«-*Jlc.  His  dominion  extends  as  far  as  the  frontier 
of  Khorasan.  The  lord  of  the  kingdom  of  el- 
Mansurah  ^y^JLtJ!  is  a  Koraishite,  who  is  descended 
from  Habbar  Ben  el-Aswad*  Jy-^J  ^^  J^9  who 
has  been  one  of  their  t  kings.  The  crown  of  el- 
Multan  has  been  hereditary,  in  the  family  which 
rules  at  present,  since  ancient  times,  and  nearly 
from  the  beginning  of  the  Islam. 

From  el-Multan  the  river  Mihran  takes  its 
course  to  the  country  of  el-Mansurah,  and  falls 
about  ed-Daibol  into  the  Indian  ocean.  In  this  sea 
are  many  crocodiles,  for  it  has  several  estuaries  and 
gulfs  as  the  estuary  of  Sindabur  j^^^o  (^^tX^) 
in  the  kingdom  of  Baghar  ^L  (L>.)  in  India; 


'  The  reader  finds  a  notice  of  this  family  in  Reiske's  notes 
to  Abulpeda's  Historia  Islamitica.  Vol.  I. 

f  El-Mansurah  is  taken  as  the  name  of  the  inhabitants,  and 
for  this  reason  the  plural  is  used  here.  Compare  the  note  to  p. 
176,  supra. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  235 

the  estuary  of  ez-Zanj  in  the  dominions  of  the 
Maharaj  and  the  gulfs  of  el-A'nab  vUs^M  (grapes), 
which  extend  towards  the  island  Serendib  (Ceylon). 
The  crocodiles  live  particularly  in  sweet  water,  and, 
as  we  said,  in  the  estuaries  of  India  the  water  of 
which  is  for  the  most  part  sweet,  on  account  of  the 
streams  which  arise  from  rain  and  fall  in  them. 

Now  we  return  to  the  description  of  the  Nile  of 
Egypt.  The  philosophers  say,  that  its  course  on 
the  face  of  the  earth,  through  cultivated  and  waste 
countries,  is  nine  hundred  or  one  thousand  farsangs 
before  it  comes  to  Oswan  in  Upper  Egypt.  The 
boats  from  el-Fostat  go  as  far  up  the  river  as 
Oswan  ;  but  some  miles  from  Oswan  are  mountains 
and  rocks,  and  as  the  Nile  takes  its  course  through 
the  midst  of  them,  the  navigation  is  rendered 
impracticable.  These  rocks  form  the  line  of  separa- 
tion between  the  Nile  navigation  of  the  Abyssinians 
and  Moslims.  This  part  of  the  Nile  has  the  name 
of  huge  stones  and  rocks  j^*aJi  ^jUij  (cataracts). 
Having  passed  through  Upper  Egypt  the  Nile  comes 
to  el-Fostat.  It  passes  the  mount  et-Tilemun 

^^^wJaM,  and  the  dam  of  el-Lahun  ^yfc&H  at  el- 
Fayyum.  In  this  place  is  the  island  which  Joseph 
had  chosen  for  himself  and  which  was  granted  to 
him  £kju.«  The  history  of  Egypt,  of  the  landed 
property  there,  and  the  buildings  raised  by  Joseph, 
will  be  related  in  the  thirty-first  chapter.  As  the 


236  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

Nile  continues  its  course  it  is  divided  into  many 
branches  which  go  to  Tinms,  Dimyat,  Rashid,  and 
el-Iskandariyah  (Alexandria),  but  the  canal  which 
goes  to  Alexandria  had  no  water  previous  to  the 
inundation  of  this  year  332.  I  have  heard  [I  am  in 
Antakiyah  (Antioch)  and  the  Syrian  frontiers],  that 
the  Nile  rose  to  eighteen  cubits,  but  I  do  not  know 
whether  the  water  runs  through  the  canal  of  Alex- 
andria or  not. 

Alexander,  the  son  of  Philip  of  Macedonia, 
has  built  Alexandria  on  this  branch  of  the  Nile. 
The  most  part  of  the  water  of  this  river  had  then 
its  course  to  it,  and  irrigated  the  country  round 
Alexandria  and  Maryut  ^^,  so  that  it  was  in  the 
most  flourishing  state  of  cultivation,  and  an  unin- 
terrupted line  of  gardens  extended  from  Maryut  to 
Barkah  Xi^j  in  the  Maghrib.  Vessels  went  up  the 
Nile,  and  came  down  as  far  as  the  markets  of 
Alexandria.  The  bed  of  the  Nile  in  the  town  was 
paved  with  stones  and  granite.  In  subsequent 
times  the  water  deposited  so  much  mud  that  the 
canal  was  filled,  and  the  passage  of  the  water  ob- 
structed. Others  assign  a  different  cause,  which 
rendered  it  impossible  to  keep  the  bed  of  the  canal 
clear.  We  cannot  enter  on  their  opinions ;  for 
the  plan  of  our  book  excludes  such  details.  The 
Alexandrians  began  to  drink  the  water  of  wells ; 
for  the  Nile  runs  about  one  day's  journey  from 
Alexandria.  We  shall  give  a  full  historical  account 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  237 

of  this  town  in  the  chapter  devoted  to  the  descrip- 
tion of  Alexandria. 

The  water  which,  as  we  stated,  falls  into  the 
sea  of  the  Zanj,  forms  an  estuary,  which  comes 
to  the  upper  part  of  the  course  of  this  river  through 
the  country  of  the  Zanj,  arid  separates  this  country 
from  the  remotest  provinces  of  Ahyssinia.  If  it  was 
not  for  this  gulf,  interjacent  deserts,  and  marshes, 
the  Abyssinians  could  not  defend  their  country 
against  the  Zanj ;  for  they  are  superior  in  numbers 
and  bravery. 

The  river  of  Balkh,  which  has  the  name  Jaihun 
(Oxus),  rises  from  several  sources,  and,  having 
passed  et-Tirmid  «x«y3J,  Asfarayin  ^y.iyu-k  and 
other  places  of  Khorasan,  it  takes  its  course 
through  Khowarezm :  there  in  several  places  it 
branches  off:  the  rest  falls  into  a  lake,  on  which 
the  town  of  el-Jorjaniyah  X/JU*^it  is  situated  in  the 
lowest  part  of  Khowarezm.  This  is  the  greatest 
lake  there,  and  many  believe  that  it  is  the  greatest 
lake  in  the  cultivated  world;  for  it  is  about  one 
month's  journey  long  and  wide.  There  is  some 
navigation  carried  on  in  this  lake  :  it  also  receives 
the  river*  of  Ferghanah  and  esh-Shash,  which  runs 
through  the  country  of  el-'Adat  ci»hUSJ  and  the 


*  The  Sirr  Suyi  ^y0\~*  of  the  Tatars,  and  Sa'ihun   • 
of  the  Arabs. 


238  EL-MAS'uof S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

town  of  Hai's  JJMA^,  on  which  boats  go  down 
into  the  lake.  On  this  river  the  Turkish  city 
named  Newtown  «x>»xiJ  &j<x«  (Yanghi  Kant)  is 
situated,  amongst  the  population  of  which  are  some 
Moslims;  but  the  majority  are  Turks.  The  popu- 
lation of  this  place  consists  of  Ghizians*,  who  are 


*  One  copy  bears  XxKxJJ,  and  another  3o  «JJ.  Isstachri 
places  there  the  *jjy  \ 1  this  seems  to  be  more  correct,  and  is 
confirmed  by  the  author  of  the  Oriental  Geography,  who  writes 
•  £ .  They  are,  therefore,  the  nations  whose  name  is  spelt  Ghozz 
in  the  Kamus,  and  Ghiz  in  the  Jagata'i  dictionary  printed  at  Cal- 
cutta, and  who  are  better  known  in  Western  Asia  under  the  name 
of  Seljiiks,  as  the  founders  of  several  dynasties,  and,  in  their 
original  site,  under  the  name  Kirghiz,  as  nomades.  Kir  jo 
means  a  plain,  and  Kirghiz  ytro  a  Ghiz  of  the  desert,  or  a 
nomade.  They  took  this  name  probably  in  contradistinction  of 
their  brothers,  who  were  at  Bagdad  domineering  slaves ;  and  at  a 
subsequent  period  servile  masters  over  almost  all  the  Moham- 
medan dominions.  For  this  reason  the  addition  Kir  to  the  name  of 
the  Ghiz  seems  to  be  comparatively  modern,  although  Abulghaziy 
connects  them  with  Oghuz-Khan.  This  seems  to  be  confirmed  by 
the  Chinese  writers,  who  call  them  Ha-Kya-szu  (pronounced 
Hakas)  in  ancient  times,  and  Ki-li-ki-szu,  which  is  pronounced 
Kilgis  since  the  thirteenth  century.  As  the  names  Kirghis  and 
Seljuks  came  into  use,  the  name  Ghiz  Oghuz  or  Hakas  disappeared. 

Before  we  go  further  in  the  history  of  the  name  Ghiz,  it  is 
necessary  to  make  a  few  remarks  on  its  sound  and  the  way  in  which 
this  sound  is  expressed  by  different  writers  and  in  the  various 
compounds  in  which  we  meet  it.  The  first  letter  is  g.  This 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  239 

mostly  nomades;  but  some  are  settled.  They  are 
Turks  by  origin,  and  divided  in  three  hordes  dU^t, 
the  higher,  middling,  and  lower  horde.  These  are 


letter  is  not  in  the  Arabic  alphabet,  hence  Abulghaziy  (p.  26 
of  the  Tatar  text.)  writes  the  name  Kirghiz  in  three  different  ways ; 
yfjS'  KirJciz,  yij*S  Ckirghiz,  and  \.A3j3  CkircMz.  The 
same  author  informs  us  further  that  g  is  pronounced  by  some 
Tatar  tribes  like  j,  and  that  they  spell  Kipjak  (or  Kapjak) 
oLsEVJ,  and  Jipjak  oUs^V£»«  The  second  letter  has  the  same 

V  *  V  * 

sound  as  the  u  in  French  and  the  v  in  Greek,  and  which,  in  Greek 
as  well  as  in  Tatar  words,  is  sometimes  expressed  by  a  Kasrah  or  i 
in  Arabic,  sometimes  by  a  Dhammah  or  o,  and  sometimes  by  a 
^  or  u.  The  third  letter  seems  to  be  a  z,  but  it  would  appear 

that  some  Tatar  hordes  pronounce  it  like  th  or  t.  The  name  of 
the  Circassians  (Jerkez),  for  instance,  seems  to  have  been  pro- 
nounced Cercetse  at  the  time  of  Pliny  (vi.,  5.) 

The  Archbishop  Siestrencewicz  de  Bohusz  proves  in  his 
work,  Sur  Y  Origins  des  Sarmates,  Petersbourg,  1812,  vol.  iv., 
p.  637,  with  a  host  of  testimonies  from  ancient  authors,  that  the 
Scythians  called  themselves  Goths,  or  Gots:  this  is,  therefore, 
clearly  the  same  name  as  Ghiz.  The  Archbishop  derives  from 
Goth  the  word  Scyth,  saying  the  S  may  have  been  added  by  the 
Greeks.  He  could  have  confirmed  this  conjecture  by  the  exam- 
ple of  some  other  name  of  the  same  nation,  to  which  an  S  is  pre- 
fixed, although  the  name  of  the  man,  from  which  it  is  derived, 
does  not  begin  with  an  S.  Herodotus  (iv.,  cap.  6)  derives 
namely  the  /Scolotes  from  Col  (Colaxain). 

Eichwald  (Alte  Geogrophie  des  Kaspichen  Meeres)  identifies 
the  Scythians  with  the  Judes,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
both  names  are  only  different  pronunciations  of  the  name  Ghiz. 
We  find  the  name  Ghiz  farther  in  the  Getes,  Tyragetes  (or  Getes 


240  EL-MAS'UD1'S    MEADOWS   OF    GOLD, 

the  bravest  of  all  Turks,  and  have  the  smallest  eyes, 
and  most  diminutive  stature.  The  author  of  the 
logic  (Aristotle)  observes,  however,  in  the  four- 


who  lived  on  the  Tyras),  and  Massagetes  of  the  ancients,  and  in 
the  Tunghiz,  Targhiz,  Taghizghiz,  &c.,  of  Oriental  authors.  It 
seems  tliat  'he  word  Ghiz  is  pronounced  like  Gete  in  Tatary,  and 
not  a  Greek  corruption :  hence  we  read  Gete  in  the  history  of 
Timour  (Transl.  by  Petis  de  la  Crois,  vol.  i.,  p.  26),  which 

is  written  3uj=».  Jitta  in  the  Persian  original  (MS.  of  theEarl  of 
Munster).  The  identity  of  the  Kirghiz  with  the  Massagetes  of 
Herodotus  is  shown  by  their  geographical  position,  and  confirmed 
by  Chinese  authors,  who  give  the  same  account  of  them  as 
Herodotus. 

Although  the  Massagetes  of  Herodotus  and  other  classics, 
and  the  Ghozz,  Kirghiz,  &c.,  of  Oriental  authors,  are  undoubtedly 
of  Tatar  origin,  it  has  been  proved  by  Eichwald,  that  the  Getes 
and  Tyragetes  of  the  classics  were  Slavonians.  It  seems,  there- 
fore, that  the  name  Ghiz  or  Gete,  which  is  so  widely  spread  in 
Central  Asia,  and  which  has  been  so  sacredly  preserved  since  the 
most  ancient  times,  applied  originally  rather  to  a  religion  than  to 
a  nation,  to  which  the  Budini  (Buddhists?)  seem  to  have  been 
opposed.  In  this  case  the  name  of  the  Goths  may  not  be  different 
from  that  of  Ghiz.  We  find  that  Arabic  authors  use  the  name 
Ghozz  and  Turk  indiscriminately:  as  Turk  is  undoubtedly  the 
name  of  the  Tatar  race,  the  other  must  have  originally  meant 
their  religion,  the  founder  of  which  was  most  likely  Oghuz  Khan 
^jUi^E^.  As  this  note  is  already  too  long,  we  reserve  it  for 
the  additional  notes  to  say  something  more  on  this  man  and  reli- 
gion. The  division  of  the  Ghiz  into  three  hordes,  of  which 
our  author  speaks,  is  still  existing,  notwithstanding  their  numerous 
emigrations;  and  it  seems  to  have  existed  as  early  as  the  time 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  241 

teenth  and  eighteenth  books  of  his  work  on  the 
animals  ^j^JL^,  where  he  speaks  of  the  bird 
called  el-Gheranik  ui^\^  (yepavos  the  crane),  that 
there  are  some  Turks  who  are  of  a  still  smaller 
size*.  The  reader  will  find  an  account  of  all  the 
Turkish  hordes  in  occasionally  interspersed  notices, 
and  under  a  peculiar  head  further  on  in  this 
work. 

The   town    of  Balkh   has  a  Ribatf ,  named  el- 
Ahashban  ^U&^J  (^Uo^j),  about  twenty  days' 


when  they  made  the  inroad  into  Persia,  recorded  by  Herodotus ; 
for  his  Massagetes  are  undoubtedly  the  Getes,  or  Ghiz,  of  the 
great  horde ;  masa  means  great  in  Pehlewi ;  and  we  cannot  doubt 
that  Herodotus  derives  his  knowledge  of  the  fact  from  the 
Persians. 

*  Aristotle,  Historia  Animalium,  viii.  cap.  12.  says,  the  cranes 
go  from  the  Scythian  steppes  to  the  marshes  above  Egypt,  from 
which  the  Nile  comes,  and  fight  with  the  Pigmies.  The  Arabic 
translator  seems  to  have  correctly  rendered  the  word  Scythians 
by  Turks;  but  he  has  misunderstood  the  passage  in  placing  the 
Pigmies  in  Scythia,  and  making  them  Turks. 

-(-  Ribat  kU  .  is  a  frontier  place,  exposed  to  the  invasions  of 
those  who  have  not  embraced  the  Islam.  In  order  to  form  in 
such  places  an  armed  population,  for  the  defence  of  the  Moslim 
territory,  some  worldly  advantages,  all  possible  privileges  in 
heaven,  and  the  title  tajL~«  were  attached  to  a  residence  in  them. 
Most  divines  declare  a  place  where  the  unbelievers  have  once 
made  an  invasion,  as  a  Ribat  for  two  years;  after  the  second 
inroad,  for  forty  years;  and  after  a  third  invasion,  for  ever 
(Hidayah,  and  its  commentary  the  Kefayah). 

R 


242  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

journey  from  the  city,  in  the  most  distant  of  its 
dependencies.  Beyond  this  Ribat  live  various  un- 
believing nations,  as  the  Turks,  called  Ukhan* 
j,U^  (^U^J);  and  Tubbet  ciuJ  south  of  these 
Turks  are  others,  named  Inghan  ^Uut  (Talighan?f). 
In  their  country  rises  a  great  river,  which  bears  the 
name  River  of  Inghan  J  ^Uwt  ^J  O&Q-  Some 
persons,  who  are  acquainted  with  those  localities, 
believe  that  it  is  the  beginning  of  the  river  of  JBalkh, 
or  the  Jaihun.  The  length  of  its  course  is  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  farsangs :  some  make  it  four 
hundred  farsangs,  from  the  beginning  of  the  river 
of  the  Turks,  that  is  to  say,  the  Inghan.  Geogra- 
phers who  think  that  the  Jaihun  falls  into  the 
Mihran  (Indus)  of  es-Sind,  are  wrong  §.  We 


*  Perhaps  they  are  the  Ouhoun  of  Deguignes,  Histoire  de 
Huns,  vol.  ii.  pp.  24  and  50,  or  the  Auchatae  of  Herodotus,  iv.  6. 

f   Burnes'  Travels  to  Bokhara,  vol.  ii.  p.  202. 

J  Isstachri,  p.  114,  gives  to  the  main  stream  of  the  rivulets, 
which  form  the  Jaihun,  the  name  of  L  ^  «ly»-j  and  to  the  country 
whence  it  comes  from,  that  of  loW1^  Wajan,  on  the  frontier  of 
Badakhshan.  This  is  probably  a  more  correct  reading  than 
Inghan. 

§  This  is  the  opinion  of  the  Zend-Avesta  (p.  392),  and  it 
came  probably  from  the  Guebers  to  the  Mohammedans :  "  Le 
Veh  roud  passe  dans  le  Khorassan,  parait  dans  la  terre  de  Sind, 
et  coule  dans  le  Zare  de  1'Hindoustan;  la  on  1'appelle  le  Mehra 
roud."  And  p.  393,  "  Le  Veh  roud  est  encore  appelle  Kase;" 
car  dans  le  Sind  on  1'appelle  Kase."  And  again,  "  Le  Kase  va 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  243 

will   not     speak    here   of  the    Black    and    White 

dans  la  ville  de  Tous;  la  on  1'appelle  le  Casp  roud."  We  have 
here  three  rivers,  which  form  a  semicircle,  and  separate  Iran  from 
three  Keshvars,  or  climates :  India,  Tibet  and  China,  (Frededafshe 
and  Videdafshe),  and  from  Tatary  (Vorojereste?).  The  name 
for  the  whole  line  of  water  is  Veh  roud.  Kase  seems  to  be 
at  the  same  time  the  Oxus  (Jaihun),  and  the  river  of  the 
Penjab,  which  rises  near  the  sources  of  the  Oxus.  It  is 
very  likely  that  the  name  OPUS  is  formed  from  Kase  by  prefix- 
ing the  Greek  article  6,  and  subjoining  the  termination  os.  The 
Casp  roud  is  the  Ochus  of  the  ancients.  The  opinion  that  the 
Oxus  once  fell  into  the  Caspian,  seems  to  owe  its  origin  to  the 
circumstance  that  the  Guebers  did  not  sufficiently  distinguish  the 
Oxus  and  Ochus.  Mehra,  or  Mihran  is  still  now  the  name 
of  the  lower  course  of  the  Indus.  These  three  rivers  had  all  the 
same  importance  for  the  Persians,  as  frontier,  as  well  as  in  a 
commercial  and  agricultural  point  of  view ;  hence  they  said,  for 
the  sake  of  system,  that  the  whole  line  of  water  falls  into  the 
Gulf  of  'Oman,  since  the  principal  river  has  there  its  mouths.  It 
appears,  namely,  that  they  had  the  idea  that  their  sacred  land  was 
on  all  sides  surrounded  by  rivers,  and  that  the  Veh  roud,  or 
south  and  eastern  semicircle,  corresponds  with  a  north  and  western 
semicircle,  called  Arg  roud,  formed  by  the  same  sea  and  the  Tigris 
with  which  they  may  have  connected  the  A  raxes.  This  will  explain 
what  is  said  in  the  Zend-Avesta,  ii.,  p.  390:  "Les  deux  rouds 
(the  Arg  roud,  and  Veh  roud),  de  deux  extremites,  font  la  tour 
de  toute  la  terre  (of  Iran),  vont  (passent)  dans  le  Zare,  et 
mangent  tous  les  Keschwar.  Ensuite  tous  les  deux  se  jettent 
dans  le  Zare  Ferakh  Kand  (the  Sea  of  'Oman,  and  Persian  Gulf)." 
As  the  frontier  of  Iran  [or  rather  the  Khounnerets,  i.e.9 
Babylon  (see  p.  199,  supra);  for  this  idea  being  so  wrong  res- 
pecting eastern  rivers,  must  have  had  its  origin  in  the  west]  was 
extended,  the  Ochus  was  neglected  in  the  north-east,  and  the 

R  2 


244  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

Arisht*  o&Aj^l  C*x>j\  ^  s^W  ^£^,  on  which  the 
kingdom  of  Kai'makf  Baighur %  ^ybo  ^V(u^) 
is  situated,  who  are  also  Turks,  beyond  the  river 
Jaihun.  On  these  two  rivers  live  the  Ghaznians 
(Ghiz?)  X/JytM  (SujpjJl),  who  are  equally  Turks. 

Euphrates,  and  even  the  Nile,  with  the  Mediterranean,  were 
taken  into  account  in  the  west.  The  Tigris  (Arg  roud)  conti- 
nued, nevertheless,  to  be  the  sacred  river,  as  it  is  in  the  Zend- 
Avesta;  and  even  under  the  Khalifs,  there  was  no  Mohammedan 
festival  celebrated  with  so  much  pomp  as  that  on  the  Tigris,  at  the 
time  of  the  summer  solstice.  The  Tigris  separated  the  sacred 
land  from  the  three  other  Keshvars  or  climates;  Arabia  (Shave), 
the  West  and  Egypt  (Arze),  Mesopotamia  and  Asia  Minor  (Vo- 
robereste?);  so  that  it  is  literally  true  that  these  two  lines  of 
rivers  water  (mangent)  all  seven  climates,  or  Keshvars.  The 
division  into  these  seven  climates  (which  el-Mas'udi  has  described 
p.  199,  supra)  is,  therefore,  originally  relative  to  the  place  where 
the  division  was  made. 

As  the  Arg  and  Veh  roud  consist  ultimately  of  four  rivers, 
as  many  flow  in  the  paradise  of  Moses. 

*  If  the  nations  on  this  river  are  the  Uigurs,  this  name 
should  be  written  Irtish,  else  it  may  be  the  Sirr  (the  Saihun  of 
Arabic  geographers,  and  the  Jaraxes  of  Strabo),  which  is  also 
called  Ariss,  or  Arsh. 

-j-  Perhaps  it  is  the  same  name  as  the  Ka'imar  l^f  mentioned 
by  Abulghazi  (Edit.  Tatarica,  Kasan,  1825)  in  the  genealogy  of 
the  Turks  as  one  of  the  fathers,  which  always  means  a  tribe  or 
nation.  There  is  for  the  rest  a  Turkish  horde  of  the  name  of 
Ka'imak,  mentioned  in  the  Jihannuma  apud  J.  v.,  Hammer, 
Hist,  de  1'empire  Ottoman. 

|   Probably ^yfcx-j   instead  of  ,ybJ  Ighur,  or  Uighur. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  245 

Many  tales  are  related  about  those  two  rivers.    We 
do  not  know  the  length  of  their  course. 

Various  accounts  are  current  respecting  the 
Ganges  u^s^*,  which  is  the  river  of  India:  it  rises 
in  the  mountains  of  the  most  remote  parts  of  India, 
towards  China,  not  far  from  the  Turkish  frontier, 
and  falls,  after  a  course  of  four  hundred  farsangs, 
into  the  Abyssinian  Sea  ^^^>sr,  on  the  coast  of 
India. 

The  Euphrates  ci»|;iH  has  its  sources  in  the 
country  of  Kalikala  &u)|?  (Arzen-er-Rum.,  vulgo 
Erzerum),  on  the  Armenian  frontier,  from  the 
mountains  called  Afradohosf  yM^^! 
about  one  day's  journey  from  Kali-kala 
The  course  of  the  Euphrates  goes  through  the  By- 
zantine territory,  till  it  enters  (into  the  Moslim 
territory)  at  Malatiyah  jUkXx>.  A  Moslim,  who  has 
been  a  prisoner  of  war  in  the  Christian  countries, 
tells  me  that  the  Euphrates  receives  in  its  course 
through  the  Byzantine  territory  many  tributaries. 
One  of  them  comes  from  the  lake  of  el-Mazerbun 
j  which  is  the  largest  lake  in  the 


*  The    Mohammedans  had  lost  sight  of  the  Ganges  when 
Alahmud  of  Ghiznah  conquered  India;  and  they  called  it  then 
iT,  after  the  Persian  way  of  spelling, 
f  Compare  St.  Martin,  Mem.  sur  I'Armenie,  vol.  i.,  p.  45. 


246  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

Byzantine    empire;    for    it    is    one    month    long 
and  wide,  or  more.     They  ply  boats  on  it. 

The  Euphrates  comes  to  Jasr  Manbij  ^y 
after  it  has  passed  the  castle  of  Somaisat 
which  is  built  of  clay:  then  it  comes  to  Balos  L 
and  passes  Siff in  ^^A*?,  the  field  of  the  battle  be- 
tween the  Moslims  of  el-'lrak  and  Syria  (under 
'Ali):  farther  on  it  passes  er-Rakkah,  er-Rahabah 
Su^ll,  Hit  iJlAx4>,  and  el-Anbar  ^Uttl,  In  these 
places  several  canals  are  derived  from  it,  like  the 
'Isa  canal,  which  passes  Bagdad,  and  joins  the 
Tigris.  The  Euphrates  continues  its  course  to  Stir 
j**>  G!***)>  Kasr  Ibn  Hobairah  SJAX* 
el-Kufah,  el-Jami'in  ^^lii,  Ahmedabad(?) 

*  el-Yerman  j^N  (u~j&\),  and  et-Tafuf 
;  then  it  runs  into  the  marshes  between  el- 
Basrah  and  el-Wasit.  The  whole  course  of  the 
Euphrates  is  five  hundred  farsangs  or  more.  The 
greatest  part  of  the  water  of  the  Euphrates  had 
once  its  course  through  el-Hirah:  the  bed  may  still 
be  traced,  and  it  has  the  name  of  'Atik  (ancient). 
On  it  was  fought  the  battle  between  the  Moslims  and 
Rostam  (at  the  time  of  'Omar),  called  the  battle  of 
el-Kadesiyah.  The  Euphrates  fell  at  that  time 
into  the  Abyssinian  sea,  at  a  place  which  is  now 
called  en-Najaf  cju?UJ ;  for  the  sea  came  up  to  this 
place,  and  thither  resorted  the  ships  of  China  and 
India,  destined  for  the  kings  of  el-Hirah.  Many 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  247 

ancient  historians,  who  are  well  acquainted  with 
the  battle  days  of  the  Arabs,  as  Hesham  Ben  Mo- 
hammed el-Kelbi  csvJKit,  Abu  Mokhnif  Lut  Ben 
Yahya,  and  esh-Sharki  Ben  el-Katami  ^j  ^*j~\\ 
^LkJfJ!,  relate  that  the  inhabitants  of  el-Hirah  for- 
tified themselves  in  the  white  tower  of  el-Kadesiyah, 
and  in  that  of  the  Beni  Bokailah(or  Bakilah)  XXxJu  csu, 
when  Khaled  el-Mekhzumi  ^^^\  marched 
against  them,  in  the  reign  of  Abu  Bekr,  from  el- 
Yemamah,  with  the  victorious  army  which  had 
slain  the  false  prophet  of  the  Beni  Hanifah  csu 
XJux-*.  These  were  the  towers  of  el-Hirah,  which 
lay  now  [in  332  A.H.]  in  ruins,  and  nobody  lives 
there.  The  site  of  the  town  is  three  miles  from  el- 
Kufah.  When  Khaled  saw  that  the  Hirians  were 
fortifying  themselves  against  him,  he  encamped  his 
army  not  far  from  en-Najaf:  he  himself  rode  with 
Dhirar  Ibn  el-Azur  el-Asadi  er«3w>^J  j£*$\  ^jjj  ^\j*>, 
who  was  one  of  the  Bedouin  horsemen,  to  the  city ; 
and  they  came  to  the  tower  of  the  Taghlebites 
j*£.  The  Christians  ^^Uc  threw  pots 
jjyaL  on  them,  which  made  his  horse  shy.  Dhirar 
said,  "May  God  make  thee  quiet,  for  this  is  the 
greatest  stratagem  which  they  are  prepared  to 
make."  Khaled  returned  to  his  camp,  and  sent 
to  them  that  they  should  depute  an  intelligent 
aged  man  to  him,  that  he  could  ask  him  about 
their  affairs.  They  sent  'Abd  el-Mesih  Ben  'Amr 


248          EL-MASJuni's  MEADOWS  OF  GOLD, 

Ben  Kais  Ben  Hayyan  Ben  Bokailah  el-Ghassani 
to  him,  who  had  built  the  white  citadel.  Bokailah 
had  this  name  because  he  went  out  one  day  in  a 
green  silk  dress ;  and  the  people  said,  who  is  this 
bokailah?  (herb  XXJu).  This  is  the  same  '  Abdul  - 
Mesih  who  went  to  Satih  <g&**  el-Ghassani  the 
soothsayer,  to  ask  him  about  a  dream  of  the 
Miibeds  ^Jjw^U,  and  the  earthquake  which  the 
palace  of  the  Persian  kings  at  Ctesiphon  had  sus- 
tained, and  other  things  which  had  reference  to  the 
Sasanian  kings. 

'Abd  el-Mesih  was  then  three  hundred  and  fifty 
years  of  age  when  he  came  to  Khaled.  He  was 
walking:  Khaled  looked  at  him  when  he  drew  near, 
and  said, 

"  Whence  dost  thou  descend,  O  Sheikh?" 

He  answered,  "  From  the  kidnies  of  my  father." 

"  Where  dost  thou  come  from?" 

"  From  the  womb  of  my  mother." 

"Where  art  thou?" 

"  On  the  ground." 

"  In  what  (place)  art  thou?" 

"  In  my  clothes.'' 

"  Art  thou  by  reason  or  insane?" 

"  Why,  by  God,  I  am  a  leader,  (and  therefore 
certainly  an  intelligent  man)." 

"  The  son  of  how  many  art  thou*?" 

*  This  is  an  Arabic  idiom,  meaning  "  of  what  age  are  you?" 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  249 

"  The  son  of  one  man." 

"  By  God,  I  requested  them  to  send  a  man  of 
their  city  to  me,"  said  Khaled,  "  and  they  depute 
an  idiot,  who,  if  I  ask  one  thing,  answers  another." 
"  By  God,"  replied  the  man  of  el-Hirah,  "  I  answer 
precisely  to  thy  questions,  ask  further." 

"  Are  you  Arabs  or  Nabatheans?" 

"  We  are  Nabathized  Arabs,  and  Arabized 
Nabatheans*." 

"Do  you  wish  for  war  or  peace?'* 

16  For  peace." 

"  And  what  is  the  meaning  of  these  fortifica- 
tions?" 

"  They  are  built  for  mad  people  who  are  shut  up 
in  them  till  they  come  to  their  senses." 

"  How  many  (years)  are  come  over  thee?" 

"  Three  hundred  and  fifty." 

"  And  what  hast  thou  seen?" 

"  I  have  seen  the  ships  of  the  sea  coming  up  to 
us  in  this  deep  country  (cjbdli)  with  the  goods  of 
es-Sind  and  India:  the  ground  which  is  now  under 
thy  feet  was  covered  with  the  waves  of  the  sea. 


*  That  is  to  say,  we  are  agriculturists,  retaining  some  Bedouin 
habits,  for  Arab  c_^c  means  only  a  Bedouin;  (See  E.  Lane's 
Modern  Egyptians),  and  Nabathean  J^J  means  as  it  will  be 
shown  in  a  note  to  the  twentieth  chapter,  the  agriculturists  on  the 
skirt  of  the  desert,  of  Bedouin  origin. 


250  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

Look  how  far  we  are  at  present  from  the  shore.  I 
remember  that  a  woman  might  set  out  with  her 
basket  on  her  head,  and  would  find  the  whole  coun- 
try in  so  flourishing  a  state,  covered  with  villages, 
plantations,  trees,  and  cultivation,  intersected  with 
canals  and  ponds  full  of  water,  as  far  as  Syria,  that 
she  would  not  require  more  than  one  cake  for  her 
provision*;  What  is  it  now?  It  is  destroyed  and 
desert.  So  God  visits  his  servants  and  country." 

Khaled,  and  all  who  were  present,  were  asto- 
nished at  what  they  had  heard.  They  recollected 
the  name  of  'Abdel-Mesih,  for  he  was  famous 
amongst  the  Arabs  for  his  great  age  and  sound 
reason. 

They  say  he  had  a  poison  with  him,  the  effects 
of  which  were  instantaneous. 

Khaled  asked  him,  "  What  hast  thou  here?  " 

11  Virulent  poison,"  was  his  answer. 

11  What  wilt  thou  do  with  it?" 


*  The  reader  must  bear  in  mind  that  it  is  a  duty  in  the  east 
commanded  by  feelings  and  sacred  by  habit,  religion,  and  honour, 
to  be  hospitable  to  strangers.  Hence  it  is  only  in  deserts  that  they 
carry  their  provisions  with  them. 

Other  authors  describe  in  similar  terms  the  nourishing  state  in 
which  the  Ahkaf  has  once  been,  saying,  that  the  palm-trees  were 
so  fertile  and  abundant,  that  if  a  woman  went  out  of  doors  with  a 
basket  and  put  it  down,  she  would  find  it  after  a  while  full  of  dates, 
wherever  it  may  have  stood,  and  without  any  exertion  on  her  part. 
Perhaps  the  words  of  our  author  had  originally  the  same  meaning. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  251 

He  answered,  "  I  took  it  with  me  with  the  in- 
tention that  if  I  should  receive  such  proposals  from 
thee  as  may  be  agreeable  to  me  and  favourable  for 
my  countrymen.  I  would  accept  them  and  praise 
God  for  them,  (and  not  take  the  poison).  But  in 
the  contrary  case,  that  I  might  not  be  the  first 
who  returned  home  laden  with  disgrace  and  sorrow, 
I  intended  to  devour  this  poison  and  to  quit  this 
world,  for  only  a  short  time  more  is  allotted  to 
me." 

"  Give  it  to  me,"  ordered  Khaled,  and  took  it 
in  the  palm  of  his  hand,  saying,  "  In  the  name  of 
God,  and  by  God,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  of  heaven 
and  earth,  in  the  name  of  the  Almighty,  in  whose 
name  nothing  on  earth  goes  wrong."  After  he  had 
pronounced  these  words  he  devoured  it ;  he  immedi- 
ately fainted  away,  and  his  chin  sank  on  his  chest. 

They  opened  his  clothes ;  he  recovered  and  was 
full  of  vigour. 

The  'Ibadite  returned  to  his  people.  He  was  an 
'Ibadite  ^j JUr  by  religion,  which  means  a  Nestorian 
Christian.  When  he  came  into  the  town  he  said, 
"  O  people,  I  come  from  the  Satan ;  he  has  devoured 
poison  of  which  the  effects  are  instantaneous,  and  it 
has  not  done  him  the  least  harm ;  do  what  you  can 
to  have  him  far  from  your  town." 

"They  are  a  people  full  of  ardour,  and  their  cause 
is  rising,  whilst  that  of  the  Sasanians  is  sinking. 
This  religion  will  have  a  success  which  will  extend 


252  EL-MAS'UD1'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

over  all  the  earth,  but  corruptions  will  creep  into  it." 
They  made  peace  with  Khaled  under  the  condition 
that  they  should  pay  one  hundred  thousand  dirhems, 
and  wear  a  black  sash  ^LJUlaJJ  yt^  ^Ls  (rolled 
round  their  heads,  and  hanging  down  behind  as  a 
humiliating  mark  of  distinction  from  the  Moslims.) 
Khaled  broke  off  from  es-Kirah,  and  said  the  fol- 
lowing verses  on  the  subject. 

"  How  is  it  possible  that  after  the  Mondirs  a 
price  should  be  laid  on  (the  two  splendid  palaces  of 
the  kings  of  el-Hirah)  el-Khawarnak  u&jjsi  \  and 
es-Sodair  ^*XwJJ,  although  they  are  protected  by 
the  horsemen  of  every  tribe,  against  the  roaring 
lion.  And  how  comes  it  that  I  should  pasture  in 
the  gardens  between  (the  canals  of)  Marrah  *^o 
and  el-Jofair  j>*4-\.  We  were  become  (united)  like 
the  flock  on  a  rainy  day,  after  the  (tribe)  Abu- 
Kais  have  perished.  We  have  slain  the  Ma* add 
tribes  in  open  combat  like  camels  destined  to  be 
sacrificed.  We  raise  tribute  like  the  Kings  of  Per- 
sia, and  it  is  paid  to  us  by  the  (Jewish  tribes  of 
Khaibar),  the  Beni  Korai'tah  j&jjjiJl,  and  en-Nad- 
hir  j#£ti\.  So  the  chances  which  lay  in  the  bosom 
of  time  are  uncertain,  to-morrow  may  bring  joy  or 


sorrow." 


We  have  inserted  this  story  here  in  confirmation 
of  our  statement,  respecting  the  changing  places  of 
the  seas  and  the  shifting  of  the  waters  and  rivers  in 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  253 

the  course  of  time,  and  daring  the  lapse  of  ages. 
When  the  waters  did  not  run  any  longer  to  this 
place  the  sea  became  land,  and  at  present  there  is  a 
distance  of  several  days  between  el-Hirah  and  the 
sea.  Whoever  has  seen  the  Najaf  will  fully  enter 
into  our  views. 

In  the  same  way  the  Tigris  has  changed  its 
course;  there  is  a  great  distance  between  the  pre- 
sent course  of  the  river  and  the  dry  bed  which  is 
stopped  by  the  sand,  and  called  Batn  el-fauhi 
gf=L\  L.J*j ;  it  runs  close  on  the  town  of  Bados  u^L, 
in  the  district  of  Wasit  of  el-Irak  to  Dafiri 
turning  towards  Sus  u*^  in  Khuzistan  < 
whilst  the  new  bed  passes  east  of  Baghdad,  at  a 
place  called  Rakkah  esh-Shemasiyah  3u*»U&!J  £>,; 
and  an  inundation  has  brought  the  river  to  the  west 
where  it  runs  at  present  between  Kotrobbol  Jo^k* 
and  the  Town  of  peace  (Bagdad),  so  that  it  passes 
the  villages  called  el-Kobb  v^*  esh- Shark!  &j"&9 
and  other  estates,  which  belong  to  Kotrobbol.  The 
inhabitants  of  these  places  have  had  a  law -suit,  with 
those  of  the  eastern  side,  who  are  in  possession  of 
Rakkahesh-Shemasiyah,  in  the  reign  of  el-Mokta- 
der,  in  the  presence  of  his  Vizier,  Abul-Hasan  'Ali 
Ben  'Isa.  What  well-informed  men  have  deposed 
at  this  occasion,  and  what  we  have  stated  are  facts 
which  are  well  known  at  Bagdad.  If  the  water 
changes  its  course  in  about  thirty  years  the  seventh 


254  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

part  of  a  mile  it  will  make  nearly  one  mile  in  two 
hundred  years  ;  and  if  the  water  of  a  river  retires 
four  hundred  cubits  from  its  original  place,  this 
place  will  be  waste.  Through  these  causes  places 
are  rendered  uncultivated,  and  if  the  water  finds  a 
declivity  or  a  descent  it  widens  by  its  course  and 
rapidity  the  bed  as  it  carries  the  ground  away  to  an 
immense  distance,  and  wherever  it  finds  a  wide  and 
low  place  it  fills  it  and  forms  lakes,  marshes,  and 
lagunas.  By  these  means  places  which  have  been 
cultivated  become  deserts,  and  those  which  were 
without  cultivation  become  cultivated.  Everybody 
of  common  sense  will  understand  and  appreciate 
what  we  have  said. 

El-Mas'udi  says,  all  historians  who  possess  just 
ideas  respecting  the  history  of  the  world  and  its 
kings,  know,  that  in  the  year  in  which  the  Prophet 
of  God  sent  messengers  to  the  Kisra  ^^J**,  and 
this  was  the  seventh  year  after  his  flight  from 
Mekka  to  Medinah,  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris  were 
so  much  swelled  that  they  never  had  been  so  before; 
the  water  made  immense  breaches  and  holes  which 
were  greater  than  the  canals,  and  as  the  canals 
could  not  hold  the  water  the  dams  and  mounds  gave 
way,  and  the  water  filled  the  lower  country. 

The  Persian   King,   Abrawaiz     ^^    (Perwiz), 


*  This    is  the     Arabic   pronunciation   of  the   Persian   title 
Khosraw  j^.**±i,  which  means  possessed  of  an  extensive  kingdom. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  255 

endeavoured  to  confine  the  water  again,  to  repair 
the  dams,  and  to  open  the  trenches  olj^Lfc;  but 
he  was  unable  to  control  the  river,  it  took  its  course 
towards  the  place  where,  in  our  time,  are  the 
marshes.  The  cultivation  and  fields  were  sub- 
merged, and  whole  districts  were  changed  into  the 
marshes  which  are  there  at  present,  his  exertions  to 
stop  it  being  inefficient.  The  Persians  were  soon 
after  occupied  with  the  Arabic  wars;  the  water 
broke  through  its  limits,  and  nobody  could  turn  his 
mind  to  the  reparation  of  the  dams,  so  the  marshes 
became  wider  and  more  extensive. 

When  Mo'awiyah  had  come  to  the  Khalifat  he 
appointed  his  adoptive  'Abdullah  Ben  Derraj  *XAC 

&\j*  cj^  ^  over  the  tribute  of  el-'Irak,  and  he 
raised  from  the  lands  on  the  marshes  fifteen  million 
(of  Dirhems*)  worth  by  cutting  the  reeds  grown  in 
these  marshes,  and  taking  the  whole  as  property  of 
the  state.  In  subsequent  times  the  water  made 
more  breaches  through  the  dams  and  mounds,  and 
when  Hassan  en-Nabti,  the  adoptive  of  the  Beni 
Dhobbah,  was  revenue  cellector  under  the  Khalifat 


*  Arabic  authors  frequently  mention  the  sums  without  stating 
what  sort  of  money  is  meant.  In  these  cases  it  is  a  general  rule 
that  Dinars  are  understood  if  they  speak  of  those  countries  which 
had  been  under  the  sway  of  the  Byzantine  empire ;  and  Dirhems, 
if  the  provinces  in  question  had  formed  part  of  the  Persian 
monarchy. 


256  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

of  el-Walid  for  Hejjaj  Ben  Jusof,  he  gained  some 
lands  from  the  marshes. 

The  whole  extent  of  the  marshes  which  the 
water  occupies  at  present,  is  about  fifty  far  sang  s 
long  and  as  many  broad.  In  the  centre  is  a  round 
place  in  which  the  ground  rises;  this  is  a  city 
covered  with  water,  and  if  the  water  is  clear  one  may 
see  at  the  bottom  the  ruins  of  buildings;  some 
stones  are  still  standing  in  their  place  whilst  others 
have  fallen  down.  One  may  still  trace  the  plan  of 
the  buildings.  The  same  is  the  case  with  the  lake 
of  Tinnis  and  Dimyat  (Damietta)  ,  in  which  may  be 
seen  the  farms  and  towns  as  we  have  related  in 
another  place  in  this  book,  and  in  other  works. 
Now  we  will  resume  our  subject  and  describe  the 
Tigris,  its  sources,  course,  and  mouths.  It  comes 
from  the  country  of  Amid  <x*J,  which  belongs  to 
Diar  Bekr,  but  the  sources  are  in  the  country  of 
Khelat  k&^,  which  forms  part  of  Armenia.  It 
receives  various  tributaries  as  Sarit  k>>r-o  (^uy*) 
and  Satid  JuSU-,  which  come  from  the  country  of 
Arzan,  and  Mayyaf  arikin  (^b'Uc  ;  and  other  rivers, 
as  the  river  Dusha  l^J,  el-Khabur,  which  comes 
from  Arminiah,  and  falls  between  the  country  of 
Masura*  and  Faiz-Sabur  f  ,  in  the  countries  of 


or  \jy*  or 
j  or     jUai'  or 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  257 

Kerda  and  Bazenda*,  into  the  Tigris,  and  the 
A'wari  cf  j}Z\  (jJv$L>),  which  comes  from  el-Mausil 
and  its  dependencies,  the  country  of  the  Beni 
Hamdan.  The  poets  say  of  these  rivers,  "On 
the  Karda  and  Bazenda  it  is  delightful  to  spend  the 
summer  and  spring  ;  for  their  water  is  as  cool 
as  the  Salsabil  (a  spring  in  Paradise),  whilst  the 
ground  of  Bagdad  is  as  hot  as  live  coals,  and  the 
heat  is  oppressive."  The  river  el-Khabur  is  not  the 
same  which  has  its  sources  at  the  town  of  Ras  el- 
'ain,  and  falls  below  the  city  of  Karkisia  IA^A^J  into 
the  Euphrates.  The  Tigris  passes  in  its  course  the 
towns  of  Balad  jJL»  and  el-Mausil  :  it  receives  below 
el-Mausil  and  above  the  Hodaibiyah  (the  rough 
country)  of  el-Mausil  J^U  jU^x-*,  the  river  ez-Zab 
vl>M»  from  Arminiyah;  this  is  the  greater  Zab, 
farther  on  the  other  Zab,  which  comes  equally  from 
Arminiyah  and  Aderbaijan,  pours  its  waters  into  it. 
The  Tigris  proceeds  to  Tikrit,  Samarra  J^oL*,  and 
Bagdad,  receiving  the  Khandak  ojjil!,  es-Sorah 
x\j*d\  (*\j&\),  and  nahr-'Isa  ^^AC  ^:  these  are 
the  canals  which  we  have  said  run  from  the 
Euphrates  into  the  Tigris.  When  the  Tigris  has 


or 

copy  of  Leyden  bears  J^JL! 

from  the  country  of  Karenda,  and  the  (river)  Zahadra  comes  from 

el-Mausil. 

S 


258  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

quitted  Bagdad,  it  receives  a  great  many  rivers 
(canals),  like  the  Badnal  jbjo  (iL^j  or  <S\^),  and 
Nahras  u^j  (Nahr-Nar,  or  Nahr-Shir?),  the 
Nahr-Wan,  not  far  from  Jarjaraya  L^.^,  es-Sib 
v***JJ>  and  No'maniyah  XoLjJJL  Having  passed  the 
town  of  Wasit,  the  Tigris  is  divided  into  several 
branches  ;  some  of  which  run  into  the  marshes  of 
el-Basrah,  as  the  river  called  Baradud  V^>  or 
the  el-Yahudi  river,  and  the  Shami  (or  Samarri) 
branch.  On  the  stream  which  goes  to  el-'Akar 
jjud\  (^k£!j),  the  greatest  part  of  the  navigation 
from  Bagdad  and  Wasit  to  el-Basrah,  is  carried 
on.  The  whole  course  of  the  Tigris  is  about  three 
or  four  hundred  farsangs. 

We  have  omitted  many  rivers,  describing  only 
the  larger  ones,  which  are  better  known;  for  we 
entered  into  details  in  our  works,  the  Akhbar  ez- 
zeman  and  the  Kitab  el-ausat.  We  shall  give 
further  notices  in  this  book  of  rivers  which  have 
been  named,  and  of  such  as  we  have  omitted  to 
mention. 

El-Basrah  has  several  great  rivers,  like  the 
Nahr-Shirin  (.ju^  Nahr-ed-Dair  ^*xM>  and  the 
Nahr-Ibn-'Amr.  There  are  also  some  considerable 
rivers  in  the  province  of  el-Ahwaz  and  the  country 
between  this  province  and  el-Basrah.  We  forbear 
entering  upon  them  here,  having  given  accounts  of 
them,  and  of  the  shores  of  the  Persian  Gulf  at  el- 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  259 

Basrah  and  el-Obollah,  and  of  the  place  known 
under  the  name  of  Hezarah  *j^.=U  (or  el-Herarah), 
which  is  a  strip  of  land  projecting  into  the  sea*, 
close  to  el-Obollah,  and  which  is  the  cause  that  the 
sailors  go  into  the  harbour  of  el-Basrah.  There  are 
marks  of  wood  erected  for  the  sailors  in  the  sea,  at 
Hezarah,  on  the  side  of  el-Obollah  and  'Abbadan, 
which  look  like  three  seats  in  the  middle  of  the 
water,  and  upon  which  fires  are  burnt  by  night,  to 
caution  the  vessels  which  come  from  'Oman,  Siraf, 
and  other  ports,  least  they  run  against  the  Hezarah; 
for  if  they  run  there,  they  are  wrecked  and  lost. 

*  The  MS.  of  Leyden  differs  from  the  other  two  copies,  and 
bears  on  the  contrary,  there  is  a  bay    *^\  ^  j^^^    u-» 
in  which  the  vessels  lay. 


S  '2 


260          EL-MAS'UDI'S  MEADOWS  OF  GOLD, 


TENTH  CHAPTER. 

Account  of  the  Abyssinian  sea,  its  extent,  gulfs, 
and  straits. 

ESTIMATES  have  been  made  respecting  the  extent  of 
the  Indian  sea,  which  is  identical  with  the  Abyssi- 
nian sea :  its  length  from  the  most  western  part  of 
Abyssinia  as  far  as  China  in  the  east,  is  eight  thou- 
sand miles,  and  its  breadth  is  in  one  place  two  thou- 
sand seven  hundred,  and  in  another  one  thou- 
sand nine  hundred  miles,  for  it  varies  in  different 
places.  These  dimensions  have  been  disputed,  but 
\ve  will  not  enter  into  the  different  statements, 
because  there  are  no  proofs  upon  which  they  rest. 
This  is  the  greatest  sea  of  the  habitable  world.  It 
has  a  gulf  extending  from  Abyssinia  as  far  as  Ber- 
bera,  a  country  situated  between  the  territory  of  the 
Zanj  and  the  Abyssinians.  This  gulf  is  called  the 
Berberian  gulf  <?^» jUt  giM  it  is  five  hundred 
miles  long,  and  at  the  beginning  and  end  one  hun- 
dred miles  wide.  These  are  not  the  Berbers  *r>\n 
who  live  west  of  Afrikiyah  (Africa  pro vincia),  for 
that  is  a  different  country  although  it  has  the  same 
name.  The  sailors  of  'Oman  go  on  this  sea  as  far 
as  the  island  of  Kanbalu  f>JUj£,  in  the  sea  of  the 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  261 

Zanj.  This  island  is  inhabited  by  Moslims,  and  by 
Zanj  who  have  not  embraced  th  Islam.  The 
sailors  of  'Oman  to  whom  we  have  just  alluded, 
believe  that  this  gulf,  which  is  called  the  Berberian 
gulf,  and  with  them  the  sea  of  the  Berbers  and  of 
the  country  of  Jofuni  ^yL^  *&j,  is  much  greater 
than  we  have  said.  The  waves  of  this  sea  are  huge 
like  high  mountains. 

These  are  blind  waves  ^S^^-o;  this  (marine) 
term  means  waves  which  rise  as  high  as  mountains, 
and  between  which  abysses  open  like  the  deepest 
valleys  but  they  do  not  break;  hence  no  foam  is 
created  like  that  produced  by  the  collision  of  the 
waves,  in  other  seas.  They  believe  that  these  waves 
are  enchanted.  The  sailors  of  'Oman  who  sail  on  this 
sea  are  Arabs,  of  the  tribe  of  el-Azd  ^W,  and  when 
they  are  on  board  a  ship,  sometimes  lifted  up  by 
these  waves,  and  then  again  sinking  between  them  ; 
—  they  say  verses  whilst  they  are  at  work,  as,  "  O 
Berbera  and  Jofuni  and  thy  enchanted  waves. 
Jofuni,,  and  Barbera,  and  their  waves,,  as  thou  seest 
them." 

These  sailors  go  on  the  sea  ez-Zanj  as  far  as  the 
island  of  Kanbahi  ^JUxi*  and  the  Sofalah  (low  coun- 
try), of  the  Demdemah*,  which  is  on  the  extremity 


'     One   copy  bears     JJ^LJJ  ^  XJU-o  S&j  and  another  MS. 


XJUL*.     It  does  not  require  any  explanation  why  these 
two  readings  have  been  changed  in  the  translation. 


262  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

of  the  country  of  the  Zanj  and  the  low  countries 
JJUJ  thereabout.  The  merchants  of  Siraf  ^j^jl  j**Ji 
are  also  in  the  habit  of  sailing  on  this  sea.  I  have 
made  a  voyage  on  it  from  Sohar*,  which  is  the 
capital  of  'Oman,  with  a  crew  of  Sirafians ;  they 
are  the  owners  of  the  vessels  like  Mohammed  Ben 
Zindibud  and  Jauher  Ben  Ahmad,  known  under  the 
name  of  Ibn  Shirah  ^\  ^  y*y^  "K*^j  &t  <x*s2 
(jy*j)  5^Aj£  ^..jjlj  oj^xU,  who  perished  in  this  sea 
with  his  whole  crew. 

And,  in  304  A.H.,  I  made  a  voyage  from  the 
island  of  Kanbalu  to  'Oman,  in  a  vessel  of  Ahmad 
and  'Abd  es-Samad  4*^1  ^XAC,  brothers  of  'Abd 
er-Rahim  Ben  Ja'fer  of  Siraf.  I  passed  then  the 
spot  where,  subsequently,  the  vessel  of  Ahmad  and 
'Abd  es-Samad  was  wrecked,  and  where  these  two 
men  perished  with  their  whole  crew.  When  I 
made  my  first  voyage  on  this  sea,  Ahmad  Ben  Helal 
Ben  Okht  el-Kattal  JUXJ1  Z 


*  Both  copies  bear  Sinjar  AZCUJ,  and  M.  Quatremere  followed 
this  reading-  in  the  extract  which  he  gives  of  this  passage  in  the 
Memoires  sur  1'Egypte,  vol.  ii.,  page  182,  the  true  reading  seems 
to  be  1^. 


f  The  MS.  of  Cambridge  gives  him  the  name  ,  .  ^ 
0$  ^.AA*M  fj&Jj  Mohammed  Ben  Zeidum  (?)  of  Siraf.  It  is 
probably  the  same  person  as  Abu  Zeid  of  Siraf,  in  Reinaudot, 
(p.  39). 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  263 

was  Emir  of  'Oman.  I  have  frequently  been  at  sea; 
as  in  the  Chinese  sea  ^jywa!^^,  in  the  seaofer- 
Rum,  in  that  of  the  Khazar  j^\  (the  Caspian),  of 
el-Kolzom  ~^&\  (the  Red  Sea),  and  in  the  sea  of 
el- Yemen:  I  have  encountered  many  perils,  but 
I  found  the  sea  of  the  Zanj  which  we  have  just 
described  the  most  dangerous  of  all. 

There  is  a  fish  in  this  sea  called  el-Owal  $\j$\ 
(whale),  which  is  from  four  to  five  hundred  'Omari 
cubits  tsjf.\\  £,[>^  l°ng>  these  are  the  cubits  in  use 
in  this  sea.  The  usual  length  of  this  fish  is  one 
hundred  perches  ^L.  Frequently  when  it  swims 
through  the  sea  only  the  extremities  of  the  two  fins 
are  to  be  seen,  and  it  looks  like  the  sail  of  a  ship 
£\jid\  j&j  £X*.  Generally  the  head  of  the  whale  is 
out  of  water;  and  when  it  powerfully  ejects  water,  it 
gushes  into  the  air  more  than  one  bowshot  high. 
The  vessels  are  afraid  of  it  by  day  and  night,  and 
they  beat  drums  <_^lj  j  and  wooden  poles  to  drive  it 
away.  This  fish  drives  with  its  tail  and  fins  other 
fish  into  its  open  mouth,  and  they  pass  down  its 
throat  with  the  stream  of  water.  When  the  whale 
sins  God  sends  a  fish  about  one  cubit  long  called 
esh-Shak  &z\\* ,  it  adheres  to  the  root  of  its  tail 


*  Quatremere  translates  this  passage  in  his  Memoires  sur 
1'Egypte,  vol.  ii.,  p.  491,  and  found  this  word  written  sal;  one  of 
my  copies  bears 


264  EL-MAS'UDl'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

and  the  whale  has  no  means  to  make  itself  free  from 
it.  It  goes  therefore  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea  and 
beats  itself  to  death;  its  dead  body  floats  on  the 
water  and  looks  like  a  great  mountain.  The  fish 
called  esh-Shak,  adheres  frequently  to  the  whale. 
The  whales,  notwithstanding  their  size,  do  not 
approach  vessels;  and  they  take  flight  when  they 
see  this  little  fish,  for  it  is  their  destruction*. 

In  the  same  way  a  little  animal  which  lives  on 
the  banks  and  islands  of  the  Nile,  is  the  destruction 
of  the  crocodile.  The  crocodile  has  no  natural 
passage  through  its  body;  and  whatever  it  eats  is 
turned  into  worms  in  its  belly:  when  it  feels  any 
inconvenience  it  goes  out  on  the  land  and  lays  on 
its  back,  opens  its  mouth,  and  there  come  the  water- 
birds  like  the  Taitawif  cf^LJaJJ,  the  Hasani 
jU^it  QUait),  the  Shamirek  J^clwJJ,  and  other 
sorts  of  birds,  to  eat  the  large  worms  which  may  be 

*  The  translation  of  M.  Quatremere  of  this  sentence  runs, 
"  L'okal  qui  ose  attaquer  un  vaisseau,  quoique  grand  qu'il  soit, 
prend  la  fuite  des  qu'il  appergoit  ce  petit  poisson  qui  est  son 
plus  terrible  ennemi."  This  sounds  much  better  than  the  transla- 
tion which  I  give.  Since  probability  and  the  authority  of  this 
distinguished  orientalist  is  against  me,  I  transcribe  the  original 
after  three  copies,  ^ 


1^3  £Xj'l?  ^  L£*^  ^  would   certainly  be  more   natural   if  the 
words  did  run  l^IoxJ  _  J^| 

t  See  Calilah  et  Dimnah,  p.  124. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  265 

in  the  belly  of  the  crocodile.  This  little  animal 
watching  in  the  sand,  seizes  this  opportunity  to 
jump  on  its  scales,  and  goes  down  its  throat.  The 
crocodile  throws  itself  violently  on  the  ground,  and 
goes  to  the  bottom  of  the  Nile.  The  little  animal 
devours  its  intestines  and  gnaws  its  way  out.  This 
little  animal  is  generally  about  one  cubit  long, 
resembles  a  weasel,  and  has  legs  and  claws. 

In  the  sea  of  the  Zanj  are  many  and  variously 
shaped  species  of  fish,  if  people  do  not  tell  stories  to 
cover  their  ignorance.  But  as  it  is  not  our  object 
to  relate  the  wonders  of  the  sea,  nor  to  describe  the 
aquatic  animals,  serpents,  and  other  strange  crea- 
tures, which  live  in  it,  we  will  now  return  to  the 
description  of  its  various  divisions,  gulfs,  inlets,  and 
tongues  of  land.  Another  gulf  of  the  Abyssinian 
sea  is  that  which  comes  up  to  the  town  of  el-Kolzom 
fjAjiH*  which  belongs  to  Egypt,  and  is  three  days 
from  Fostat.  On  this  gulf  is  the  city  of  Allah,  the 
Hejaz*,  Joddah  »*x^,  and  Yemen.  It  is  one  thou- 
sand four  hundred  miles  long,  and  where  it  is  widest 
two  hundred  miles  broad.  Opposite  the  mentioned 
places  as  Ailah  and  the  Hejaz,  on  the  western 
coast  of  this  gulf  is  el-'Allaki,  el-'Aidab  v^**J'> 
which  belongs  to  Upper  Egypt,  the  country  of 

el-Bojah  £s\M  &>j\ ;    then  Abyssinia    and   Nigritia 

*  The  MSS.  bear  \  and  *)A. 


266  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


,  which  form  the  coast  of  the  Red  Sea, 
as  far  as  the  frontiers  of  the  Sofalahs,  (low  district,) 
_  U3UJ  of  the  Zanj.  At  the  Sofalah  of  the  country 
of  the  Zanj  another  gulf  branches  off,  and  this  is  the 
Persian  sea  which  comes  up  to  el-Obollah,,  to  the 
Khashabat,  cijU^  1,  (the  wooden  sea-marks),  and 
to  'Abbadan  j,bU«,  which  belongs  to  el-Basrah. 
The  length  of  this  gulf  is  one  thousand  four  hun- 
dred miles,  and  the  breadth  at  the  entrance  five 
hundred  miles,  but  in  some  places  it  is  not  above 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  wide.  This  gulf  has 
a  triangular  shape,  at  one  angle  el-Obollah  is 
situated,  thence  the  gulf  extends  towards  the  east 
along  Faris.  Of  the  places  situated  on  this  coast, 
we  name  Persian  Daurak  u^iM  ^^9  Maherban 
^LjjfcU  (Mahruban),  and  Shiniz  ;  from  this  town 
the  embroidered  Shinizee  cloth  has  its  name; 
for  this  and  other  sorts  of  clothes  are  manu- 
factured there:  farther  the  town  of  Jannabah, 
whence  the  Jannabee  cloth  X>oUil  v^t  has  its 
name*;  the  town  of  Najiram  p*^0,  belonging  to 
Siraf  JJjA-a,  then  the  countries  of  Ibnf  'Imarah 
?  the  coast  of  Kerman  and  the  coast 


*  'ITiese  manufacturing  and  other  towns  were  destroyed  at 
the  time  of  Abul-Feda  owing  to  the  rule  of  the  Turkish  soldiers, 
whom  the  'Abbasides  had  called  in  to  keep  up  the  course  of 
absolutism  against  their  own  nation. 

f   Some  copies  leave  out  the  word  Ibn. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  267 

of  Mokran  ^JC*,  which  is  the  country  of  the 
Khawarij,  who  are  Heretics  *\j£S\  ^^  gjl*^* 
The  whole  of  this  coast  is  a  palm  country:  then 
comes  the  coast  of  es-Sind  there  are  the  mouths 
of  the  river  Mihran  ^jfr*>  which  is  the  river  of 
es-Sind  (Indus),  and  has  been  described.  In  the 
es-Sind  is  the  town  of  ed-Da'ibol.  Then  comes 
the  coast  of  India,  the  country  of  Borudh  u^' 
whence  the  Borudhi  cinnabar  has  its  name. 
Thence  extends  one  interrupted  coast  as  far  as 
China,  partly  cultivated,  partly  waste. 

On  the  coast  opposite  the  mentioned  countries 
as  Kerman  and  es-Sind  is  el-Bahrain,  the  islands  of 
Kotr  ^33,  the  Shatt  of  the  Beni  Jadimah  ^  k£ 
&:<x^,  (who  belong  to  the  'Abdel-Kais  tribe),  Oman, 
the  country  of  el-Mahrah  s^Xt,  as  far  as  the 
promontory  of  el-Jomjomah  **2aj?i  u^l;,  in  the 
country  of  esh-Shihr  ^s^l;  on  this  coast  is  also 
el-Ahkaf,  and  near  the  coast  many  islands  are 
situated,  like  the  island  of  Kharak  J^U.,  which 
belongs  to  the  country  of  Jannabah,  and  has  its 
surname  after  it:  between  this  island  and  the  con- 
tinent is  a  strait  of  a  few  miles,,  in  which  the  pearls 
called  Kharaji  pearls  are  found.  Another  island  is 
called  the  isle  of  Awal  _J^  *j*y?>  there  live  the 
Beni  Ma'n  ^.j**  ^ij,  the  Beni  Mismar  J^*»*9 
and  a  great  number  of  other  Arabs.  It  is  about 
one  day  or  less  from  the  towns  of  the  coast  of 


268  EL-MASJUDIS    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

Meran,  which  belongs  to  el-Bahrain.  On  this  coast 
which  is  called  the  coast  of  Hajar  jz&&,  are  the 
towns  ez-Zarah  i^tyi  and  el-Katif.  uLlaxH. 

After  the  isle  of  Awal  are  many  other  islands 
as  the  isle  Lafit  L^O^,  which  is  also  called  the  island 
of  the  Beni  Kawan  ^\J6  csu.  It  has  been  con- 
quered by  'Amr  Ben  el-'Asi,  and  there  is  his  mosque 
standing  to  this  day.  This  island  is  very  populous 
well  cultivated,  and  has  several  villages.  At  a  short 
distance  from  it  is  the  island  of  Haijam  ^  Urufc.  There 
the  sailors  take  in  water.  Then  the  mountains 
known  under  the  name  of  Kosair,  Owair,  ^s.  ^  ?*•»$•> 
and  a  third  one  the  name  of  which  is  not  known. 
Then  ed-Dordur,  which  is  called  the  terrible  Dordur 
>  and  by  the  sailors  the  father  of  hell; 
£»  ^\)  at  these  parts  of  the  sea  rise 
enormous  black  rocks  high  overhanging  the  water, 
neither  plants  nor  animals  can  live  on  them,  and  under 
them  the  sea  is  very  deep  and  stormy,  hence  every- 
body who  sails  there  is  filled  with  fear;  they  are 
between  'Oman  and  Siraf,  and  vessels  cannot  help 
sailing  through  the  midst  of  them.  There  is  a 
constant  current  of  the  water  which  makes  it  foam. 
This  sea,  I  mean  the  Persian  gulf,  which  is  also  called 
the  Persian  sea,  is  skirted  by  the  countries  and  towns 
which  we  have  enumerated,  as  el- Bahrein,  Faris, 
el-Basrah,  and  Oman,  and  extends  as  far  as  the 
promontory  of  el-Jomjomah.  Between  the  Persian 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  269 

gulf  and  the  gulf  of  el-Kolzom  and  Ailah  (the  Red 
Sea,)  is  the  Hejaz  and  el- Yemen  ;  this  land  extends 
fifteen  hundred  miles  between  the  two  gulfs,  forming 
a  peninsula  which  is  surrounded  for  the  most  part 
by  the  sea  before  described. 

On  this  sea  extending  from  China  along  India, 
Faris,  'Oman,  el-Basrah,  el-Bahrain,  Yemen, 
Abyssinia,  the  Hejaz,  el-Kolzom,  ez-Zanj,  es-Sind, 
and  in  the  islands  which  it  surrounds,  are  so  many 
and  various  nations,  that  their  description  and 
number  is  known  only  to  the  Almighty  who  has 
created  them,  and  every  section  of  them  has  a  name 
by  which  it  is  distinguished  from  the  rest.  The 
water  forms  one  uninterrupted  sea.  There  are 
many  places  in  this  sea  where  they  dive  for  pearls 

s.  s- 

jM.  On  these  coasts,  cornelians,  Madinj 
which  is  a  sort  of  coral,  and  different 
sorts  of  rubies,  sapphires,  diamonds,  and  turquois 
are  found.  There  are  mines  of  gold  and  silver  in 
the  country  of  Kolah  X#  and  Serirah  '^^  and 
on  the  coast  of  this  sea  are  mines  of  iron,  in  the 
countries  about  Kerman.  'Oman  produces  copper. 
From  the  countries  which  form  the  coast  of  this 
sea,  come  different  sorts  of  perfumes,  scents,  am- 
bergis,  various  drugs  used  in  medicine,  plantane, 
cinamon,  cinnabar,  and  ruscus  ^1,^x^01.  We  shall 
hereafter  specify  the  places  where  all  those  precious 
stones,  perfumes,  and  plants  are  found. 


270  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

This  sea  which  we  have  described,  bears  the 
general  name  of  the  Abyssinian  Sea  ^z^\  J&- 
The  winds  of  the  different  parts  of  this  sea  which 
we  have  described,  and  every  one  of  which  has  a 
distinct  name,  as  the  Persian  gulf,  the  sea  of  Yemen, 
the  sea  of  el-Kolzom,  the  sea  of  Abyssinia,  and  the 
sea  of  ez-Zanj,  are  different.  In  some  seas  the  wind 
comes  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  stirring  up  the 
water ;  waves  rise  therefrom  as  in  a  boiling  kettle, 
where  the  particles  J^  of  the  heat  of  the  fire  come 
from  underneath.  In  others  winds  and  storms  come 
partly  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  partly  from  the 
air,  and  in  some  seas  the  wind  arises  wholly  from 
an  agitation  of  the  air  without  any  wind  coming 
from  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  Those  winds  which, 
as  we  have  stated^  come  from  the  bottom  of  the 
sea,  arise  from  the  winds  which  blow  from  the  land 
and  penetrate  into  the  sea,  from  whence  they  rise  to 
the  surface  of  the  water.  God  knows  best  how  this 
comes. 

There  are  several  winds  in  those  seas  which  are 
known  to  the  sailors  to  blow  in  particular  directions 
at  certain  times.  This  peculiar  knowledge  is  ac- 
quired by  theory,  practice,  and  long  experience. 
They  also  have  a  knowledge  of  certain  signs  and 
indications  by  which  they  can  tell  whether  the  wind 
will  be  high  or  not,  and  when  a  storm  maybe  expected. 
What  we  have  said  here  of  the  Abyssinian  Sea,  may 
be  applied  in  some  measure  to  the  Mediterranean, 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  271 

where  the  Byzantines  and  Moslims  have  certain  signs 
by  which  they  can  tell  if  the  wind  will  change.  The 
same  is  the  case  with  the  sailors  of  the  sea  of  the 
Khazar,  (the  Caspian)  who  go  to  Jorjan,  Taberistan, 
and  ed-Dailem.  We  shall  give  in  the  following 
pages,  a  view  and  some  details  of  the  description  and 
history  of  those  seas,  and  their  wonders,  if  it  is  the 
will  of  God,  for  there  is  no  strength  but  in  God. 


272 


ELEVENTH  CHAPTER. 


The  different  opinions  on  ebb  and  flow,  and  all  that 
has  been  said  on  this  subject. 


FLOW  ,x*JJ  means  the  coming  in  of  the  water 
according  to  its  nature  and  the  laws  of  its  motion. 
The  ebb  j^ii  is  the  going  out  of  the  water,  and  rests 
on  laws  which  are  the  reverse  of  those  of  the  flow. 
This  may  be  observed  in  the  Abyssinian  sea,  which 
comprehends  the  seas  of  China,  India,  and  the  gulfs 
of  el-Berbera  and  Faris,  as  we  have  said  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter.  With  respect  to  the  ebb  and  flow, 
the  seas  may  be  divided  into  three  classes,  the  first 
of  which  comprehends  those  seas  in  which  ebb  and 
flow  take  place,  and  are  apparent  and  evident ;  the 
other  in  which  ebb  and  flow  take  place,  but  are 
not  perceptible ;  and  finally,  there  are  seas  in  which 
there  is  no  ebb  and  flow  at  all.  In  those  seas  which 
have  no  ebb  and  flow,  the  cause  of  their  absence 
may  be  threefold.  The  first  cause  is  this :  if  the 
water  remains  some  time  quiet  it  becomes  salt, 
heavier,  and  denser:  it  happens  frequently  that  the 
water  goes  into  certain  places  for  one  cause  or 
another,  and  forms  a  sort  of  lake,  diminishing  in 


AND    MINES    OP    GEMS.  273 

summer,  and  increasing  in  winter,  and  one  may 
observe  that  it  is  increased  by  the  accession  of  rivers 
and  springs.  To  the  second  class  belong  those 
seas  which  are  far  from  land  and  extensive,  a  cir- 
cumstance which  renders  it  impossible  to  observe 
the  ebb  and  flow.  The  third  class  comprehends  such 
seas  as  are  on  volcanic  ground,  for  if  the  ground  is 
in  volcanic  action  the  water  is  in  a  constant  current 
to  another  sea,  being  increased  in  volume  and 
swelled  by  the  air  which  is  originally  in  the  earth, 
and  thence  communicated  to  the  water.  This  is 
particularly  frequent  with  seas  that  have  an  exten- 
sive line  of  coast  and  many  islands*. 

A  variety  of  opinions  have  been  started  respecting 
the  causes  of  the  ebb  and  flow.  Some  ascribe  them 
to  the  influence  of  the  moon,  for  she  being  congenial 


ju  *iu 


\j  Means  an  increase  in  volume  without  an  (apparent) 
addition  of  matter.  If  this  increase  be  effected  by  heat  it  is 
c£>Jiij  J^fsW^,  and  if  by  the  absorption  of  another  stuff  as  air 
and  humidity,  it  is  called  <s\LsxiJJ  ^sik^CJJ.  The  secondary 
meaning,  which  alone  is  found  in  Dictionaries  is  to  boil. 

T 


274          EL-MAS'UDI'S  MEADOWS  OF  GOLD, 

with  water  makes  it  warm  and  expands  it.  They 
compare  her  influence  with  that  of  fire:  if  water  is 
exposed  to  the  influence  of  heat  in  a  kettle,  although 
only  one-half  or  two-thirds  of  the  kettle  be  full,  it 
will  rise  when  it  boils,  until  it  runs  over,  for  its 
volume  becomes  apparently  double  whilst  its  weight 
is  diminished,  it  being  a  law  of  heat  to  expand  bodies, 
and  a  law  of  cold  to  contract  them.  The  bottom  of 
the  sea  becomes  warm,  and  by  these  means  sweet 
water  is  produced  in  the  earth,  which  is  changed  (into 
salt  water)  and  becomes  warm,  as  it  happens  in 
cisterns  and  wells.  When  the  water  is  warm  it 
expands,  and  when  it  is  expanded,  it  is  increased  in 
volume ;  and  when  its  volume  is  great,  every  particle 
pushes  the  particle  next  to  itself,  and  so  it  raises  the 
level  as  it  rises  from  the  bottom,  for  it  requires  more 
space.  The  full  moon  communicates  a  great  deal  of 
heat  to  the  atmosphere,  hence  the  water  increases  in 
volume.  This  is  called  the  monthly  tide  (spring 
tide). 

The  Abyssinian  sea  runs  from  east  to  west 
along  the  equator;  after  this  line  the  moveable 
heavenly  bodies  and  those  fixed  stars  which  stand 
vertically  over  it  make  their  daily  revolutions. 
When  the  moveable  bodies  are  at  a  sufficient  dis- 
tance from  the  equator  their  action  upon  the  sea  is 
suspended,  but  when  they  are  near  the  line  they 
exercise  their  influence  upon  the  sea  from  one  end 
to  the  other  every  day  and  night;  with  all  that,  the 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS,  275 

place  exposed  to  their  influence  shows  but  little 
increase;  it  is  therefore  particularly  in  rivers  and 
other  channels  through  which  the  water  flows  into 
the  sea,  that  the  flow  is  distinctly  seen. 

Others  say,  if  the  ebb  and  flow  is  the  same  phe- 
nomenon as  the  expansion  of  water  in  a  kettle  under 
the  influence  of  fire,  which  makes  the  water  rise, 
the  sea  will,  after  it  has  been  removed  from  the 
bottom  of  its  basin,  go  according  to  its  nature 
(gravity),  to  the  deepest  places  of  the  earth,  and  so 
it  will  return  into  its  former  place,  just  as  the  water 
which  boils  in  a  cauldron  goes  as  fast  back  to  the 
bottom  of  the  vessel  as  it  is  displaced  by  the  particles 
of  the  fire  (heat).  Now  the  sun  is  the  warmest 
body ;  and  if  the  sun  was  the  cause  of  ebb  and  flow, 
the  latter  would  begin  with  the  rising  of  this 
luminary,  and  the  former  with  its  setting.  They 
believe  therefore  that  ebb  and  flow  is  caused  by 
vapours,  which  are  produced  in  the  bowels  of  the 
earth  and  continue  to  be  generated,  until  they  are 
discharged.  This  discharge  pushes  the  water  of  the 
sea,  and  it  remains  in  this  state  until  the  pressure 
from  underneath  it  is  diminished;  then  the  sea 
returns  to  the  depths  of  its  bed  and  the  ebb  succeeds. 
Hence  ebb  and  flow  take  place  indiscriminately 
during  day  and  night,  summer  and  winter,  indepen- 
dent of  the  rising  and  setting  of  the  sun  and  moon . 
They  say  further  the  fact  is  evident,  for  as  soon  as 
the  ebb  is  over  the  tide  comes  in,  and  the  end  of  the 

T2 


276  EL-TMAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

flow  is  immediately  succeeded  by  the  ebb,  for  the  pro- 
duction of  these  vapours  is  constant;  when  they  are 
discharged  they  are  replaced  by  others.  Whenever 
the  water  of  the  sea  runs  back  into  its  basin  vapours 
are  generated  by  the  contact  of  the  water  and  earth. 
When  the  sea  returns  vapours  are  produced,  and 
when  it  rises  they  are  discharged. 

The  strictly  orthodox  say,  everything,  the  course 
and  reason,  of  which  cannot  be  discovered  in  nature 
must  be  ascribed  to  the  (immediate)  action  of  God,  and 
is  an  additional  proof  of  his  unity  and  wisdom.  For 
ebb  and  flow  no  natural  cause  can  be  assigned. 

Others  say  the  motion  of  the  waters  of  the 
sea  is  not  different  from  the  vicissitudes  of  the 
temperaments  pl&  in  men.  You  may  observe 
in  choleric,  sanguine,  and  other  persons,  that  their 
temperament  is  roused  for  a  time  then  it  is  quiet 
again.  In  the  same  way  the  sea  rises  by  degrees, 
and  when  it  has  come  to  the  greatest  intenseness,  it 
sinks  by  degrees. 

Another  hypothesis  has  been  advanced,  opposed 
to  those  already  mentioned.  It  is  assumed  that  the 
air  which  is  in  contact  with  the  water  of  the  sea, 
produces  a  constant  decomposition  of  it :  the  con- 
sequence of  which  is  that  the  waters  of  the  sea  are 
expanded  and  rise,  and  this  is  the  flow ;  but  in  the 
mean  time,  the  water  spreads  and  produces  a  decom- 
position of  the  air  which  makes  the  water  return  into 
its  former  place ,  and  this  is  the  ebb.  These  actions 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  277 

are  constant,  and  follow  each  other  without  inter- 
ruption, for  the  water  decomposes  the  air,  and  the 
air  decomposes  the  water.  It  may  be  greater  when 
the  moon  is  full,  for  the  activity  of  this  (chemical) 
change  is  increased.  The  moon  is  therefore  the 
reason  of  a  more  copious  flow,  but  not  of  the  flow 
altogether,  for  the  flow  takes  place  although  the 
moon  be  in  the  last  quarter.  And  the  tide  in  the 
Persian  gulf  is  sometimes  greatest  at  the  rising  of 
the  first  quarter. 

Many  of  the  Nawajidah  gj^ly  [this  is  the  name 
for  the  sailors  of  Siraf  and  'Oman,  who  are  con- 
stantly on  this  sea,  and  visit  various  nations  in 
the  islands  and  on  the  coast,]  say  that  the  ebb  and 
flow  takes  place  only  twice  a  year  in  the  greatest 
part  of  this  sea,  once  in  the  summer  months,  then 
the  ebb  is  six  months  north-east,  during  which  the 
sea  of  China  and  of  other  countries  of  that  quarter 
of  the  globe  is  high,  for  the  water  flows  then  from  the 
west ;  and  once  in  the  winter  months,  then  the  ebb 
is  six  months  south-west,  for  in  winter  the  sea  is 
fuller  in  the  west,  whilst  the  sea  of  China  ebbs. 
The  motions  of  the  sea  cohere  with  the  course  of 
the  winds,  for  when  the  sun  is  in  the  northern 
hemisphere,  the  air  moves  to  the  south,  hence  the 
sea  is  during  summer  higher  in  the  south,  for  the 
northern  winds  are  high  and  force  the  water  there. 
In  the  same  way  when  the  sun  is  in  the  southern 
hemisphere ;  the  course  of  the  air,  and  with  it  the 


278         EL-MAS'UDI'S  MEADOWS  OF  GOLD, 

current  of  the  water,  is  from  south  to  north,  and 
hence  there  is  less  water  in  the  south.  The  shifting 
of  the  water  in  these  two. directions,  from  south  to 
north  and  from  north  to  south  is  called  the  hyemal 
ebb  and  flow;  the  ebb  of  the  north  is  flow,  in  the 
south  vice  versa,  and  if  the  moon*  happens  to 
meet  with  another  planet  in  one  of  these  two  direc- 
tions, the  warmth  is  increased  by  their  joined 
action,  and  hence  the  current  of  the  air  is  stronger 
towards  the  hemisphere  which  is  opposite  to  that 
where  the  sun  is. 

El-Mas'udi  says,  this  is  the  hypothesis  of  el- 
Kindi  and  Ahmad  Ben  et-Taib  es-Sarakhsi,  and  what 
we  have  said  is  borrowed  from  them ;  namely,  that 
the  motion  of  the  sea  coincides  with  the  course  of  the 
winds.  I  saw  a  curious  phenomenon  in  the  country 
of  Kanbayat  in  India,  from  which  the  laced  Kanbayan 
shoes  X-,A.>UA£JJ  JlxiJI  have  their  name,  for  they  are 
made  in  this  and  the  neighbouring  towns  like  Sindanf 
and  Stibarah  s^L^w  (Sufarah) .  I  visited  this  place 
in  303,  A.H.,  during  the  government  of  Babina  UoL 


*  The  text  is  probably  corrupted  and  should  run,  and  if  the 
sun  happens  to  meet  with  the  moon  or  another  planet,  &c. 

f  Some  MSS.  bear  JJ^^XXA*,  and  others  ^l^&;  supposing 
the  first  part  of  the  word  being  correctly  spelt  in  the  first  reading, 
and  the  finale  ^  in  the  second,  we  have  the  name  which  Abul- 
feda  gives  to  a  town  on  the  coast  of  India,  viz., 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  279 


lo'L),  who  was  appointed  there  as  Brahman  <& 
by  the  Ballahra*  ^^XxJI,  the  sovereign  of  el- 
Mankir  jJolXU  This  Babina  liked  to  enter  into 
disputations  with  Moslims  or  persons  of  any  other 
religion,  who  visited  his  province.  The  above-men- 
tioned town  is  situated  on  an  estuary  which  is  as 
wide  as  the  Nile,  or  like  the  Tigris  antl  Euphrates. 
On  the  banks  of  the  estuary  one  sees  towns,  villas, 
cultivation,  gardens,  palms,  cocoanut-trees,  guinea- 
fowls,  parrots,  and  other  Indian  birds.  The  city  of 
Kambayah  is  two  days  or  less  distant  from  the 
mouth  of  this  estuary.  The  ebb  is  so  marked  in 
this  estuary  that  the  sand  lays  quite  bare,  and  only 
in  the  middle  of  the  bed  remains  a  little  water.  I 
saw  a  dog  on  this  sand,  which  was  left  dry  by  the 
water  like  the  sand  of  a  desert  ;  the  tide  coming  in 
from  the  sea  like  a  mountain  caught  him  although  he 
ran  as  fast  as  he  could  to  the  land  to  escape,  and  the 
poor  animal  was  drowned  notwithstanding  his  swift- 
ness. Between  el-Basrah  and  el-Ahwaz  in  the 
places  called  el-Basiyan  ^U*  UM  and  el-Kaidem 
f<x*£Hj  the  tide  comes  in  with  equal  violence  and  is 
called  there  the  crime  (Boaref),  full  of  noise,  ebuli- 


*  The  original  title  of  this  prince  is  according  to  the  Mefatih 
el-'olum,  ts J  *ktyt  Behlway  or  .jb  Ji.j  Baluhar. 

-f-  See  Major  Rennel's  Memoirs  on  the  map  of  Hindoostan, 
p.  353,  who  describes  the  passage  of  the  Boare  up  the  Hoogly. 


280  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

tion,  and  danger:  the  sailors  are  afraid  of  it,  and 
the  place  is  well  known  to  everybody  who  has  passed 
it  on  his  way  to  Daurak  o^  and  Faris. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  281 


TWELFTH  CHAPTER. 


The  sea  of  er-Rum  (the  Mediterranean^ ,  its  length 
and  breadth,  beginning  and  end. 


THE  sea  of  er-Rum  -^Jl,  of  Tarsus  vy»j*9  Adanah 
sl3.it,  el-Misslsah  'i^j^\9  Antakiyah  (Antioch),  el- 
Ladikiyah  ZJ*  &N  (Laodocia),  Atrabolos  uJbV^t 
(Tripolis),  Sur^xs,  and  of  other  places  on  the 
coast  of  Syria  and  Egypt,  as  of  Alexandria  and  on 
the  coast  of  the  Maghrib,  is  five  thousand  miles  long; 
the  breadth  varies  being  in  some  places  eight  hun- 
dred miles,  in  others  seven  hundred,  six  hundred 
and  less;  so  it  is  stated  in  the  astronomical  works  of 
many  authors  of  astronomical  tables,  as  Mohammed 
Ben  Jaber  el-Battani  jUxJJ  ^jU.  (Jj.j  <x*:«2.  This  sea 
begins  from  the  strait  which  connects  it  with  the  sea 
Okianos  (the  Atlantic),  and  which  is  narrowest 
between  the  coast  of  Tanjah  *^J&  (Tangiers)  and 
Sabtah  XZx*s  (Ceuta),  in  the  Maghrib,  and  between 
the  coast  of  el-Andalos  (Spain) ;  this  narrow  passage 
has  the  name  of  Saita  lk>~»  (Ceuta),  the  distance 
between  the  two  coasts  is  not  more  than  ten  miles; 


EL-MAS5UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

hence  it  is  the  route  to  cross  over  from  the  Maghrib 
to  el-Andalos,  and  from  el-Andalos  into  the  Magh- 
rib. It  is  generally  called  the  Zokak  oli'j^l  (lane). 
We  shall  speak  in  our  account  of  Egypt  of  the 
bridge,  which  joined  the  two  coasts,  and  of  the  navi- 
gation on  this  sea;  also  that  the  island  of  Kobros 
u~j±*  (Cyprus)  and  el-'Arish  (fit  j.x$\  were  once 
connected  by  land,  so  that  caravans  passed  from  one 
place  to  another. 

On  the  limits  where  these  two  seas,  the  Mediter- 
ranean and  the  Ocean  join,  pillars  of  copper  and 
stone,  have  been  erected  by  King  Hirakl  the  giant*. 
Upon  these  pillars  are  inscriptions  and  figures, 
which  show  with  their  hands  that  one  cannot  go 
further,  and  that  it  is  impracticable  to  navigate 
beyond  the  Mediterranean  into  that  sea  (the  ocean), 
for  no  vessel  sails  on  it:  there  is  no  cultivation  nor 
a  human  being,  and  the  sea  has  no  limits  neither 
in  its  depths  nor  extent,  for  its  end  is  unknown. 
This  is  the  sea  of  darkness,  also  called  the  green  sea 
or  the  surrounding  sea  l*^\  ^  ^*a^l  ^  cAiJsJJ  ^i 
Some  say  that  these  pillars  are  not  on  this  strait,  but 
in  some  islands  of  the  ocean  and  their  coast. 

Some  people  consider  this  sea  as  the  origin  of  all 


*  Hirakl  JJf  jjfc  is  generally  the  Arabic  name  for  Heraclius 
but  here,  as  the  reader  perceives,  the  pillars  in   question  are  the 
Herculis. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  283 

others.  There  are  some  wonderful  stories  related 
respecting  it,  for  which  we  refer  the  reader  to  ourbook 
the  Akhbar  ez-zeman ;  there  he  will  find  an  account  of 
those  crews  who  have  risked  their  lives  in  navigating 
this  sea,  and  who  of  them  have  escaped,  and  who 
have  been  shipwrecked,  also  what  they  have  encoun- 
tered and  seen.  Such  an  adventurer  was  a  Moor 
of  Spain,  of  the  name  of  Khoshkhash  <j£.»ici 
He  was  a  young  man  of  Cordoba :  having  assembled 
some  young  men  they  went  on  board  a  vessel  which 
they  had  ready  on  the  ocean,  and  nobody  knew  for 
a  long  time  what  had  become  of  them.  At  length 
they  came  back  loaded  with  rich  booty.  Their 
history  is  well  known  among  the  people  of  el- 
Andalos  (the  Moors  in  Spain). 

The  length  of  this  strait  which  forms  a  current 
from  the  ocean  into  the  Mediterranean  is  consider- 
able, extending  from  the  mentioned  pillars  as  far  as 
el-Ahjar.  The  current  from  the  ocean  is  so  great 
that  it  is  perceptible.  From  the  sea  of  er-Rum,  of 
Syria  and  Egypt,  a  gulf  branches  off  which  is  five 
hundred  miles  long,  and  passes  the  city  of  Rome 
XA-CJJ  &LKX.O.  This  gulf  is  called  the  Adriatic  u^jM 
in  the  language  of  Rome.  West  of  this  strait*  (or 

*  One  copy  leaves  out  this  sentence  altogether,  and  the  other 
gives  it  incomplete;  for  it  seems  that  the  author  continued  his 
account  of  the  Adriatic  naming  some  towns  of  Italy  situated  on  it 
before  he  comes  again  to  speak  of  the  strait  of  Gibraltar.  This 
description  of  the  Adriatic  however  is  left  out  in  all  MS. 


284  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

gulf)  a  town  is  situated,  named  Sabtah  (Ceuta),  it 
lays  on  the  same  side  as  Tanjah,  opposite  the  cities 
on  the  coast  of  Spain,  and  the  Jebel  Tarik  3^. 
jjUs  (Gibraltar) ,  so  named  after  the  freed-slave  of 
Musa  Ben  Nosair.  The  time  for  crossing  from 
Sabtah  to  Spain  is  from  morning  to  noon.  This 
strait  is  very  boisterous,  and  there  is  sometimes  a 
great  swell  although  there  is  no  wind,  for  the  water 
runs  through  it  into  the  Mediterranean.  The  Moors 
in  Spain  and  in  the  Maghrib  call  this  strait  Lane 
oli'^J!,  for  it  has  this  shape. 

There  are  various  islands  in  the  Mediterranean, 
as  the  isle  of  Cyprus  u»j*S9  between  the  coast  of  Syria 
and  er-Rum,  Rhodes  u*^j,  opposite  Alexandria, 
Crete  J&yt  y>J,  and  Sicily  *JuU>.  We  shall  speak 
of  Sicily  when  we  treat  of  the  mount  Borkan  ^ ^ 
(^Etna),  which  throws  out  fire  variously  shaped, 
representing  sometimes  enormous  carcases.  Ya'- 
kub  Ben  Ishak  el-Kindi  and  Ahmad  Ben  et-Taib 
es-Sarakhsi  c^i  ^  ^^^  <s*&\  <Jbswt  ^  vy*V. 
^y^juwJJ,  differ  respecting  the  length  and  breadth 
of  this  sea  from  the  account  which  we  have  given,  as 
we  shall  have  an  opportunity  to  observe  further  in 
this  book  where  we  describe  these  seas  according  to 
the  plan  of  the  work. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  285 


THIRTEENTH  CHAPTER. 

On  the  sea  ofNitus  (Pontus),  and  Mdyotis*  (Maoris), 
and  the  strait  of  Constantinople. 

THE  Pontus  extends  from  the  country  of  Ladikah 
XJ'^  to  Constantinople,  and  has  a  length  of  one 
thousand  one  hundred  miles.  Its  breadth  at  the 
beginning  is  three  hundred  miles.  The  great  river, 
named  Tanabus  u^uUk  (Danube),  which  we  have 


*  The  name  of  this  sea  being  variously  spelt  in  different  copies, 
the  spelling  of  Abulfeda  has  been  followed  in  page  30,  supra  ;  for 
although  this  author  may  be  incorrect  in  some  cases,  he  is  more 
correct  than  any  other  Oriental  geographer,  particularly  in  the  ortho- 
graphy of  proper  names,  and  his  geography  has  lately  been  pub- 
lished by  M.  Reinaud  and  Baron  Slane,  with  such  exactness,  that 
it  must  be  considered  as  the  standard  work  and  canon  in  writing 
geographical  names.  Most  copists  write  ^JajLc,  and  this  seems 


to  be  the  correct  way  of  spelling  it;  for  if  we  add  the  vowels 

we  have  as  nearly  the  Greek  word  Matcorts,  as  it  can  be  expressed 
in  Arabic.  It  appears  for  the  rest  from  this  chapter  that  the  Arabs 
had  exceedingly  wrong  notions  respecting  the  Pontus,  as  well  as 
the  Palus  Maeotis;  for  although  they  had  in  the  earliest  time 
pushed  their  conquests  as  far  as  the  coasts  of  the  Black  Sea,  and 
although  they  carried  on  some  trade  on  it,  they  referred  in  geo- 
graphy, as  well  as  in  other  branches  of  human  knowledge,  seldom 
to  experience,  being  led  entirely  by  the  authority  of  more 
ancient  information,  which  was  frequently  misunderstood. 


286  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

already  mentioned  falls  into  this  sea.  It  comes 
from  the  north,  and  runs  through  the  country  of 
many  Japhetite  nations.  It  rises  from  a  large  lake 
in  the  north,  which  receives  its  water  from  springs 
and  mountains.  The  course  of  this  river  is  about 
three  hundred  farsangs  long.  Its  banks  are  all  along 
cultivated  by  the  children  of  Yafeth  Ben  Nuh.  It 
flows  through  the  sea  of  Mayotis  into  the  Pontus,  ac- 
cording to  the  opinion  of  many  well-informed  men. 
This  is  a  large  river  in  which  there  are  various 
stones,  plants,  and  medical  substances,  and  hence 
notice  has  been  taken  of  it  by  many  ancient  philo- 
sophers. 

Some  people  consider  the  sea  of  Mayotis  as  a 
lake,  to  which  they  give  a  length  of  three  hundred 
miles,  and  a  width  of  one  hundred  miles.  From 
this  sea  the  strait  of  Constantinople  branches  off, 
which  connects  it  with  the  Mediterranean;  the 
length  of  this  strait  is  three  hundred  miles,  and  its 
breadth  on  an  average  fifty  miles.  On  its  western 
bank  Constantinople  is  situated,  and  there  runs  an 
uninterrupted  line  of  cultivation  from  the  beginning 
of  this  strait  to  the  end,  and  as  far  as  Rome  and 
Spain.  The  opinions  of  those  astronomers  must 
therefore  be  true,  who  maintain  that  the  sea 
of  the  Targhiz  j£J3\*,  Russians  cr^Ji,  and 


*  This  name  is  mostly  spelt  vc  j>U  or  not  dotted  at  all.     I 
suppose  it  is  the  same  nation  as  the  Tyragetes  of  Herodotus. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  287 

Nagaiz*,  who  are  three  nations  of  Turkish  origin,  is 
the  same  as  the  Pontus.  We  shall  speak  of  these 
nations  in  the  progress  of  our  work  if  it  is  the 
will  of  God  the  Almighty,  distinguishing  those  who 
sail  on  this  sea  from  those  who  do  not  navigate  it. 


*  Amongst  the  various  readings  rutf  v^  seems  to  be 
the  most  correct.  The  Nagaiz  live  north-east  of  the  Black  Sea 
towards  Stavropol. 


288  EL-MAS'lTDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


FOURTEENTH  CHAPTER. 

The  sea  of  Bab  el-Abwdb,  of  the  Khazar  and  of 
*7orjdn  (the  Caspian),  and  the  relation  in  which 
the  seas  stand  to  each  other. 


THE  sea  of  the  Barbarians*  ^U^l  ^s?  which  is  so 
called  because  their  abodes  are  on  its  coast,  is  sur- 
rounded from  all  sides  with  cultivation;  it  is 
generally  known  under  the  name  of  the  sea  of  Bab 

el-Abwabf  v^^  v^>^>  the  sea  of  the  Khazar, 
of  el-Jil  (Ghilan),  of  ed-Dailem,  of  Jorjan,  and  of 
Taberistan.  On  this  sea  live  various  nations  of 
Turkish  origin.  It  extends  along  Khowarezm 
which  forms  a  province  of  Khorasan,  and  is  eight 
hundred  miles  long,  its  breadth  is  six  hundred 


means  any  person  who  is  not  Arab,  but  particularly 
the  Persians.  In  this  passage  it  must  be  taken  in  the  more 
extensive  meaning,  in  which  it  answers  exactly  to  the  Latin 
barbarus.  Ibn  Khaldun  uses  in  this  sense  the  expression 

l  "  a  wild  animaL" 

-j-  Our  author  writes  this  name  in  all  instances  Bab  wal- 
Abwab,  i.e.,  the  gate  and  the  gates,  instead  of  Bab  el-Abwab,  i.e., 
the  gate  of  the  gates,  and  comes  therefore  nearer  to  the  ancient 
name  Portce  Caucasia. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  289 

miles,  and  it  has  nearly  a  round  shape.  In  the 
progress  of  our  work  we  will  describe  all  the  nations 
who  live  on  this  sea,  which  has  the  name  of  the  sea 
of  the  Barbarians. 

In  this  sea  are  many  Tenanin*,  which  is  the 
plural  of  Tinnin.  They  are  equally  frequent  in  the 
Mediterranean,  particularly  about  Tripolis,  Laodicea, 
and  Jebel  el-  Akra',  in  the  district  of  Antioch,  for  under 
this  mountain  the  sea  is  deep  and  boisterous ;  hence 
this  place  is  called  the  Knot  of  the  Sea  j.s\!\  *J-=M- 
On  the  coast  of  this  sea  are  situated  Antioch, 
Rashid,  Sakandarunah'!'  (Alexandria  Cilicise),  Hisn 
el-Markab^,  on  the  mountain  el-Lokkam,  Missi- 
sah,  where  the  river  Jaihan  falls  into  the  sea, 
Adanah  XJit  with  the  mouth  of  the  Saihan,  Tarsus 
with  the  river  el-Berdan  ^b  jJJ,  which  is  the  river 
of  Tarsus ;  further  on  is  waste  land,  which  forms  the 
frontier  between  the  Moslim  and  the  Byzantine 


*  It  appears  from  what  follows,  that  tinnin  (in  Hebrew, 
tannin),  which  is  the  usual  word  for  dragon,  means  originally 
water- spout,  and  that  the  signification  dragon  owes  its  origin  to 
the  popular  belief,  that  the  water-spout  is  a  sea-monster,  which, 
according  to  el-Kazwinl,  has  sometimes  a  length  of  two  farsangs. 
Some  further  details,  respecting  the  fables  to  which  this  pheno- 
menon has  given  rise,  as  those  of  the  Gorgons,  of  Perseus  and 
Andromeda,  of  St.  George,  &c.,  will  be  given  in  the  additional 
notes. 

f  The  MSS.  bear  Alexandria,  although  it  comes  later. 

i.  The  MSS.  bear  tyJu^Jl  and  o^i^Jl. 

U 


290  EL-MAS'lJDi's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

territory:  then  we  come  to  the  towns  of  Kalamiah 
3UjlJ',  Yunos  u*^.j  and  Kerasia  U~»jj£ ;  then  to 
Solukiah  a/Ji^X*,  which  has  a  large  river  that  falls 
into  the  Mediterranean;  from  thence  the  sea  is 
skirted  with  a  line  of  fortresses,  which  extends  as 
far  as  Constantinople.  We  have  omitted  many 
rivers  of  the  Byzantine  dominions  which  fall  into 
this  sea,  as  the  Cold  River  ^UJt^xM,  the  Honey 
River  J^xJt  ^3  and  many  others.  The  coast  of  the 
Maghrib,  beginning  from  the  strait  on  which  Tan- 
giers  is  situated,  is  equally  in  a  flourishing  state  of 
cultivation  all  along  the  coast  of  Afrikiya,  Susah, 
Tripolis,  the  Maghrib,  (in  its  narrower  sense), 
Alexandria,  Rashid,  and  Dimyat,  up  to  the  Byzan- 
tine frontier,  which  joins  the  coast  formed  by  the 
Byzantine  dominions:  further  on  is  the  coast  of 
Rome,  and  beyond  it  the  coast  of  Spain  as  far  as  the 
coast  opposite  Tangiers,  on  the  strait  from  which  we 
began  our  description.  The  whole  coast  just  de- 
scribed presents  an  uninterrupted  line  of  well-culti- 
vated countries,  belonging  partly  to  the  Moslims, 
partly  to  the  Roman  dominions,  and  intersected  by 
several  rivers  which  fall  into  the  sea  and  the  strait 
of  Constantinople,  which  is  only  one  mile  wide. 
This  sea  has  several  gulfs  and  estuaries,  but  they 
are  merely  inlets,  and  do  not  communicate  with  any 
other  sea. 

The  shape  of  this  sea  has  been  compared  to  a 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  291 

cabbage  *-»**j&\,  of  which  the  strait  of  Gibraltar 
forms  the  stalk ;  but  it  will  appear,  by  comparing 
the  length  and  breadth  which  we  have  given,  that  it 
is  not  round. 

The  Tinnins  (dragons)  are  quite  unknown  in  the 
Abyssinian  sea  and  in  its  numerous  estuaries  and  bays. 
They  are  most  frequent  near  the  Atlantic  (jluUs'l- 
Different  opinions  have  been  advanced  as  to  what  the 
dragon  is  :  some  believe  that  it  is  a  black  wind  in 
the  bottom  of  the  sea,  which  rises  into  the  air, 
that  is  to  say,  the  atmosphere  j4-\,  as  high  as  the 
clouds,  like  a  hurricane  whirling  dust  aloft  as  it  rises 
from  the  ground,  and  destroying  vegetation.  The 
shape  of  the  dragon  becomes  longer  the  higher  it 
ascends  in  the  air. 

Some  people  believe  that  the  dragon  is  a  black 
serpent  which  rises  into  the  air,  the  clouds  are  at 
the  same  time  black,  all  is  dark,  and  this  is  suc- 
ceeded by  a  terrible  wind. 

Some  are  of  opinion  that  it  is  an  animal  which 
lives  in  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and  that,  when  it  is 
haughty  and  overbearing,  God  sends  an  angel  in  a 
cloud,  who  draws  it  out.  It  has  the  shape  of  a 
black  shining  serpent.  When  it  is  carried  through 
the  air  it  goes  so  high  that  it  does  not  touch  any 
thing  with  its  tail,  excepting,  perhaps,  very  high 
buildings  or  trees ;  but  it  frequently  damages 
many  trees.  It  is  carried  in  the  clouds  to 
Yajuj  and  Majuj  (Gog  and  Magog).  The  clouds 

u  2 


292  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

kill  the  dragon  through  cold  and  rain,  and  give  it 
to  Gog  and  Magog  to  devour.  This  is  the 
opinion  of  Ibn  'Abbas.  There  are  various  other 
popular  traditions  respecting  the  dragon,  which  are 
recorded  by  biographers  of  Mohammed  and  other 
prophets,  but  we  cannot  insert  them  all  here.  They 
say,  for  instance,  that  the  dragons  are  black  serpents 
which  live  in  the  desert,  whence  they  pass,  by  rivers 
swelled  by  rains,  into  the  sea.  They  feed  there  on 
sea  animals,  grow  to  an  immense  size,  and  live  a 
long  time  ;  but  when  one  of  them  has  reached  an 
age  of  five  hundred  years,  it  becomes  so  oppressive 
to  sea  animals,  that  there  happens  something  like 
what  we  have  related,  as  being  the  account  of  Ibn 
'Abbas.  Some,  they  state,  are  white,  and  others 
black  like  serpents. 

The  Persians  do  not  deny  the  existence  of 
dragons.  They  believe  that  they  have  seven  heads*, 
they  call  them  ^U<x^Jf,  and  allude  frequently 


*  The  representation  of  the  constellation  called  Dragon  in  el- 
Kazwini  (MS.  of  the  East  India  House,  No.  1377,)  has  equally 
seven  heads. 

*  By  the  change  of  j  into    .  we  may  pronounce  this  word 
el-Agorghan    ^LjLjs*^,   which    would   leave  no   doubt   of  the 
identity  with  the  Greek  name  Gorgons.     In  this  case  the  name 
of  Perseus  could  be  derived  from  the  Persian   word   Peri  ^  ^ 
which  means  an  angel.     Several  pages  being  wanting  in  the  MS. 
of  Leyden,  I  have  this  passage,  unfortunately,  only  in   one   MS., 
else  the  comparison  with  other  copies  would  show  how  far  this 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  293 

to  them  in  their  tales.     God  knows  best  what  the 
dragons  really  are. 

Many  persons  believe  the  stories  connected  with 
this  subject,  whilst  they  are  rejected  by  many 
sound  men.  We  will  not  repeat  tales  like  that  of 
'Imran  Ben  Jabir,  who  is  said  to  have  reached 
the  sources  of  the  Nile,  and  to  have  crossed  the  sea 
on  the  back  of  an  animal,  laying  hold  of  its  hair 
This,  they  say,  was  a  marine  animal,  of  such  celerity 
that  it  accompanied  the  sun  in  its  course.  By 
seizing  its  hair  'Imran  crossed  the  sea,  seeking  the 
bed  of  the  sun,  at  once  he  saw  the  Nile  as  it  comes 
forth  from  golden  palaces;  they  say  also  that  the 
angel  who  guards  the  sources  of  the  Nile  gave 
him  a  bunch  of  grapes,  and  that  he  returned  to  the 
man  who  had  seen  him  when  he  set  out,  to  describe 
to  him  how  he  had  managed  to  reach  the  Nile, 


conjecture  is  correct,  and  whether  the  Greeks  have  borrowed 
the  fable  of  the  Gorgons,  and  of  Perseus  and  Andromeda  from 
the  Persians,  or  whether  they  owe  it  to  the  Syrians  and  Phoeni-  v/ 
cians.  For  the  rest  it  is  very  likely  that  ^IsJ^^J  is  to  be  read 
as  two  words:  in  this  case  the  translation  would  run,  "  And  they 
give  to  them  a  name  which  sounds  'an  (or  rather  ghan ;  for  the 
Persians  have  not  the  sound  of  the  ^)  in  the  singular." 

The  Kamus,  p.  1728,  informs  us  that  the  Persian  name  for 
the  constellation  called  Dragon  ^jLxJJ  is  .^oJjufc.  This  word 
(Haftorang)  occurs  repeatedly  in  the  Zend-Avesta,  and  has  been 
mistaken  by  Anquetil  Duperron  for  the  Great  Bear. 


294  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

but  he  found  him  dead.  They  relate  further  some 
adventures  which  he  had  with  the  devil,  several 
tales  respecting  the  bunch  of  grapes,  and  other 
stories. 

It  is  asserted  on  the  authority  of  a  tradition  (of 
the  Prophet),  that  in  the  middle  of  the  green  sea, 
(ocean)  are  all  sorts  of  curious  stones  and  gold,  on 
four  pillars  of  ruby,  sapphire,  emerald,  and  chry- 
solith,  from  every  pillar  comes  forth  a  river,  and 
these  four  rivers  go  from  the  ocean  into  the  four 
quarters  of  the  globe  without  mixing  with  the  sea 
water.  The  first  of  these  four  rivers  is  the  Nile, 
the  second  is  the  Jaihan  (in  Syria)  ^Lsx^.,  the 
third,  the  Sai'han  ^Isx*,  and  the  fourth  is  the 
Euphrates*. 

Another  story  of  this  sort  is,  that  the  angel  to 

*  In  Boun-Dehesh  it  is  said  that  all  the  rivers  fall  into  the 
Ferakh-kand,  and  come  from  thence ;  meaning,  no  doubt,  by  the 
evaporation  of  the  water,  which  falls  down  as  rain,  and  forms  the 
rivers.  The  vulgar  version  of  this  theory,  which  is  related  here, 
afforded  an  opportunity  to  connect  a  fiction  with  the  sacred  rivers, 
of  which  there  are  everywhere  four  in  Eastern  tradition,  although 
they  do  not  agree  as  to  their  identity.  Compare  the  note  to  page 
243,  supra. 

This  idea  had  been  known  to  the  Greeks,  and  defended  by 
some  of  their  philosophers  in  its  grossest  version.  "  Some  think," 
says  Aristotle,  Meteor,  ii.,  2,  "  that  the  rivers  flow  (peiv)  from 
the  sea,  and  again  into  the  sea :  they  become  sweet  by  being  fil- 
tered in  their  passage  through  the  earth,  and  loose  by  this 
means  their  saltness." 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  295 

whose  care  the  seas  are  confided  immerges  the  heel 
of  his  foot  into  the  sea  at  the  extremity  of  China, 
and,  as  the  sea  is  swelled,  the  flow  takes  place. 
Then  he  raises  his  foot  from  the  sea,  and  the 
water  returns  into  its  former  place,  and  this  is  the 
ebb.  They  demonstrate  this  by  an  example  :  If  a 
vessel  is  only  half  full  of  water,  and  you  put  your 
hand  or  foot  into  it,  the  water  will  fill  the  whole 
vessel,  and,  when  you  take  out  the  hand,  the  water 
will  be  as  before.  Some  think  that  the  angel  puts 
only  the  great  toe  of  his  right  foot  into  the  water, 
and  that  this  is  the  cause  of  the  tide. 

The  theories*  just  alluded  to  are  neither  proved 


JSAxVc     *.A*J    sljjTi  Lc 


(read 


UJLc    ^^  c^l  U 


Jji 

5     &\J4jj\ 
]!   .aJfef   L« 


As  the 


296  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

as  facts,  nor  are  they  articles  of  faith  (although 
they  are  put  into  the  mouth  of  Mohammed) :  they 
belong  to  that  class  of  traditions  which  may  be 
believed  or  rejected,  for  they  rest  ultimately  on  the 
authority  of  only  one  (of  the  companions  of  the 
Prophet),  and  but  few  have  handed  them  down : 
they  cannot  be  traced  to  many  (of  the  companions), 
nor  have  they  ever  been  generally  acknowledged. 
And  this  is  required  to  give  to  traditions  authority, 
removing  all  possibility  of  interpolation.  Only, 
if  a  tradition  is  founded  on  such  (historical) 
evidence,  which  leaves  no  doubt  respecting  its 
authority,  one  must  subject  (one's  reason)  to  it, 
and  be  guided  by  it ;  for  God  has  commanded  that 
sacred  traditions  should  be  considered  as  positive 
laws,  in  the  words  "Receive  what  the  Prophet  has 
given  (permitted)  to  you,  and  forbear  from  what  he 
forbids  you :"  but  the  above  traditions  have  not 
the  character  of  authenticity.  We  have  explained 
the  different  opinions  on  this  subject.  We  have 
thought  it  necessary  to  enter  into  these  details, 
in  order  to  convince  the  reader  that  we  are 
competent  to  judge  on  the  questions  which  have 


As  the  word  UJ^A^,  which  has  been  taken  in  the  trans- 
lation as  a  technical  term,  and  applying  only  to  the  knowledge  of 
law,  might  be  translated,  "  And  we  have  made  ourselves  master 
of  the  subjects  on  which  we  speak  in  this  book,"  the  original 
text  has  been  added. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  297 

reference  to  revelation,  alluded  to  in  this  or  in  any 
other  of  our  works,  and  that  he  may  not  be  misled 
by  the  misconstruction  of  critics  of  some  other 
subjects  on  which  we  have  treated. 

Some  people  count  four  seas  in  the  cultivated 
world,  others  five,  others  six,  and  some  bring  them 
to  seven ;  all  of  which  are  connected  and  uninter- 
rupted. The  first  is  the  Abyssinian  sea  ^ 
then  the  Mediterranean  ^jjJJ,  the  Pontus  L 
the  May otis  ^kiLc,  the  Khazarian  sea 
and  the  Ocean  cr-JUil,  which  is  also  called  the 
Green  Sea,  the  Surrounding  Sea,  and  the  Dark  Sea. 
The  sea  Mayotis  is  connected  with  the  Pontus, 
which  communicates  with  the  Mediterranean 
through  the  strait  of  Constantinople;  and  the 
Mediterranean  stands  again  in  connexion  with  the 
Ocean  or  the  Green  Sea;  they  form  therefore  only 
one  sea,  as  the  waters  are  not  separated.  But  they 
are  in  no  connexion  whatever  with  the  sea  of  the 
Khazar  (the  Caspian).  The  Mayotis  and  Pontus 
should  also  be  considered  as  one  sea,  and  although 
these  two  seas,  the  greater  of  which  is  called  the 
Pontus  u*kJo,  and  the  smaller  and  narrower  Mayotis^ 
yJajLo,  are  only  connected  by  a  strait ;  one  ought 
to  give  to  both  together  only  one  name,  calling  them 

*  Both  copies  bear,  the  smaller  sea  is  called  Pontus,  and  the 
larger  Mayotis.     This  must  be  a  fault  of  the  copyists. 


298  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

either  Pontus  or  Mayotis.  If  we  use  hereafter  the 
name  Pontus  or  Mayotis,  be  it  understood  that  the 
terms  are  to  be  taken  in  this  meaning,  (each  of  these 
two  names)  implying  the  smaller  and  the  greater  sea. 

El-Mas'udi  says,  many  people  have  the  wrong 
opinion  that  the  sea  of  the  Khazar  stands  in  con- 
nexion with  the  Mayotis,  but  I  have  not  seen  one 
merchant  who  goes  into  the  country  of  the  Khazar, 
nor  anybody  else  who  sails  on  the  sea  of  Mayotis 
and  Pontus,  to  the  Byzantine  dominions  or  to  the 
Targhiz,  who  agreed  with  the  opinion  that  the  sea 
of  the  Khazar  is  connected  with  any  other  sea 
either  by  a  canal  or  by  a  strait,  or  in  any  other 
way  excepting  through  the  river  of  the  Khazar. 
We  will  speak  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Khazar,  and 
how  the  Russians  brought  their  vessels  into  this 
(the  Caspian)  sea,  (from  the  Black  Sea),  which 
happened  after  the  year  three  hundred  (of  the 
Hijrah),  in  the  chapter  on  the  Caucasus  and  the  town 
of  Bab-el- Abwab. 

I  have  referred  to  many  ancient  and  modern 
authors  who  have  a  great  knowledge  of  the  sea,  and 
found  that  they  state  in  their  works  that  the  strait 
of  Constantinople  begins  from  the  sea  of  Mayotis, 
and  proceeds  to  the  sea  of  the  Khazar,  connecting 
them.  I  cannot  comprehend  how  they  come  to 
this  idea ;  whether  they  know  it  from  experience,  or 
whether  they  deduce  it  from  premises  and  conclu- 
sions, or  perhaps  they  are  under  wrong  impressions, 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  299 

and  believe  that  the  Russians  who  sail  on  this  sea 
(the  Black  Sea)  are  the  Khazar.  I  sailed  from 
Aboskun  ^^L^\9  which  is  a  seaport  on  the  coast 
of  Jorjan,  to  Taberistan,  and  other  countries,  and 
asked  every  merchant  and  sailor  possessed  of  any 
knowledge,  whom  I  met,  respecting  this  point, 
and  every  one  of  them  informed  me  that  one  could 
not  come  by  water  into  the  Black  Sea,  except  by  the 
way  which  had  been  taken  by  the  Russians.  The 
inhabitants  of  er-Rum,  Aderbaijan,  el-Bailkan,  [in 
the  country  near  Berda'ah  and  other  provinces,]  of 
ed-Dailem,  el-Jil,  Jorjan,  and  Taberistan,  were 
alarmed  and  made  a  general  rise  against  them,  for 
they  had  never  before  seen  an  enemy  coming  against 
them  from  those  quarters,  nor  was  such  an  invasion 
recorded  since  the  most  remote  time.  The  fact  to 
which  we  have  just  alluded  is  well  known  in  the 
above-mentioned  cities,  nations,  and  countries,  and 
they  cannot  deny  it  on  account  of  its  publicity.  It 
happened  in  the  reign  of  Ibn  Abi-s-Saj. 

I  read  in  a  book,  which  bears  the  name  of  el- 
Kindi,  and  his  disciple^  es-Sarakhsi,  who  lived  with 
the  Khalif  el-Mo'tadhed,  that  there  is  a  great  lake 
in  the  north,  at  the  extremity  of  the  habitable  world, 
extending  as  far  as  the  north  pole,  and  that  there 
is  a  town  near  this  lake  of  the  name  of  Tuliah 
SJ^j,  on  the  limits  of  the  habitable  world.  This 
lake  is  also  mentioned  in  the  Memoirs  of  the 
Beni  el-Monajjim.  Ahmad  Ben  et-Taib  es-Sarakhsi 


300  EL-MAS'lJDi's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

states,  in  his  Memoir  on  the  seas,  waters,  and 
mountains  JUi^  *^U  ^la^JJ  ^  XJLw^,,  on  the  autho- 
rity of  el-Kindi,  that  the  Mediterranean  is  six  thou- 
sand miles  long  in  its  extent  from  Sur,  Atrabolos 
(Tripolis),  Antioch,  el-Markab*  t-o^U9  the  coast  of 
el-Missisah,  Tarsus,  and  Kalamiah  Xx^i'  (Xx^Xi'),  to 
the  pillars  of  Hercules,  and  that  it  is  four  hundred 
miles  wide  where  it  is  broadest. 

This  is  what  el-Kindi  and  Ibn  et-Taib  say.  We 
have  now  stated  what  both  parties  say  on  this 
subject,  and  how  far  they  differ  from  the  astrono- 
mers, as  we  have  found  in  their  works,  or  heard 
from  their  followers.  We  cannot  add  the  proofs 
with  which  they  strengthen  their  statements ;  for 
we  have  made  it  a  rule  for  ourselves  to  be  concise 
and  short  in  this  book. 

The  various  opinions  of  the  Greeks  and  of  other 
ancient  philosophers,  on  the  origin  and  cause  of 
the  seas,  have  been  given  in  full  detail  in  the 
second  book  ^3  of  our  Akhbar  ez-zeman,  which 
consists  of  thirty  books:  there  all  the  theories 
respecting  this  subject  are  specified,  under  the 
names  of  their  authors:  the  present  work,  how- 
ever, shall  nevertheless  contain  a  summary  view  of 
the  various  theories  on  this  head. 

Some  are  of  opinion  that  the  sea  is  a  remnant 

*  The  MSS.  bear  4_Jul  \  el-Mankib. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  301 

of  the  primitive  humidity,  the  greater  portion  of 
which  has  been  dried  up  by  fire,  and  that  portion 
which  remained  has  undergone  a  change  through 
the  process  of  burning,  and  has  become  salt. 
Some  maintain  that,  when  the  whole  of  the  primi- 
tive humidity  underwent  the  process  of  burning 
under  the  revolutions  of  the  sun,  the  pure  part 
was  separated,  and  the  rest  became  salt  and  bitter*. 
Some  consider  the  sea  as  the  sweat  of  the  earth f, 
which  is  caused  by  the  constant  revolutions  of  the 
sun  round  our  planet.  Some  believe  that  the  sea 
is  the  rest  of  the  secondary  humidity,  which  was 
left  after  the  earth  had  extracted  the  purer  part  of 
it  for  the  production  of  solid  bodies :  the  same  thing 
happens  with  sweet  water ;  if  you  pass  it  through 
sand,  it  will  be  found  salt.  Some  are  of  opinion 


*  "  Some  say,  the  region  nearest  to  the  solid  mass  of  the 
globe  was  originally  occupied  by  water  round  the  whole  earth; 
but  subsequently  it  was  evaporated,  and  dried  up  by  the  heat  of 
the  sun ;  wind,  and  the  revolutions  of  sun  and  moon,  converted  v 
the  water  which  was  left  into  sea  (i.e.,  salt-water)."  Aristotle, 
Meterol.  ii.,  cap  1. 

This  idea  is  universal,  and  is  met  with  as  early  as  Genesis.  El- 
Kazwini  seems  to  think  that  the  greater  part  of  the  water  which 
once  surrounded  our  globe  is  now  concentrated  in  the  south- 
ern hemisphere,  being  attracted  by  the  heat  of  the  sun,  which  is 
greatest  in  the  south  pole,  according  to  the  ideas  of  the  Arabs. 

f  This  opinion  was  defended  by  Empedocles.  Pliny,  lib.  ii., 
Aristotle,  Meteorol.  ii.,  1 . 


302  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

that  the  sweet  and  salt  waters  were  originally  mixed : 
the  sun  attracted  the  lighter  (i.e.,  sweet  water), 
and  raised  (evaporated)  it.  Some  think  the  sun 
evaporates  (the  sweet  water  which  is  raised  from 
the  sea  water)  and  feeds  upon  it*.  Others  object 
that  the  vapour  becomes  again  water  after  it  has 
been  purified  ;  for,  as  the  vapour  rises  to  the  higher 
and  colder  regions,  it  is  condensed  by  the  cold. 
Some  persons  argue  that  that  portion  of  elementary 
water  which  has  existed  as  vapour  in  the  air,  and 
has  been  condensed  by  the  cold  to  which  it  was 
exposed  there,  is  sweet ;  whilst  that  portion  of 
elementary  water  which  has  been  exposed  to  the 
influence  of  burning  is  salt. 

Some  reason  thus :  the  water  which  flows  into 
the  sea  from  the  high  and  low  grounds  of  the 
earth  absorbs,  according  to  its  nature,  the  salt 
which  the  earth  throws  out  into  its  basin ;  the 
particles  of  fire  which  are  naturally  in  water, 
together  with  the  particles  of  heat  which  emanate 
from  the  sun  and  moon,  and  cause  the  water,  being 
mixed  with  it,  to  come  forth  from  the  earth,  raise 
and  evaporate  the  water  by  their  raising  (expansive) 
power,  the  finer  particles  of  water,  when  it  is  above, 
are  turned  into  rain.  This  process  is  constantly 
repeated,  because  this  water  becomes  again  salt ; 


*  Aristotle,  Meleorol.  ii.,  2. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  303 

for  the  earth  embues  it  again  with  saline  particles, 
and  the  sun  and  moon  deprive  (the  sea)  again  of  the 
finer  and  sweet  portions  of  the  water  (by  evapora- 
tion). It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  sea  remains 
unchanged  both  in  quantity  and  (specific)  weight 
(salt  dissolved  in  it);  for  the  heat  raises  the  finer 
portion  of  the  sea  water,  and  changes  it  into 
atmospheric  humidity,  in  the  same  proportion 
as  the  same  water  flows  again  into  the  sea,  in  the 
form  of  streams,  after  it  has  become  terrestrial 
humidity  SUxJ^J*;  for,  being  in  the  form  of  streams, 
it  has  a  tendency  to  stagnate,  and  to  form  marshes 
flowing  to  the  deepest  places  of  the  earth,  and  so  it 
comes  into  the  bed  of  the  sea.  The  quantity  of 
water  remains,  therefore,  constant,  and  is  neither 


*  The  Arabs  have  quite  distinct  names  for  different  sorts  of 
waters,  as  if  they  had  considered  them  as  different  substances.  This 
passage  and  what  follows  leads  to  the  same  idea;  and,  indeed,  what 
can  be  more  different  in  its  reference  to  man  than  sea-water  and 
spring- water ?  We  read,  therefore,  in  the  Zend-Avesta  (vol.  ii., 
p.  394,  Boun-dehesch),  u  II  est  parle  dans  la  loi  de  sept  especes 
d'eaux :  s^avoir,  la  premiere  eau  est  celle  qui  est  sur  les  arbres ; 
la  seconde,  celle  qui,  coulant  des  montagnes,  forme  les  rouds ; 
la  troisieme,  1'eau  de  pluie;  la  quatrieme,  celle  qui  est  appellee 
Armiste  (creusee)  ;  la  cinquieme,  la  semence  des  animaux,  et 
celle  des  hommes ;  la  septieme,  la  sueur  des  animaux,  et  celle  des 
hommes." 

After  these  seven  humours  follow  seven  others  in  the  Zend- 
Avesta,  which  are  produced  by  them. 


304  EL-MAS'tiDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

increased  nor  diminished.  The  springs  are  the 
hidden  veins  of  the  earth,  pouring  into  the  brooks, 
which  fall  into  the  rivers.  This  has  been  compared 
with  the  construction  of  animals.  When  an  animal 
takes  food,  the  limpid  part  of  it  is  distributed 
through  the  body  by  the  influence  of  warmth,  and 
is  destined  for  nutrition  ;  but  the  salt  and  bitter 
parts  remain  behind  to  be  secreted  as  excrements, 
being  not  possessed  of  limpidity  v^r>  and  this  is 
the  stuff  of  which  urine  and  sweat  consist.  And  as 
the  nutritive  humours  are  changed  under  the  in- 
fluence of  warmth,  into  bitterness  (bile)  and  saltness, 
one  will  find  that  bitter  (bilious)  excrements,  besides 
the  urine  and  sweat,  are  secreted  from  the  body, 
if  the  warmth  is  increased  beyond  its  regular 
standard ;  for  all  water  that  has  been  burnt  is  bitter. 
This  is  the  theory  of  all  ancients*. 

This  can  be  demonstrated  by  an  experiment.  If 
you  heat  any  liquor  which  contains  a  nutritive 
substance,  like  wine,  vinegar,  rose,  saffron,  or  gilly- 
flower water,  the  spirituous  particles  fly  away  with 
the  vapour  which  rises  from  it ;  but  if  you  heat  salt 
water  the  case  is  different :  the  absorbed  spirituous 
(salt)  particles  remain  behind,  particularly  if  the 
process  of  heating  is  repeated.  The  author  of 
the  Logic f  (Aristotle)  has  many  discussions  on 

*  Compare  Aristotle,  Meteorologica,  ii..  2  and  3. 
f  Locis  laudatis. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  305 

this  subject ;  so  he  says  that  the  sea- water  is  denser 
and  more  turbid  than  sweet  water,  which  is  limpid 
and  clear;  and  that  if  we  give  to  a  piece  of  wax 
the  shape  of  a  vessel  well  shut,  and  lay  it  into  salt 
water,  we  shall  find  that  the  water  which  penetrated 
into  the  vessel  is  sweet  to  the  taste,  and  specifically 
lighter  than  sea-water ;  whereas,  the  water  round 
the  vessel  is  more  salt,  and  specifically  heavier. 

Flowing  water  is  called  river  ^  ;  water  coming 
forth  from  the  earth  is  called  spring  (jj*c  ;  and 
water  collected  in  a  great  mass  is  called  sea  j*=- *• 

El-Mas'udi  says  there  are  many  treatises  extant 
on  the  water  and  its  causes.  In  the  second  book 
of  our  work  Akhbar  ez-zeman,  which  comprises 
thirty  books,  we  have  exposed  the  proofs  which 
have  been  brought  forward  in  confirmation  of  the 
theories  respecting  the  extent  of  the  sea,  its  dimen- 
sions, the  use  of  its  saltness,  its  connections 
and  divisions,  its  being  neither  liable  to  increase 
nor  decrease,  and  respecting  the  reasons  that  the 
ebb  and  flow  is  greater  in  the  Abyssinian  sea 
than  anywhere  else. 

I  have  had  many  conversations  with  merchants 
of  'Oman  and  of  Siraf,  who  are  in  the  habit  of 
navigating  the  seas  of  China,  India,  es-Sind,  ez- 


*  This  includes  lakes;  for  s^sr,  the  Arabic  word  for  lake, 

X 


is  the  diminutive   of   ..-ST  sea. 


306  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

Zanj,  Yemen,  el-Kolzom,  and  of  Abyssinia,  and 
received  information  which  differed  from  the  ac- 
count given  by  philosophers  and  other  men  of 
learning,  upon  whose  authority  the  dimensions  and 
extent  of  the  seas  is  usually  stated.  The  sailors 
say  that  this  sea,  in  certain  directions,  has  no  end.  I 
made,  also,  the  acquaintance  of  the  sailors  on  the 
Mediterranean,  both  those  on  board  of  ships  of  war 
and  of  traders:  they  are  the  Nautse  XAJ'^JM,  the 
officers  of  the  men*,  and  the  captains  L^l,  and 
others  who  are  intrusted  with  the  management 
of  vessels  of  war,  as  Lawi  g^y  Go^0>  who  has 
the  surname  Abul-Harb,  and  is  a  slave  of  Zorakah 
»3}jj,  the  governor  of  Tripolis,  in  Syria,  on  the  coast 
of  Damascus.  They  are  well  acquainted  with  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  Mediterranean,  with  its 
gulfs  and  straits.  I  found  such  information  in 
'Abdullah  Ben  Wazir,  the  governor  of  the  town 
of  Jobailahf,  on  the  coast  of  Hims,  in  Syria;  and  at 
present,,  that  is  to  say,  in  332  A.M.,  there  is  no 
man  who  knows  the  Mediterranean  better  than  he. 
All  vessels,  the  ships  of  war  as  well  as  traders, 
follow  his  advice,  and  trust  in  his  knowledge  and 
science,  on  account  of  his  long  experience.  We 


*  It  is  very  likely  that  the  original  reading  was  , .  ^.A 
and  not  Jca..^. 

f   MSS.  bear  2u*JLc,  &k*.  and 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  307 

have  related  the  wonders  of  this  sea,  and  the 
information  which  we  have  gathered  respecting  it,  in 
the  preceding  pages,  and  we  shall  insert  in  our 
progress  some  further  notices  respecting  it. 

Various  signs  have  been  stated  which  are  said 
to  indicate  that  water  is  to  be  found  in  the  earth  on 
digging.  Some  say  experience  has  shown  that  in 
places  where  reeds,  aquatic  plants,  grass,  and  other 
herbage  grows,  water  will  be  found  on  digging;  but 
the  absence  of  such  plants  shows  that  water  is 
distant. 

I  have  found  the  following  rule  in  the  works  on 
agriculture :  If  you  wish  to  know  whether  the  water 
is  near  or  far,  dig  three  or  four  cubits  into  the 
ground,  then  take  a  kettle  of  brass,  or  an  earthen- 
ware jar,  with  a  wide  mouth;  besmear  the  inside  of 
it  equally  with  grease:  take  clean  white  wool  and 
a  stone  of  the  size  of  an  egg,  which  you  enclose 
in  the  wool,  making  a  ball  of  it;  then  besmear 
the  side  of  this  ball  with  melted  wax,  patch  it 
into  the  jar  which  has  been  anointed  with  oil  or 
grease,  and  let  it  down  into  the  bottom  of  the  pit. 
The  wool  will  be  attached  to  the  bottom  of  the  jar 
through  the  wax,  and  it  will  be  glued  on  the  stone. 
Throw  earth  upon  the  vessel,  one,  two,  or  more 
cubits  deep.  All  this  is  to  be  done  after  sunset.  Hav- 
ingleft  it  in  this  state  during  the  night,  you  remove  the 
earth  the  next  morning  before  the  rising  of  the  sun ; 
and  if  you  find  many  drops  of  water  adhering  to  the 

X  2 


308  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

inside  of  the  vessel,  one  near  the  other,  and  if  the 
wool  be  wet,,  you  may  be  sure  that  you  will  soon  find 
water  in  that  place;  but  if  the  drops  be  distant  from 
each  other,  and  if  the  wool  be  but  little  wet,  you  must 
dig  to  a  great  depth  before  you  arrive  at  water;  and 
if  you  see  no  drops,  or  only  very  few,  either  in  the 
vessel  or  on  the  wool,  you  will  find  no  water  in  this 
place,  not  even  on  digging  deep. 

I  found,  in  another  copy  of  the  works  on  agricul- 
ture, other  rules  concerning  the  same  subject.  If 
you  wish  to  know  whether  you  will  soon  come  to 
water  on  digging,  you  have  only  to  examine  the 
back  of  the  ants  of  that  place:  if  they  be  thick, 
black,  and  heavy  in  their  carriage,  you  will  find  the 
distance  of  the  water  in  proportion  to  their  carriage. 
But  if  they  be  light,  and  run  so  fast  that  you  can 
hardly  catch  them,  the  water  is  at  a  distance  of 
forty  cubits.  And  the  first  water  will  be  good  and 
sweet,  but  the  second  will  be  heavy  and  salt. 
These  are  the  signs  for  a  man  who  means  to  dig  for 
water:  we  have  given  a  full  account  of  this  subject 
in  our  Akhbar  ez-zeman.  In  this  book  we  give 
merely  general  notices  of  subjects  which  are  necessary 
to  be  known,  without  entering  into  details  and  illustra- 
tions, referring  to  the  Akhbar  ez-zeman,  where  we 
enter  at  greater  length  on  these  subjects.  Let  us 
now  speak  of  the  kings  of  the  Chinese,  and  what 
belongs  besides  under  this  head. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  309 


FIFTEENTH  CHAPTER. 

The  Chinese  Empire  :  its  kings  :  their  lives  and 
government. 

THE  historians  do  not  agree  respecting  the  Chinese 
and  their  origin.  Many  of  them  say  that  the 
children  of  'Abur  Ben  Batwil  Ben  Yafeth  Ben  Nuh 


cm 

went  north-east,  when  Falegh  Ben  'Aber  Ben 
Arfakhshad  divided  the  earth  amongst  the  sons  of 
Nuh.  A  portion  of  them,  descended  from  Ar'au  jsj, 
took  their  way  towards  the  north,  dispersed  there 
over  the  country,  and  formed  a  number  of  nations 
and  kingdoms,  as  ed-Dailem  jJoJJJ,  el-Jil  ^A.\ 

et-Tailisan  ^LJUW?  (UX^l     et-Tatar* 

xU         and     el-Mukan 


*  This  nation  must  live  west  of  the  Caspian;  I  doubt,  there- 
fore, whether  Tatar  is  a  correct  reading.  A  MS.,  7496,  in  the 

British  Museum,  which  contains  an  ancient  geographical  work, 

o- 
mentions  frequently  this  name;  spelling  it   j\AJ!  el-Bab  r,  and  in 

one  instance  el-Bair. 

f  This  name  is  written  el-Mufan  in  the  MS.  which  appears 
to  be  nearest  to  the  true  reading  of  the  name.  The  beginning 
of  this  chapter  has  been  compared  with  an  extract  in  en-Nowairi. 
The  proper  names  have  been  transcribed  in  Arabic  characters,  as 
they  are  in  the  MSS.,  with  all  their  faults;  but,  where  it  was  safe, 
they  have  been  corrected  in  the  English  transcript. 


310  EL-MAS'tfDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


or  ^UyUi)*  Further  are  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Caucasus,  who  consist  of  various  races  of  el- 
Lakz  y&J  (yfl  or  ^jSi\\),  the  Alans  ^Wl  (j, 
the  Khazar  ^yUthe  Abkhaz  Ji*y\  (jb$\  or 
the  Serir  jij*il\,  the  Cossaks  ^£T,  and  other 
nations  descended  from  them.  They  are  spread 
over  those  tracts  and  over  the  country  along  the 
Black  Sea  and  the  Mayotis,  as  far  as  Terabizond 
(Trebizond).  They  inhabit,  also,  the  coast  of  the 
sea  of  the  Khazar,  of  the  Targhiz  (Bulghar)  ,  and 
other  neighbouring  nations. 

The  children  of  Abur  set  over  the  river  of 
Balkh  (Oxus)  :  the  most  of  them  proceeded  to 
China  <jjyo,  spread  over  the  country,  and  formed 
empires,  as  the  Khottal  JJC-L!  (j^il),  who  are  the 
inhabitants  of  Khottalan  £&££  (^dH**)*  the  Dii- 
shan(?)  ^l&jJ  Cu^au  or  u^^)»  ^e  Oshrusanah 
x+r».pZ,y\9  the  inhabitants  of  the  Soghd  «x*aH  who 
live  between  Bokhara  and  Samarkand,  the  Fergha- 
nians*  Xj^VjiJ!,  and  the  inhabitants  of  esh-Shash 
jiUJI,  of  Isbijab  (Isfijab)  ^l^^-^  (cj^J  or  ^1^0' 
and  of  the  country  belonging  to  Tarab  cii^lXH 

*  The  Ferghanians  formed  one  of  the  best  corps  of  Turkish 
troops  in  the  service  of  the  'Abbasides,  and  are  frequently 
mentioned  by  historians;  but  as  the  dot  upon  the  A  is  sometimes 
omitted  in  MS  8.,  Reiske  and  other  authors  have  been  led  astray, 
and,  considering  the  word  to  be  derived  from  Fir'aun,  they  believed 
them  to  be  Egyptians. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  311 


(u^UM  or  jjjUJJ  or  eM^/jdJ.  Some  of  these  nations 
built  cities  and  villages,  whilst  others  live  in 
steppes.  Of  the  same  origin  are  other  nations,  as 
the  Turks  £j£\,  the  Kharlajians*  gO^Al  (gojAJ)> 
and  the  Taghizghizf  ^iy&J!  who  inhabit  the  town 
of  Kusan  ^^  (o^/O^  forming  an  empire  between 
Khorasan  and  China;  and  they  are  at  present  [in 
332,  A.H.]  the  bravest  of  all  Turkish  hordes.  Their 
king  has  the  title  Irkhan;}:  ^U-,1  (o^  or  6^  or 
^bjjj),  and  professes  the  doctrine  of  the  Mani- 
cheans,  which  no  other  Turkish  horde  acknowledges. 
Farther  are  descended  from  'Abur  the  Kaimakians 
/JI^M)'  tne  Marghinanians  (?)  XJU 
or  axxsS'JsJJ  or  X/Jl^Jj),  the  Baunah 
,  and  the  Jaghrians  (?)  x>j*iJ  (*j*L\  or 


*  The  Tatar  name  of  this  horde  is  Kal-aj  ^Jb*:  t^iey  claim 
to  be  descended  from  Oghuz  Khan.  Deguignes,  Hist,  des  Huns, 
Vol.  ii.,  p.  9,  and  Abulghazi  Bahadur  Khan,  edit.  Tatar,  p.  14. 

f  On  the  various  ways  in  which  the  name  of  this  horde  is 
spelt,  from  which  the  Tulunides  were  descended,  the  reader  may 
consult  Roorda's  Abul  Abbasi  Ahmedis  Vita,  Leyden,  1825, 
p.  50. 

J  Irkhan  (.jU^ot  means  the  khan  of  men.  The  reading 
of  one  copy  is  Ilkhan  i.e.,  the  khan  of  the  nation ;  the  latter  is  a 
title  frequently  met  with  in  Tatar  history,  and  this  reading  should 
have  deserved  the  preference,  if  this  title  were  not  in  all  other 
passages  of  el-Mas'udi,  where  this  prince  is  mentioned,  distinctly 
written  Irkhan. 


312  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


or  AAjyiit).  The  bravest  of  them  are  the 
Ghizians  *tyA\,  and  the  best  formed  and  hand- 
somest are  the  Kharlajians  X/oiyLt  (^i^t  or 
XxT^L!  or  X/J->i!)  who  inhabit  Ferghanah  XJU^J, 
esh-Shash  jfclcjJJ,  and  the  adjacent  country.  They 
have  the  sway  over  the  Turks,  and  the  Khakan  of 
the  Khakans  (^Si^L!  6^'^  is  of  their  horde: 
all  the  Turkish  nations  obey  him,  and  all  other 
Turkish  kings  are  his  vassals.  One  of  these 
Khakans  was  Ferasiab  the  Turk,  who  conquered 
Persia:  another  of  them  was  Sanah  3oL>.  The 
Khakan  of  the  Turks  extends  his  sway  at  present 
over  all  Turkish  kings,  since  the  town  in  the 
steppes  of  Samarkand,  which  had  the  name  'Amat 
c»l$  (c>Uc),  was  destroyed.  We  have  related  under 
what  circumstances  the  government  was  removed 
from  this  city,  in  our  book  called  Kitab  el-ausat. 

One  part  of  the  children  of  'Abur  came  as  far 
as  the  frontiers  of  India.  The  climate  of  the  country 
impressed  its  character  upon  them  ;  and  they  are  in 
their  complexion  like  the  Hindus,  and  not  like 
other  Turks.  Some  of  them  are  settled,  whilst 
others  are  wandering.  Another  portion  of  them  is 
settled  in  et-Tubbet  dL^xJ!.  They  placed  their 
government  to  the  hands  of  a  king,  who  was 
subject  to  the  khakan  ;  but,  when  the  power  of  the 
khakan  had  ceased,  the  Tubbetians  gave  to  their 
king  the  title  khakan,  imitating  the  former  Turkish 
kings. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  313 

The  majority  of  the  children  of  'Abur  followed 
the  course  of  the  river  to  the  extremity  of  China. 
There  they  spread  over  the  country,  fixed  their 
abode,  and  cultivated  the  land  ;  they  formed  communi- 
ties, established  capitals,  and  built  towns.  They 
founded  a  large  city  for  the  residence  of  their  king, 
which  they  called  Anku*  yu!  (yot  or  ly*J)};  this 
city  is  three  months'  journey  from  the  Abyssinian 
sea;  the  whole  interjacent  country  is  covered  with 
towns  and  well-cultivated.  Their  first  king  in  this 
new  settlement  was  LotsatisBenNa'ur  BenYarej  Ben 
'Abiir  Ben  Yafeth  Ben  Nuh  U 


L»  ^jj.  When  he  was  on  the  throne 
he  spread  his  subjects  over  the  country,  dug  canals, 
planted  trees,  taught  the  use  of  the  fruits  as  food, 
and  killed  the  lions  (wild  beasts).  He  reigned 
about  three  hundred  years  ;  then  he  died,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  son  'Arun  Ben  Lotsatis  (^j#jz* 
He  put  the  corpse  of  his  father  in  a  golden  statue 
JlA^JI,  as  an  expression  of  his  veneration  and 
regretf  .  The  statue  was  put  on  a  golden  throne, 


*  Abulfeda  writes  Yanju  >-•**?  \  the  «.  j  and  o  k  in  these  two 
ways  of  spelling  seem  both  to  be  meant  to  express  the  sound  of  g. 
This  town  is  supposed  to  be  Nanking,  which  is  called  Kiang- 
Ming  by  the  Chinese. 

j  It  is   well  known  that  this  practice   prevails   among   the 


314  EL-MAS'uDl'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

studded  with  precious  stones.  He  himself  took  his 
seat  under  this  throne,  worshipping  the  dead,  and  so 
did  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  kingdom  every  morning 
and  evening.  He  reigned  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years.  After  him,  his  son  'Abirun  Ben  'Arun 

6^^  (^  Uij*1^  (j&**s  came  to  the  throne.  He 
also  put  the  body  of  his  father  into  a  golden  statue, 
which  he  placed  one  step  lower  than  that  of  his 
grandfather.  He  first  addressed  his  prayers  to  his 
grandfather,  and  then  to  his  father.  His  government 
was  very  good,  and  he  never  did  anything  without 
asking  his  subjects  for  their  opinion.  Equity  was 
everywhere  exercised,  the  population  increased*,  and 
the  soil  was  cultivated  during  his  reign,  which 
lasted  two  hundred  years.  His  son  'Athinan  Ben 
'Abirun  J^AXC  ^  u^c  (^AAC)  succeeded  him. 
He  observed  the  same  usage,  of  putting  the  body  of 
his  father  in  a  golden  statue  and  worshipping  it. 
His  was  a  long  reign,  and  his  territory  extended  to 
the  country  of  the  Turks,  the  descendants  of  his 
uncle.  In  his  days,  arts  to  promote  the  comforts  of 


Chinese.  Abulghazi  ascribes  the  same  usage  to  the  ancient 
Tatars ;  and  he  agrees  in  this  point,  as  in  many  others,  with 
Herodotus,  lib.  iv. 

*  It  deserves  to  be  noticed  that  the  increase  of  mankind  is 
considered  in  the  east  as  the  object  of  human  society  and  the 
criterion  of  a  good  government,  just  as  we  consider  the  greatest 
happiness  to  the  greatest  number  as  such. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  315 

life,  and  other  trades,  became  frequent.  He  lived 
four  hundred  years,  and  had  Jaraban  his  son 
^U-JAT  lrjj  ^^  as  successor.  He  ordered,  first, 
ships  to  be  built,  manned  them,  loaded  them  with  the 
produce  of  China,  and  sent  them  to  India,  es-Sind, 
Babylonia,  and  other  kingdoms  near  and  far.  He 
made  to  the  kings  the  most  rare  presents,  and  sent 
them  costly  gifts;  and  he  gave  orders  to  his  sailors 
to  bring  him  from  every  country  what  is  beautiful 
and  exquisite  for  the  table,  or  for  dress  and  furniture, 
not  found  in  his  own  kingdom.  He  ordered  them  to 
make  themselves  acquainted  with  the  forms  of  govern- 
ment of  every  empire,  and  with  the  religious  tenets, 
laws,  and  moral  state  of  every  nation;  and  that  they 
should  ask  the  people  for  precious  stones,  perfumes, 
and  instruments.  The  vessels  went  out,  and  sepa- 
rated to  visit  various  countries,  following  the  orders 
of  their  king.  Wherever  they  landed  the  inhabitants 
were  surprised  at  them,  and  admired  what  they 
brought.  Kings,  whose  dominions  were  on  the  sea 
coast,  built  vessels,  and  ordered  them  to  sail  to 
China,  in  order  to  import  into  China  such  products 
as  were  wanting  there.  They  wrote  to  the  king, 
acknowledging  the  presents  of  his  country  and  send- 
ing others  in  return.  So  China  advanced  in  her 
civilization  and  prosperity.  The  king  died  after  a 
reign  of  about  two  hundred  years,  to  the  greatest 
affliction  of  his  subjects.  The  public  mourning 
lasted  one  month.  Tutal  Ben  Jaraban 


316  KL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


y.'jjj  was  his  son  and  successor.  He 
put  the  corpse  of  his  father  into  an  image  of  gold, 
and  observed  the  usages  of  former  kings.  He 
brought  his  affairs  into  order  and  made  some  praise- 
worthy new  institutions  :  the  like  none  of  his  prede- 
cessors had  made.  He  said  to  his  countrymen,  an 
empire  cannot  exist  without  justice,  for  justice  is 
the  balance  of  God,,  and  it  is  productive  of  an 
increase  of  prosperity  and  of  good  actions.  He 
created  courtiers  and  nobles,  and  gave  crowns  as 
marks  of  distinction.  He  formed  ranks  among  the 
people  according  to  their  pursuits.  He  went  out  to 
seek  a  place  for  a  temple,  and  he  found  a  spot  with 
luxuriant  herbage,  covered  with  flowers  and  well 
watered.  There  he  marked  out  the  foundation  of  a 
temple.  Stones  of  various  colours  and  descriptions 
were  brought  to  the  spot,  and  the  construction  went 
on.  A  cupola  was  raised  on  the  top  with  air-holes, 
and  the  whole  fabric  was  in  perfect  symmetry.  In 
the  temple  were  cells  for  persons  who  wished  to 
shut  themselves  up  for  the  service  of  God.  When 
the  whole  edifice  was  completed,  he  put  in  its 
uppermost  part  the  statues  which  contained  the 
bodies  of  his  fathers,  giving  orders  to  worship 
them. 

He  assembled  the  great  men  of  his  empire,  and 
acquainted  them  of  his  intentions  to  unite  all  his 
subjects  into  one  religion,  to  which  they  could 
always  appeal.  Religion  should  be  the  tie  of  union 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  317 

and  order;  for  he  observed  that,  if  a  government  has 
lost  sight  of  religion,  it  is  exposed  to  dissolution, 
corruption,  and  vice.  He  founded  the  government, 
therefore,  on  sacred  laws  and  positive  regulations 
dictated  by  reason,  which  should  form  the  basis:  he 
made  a  penal  code :  he  fixed  the  conditions  under 
which  matrimony  should  be  legitimate,  to  induce 
women  to  become  mothers,  and  to  render  the  ties 
between  father  and  child  firm ;  and  he  made  a 
distinction  between  the  laws;  enforcing  some  as 
positive  and  obligatory  commands,  which  are 
violated  by  neglecting  the  observance  of  their 
tenor ;  whilst  he  left  others  open  to  the  will  of 
the  individual  ,JJ!p ;  for  they  should  only  serve  as 
guides.  He  prescribed  to  his  subjects  certain 
prayers,  and  regulated  the  divine  service.  There 
is,  however,  no  inclination  nor  prostration  observed 
in  their  prayers,  which  are  performed  at  fixed  times 
of  day  or  night ;  but,  in  the  prayers  which  are  to  be 
said  at  certain  times  in  the  year  and  months,  pros- 
trations and  inclinations  are  to  be  made.  He 
instituted  feasts.  Fornication  is  under  certain 
restrictions  belonging  to  the  criminal  laws.  If  a 
woman  means  to  prostitute  herself,  she  has  to  pay 
a  certain  tax ;  but  if  she  refuses  the  embraces  of 
men  for  some  time,  or  if  she  gives  up  the  practice 
altogether,  she  has  no  longer  to  pay  the  tax. 
The  sons  of  such  women  are  enlisted  in  the  (stand- 
ing) army  of  the  king;  but  the  girls  are  left  to  the 


318  EL-MAS'UDI5S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

mothers,  and  are  generally  initiated  in  their  trade. 
He  prescribed  sacrifices  and  incense  which  were  to 
be  offered  in  the  temples.  To  the  stars  incense 
was  offered;  and  for  every  star  a  certain  time  was 
fixed  on  which  its  favour  was  particularly  solicited, 
by  burning  incense,  perfumes,  and  certain  drugs. 
He  defined  everything  which  his  subjects  had  to  do. 
He  enjoyed  a  long  life,  had  a  numerous  pos- 
terity, and  died  after  a  reign  of  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years.  This  king  was  much  lamented. 
They  put  his  body  into  a  coffin  of  gold  ornamented 
with  precious  stones,  and  built  him  a  grand  mau- 
soleum, on  the  top  of  which  they  placed  seven  gems 
of  different  colours,  answering  to  the  seven  planets, 
that  is  to  say,  to  the  sun  and  moon  (^1^1),  and 
the  five  stars,  in  shape  and  colour.  The  day  of  his 
death  was  celebrated  as  a  holy  day,  in  which  they 
assembled  at  his  mausoleum  and  said  many  prayers. 
His  portrait  and  an  account  of  his  life  were  engraved 
on  a  plate  of  gold,  and  deposited  on  the  top  of  the 
mausoleum,  where  everybody  could  see  them,  that  they 
should  serve  as  an  example,  and  as  an  exhortation 
to  follow  his  good  government.  The  history  of  his 
life  and  his  portrait  are  also  represented  on  the 
gates  of  the  town,  on  coins  of  gold  and  copper  <j*>Xj 
and  on  dresses*. 

*  Ibn  Khaldun  observes  that  the  Persian  kings  had  dresses  the 
woof  of  which  was  gold,  and  represented  various  figures,  particu- 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  319 

Their  money  consists,  for  the  most  part,  of 
copper  and  brass  coins.  This  city  became  the 
residence  of  the  kings  of  China.  The  name  of  it 
is  Anku  lyut  0>+^),  and  it  is  three  months'  journey 
distant  from  the  Abyssinian  sea.  They  have 
another  large  town  called  Madu  _j<x«  («\*i  Amid),  in 
the  north-west  of  their  empire,  towards  et-Tubbet 
C^AAJI.  Madu  and  et-Tubbet  keep  up  a  constant 
warfare,  without  either  party  being  conquerors  or 
conquered. 

Order  in  the  affairs  of  the  empire,  good  govern- 
ment, and  prosperity  continued  under  the  suc- 
cessors of  this  king:  justice  was  everywhere 
exercised,  and  injustice  was  banished  from  their 
country.  They  followed  the  regulations  made  by 
the  former  kings,  whom  we  have  mentioned;  and 
they  kept  up  the  wars  with  their  enemies.  Their 
frontiers  were  well  guarded  by  soldiers,  the  armies 
received  their  pay  regularly.,  and  merchants  flocked 
there,  by  land  and  sea,  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 
They  were  of  the  ancient  faith,  the  Samanean  reli- 
ligion*  X/JfxJI  XJu,  which  is  about  the  same  as  the 


larly  the  portraits  of  the  kings :  they  were  manufactured  in  their 
own  palaces,  and  given  as  presents  to  men  of  distinction.  This 
costume  went  over  to  the  Arabs. 

*  The  Mefatih  el-'olum  (MS.  of  Leyden,  No.   314)   contains 
the  following  important  passage  respecting  the  Samaneans : — 


320  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

belief  of  the  Koraishites  before  Mohammed.  They 
worshipped  symbols,  towards  which  they  turned 
their  faces  in  praying.  Persons  of  intellect  ad- 
dressed their  prayers  to  the  Almighty,  andi  they 
considered  the  images  of  idols  and  other  symbols 


"  The  Samaneans  are  the  Arabs  who  follow  the  doctrine  of 
Saman.  They  are  idolaters,  who  maintain  that  the  world  had  no 
beginning:  they  believe  in  the  metempsychosis,  and  that  the 
earth  is  constantly  declining. 

"  In  the  most  ancient  times  all  the  nations  were  either  Saman- 
eans or  Chaldeans.  The  Samaneans  are  idolaters.  The  Chal- 
deans are  also  called  Sabeans  and  Harranians  ;  for  the  remnants  of 
them  live  in  Harran  and  el-  'Irak.  They  believe  that  Yudasif 
(Yudasp),  the  rebel  of  India,  was  their  prophet.  This  Budasif 
(Budasp:  this  seems  to  be  more  correct  than  Yudasif)  was 
contemporaneous  with  the  king  Tahmurth,  and  the  Persian 
writing  comes  from  him.  The  name  of  Sabeans  was  applied  to 
them  at  the  time  of  el-Mamun,  and  meant  originally  a  Christian 
sect.  In  India  and  China  are  the  remnants  of  the  Samaneans." 

Hamzah  of  Ispahan  (MS.  of  Leyden)  confirms  literally  the 
words  of  the  Mefatih  el-'olum. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  321 


merely  as  objects  to  fix  their  eyes  upon 
whilst  the  uneducated  and  ignorant  confounded 
these  symbols  with  the  Almighty,  and  worshipped 
them  both  (God  and  the  symbols)  together.  The 
adoration  of  the  idols  brought  them  nearer  to  God, 
although  the  notions  expressed  in  their  religious 
service  were  too  concrete  to  be  adequate  to  the 
sublimity,  greatness,  and  majesty  of  the  divinity. 
The  service  which  they  performed  to  these  idols 
was  nevertheless  an  expression  of  obedience  to  God, 
and  it  brought  them  nearer  to  him. 

This  continued  until  speculations  and  sectarian- 
ism grew  up  in  China:  then  rose  the  Dualists,  and 
those  who  believe  on  a  time  without  limits  J^i 
^fcjO!.  Previous  to  these  innovations,  they  had 
worshipped  images,  like  the  higher  and  lower  classes 
in  India.  These  religious  quarrels  caused  a  com- 
plete revolution:  they  had  not  been  without  specu- 
lation, but  they  had  referred  in  all  questions  to  the 
ancient  sacred  laws. 

The  Chinese  empire  borders  on  the  kingdom  of 
the  Taghizghiz  y.y&£\t  and  it  was  from  them  that 
they  received  the  doctrine  of  Manes  45^-0  >  °f  a  g°d 
of  light  and  darkness.  Previously  they  had  been 
in  ignorance,  and  had  the  same  system  of  worship 
as  the  various  Turkish  hordes,  until  a  satan  of  a 
Manichean  came  to  them,  and  preached  to  them  in 
flowery  phrases  of  the  discord  which  prevails  in  this 


322  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

world ;  the  opposition  of  life  and  death,  health  and 
illness,  rich  and  poor,  light  and  dark,  separation  and 
union,  continuity  and  division,  rising  and  setting, 
existence  and  non-existence,  night  and  day,  and  other 
things  which  are  opposite  to  each  other.  He  named 
to  them  the  different  pains  and  frailties  to  which  all 
animals  are  subject,  hoth  those  endowed  with  speech 
and  those  deprived  of  this  faculty;  and  by  which 
even  children,  and  persons  not  possessed  of  their 
mental  faculties,  are  tortured ;  adding  that,  as  God 
the  Almighty  did  not  stand  in  need  of  their  suffer- 
ings, they  must  be  ascribed  to  a  powerful  opposite 
principle,  which  was  active  in  contaminating  what 
is  good  and  moral ;  and  that  this  was  in  God.  Far 
be  from  God  what  he  professed !  for  he  is  the 
Exalted,  the  Great.  Manes  mislead  by  this  and 
similar  theories  their  reason,  and  they  believed 
them.  When  the  King  of  China  was  a  Shamanean 
c^oi  he  sacrificed  animals,  and  was  constantly  at 
war  with  Irkhan  ^U^l  the  king  of  the  Turks; 
but,  when  he  had  turned  Manichean,  they  became 
on  terms  of  friendship. 

The  kings  (and  governors)  of  China  follow 
different  sects  and  religions,  and  they  are  at  variance 
in  their  faith.  But  they  are  not  biassed  so  as  to 
abandon  the  laws  commanded  by  reason,  and  sacred 
by  usage,  in  making  regulations  and  passing  sen- 
tences. The  laws  of  reason  are  acknowledged  by 
all  sects. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  323 

The  Chinese  are  divided  into  tribes  and  branches, 
like  the  tribes  and  families  of  the  Arabs.  They 
bestow  great  care  upon  the  preservation  of  their 
genealogies;  and  some  persons  can  name  fifty  an- 
cestors: many  know  them  as  far  back  as  'Abur. 
Persons  of  the  same  family  do  not  intermarry ;  so, 
for  instance  (referring  for  an  example  to  Arabia),  a 
man  of  the  Modhar  tribe  would  marry  a  woman  of 
the  Rabi'ah  tribe,  and  a  man  of  the  Rabfah  would 
marry  into  the  Modhar  tribe;  or  a  Kahlan  man 
would  marry  a  Himyarite  woman,  and  a  Himyarite 
a  woman  of  the  Kahlan  tribe.  They  are  of  opinion 
that  the  children  of  such  a  match  will  be  of  a  good 
constitution;  and,  indeed,  tjiis  law  contributes  to 
public  health  and  longevity. 

China*  continued  to  be  in  a  flourishing  condi- 
tion, as  it  had  been  under  the  ancient  kings,  up 
to  the  year  264  of  the  Hijrah,  when  some  event 
happened  which  destroyed  order,  paralysed  the 
laws,  and  prevented  the  nation  from  opposing  their 
enemies,  up  to  our  time  [332  A.H.].  These  dis- 
orders were  caused  by  a  rebel,  who,  although  he 
was  not  of  royal  blood,  rose  in  some  town  of  China. 
His  name  was  Baishu  Shirrir  jj.jJ*  ^\->  Orf^ 
He  began  with  liberality,  by  which  he 


*  Compare  Ancient  Account  of  India  and  China,  from  page 
40  to  page  44. 

Y  2 


324  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

atracted  the  worst  and  lowest  classes.  The  king 
and  the  lords  of  the  council  were  not  watchful 
enough,  on  account  of  his  obscurity ;  for  he  was  a 
man  of  no  importance.  His  cause  became  strong, 
his  name  famous,  and  his  numbers  and  power 
increased;  for  the  bad  came  to  join  him  from  far 
and  near. 

When  his  army  was  numerous  enough,  he 
quitted  the  place  where  he  had  begun  the  rebellion. 
He  sent  corps  out  to  make  predatory  incursions 
into  the  well-cultivated  parts  of  the  country ;  and 
finally  he  besieged  the  city  of  Khaniku  lyuU. 
(Canton).  This  is  a  very  large  town,  situated  on  a 
river  greater  than  the  Tigris,  or  about  the  same:  it 
falls  into  the  sea  of  China,  six  or  seven  days' 
from  the  said  city.  Through  this  river  the 
ships  go  up  which  come  from  el-Basrah  *j*3^\, 
Siraf  oV^-i,  'Oman  ^l£,  the  various  towns  of  India 
and  es-Sind,  the  islands  of  ez-Zanij,  from  es-Sinf, 
and  other  countries,  with  their  cargoes  and  goods. 
This  town  is  inhabited  by  Moslims,  Christians,  Jews, 
and  Magians,  besides  the  Chinese.  The  said  rebel 
marched  towards  this  city,  besieged  it,  and  put  the 
army  of  the  king,  which  was  come  to  relieve  it,  to 
flight.  He  violated  what  is  sacred;  and,  having 
increased  his  army,  he  took  Khaniku  by  storm. 

When  he  was  master  of  the  city,  the  victims 
who  fell  under  the  sword  of  the  rebels  were  innu- 
merable; and  the  number  of  Moslims,  Christians, 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  325 

and  Jews  alone,  exclusive  of  the  Chinese  population, 
who  were  killed  or  drowned  for  fear  of  the  sword, 
amounted  to  two  hundred  thousand.  These  were 
counted ;  for  the  kings  are  in  the  habit  of  keeping  a 
census  of  the  population  of  their  dominions,  both  of 
their  subjects  and  of  foreigners  who  are  resident 
there.  There  are  special  officers  and  men  for  the 
census  Lei.  This  gives  them  a  view  of  the  state  of 
the  population  of  their  empire.  The  assailants  cut 
down  the  mulberry  plantations  round  the  town,  which 
were  of  importance,  their  leaves  being  the  food  of 

the  silkworm,  which  yields  the  silk.     This  destruc- 

.  '^"T^^^C' " 

tion  of  the  trees  was  the  cause  why  silk  has  failed^ 

and  that  the   exportation  of  this   article   into   the 

Moslim   countries   is    stagnated.     Baishii    overran , 

with  his  army  one  place  after  another;  and  having 
increased  his  troops  with  people  of  bad  character, 
whose  only  object  was  plunder,  he  marched  towards 
Ankii,  which  is  the  residence  of  the  king.  He  had 
an  army  of  three  hundred  thousand  men,  cavalry 
and  infantry.  The  king  and  his  court  met  him  with 
about  one  hundred  thousand  men.  About  one  month 
of  constant  fight  both  parties  stood  their  ground, 
but  after  this  period  the  king  was  defeated  and  put 
to  flight:  the  rebel  pursued  him  a  long  way.  The 
king  took  refuge  in  a  town  in  the  extremity  of 
China.  The  rebel  took  possession  of  the  metropolis 
and  the  royal  palace,  and  appropriated  to  himself  the 
treasures  of  the  former  kings,  and  those  which  they 


326  EL-MAS'UDi's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

had  given  to  their  higher  officers.  He  overran  the 
rest  of  the  country,  and  conquered  other  towns;  but 
he  saw  that  he  could  not  keep  the  throne,  not  being 
of  royal  blood.  He  spread  destruction  over  all  the 
country,  confiscated  property,  and  shed  blood. 
The  town  in  which  the  king  had  taken  refuge  was 
Madii,  of  which  we  have  already  spoken  as  being 
on  the  frontier  of  et-Tubbet. 

The  king  of  China  wrote  to  Irkhan,  the  king  of 
the  Turks,  to  implore  his  assistance :  informing 
him  how  he  was  situated,  and  explaining  to  him 
what  was  the  duty  of  kings,  if  asked  for  aid  by 
their  brother  kings,  and  that  it  was  a  law  of  royalty 
and  a  duty  to  assist  each  other.  The  Turkish 
monarch  sent  his  son  in  aid,,  with  four  hundred 
thousand  men,  cavalry  and  infantry.  The  two 
parties  met,  and  the  war  was  undecided  between 
them  for  about  a  year  :  the  numbers  of  men  killed 
on  both  sides  was  enormous.  Then  the  rebel 
disappeared,  or,  as  some  say,  he  was  killed  or  burnt. 
His  children  and  court  were  made  prisoners,  and 
the  king  of  China  returned  to  his  residence. 

The  common  people  give  to  the  king  the  title 
Baghbur  (or  Faghfiir*),  which  means  the  son  of 


or  jJuW'  In  tne  Kamus  the  first  syllable  is 
marked  with  a  dhammah ;  but  this  seems  to  be  wrong.  Bagh 
means,  according  to  el-Asma'i,  god  or  idol :  hence  Bagdad  means 
the  gift  of  God,  and  Bagistan  a  temple  (Bagoda  ?),  in  the  Sind 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  327 

heaven  *UvJl  ^j] ;  but  the  title  by  which  he  is 
addressed  is  Ti'emhian  ^U:=zv*k,  (Tien-hia,)  and 
not  Baghfur. 

The  governor  of  every  district  made  himself 
independent  in  his  province,  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  kings  of  the  satrapies  cJbyjJ  J'^Ju,  after 
Alexander,  the  son  of  Philip,  the  Macedonian, 
had  killed  Dara  Ben  Dara,  king  of  Persia,  and 
almost  in  the  same  way  as  it  is  with  us  at  present, 
in  332  A.H.  The  king  of  China  being  satisfied  with 
their  nominal  submission,  and  that  they  laid  the 
affairs  of  the  empire  before  him,  did  not  chose  to 
send  armed  force  into  every  one  of  his  provinces, 
to  fight  those  who  had  made  themselves  masters  of 
them.  As  the  king's  power  was  so  limited,  those 
independent  governors  of  the  provinces  withheld 
the  revenue,  and  he  was  glad  enough  to  be  in  peace 
with  them.  Every  one  of  these  petty  kings  invaded 
the  country  of  his  neighbours  as  much  as  his  power 


and  Persian  languages,  particularly  in  Pehlewi.  Bur  means  son. 
In  the  East  the  ether  or  heaven  has  been  considered  as  God;  and 
hence  the  word  Bagh  seems  to  imply  both  meanings.  Bagfur 
is,  therefore,  a  literal  translation  of  Tien-t9e.  "  Pour  mieux 
faire  comprendre  de  quel  ciel  ils  veulent  parler,"  says  Visdelou, 
"  ils  poussent  la  genealogie  plus  loin.  Ils  lui  (to  the  emperor) 
donnent  le  ciel  pour  pere,  la  terre  pour  mere,  le  soleil  pour  frere 
aine,  et  la  lune  pour  soeur  ainee." 


328  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

allowed.  By  these  means  the  public  order  and 
welfare  were  destroyed  which  had  existed  under 
the  former  kings,,  under  whom  the  government 
and  administration  were  good,  and  justice  was  ad- 
ministered according  to  the  law  of  reason  (for  they 
had  no  revealed  code  like  the  Koran). 

It  is  related*  that  a  merchant  of  the  town  of 
Samarkand,  in  Khorasan,  went  from  his  home,  with 
a  good  stock  of  wares,  to  el-'Irak,  where  he 
bought  many  goods  of  this  country,  and  preceded 
to  el-Basrah.  He  went  by  sea  to  'Oman,  whence 
he  directed  his  voyage  to  Kolah  XK,  which  is  half 
way  to  China,  or  about  that.  It  is  at  present  the 
commercial  mart  of  the  Moslim  vessels  of  Siraf 
and  'Oman,  where  they  meet  with  the  merchants  of 
China,  who  come  to  this  island  in  their  own  vessels. 
In  most  ancient  times  it  was  different ;  for  the 
Chinese  vessels  used  to  come  to  'Oman,  Siraf,  to 
the  coasts  of  Faris,  and  el-Bahrein,  to  el-Obollah, 
and  el-Basrah  (which  had  then  the  name  of  Farj 
el-Hind);  and  in  the  same  way  the  vessels  went 
from  the  ports  mentioned  as  far  as  China.  But 
since  justice  was  no  longer  practised,  and  under 
the  depraved  state  of  government  which  we  have 
described,  both  parties  meet  half  way. 

The  said  merchant  went  at  Kolah  on  board  a 

*  Compare  Ancient  Account  of  India  and   China,  translated 
by  Renaudot,  London,  1733,  from  page  69  to  page  73. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  329 

Chinese  vessel,  which  brought  him  into  the  sea-port 
of  Khaniku.  The  king  sent  a  eunuch  from  his 
court,  on  whom  he  had  particular  confidence  (to 
purchase  wares).  In  China  eunuchs  are  appointed 
in  the  revenue  department  and  other  offices  :  some 
parents,  therefore,  castrate  their  children,  in  order 
that  they  may  rise  to  power.  This  officer  (the 
eunuch)  came  to  Khaniku;  there  he  sent  for  the 
merchants,  among  whom  was  the  Khorasanian. 
They  showed  him  the  wares  which  he  required,  and 
he  chose  what  he  thought  might  meet  the  king's 
wishes.  The  Khorasanian  asked  a  higher  price 
for  his  wares  than  he  felt  inclined  to  pay:  after  a 
dispute,  it  came  so  far,  that  the  officer  gave  orders 
to  imprison  him,  and  to  force  him  (to  yield).  The 
merchant  had  confidence  in  the  justice  of  the  king, 
and  went  directly  to  Anku,  the  residence  of  the 
king,  and  presented  himself  in  the  place  of  the 
oppressed  (court  of  appeal).  It  is  the  usage  of 
the  country,  that  the  plaintiff,  whether  he  come 
from  a  remote  place,  or  is  a  resident  of  the  capital, 
puts  on  a  peculiar  dress  of  red  silk,,  which  is  like  a 
shirt,  and  presents  himself  in  a  place  designed  for 
appeals  against  oppression.  Some  of  the  provincial 
kings  have  to  receive  there  the  plaintiffs  who  may 
present  themselves.  They  come,  therefore,  before 
this  court,  from  the  distance  of  one  month  by  post. 
This  was  the  case  with  the  said  merchant,  and  he 
stood  before  the  officer  of  this  department.  He 


330  EL-MAS'tJDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

came  to  him  and  said,  "Thou  undertakes!  an  im- 
portant matter,,  and  exposest  thyself  to  great  danger ; 
consider  well  whether  thou  art  sure  of  the  truth  of 
thy  statement :  if  not,  I  will  send  thee  back  to  the 
place  from  whence  thou  earnest."  These  words  are 
addressed  to  every  one  who  comes  to  demand 
redress;  and  if  the  party  shrinks,  and  vaccillates  in 
the  accusation,  he  is  sent  home,  after  a  bastinado  of 
one  hundred  strokes  ;  but,  if  he  insists  on  his  state- 
ment, he  is  brought  before  the  king  to  trial.  When 
the  merchant  continued  in  his*  prosecution,  and 
when  they  saw  that  he  insisted  on  the  truth  of  his 
assertion  without  fear  or  hesitation,  he  had  an 
audience  of  the  king.  He  stood  before  him  and 
related  his  case.  When  the  interpreter  had  ex- 
plained his  complaint  to  the  king,  he  allotted  him 
a  habitation,  and  loaded  him  with  kindness. 

He  sent  for  the  vizier,  and  for  the  leaders  of 
the  centre  and  of  the  right  and  left  wings.  These 
are  officers  who  are  appointed  to  these  commands 
in  time  of  peace,  that,  in  case  a  war  should  break 
out,  every  one  may  know  his  place  and  duties. 
The  king  ordered  every  one  of  them  to  write  to 
their  respective  officers  in  Khaniku,  [for  every  one 
has  a  lieutenant  in  every  province  of  the  king- 
dom, with  whom  he  is  in  correspondence,]  and  to 
request  them  to  send  in  a  statement  of  the  particulars 
of  the  case  of  the  merchant  and  the  eunuch.  The 
king  wrote  equally  to  his  lieutenant  in  that  province. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  331 

The  case  had  become  known  there,  and  the  letters 
which  came  back  by  post  confirmed  the  truth  of  the 
merchant.  The  king  of  China  has,  on  the  roads  of 
all  his  provinces,  mules  with  docked  tails*,  for  the 
post,  and  for  the  transport  of  parcels  WyLt« 

Then  the  king  sent  for  the  eunuch,  he  deprived 
him  of  his  favour,  and  he  said,  "  Thou  hast  ill- 
treated  a  merchant,  who  has  come  from  a  distant 
country.  He  has  made  a  long  journey  by  land  and 

*  Jo  >xJ!j  post,  is  derived  from  the  Persian  word  buridah 
jjju  vj,  which  means  dock-tailed:  for  the  mules  used  for  this 
purpose  had  their  tails  docked.  Berid  means  the  post  mule,  the 
messenger  who  rides  it,  and  the  distance  from  one  station  X5ws 
to  another,  where  the  mules  were  changed,  which  was  about  two 
farsangs :  some  authors  say  four ;  and  from  Ibn  Khordadbeh  it 
appears  to  have  been  six  miles.  The  letter-carrier  is  called 
c  VU^iU  in  Arabic:  this  word  is  a  corruption  of  the  Persian 
word  xJLwj  a  servant.  In  the  post-office  jy  nj\  /.J*J«*  every 
letter  or  parcel  put  to  post,  or  come  by  post,  was  entered  *S*.j 
in  a  list  -  uXjtj  which  was  called ^jX^^J  in  Arabic,  that  is  to 
say,  (_£  .b  tS  \\»  In  this  list  the  number  of  letters  and  parcels 
was  named,  and  the  address  of  every  one  of  them  specified. 

The  Bodleian  library  of  Oxford  is  in  possession  of  a  very 
ancient  MS.  of  Ibn  Khordadbeh's  Geography.  The  author  was 
post-master-general  somewhere  in  Khorasan,  towards  the  end  of 
the  third  century,  and  his  book  is  nothing  more  than  a  road-book, 
naming  all  the  post  stations,  and  the  distances  from  one  place  to 
another.  From  this  book  the  distances  of  places  in  all  other 
Arabic  geographers  are  copied,  but  not  always  very  correctly. 


332  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

sea,  and  has  passed  many  kingdoms  without  any 
adversity.  He  made  up  his  mind  to  come  to  my 
empire,  in  confidence  on  my  justice,  and  thou  hast 
treated  him  thus !  If  he  had  returned  from  my  states 
thus  ill-treated,  he  would  have  spread  unfavourable 
reports  in  other  kingdoms,  and  my  name  and 
government  would  have  been  branded  with  ignominy. 
If  it  were  not  in  consideration  of  thy  former  services, 
I  should  put  thee  to  death ;  but  now  I  will  inflict  a 
punishment  upon  thee  which  is  harder  than  death. 
I  appoint  thee  (to  guard)  the  tombs  of  the  kings. 
Thou  shalt  be  with  the  dead,  since  thou  hast 
acquitted  thyself  so  ill  of  thy  duties  and  my  orders 
among  the  living." 

The  king  heaped  great  favours  on  the  merchant, 
and  sent  him  to  Khaniku  (Canton),  saying,  "  If 
thou  meanest  to  sell  to  us  such  wares  as  we  may 
choose,  thou  shalt  have  a  good  price  for  them;  but 
if  thou  dost  not  feel  inclined  to  sell,  thou  art  the 
master  over  thy  property.  Stay  if  thou  likest,  sell 
what  thou  pleasest,  and  go  wheresoever  thou 
choosest."  The  eunuch  was  sent  to  the  tombs  of 
the  kings. 

There  is  a  curious  story  related  of  the  king  of 
China*.  A  man  of  Koraishite  origin,  of  the  family 


*  Compare  Ancient  Account  of  India  and  China,  by  two 
Mohammedan  travellers,  translated  by  Renaudot,  London,  1733, 
from  page  51  to  page  59. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  333 


of  Habbar  Ben  el-Aswad,*  Jy^  ^j  ,/**»  came, 
during  the  well-known  invasion  of  the  leader  of  the 
Zanj,  from  el-Basrah  to  Siraf.  He  had  been  a 
great  man  at  el-Basrah,  and  had  a  good  fortune. 
From  Siraf  he  made  a  voyage  to  India  :  there  he 
went  from  one  vessel  into  another,  landing  in 
various  places  of  India,  until  he  came  to  China. 
When  he  had  come  to  Khaniku,  he  had  a  fancy  to 
visit  the  royal  residence,  which  was  then  in  the 
town  of  Hamdan  (Cumdan)  ^Jj^:  this  is  one  of 
the  largest  and  most  important  cities  of  the  empire. 
He  remained  a  long  while  in  the  royal  palace,  and 
sent  a  memorial  to  the  king,  in  which  he  stated 
that  he  was  of  the  family  of  the  Arabic  prophet. 
The  king  provided  him  with  lodgings,  and  ordered 
whatever  he  might  require  to  be  given  him,  and 
every  comfort  procured  for  him.  In  the  mean  time 
he  wrote  to  the  king  (governor)  at  Khaniku,  and 
gave  him  orders  to  inquire  of  the  merchants 
respecting  the  man  who  claimed  to  be  a  relation  of 
the  prophet  of  the  Arabs.  The  answer  of  the 
governor  of  Khaniku  confirmed  the  truth  of  what 
he  had  said.  The  king  gave  him  access  to  the 
court,  and  made  him  rich  presents,  with  which  he 
subsequently  returned  to  el-Irak. 

He  was  an  intelligent  man,   and  related  that, 


*  See,  for  a  notice  of    this  family,  Reiske's  notes  to  Abul- 
feday  Annal.  Moslem,  vol.  i. 


334  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS   OF    GOLD, 

when  he  was  presented  before  the  king,  he  asked 
him  respecting  the  Arabs,  and  how  they  made  an 
end  to  the  Persian  empire.  "We  were  assisted  by 
God,"  answered  the  Arab,  "  because  they  wor- 
shipped the  fire,  sun,  and  moon,  instead  of  the 
Almighty  God.  The  Arabs  have  conquered  the 
most  celebrated,  populous,  and  richest  countries, 
which  have  the  greatest  deltas  (which  are  the 
sources  of  fertility) :  they  have  subjected  nations  of 
the  greatest  intellect  and  fame."  He  asked  him 
further  what  was  the  gradation  in  dignity  of  the 
kings  of  the  earth.  "  I  do  not  know,"  replied  the 
Arab.  The  king  ordered  the  interpreter  to  ex- 
plain to  him:  "  We  count  five  great  kings:  the 
most  powerful  of  them  is  he  who  is  in  possession  of 
el-'Irak;  for  this  country  is  in  the  middle  of  the 
world,  and  is  surrounded  by  all  other  kingdoms. 
We  give  him,  since  ancient  times,  the  title  of  king 
of  kings.  After  him  ranks  this  our  king,  to  whom 
we  give  the  title  of  king  of  men  (mankind  (j*UJj). 
No  government  is  better  than  ours,  no  monarch 
more  absolute  and  firm  in  his  power  than  our 
king,  nor  do  the  subjects  of  any  other  mo- 
narch yield  such  strict  obedience  as  we  to  our 
king.  We  are  the  kings  of  men.  After  our- 
selves follows  the  king  of  the  lions  £U**M  J0u  ; 
this  is  the  king  of  the  Turks,  our  neighbour.  They 
are  men-lions.  Next  to  them  ranks  the  king  of 
the  elephants;  that  is  to  say,  the  king  of  India, 
which  has  with  us  the  name  of  the  kingdom  of 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  335 

wisdom ;  for  the  Hindus  have  invented  philosophy. 
Then  follows  the  Byzantine  king,  whom  we  call  the 
king  of  men  (jU.yf) ;  for  no  men  on  earth  have 
better  constitutions  or  finer  countenances  than  the 
Byzantines.  These  five  stand  at  the  head  of  kings: 
all  others  are  beneath  them." 

He  asked  him  through  his  interpreter  whether 
he  could  recognize  his  Lord,  that  is  to  say,  the  Pro- 
phet, if  he  should  see  him.  "  How  can  I  see  him?" 
said  the  Arab;  "  he  is  with  God."  "  I  do  not  mean 
it  literally, "  said  the  king,  "but  in  a  representation." 
He  answered  in  the  affirmative.  The  king  ordered 
a  box  to  be  brought ;  and,  when  it  was  before  him, 
he  took  a  casket  out  from  it,  and  said  to  the  inter- 
preter, show7  him  his  Lord;  "  and  I  saw  (relates  the 
Arab),  in  the  casket,  the  images  of  the  prophets. 
My  lips  muttered  benedictions  upon  them.  The  king 
did  not  know  that  I  knew  them ;  hence,  he  said  to 
the  interpreter,  '  Ask  him  why  he  moves  his  lips.' 
He  interrogated  me,  and  I  answered  him  that  I  was 
pronouncing  benedictions  upon  the  prophets.  He 
asked  me  further  how  I  recognized  them,  and  I  told 
him  that  I  knew  them  by  the  attributes  with  which 
they  were  represented.  '  This,'  I  exclaimed,  '  is 
Nuh  in  the  ark ;  he  has  been  saved  with  those  who 
were  with  him  whilst  God  submerged  the  whole 
earth,  and  all  that  was  on  it.'  He  smiled,  and 
said,  £  It  is  Nuh,  as  thou  sayest ;  but  it  is  not  true 
that  the  whole  earth  was  inundated.  The  flood 


336  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

occupied  only  a  part  of  the  globe,  and  did  not  reach 
our  country.  Your  traditions  are  correct,  as  far  as 
that  part  of  the  earth  is  concerned  which  you  inha- 
bit; but  we,  the  inhabitants  of  China,  of  India,  of  es- 
Sind,  and  other  nations,  do  not  agree  with  your 
account;  nor  have  our  forefathers  left  us  a  tradition 
agreeing  with  yours  on  this  head.  As  to  thy  belief 
that  the  whole  earth  was  covered  with  water,  I  must 
remark  that  this  would  be  so  remarkable  an  event 
that  the  terror  would  keep  up  its  recollection,  and  all 
the  nations  would  have  handed  it  down  to  their 
posterity.'  I  endeavoured  to  answer  him,  and  to 
bring  forth  arguments  against  his  assertion  in 
defence  of  my  statement.  Then  I  continued,  '  This 
is  Musa  with  his  rod,  and  the  Israelites.'  'Yes,' 
observed  the  monarch,  *  it  is  he  with  his  energy 
*X>Jt  £X$  against  the  corruption  of  his  nation.' 
'There  is  Christ/ exclaimed  the  Arab,  'riding  on 
an  ass,  and  with  him  the  apostles.'  The  king 
made  the  observation  that  his  career  was  but  short, 
having  hardly  lasted  longer  than  thirty  months." 
A  great  number  of  other  prophets  were  shown,  and 
comments  made  on  their  history.  So  much  we 
have  selected  as  a  specimen  (of  the  account  of  this 
Korai'shite). 

This  Koraishite,  who  was  known  under  the 
name  of  Ibn  Habbar  J^&  (^^>  recollected  to  have 
seen  long  inscriptions  over  every  figure,  containing, 
as  he  believed,  the  name,  the  country,  the  length  of 


AND    MINES    OP    GEMS.  337 

the  life,  the  reason  of  the  prophetic  mission,  and 
the  biography  of  every  prophet. 

"  Then,"  proceeds  this  man  in  his  narrative,  "  I 
saw  the  image  of  the  prophet  Mohammed  sitting  on  a 
camel,  and  surrounded  by  his  companions,  who  wore 
Arabic  shoes  of  camels'  leather  on  their  feet.  They 
had  girdles  tied  round  their  waists,  on  which 
their  dentifrice  was  suspended.  I  could  not  help 
shedding  tears  at  this  sight,  and  he  made  the 
interpreter  ask  me  for  the  reason  of  my  emotion. 
'  This,'  I  answered,  *  is  our  prophet,,  our  lord  and 
my  nephew  (relation)  ;  may  God  bless  him  !' 
'What  thou  sayest  is  true,'  replied  the  king;  'He 
and  his  nation  came  to  the  possession  of  the  finest 
territories,  he  himself,  however,  had  them  not  under 
his  power^  but  his  successors.'  I  saw  the  images 
of  many  prophets:  one  of  them  joined  his  fore-finger 
and  thumb  into  a  ring,  as  if  he  meant  to  indicate 
that  the  creation  of  God  forms  a  ring ;  another  had 
his  fore-finger  and  thumb  pointed  to  the  heavens, 
expressing  that  he  resigns  all  the  goods  of  this 
world  for  what  is  above. 

"  The  king  asked  me  respecting  the  khalifs,, 
their  dress,  and  many  questions  concerning  the 
divine  laws,  and  I  answered  him  to  the  best  of  my 
knowledge.  He  asked  me  also  what  we  believe  to 
be  the  age  of  the  world.  I  said,  'The  Moslims  do 
not  agree  in  this  point;  some  state  it  to  be  six 
thousand  years,  and  some  give  a  higher,  and  others 

z 


338  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

a  lesser  number.'  He  asked  me  whether  this  had 
been  taught  by  our  prophet.  I  answered,  'Yes.J 
He  and  his  vizier  laughed,  and  he  expressed  by  a 
sign  that  he  did  not  approve  of  my  answer.  *  I  do 
not  think/  said  he,  'your  prophet  can  have  said 
this:  thou  must  be  wrong.'  I  made  a  mistake,  and 
answered,  'Yes,  he  said  so.'  When  I  made  this 
reply,  I  saw  by  his  brow  that  he  disapproved  of  it. 
Then  he  ordered  his  interpreter  to  tell  me  that  I 
should  weigh  my  words,  observing  that  kings  wish 
to  have  a  positive  and  true  answer.  '  Thou  allow- 
est  that  you  do  not  agree  on  this  head,  and  yet 
thou  sayest  that  you  have  a  tradition  of  the  Pro- 
phet on  it.  What  prophets  say  excludes  contro- 
versy, and  it  must  be  received  with  faith.  Take 
care,  therefore,  not  to  say  such  contradictions/ 
He  made  many  other  observations,  which  I  cannot 
remember,  on  account  of  the  length  of  time. 
Finally,  he  said,  'Do  not  separate  thyself  from  thine 
own  king;  for  he  is  nearer  to  thee  than  I,  both  with 
respect  to  home  and  consanguinity.'  I  related  to 
him  the  circumstances  which  brought  me  from 
el-Basrah  to  Siraf;  'Then,'  I  continued,  (l  had 
a  great  desire  to  see  thee,  O  king!  having  heard  so 
much  of  the  stability  of  thy  empire,  of  the  per- 
fection of  thy  institutions  and  justice,  and  of  thy 
excellent  government,  which  extends  its  beneficial 
influence  over  all  thy  subjects.  I  was  longing  to 
see  thy  kingdom,  and  to  witness  its  prosperity; 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  339 

and  now,  having  seen  it,  I  shall  return  to  my  native 
soil,  and  into  the  dominions  of  my  nephew  (rela- 
tion), to  relate  how  perfect  and  glorious  I  found 
this  kingdom,  how  extensive  this  country,  how 
universal  the  practice  of  justice,  which  emanates 
from  thy  wise  institutions.  Every  word  shall  ex- 
press my  admiration  and  thy  praise,  O,  most  glo- 
rious monarch!'  He  was  delighted  with  my 
words,  awarded  precious  gifts  to  me,  and  sent  me 
by  post  to  Khaniku.  The  governor  of  the  last- 
mentioned  city  received  orders  to  treat  me  respect- 
fully, to  present  me  to  all  distinguished  persons 
there,  and  to  lodge  me  till  I  could  set  out  on  my 
voyage.  I  lived  there  most  splendidly  until  I  left 
China." 

El-Mas'udi  says,,  Abu  Zai'd  el-Hasan  (Moham- 
med) Ben  Yezid,  of  Siraf,  gave  me  an  account 
of  Ibn  Habbar  at  el-Basrah,  where  he  was  settled 
after  he  had  left  Siraf.  This  was  in  303  A.H. 
Abu  Zaid  el-Hasan  was  the  nephew  of  Abu  Yezid 
(Zaid),  Mohammed  Ben  Mozdin  (^j-^v*  G^U), 
Ben  Sasiat  CLjU*-  U  (jU  UA*J),  the  governor  of 
Siraf;  he  was  a  man  of  much  information  and  intel- 
ligence, and  he  told  me  that  he  had  asked  this 
Koraishite,  Ibn  Habbar,  respecting  the  town  of 

o^ 

Hamdan  ^Ux*-;  its  description,  extent,  &c.;  and 
he  told  me  how  large  it  was,  the  number  of  inhabi- 
tants, and  that  it  was  divided  into  two  parts,  which 

z  2 


340  EL-MAS'UDIS    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

were  separated  by  a  long,  wide,  and  straight  road. 
The  king,  his  vizier,  the  kadhi  of  the  kadhis,  the 
garrison,  the  eunuchs  of  the  king,  and  all  his  house- 
hold, reside  on  the  right  side,  which  is  towards  the 
east:  from  this  part  of  the  town  the  lower  class  and 
markets  are  excluded.  Through  the  streets  run 
canals,  and  they  are  shaded  by  trees,  which  are 
symmetrically  planted,  and  the  houses  are  spacious 
and  magnificent.  On  the  left  side,  which  is 
towards  the  west,  are  the  tradespeople,  the  stores 
for  provisions,  and  the  markets.  In  the  morning 
I  saw  the  stewards  of  the  king,  his  household,  the 
slave  boys  of  his  leaders  and  their  guardians,  going  on 
foot  and  horseback  to  the  quarter  of  the  town  where 
the  markets  and  tradespeople  are ;  they  provided 
themselves  there  with  necessaries,  and  returned. 
None  went  again  at  any  other  time  to  that  quarter 
before  the  next  morning,  for  in  their  own  quarter 
there  is  every  pleasure.,  beautiful  lakes  and  canals, 
but  no  palms  ;  for  palms  do  not  grow  in  China. 

The  Chinese  are  the  most  clever  people  on 
earth :  they  have  extraordinary  skill  in  plastic  and 
other  arts,  so  that  no  other  nation  can  be  compared 
with  them  in  any  kind  of  workmanship.  The  court 
awards  prizes  for  well  made  works,  in  order  to  pro- 
mote them ;  and  the  king  orders  them  to  be  shown 
in  a  public  exhibition  in  his  palace  for  one  whole 
year  (before  the  prize  is  given)  ;  and  if  nobody  can 
discover  a  fault  during  this  time,  in  a  piece  of  art 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  341 

exhibited  there,  the  prize  is  awarded,  and  it  is  put 
into  the  collection  of  arts;  bat,  if  there  be  found  any 
imperfection,  it  is  turned  out,  and  no  reward  is 
given.  A  man  had  made  an  ear  of  corn  on  which  a 
sparrow  was  sitting,  and  this  was  considered  for 
some  time  as  a  prize  piece:  a  humpbacked  man 
saw  it,  and  noticed  that  there  was  a  fault  in  it. 
''Where?"  he  was  asked.  "Everybody  knows," 
replied  the  humpbacked,  "  that  if  a  sparrow  sits  on 
an  ear  it  bends;  the  artist,  however,  has  made  it 
upright,  although  the  sparrow  sits  on  it:  this  is  a 
fault."  The  judgment  of  the  humpbacked  man  was 
found  correct,  and  the  artist  was  not  rewarded.  The 
object  in  acting  thus  is  to  stimulate  artists  to  exert 
themselves,  and  to  be  more  careful  and  considerate 
in  what  they  do. 

China  is  rich  in  remarkable  objects,  and  there 
are  many  interesting  accounts  of  the  inhabitants,  of 
which  we  will  give  an  abstract  in  the  progress  of  this 
work.  We  have  related  them  all  in  our  books,  the 
Akhbar-ez-zeman  and  the  Kitab  el-ausat;  in  the 
latter  we  give  such  accounts  as  are  omitted  in  the 
Akhbar-ez-zeman ;  and  in  this  book  we  relate  some 
facts  which  are  wanting  in  both  those  works. 


342  EL-MAS'lJDi's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


SIXTEENTH  CHAPTER. 


A  comprehensive  view  of  the  accounts  of  the  seas,  of 
their  wonders,  and  of  the  nations  who  live  in 
islands,  or  on  the  coast.  The  relative  position  and 
dignity  of  various  kings.  The  history  of  Spain 
and  other  countries.  The  places  and  substances 
which  yield  perfumes.  The  various  kinds  of 
perfumes. 

IN  the  preceding  pages  of  this  work  we  h^ve  given 
a  general  account  of  the  seas,  both  those  which  are 
in  communication  with  each  other,  and  those  which 
are  separated.  Here  we  will  recapitulate  all  the 
accounts  which  we  possess,  connected  with  the  Abys- 
sinian sea,  speaking,  at  the  same  time,  of  the  kings 
and  kingdoms  situated  on  this  sea ;  also  of  their 
respective  position,  and  other  matters  of  interest. 

We  repeat  that  the  seas  of  China,  India,  Faris, 
and  Yemen,  are  connected,  and  form  only  one 
mass  of  water.  The  difference  of  the  currents 
and  height  of  the  water  is  to  be  attributed  to 
the  direction  of  the  winds,  the  season  when 
they  rise,  and  other  causes.  The  Persian  sea  is 
most  stormy,  and  most  dangerous  for  navigation,  at 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  343 

the  time  when  the  Indian  sea  is  quiet;  and,  again, 
the  Persian  sea  is  quiet  when  the  sea  of  India  is 
boisterous,  stormy,  dark,  and  rough.  The  sea  of 
Paris  begins  to  be  stormy  when  the  sun  enters  into 
the  sign  Virgo,  about  the  time  of  the  autumnal 
equinox;  it  continues  so,  and  storms  increase  every 
day,  until  the  sun  comes  into  the  sign  Pisces :  it  is 
roughest  at  the  end  of  autumn,  when  the  sun  is  in 
the  sign  Sagittarius:  then  it  becomes  more  quiet 
until  the  sun  enters  again  into  Virgo,  and  it  is  most 
quiet  at  the  end  of  spring,  when  the  sun  is  in 
Gemini.  The  Indian  Sea  is  stormy  till  the  sun 
enters  into  the  sign  Virgo:  then  begins  the  navi- 
gation on  it;  for  it  is  easiest  when  the  sun  is  in 
Sagittarius.  They  sail  all  the  year  round  on  the 
Persian  Sea,  from  'Oman  to  Siraf,  which  is  a  dis- 
tance of  one  hundred  and  sixty  farsangs,  and  from 
Siraf  to  el-Basrah,  which  is  a  voyage  of  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  farsangs.  But  at  this  time  it  is  not 
navigable,  excepting  in  the  two  mentioned  routes, 
or  to  neighbouring  harbours. 

Abu  Ma'sher  yb**  ^\y  the  astrologer,  confirms, 
in  his  "  Great  Introduction  to  Astronomy"  J^j^U 
p-s=vxM  ^  $  j**ffJ>  what  we  have  said,  that  the 
stormy  and  quiet  seasons  on  these  seas  begin  when  the 
sun  is  in  the  above-mentioned  signs  of  the  zodiac ; 
and  he  relates  further,  that  it  is  impossible  to  sail  from 
'Oman  on  the  sea  of  India  in  the  Tirmah  (June), 


344  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

except  with  first-rate*  vessels  and  light  cargoes. 
These  vessels  are  called  et-Tirmahians  SUALojAxM. 
In  India  is  at  that  time  winter  f\S~\\  ^  jT,U*j, 
and  the  rainy  season  ;  for  (the  two  Syriac  months 
called)  Kanun  and  the  month  Shobat,  (December, 
January,  and  February,)  are  their  summer  months  : 
our  winter  being  their  summer,  whilst  the  month 
Taimis  (July)  and  Ab  (August),  which  are  sum- 
mer months  with  us,  are  their  winter.  This  change 
of  seasons  is  the  case  in  all  the  towns  of  India,  es- 
Sind,  and  the  neighbouring  countries,  through  the 
whole  extent  of  this  sea.  From  this  circumstance, 
that  their  winter  is  in  our  summer,  the  saying  has 

Ml 

its  origin  *xx$M  ^L  ^**j  (_o^;  that  is  to  say, 
"  he  wintered  in  India."  This  is  owing  to  the  dif- 
ference of  the  distance  from  the  sun. 

Pearl  fishing,  in  the  sea  of  Faris,  is  carried  on 
from  the  beginning  of  Nisan  (April)  to  the  end  of 
Ailul  (October)  ;  but  there  is  no  pearl  fishing  from 
Ailul  to  Nisan.  The  places  where  pearls  are  found 
in  this  sea  have  been  named  in  the  preceding  pages 
of  this  book.  There  do  not  exist  pearls  in  any 
other  but  the  Abyssinian  sea,  near  the  coast  of 
the  countries  of  Kharak  J^U.,  Kotr^y?,  'Oman  j,l$, 
Serendib  ^jjo^,  and  other  places.  In  our  former 


*  The  word  which  I  render  first-rate  vessels  is  doubtful  in 
all  MS  S. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  345 

works  we  have  mentioned  how  the  pearls  grow,  and 
the  various  opinions  on  this  subject. ;  for  some 
believe  that  they  are  produced  by  rain,  whilst  others 
maintain  that  their  formation  is  independent  of  rain ; 
we  have  described  the  pearls,  both  the  old  (fine)  and 
the  new  ones,  which  are  called  ^Lsxjl,  but  gene- 
rally known  under  the  name  of  J^X^!.  The  flesh 
and  grease  which  are  in  mother  of  pearl  are  of  an 
animal  which  has  the  anxiety  of  a  mother  for  the 
pearls  that  are  in  it,  at  the  approaching  of  the 
divers*.  We  have  given  a  description  of  pearl 
fishing.  The  divers  must  not  eat  any  other  food 
but  fish,  dates,  or  what  is  prepared  of  grain 
c>\j$\ :  their  ears  are  split,  to  give  a  passage  to  the 
breath  (through  the  Eustachian  tube),  instead  of 
breathing  through  the  nostrils ;  for  they  put  a  little 
ball  of  tortoise-shell  into  the  nostrils :  [the  tortoise 
*UJ.*vJJ  is  a  kind  of  marine  animal,  and  of  its  shells 
combs  and  other  instruments  are  made,  instead  of 
using  wood:]  and  they  put  cotton  with  a  little  oil 
into  their  ears ;  and,  when  they  walk  at  the  bottom 


^c    21  jU    cy^f.     This  is  the  reading  of  all  the  MSS., 
and  still  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  it  is  a  corruption  instead  of 


Xs.  2jJlf  *  "  in  which  the  pearls  rest  like  the  foetus  in  the 
womb  of  the  mother." 


346  EL-MAS'tJDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

of  the  sea,  they  let  the  oil  ascend,  to  receive  by  this 
means  a  glimpse  of  light.  Their  feet  and  legs  are 
blackened  with  soot ;  for  the  marine  animals  of  which 
divers  are  afraid  are  shy  of  soot.  Their  voice 
(from  the  bottom  of  the  sea)  sounds  like  the  barking 
of  dogs.  The  sound  passes  through  the  water  till  it 
reaches  the  ears.  In  our  former  works  we  have 
given  a  full  account  of  many  curious  matters  con- 
nected with  divers,  pearl-fishing,  the  pearls,  and  the 
animals  that  produce  them;  also  of  the  descriptions, 
marks,  prices,  size,  and  weight  of  pearls. 

This  sea  begins  from  el-Basrah  and  el-Obollah, 
and  extends  along  el-Bahrain  from  the  sea-marks 
of  el- Basrah.  Then  comes  the  sea  of  Ladiwa  (of 
the  Lacadives)  <s^  j^z  G&J^  j-^v) :  on  this  sea 
Safura  ^yL*>,  Subarah  *j\~>f~>,  Tanah  £lj',  Sindabur 
^yjjsx*-,  Kanbayat  x>.UxT,  and  other  places  of  India 
and  es-Sind,  are  situated.  Then  comes  the  sea  of 
Horkand  *xiT^  ^^sr ;  then  the  sea  of  Kilah  x^  j^s:, 
which  is  also  spelt  Kolah  *XT,  and  of  the  islands ; 
then  the  sea  of  Kardebinj  gv*V  >*;  (^O^  >=0  > 
then  the  sea  of  es-Sinf  < — i^aJl,  from  which  the 
Sinfi  aloes  has  its  name;  for  it  comes  from  thence; 
then  the  sea  of  China,  which  is  the  sea  of  Saihu  jssyo 
(i^s^  or  ^.=?U>)  ;  and  there  is  no  sea  beyond  it. 

We  have  said  that  the  Persian  Gulf  begins  from 
the  sea-marks  of  el-Basrah,  and  a  place  called  el- 
Kankela  ^H  £*&J  or  jOXl\.  There  are 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  347 

marks  of  wood  erected  in  the  sea,  to  insure  the 
navigation  to  'Oman,  which  is  a  distance  of  three 
hundred  farsangs.  On  the  coast  of  this  sea  are 
Faris  and  el -Bahrain.  From  'Oman,  the  capital  of 
which  is  Sohar*,  which  the  Persians  call  Maztin 

CD^r*  CcL.vtrO?  to  el-Maskat  LjuJLI,  which  is  a 
village  where  the  sailors  take  in  water  from  the 
fresh- water  wells  which  are  there,  are  fifty  farsangs. 
From  Mask  at  to  the  promontory  of  el-Jomjomah 
are  also  fifty  farsangs.  This  is  the  limit  of  the  sea 
of  Faris,  the  whole  length  of  which  is  four  hundred 
farsangs.  This  is  the  division  recognized  by 
sailors. 

The  promontory  of  el-Jomjomah  £*^sx*iJ  ^j 
is  a  mountain,  which  stands  in  connection  with  (the 
deserts  of)  esh-Shihr^£JI  and  el-  Ahkaf,  in  Yemen. 
No  one  knows  to  what  distance  the  sand  extends 
under  the  water :  but  it  is  most  copious  under  the 
promontory  of  el-Jomjomah.  There  are,  as  we 
have  said,  mountains  in  the  sea,  under  water,  like 
those  on  the  land;  and  they  are  called  in  the 
Mediterranean  sofalah  XJUuJi.  Such  a  sofalah  is  in 
a  place  which  is  known  by  the  name  of  coast  of 
Salukiyat  LJ^L*,  in  the  Byzantine  empire:  it 
extends  under  water  nearly  as  far  as  the  Isle  of 
Cyprus,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  shipwrecks  in  the 

*  The  MS.  bears  here^l*c\^,  as  in  page  262,  supra. 


348  EL-MAS'tJDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

Mediterranean  happen  there.  The  sailors  have,  in 
every  sea,  peculiar  expressions  by  which  they  un- 
derstand each  other. 

From  the  promontory  of  el-Jomjomah,  the  ves- 
sels enter,  from  the  sea  of  Faris,  into  the  second 
sea,  which  has  the  name  Ladiwa  <s^y .  Its  depth 
is  unfathomable,  its  extent  cannot  be  measured, 
and  the  mass  of  water  is  beyond  calculation.  Many 
sailors  believe  that  no  description  can  comprehend 
all  its  parts,  it  being  of  an  almost  endless  extent, 
as  we  have  already  stated.  The  vessels  cross  it  in 
two  or  three  months,  or  in  one  month,  as  they  have 
the  wind.  On  the  side  of  this  sea  extend  the  sea 
and  country  of  the  Zanj. 

This  sea  has  not  much  ambergris ;  for  it  is 
mostly  thrown  on  to  the  coast  of  the  Zanj,  and  of 
esh-Shihr,  in  Arabia. 

The  inhabitants  of  esh-Shihr  are  of  the  tribe  of 
Kodha'ah  Ben  Malik  Ben  Himyar  Jju  ^  XeLa* 
j*&*  CU^'  anc^  °f  °tner  Arabic  tribes.  The  inha- 
bitants of  Arabic  origin  in  this  country,  which  is 
also  known  under  the  name  of  el-Mahrah  2 
are  called  the  people  of  hair  and  body  ^yc 
~*Jjj.  Their  language  differs  from  pure  Arabic : 
the  difference  consists  in  using  shin  instead  of  Kaf 
uJKM ;  for  instance,  (jti^J^j  J  ClAS  U*3  yiA  Ju& 
<s  30  i  ^xsr"  ^  which  is  the  same  as 
t  Jj  LlJL  J 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  349 

cf<SJJJ  £•  The  same  is  the  case  in  other 
phrases.  They  are  a  poor  and  needy  people : 
they  have  a  sort  of  camel  called  Mahri  camel  <-**? 
:  it  goes  as  fast  as  the  Bejawi  camel  t-r^srW 
.=svJJ,  or  even  faster,  as  some  think.  On  these 
they  ride  along  their  coast ;  and  when  the  camel 
comes  to  ambergris,  which  has  been  thrown  out  by 
the  sea,  it  kneels  down ;  for  it  is  trained  and 
taught  to  do  so :  thus  the  rider  can  pick  it  up. 
The  ambergris,  which  is  found  on  this  coast,  and 
on  the  islands  and  coast  of  ez-Zanj,  is  the  best :  it 
is  round,  of  a  blue  colour,  and  is  of  the  size  of  an 
ostrich's  egg,  or  smaller.  There  is  a  sort  of  amber- 
gris which  is  brought  on  shore  by  a  fish,  called 
whale  JtjSN,  of  which  we  have  spoken.  When  the 
sea  is  stormy,  pieces  of  ambergris  are  thrown  up 
from  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  as  big  as  mountains,  or 
smaller,  as  we  have  described.  This  fish  devours 
the  ambergris,  which  causes  its  death;  and  it  floats 
on  the  surface  of  the  water.  When  people  of  ez- 
Zanj,  or  others,  observe  the  whale,  they  throw 
hooks  and  ropes  on  it  from  their  boats,  open  its 
belly,  and  take  the  ambergris.  The  ambergris 
found  in  the  belly  of  the  fish  has  a  foetid  smell,  and 
is  known  to  the  perfumers  of  el-'Irak  and  Faris 


*  "  How  dost  thou  mean  what  thou  hast  said  to  me?  I  have  told 
thee  to  put  what  I  have  with  me  to  what  thou  hast  with  thee." 


350  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

under  the  name  of  el-mand  *x;U  ;  but  that  which  is 
found  in  the  back  of  the  fish  is  delicious  and  exqui- 
site. Its  quality  depends  on  the  length  of  the 
time  which  it  has  been  in  the  entrails  of  the  fish. 

Between  the  third  sea,  which  is  the  sea  of 
Horkand^,  and  the  second,  which  is  the  sea  Ladiwa, 
are  many  islands ;  and  they  form  the  division 
between  these  two  seas.  Some  say  there  are  about 
two  thousand,  but,  in  fact,  there  are  no  more  than 
one  thousand  and  nine  hundred,  every  of  one  which  is 
cultivated.  All  these  islands  are  ruled  by  a  woman, 
for  it  is  an  ancient  habit  with  them  not  to  have  a 
man  as  sovereign. 

These  islands  yield  much  ambergris,  which  is 
thrown  on  shore  by  the  sea.  It  is  sometimes  the 
size  of  the  largest  rocks.  I  have  learned  from 
several  sailors  of  Siraf  and  'Oman,  when  I  visited 
those  two  towns,  and  from  others  who  used  to  sail 
to  these  islands,  that  the  ambergris  grows  in  the 
bottom  of  the  sea,  and  is  of  various  kinds,  as  there 
are  various  sorts  of  Agalloche  ££ :  it  is  white,  black, 
spongy,  and  the  like,  and,  when  the  sea  is  strong, 
it  throws  up  rocks  and  stones,  and  with  them 
ambergris. 

The   inhabitants   of   these   islands   are    united 


*  Compare  Renaudot's  Ancient  Accounts  of  China,  from  page 
1  to  page  8. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  351 

under  one  government ;  they  are  very  numerous, 
and  have  immense  armies.  The  distance  from 
one  island  to  another  is  one  mile,  or  one,  two, 
or  three  farsangs.  Their  palm  tree  is  the  cocoa- 
nut  palm  j^^UJJjJsr,  but  they  have  no  date  palms. 
Persons  who  understand  the  generation  (physiology) 
of  animals,  and  the  vegetation  of  plants,  believe 
that  the  cocoa-nut  tree  is  originally  the  same  as  the 
wild  palm  tree,  which  yields  the  fruit  called  mokl 
JJiU  J^?>  hut  that  the  soil  of  India  impressed  its  own 
character  on  it,  when  it  was  transplanted,  and  that 
it  changed  it  into  the  cocoa-nut  palm.  We  entered 
in  our  work  called  ^.^UKJ!  ciA^l^'  "axioms  of 
experience,"  upon  the  influence  which  the  climate 
and  air  of  every  part  of  the  globe  exercise  on  the 
nature  of  men  and  animals,  and  vegetation.  Thus, 
it  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  influence  of  the  climate 
that  the  Turks  have  peculiar  features,  and  small 
eyes ;  and  even  their  camels  bear  the  stamp  of  the 
climate  :  their  legs  are  short,  their  neck  thick,  and 
their  hair  white.  The  country  of  Yajuj  and  Majuj 
(Gog  and  Magog)  partakes  of  the  same  character. 
There  could  be  brought  forward  many  other  ex- 
amples, which  have  been  pointed  out  by  persons 
who  possess  a  knowledge  of  the  races  that  inhabit 
the  east  and  west,  as  we  have  described. 

No  other  island  of  the  sea  can  boast  of  such 
skilful  artisans   as  the  inhabitants  of  this    group, 


352  EL-MAS'lTDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

in  all  arts  and  trades,  as  in  making  cloth,  instru- 
ments, and  so  forth. 

The  treasures  of  this  country  consist  of  shells, 
(concha  veneris)  £*».  These  shells  form  the  habi- 
tation of  certain  animals;  and,  when  there  is  no 
money  in  the  public  treasury,  the  inhabitants  receive 
orders  to  cut  branches  of  the  cocoa-nut  tree,  and  to 
throw  them  on  the  water,  with  the  leaves.  These 
animals  fasten  on  the  branches,  and  are  thus 
gathered ;  then  they  are  spread  upon  the  sand 
on  the  beach,  and,  as  the  animal  perishes  in  the  sun, 
the  shell  remains  empty.  So  they  fill  the  public 
treasury.  These  islands  have,  together,  the  name 
of  ez-Zanjat  £>Lsx>-  Jl*,  and  they  export  the  great- 
est quantity  of  cocoa-nuts  J*^jUM  yt>^  g\^\.  The 
most  important  of  these  islands  is  Serendib  <— v.*x^« 
(Ceylon).  At  a  distance  of  about  a  thousand  farsangs 
from  Serendib  is  another  archipelago,  called  er- 
Ramin  (^ycl^l:  these  islands  are  cultivated,  have 
many  gold  mines,  and  are  governed  by  kings.  In 
the  same  sea  is  Fansur  jy^xi,  whence  the  Fansuri 
camphor  has  its  name.  In  years  in  which  hurricanes, 
storms,  inundations,  and  earthquakes  are  frequent, 
camphor  is  most  abundant,  and  when  these  cala- 
mities are  of  less  frequency,  camphor  is  scarce. 

En-Nowairi(MS.  of  Leyden,  p.  26,)  writes,  after  Benel-Jahit, 

i 

er-Rithhat. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  353 

In  almost  all  the  islands  which  we  have  named 
they  eat  cocoa-nuts:  from  these  islands,  bokkam  (a 
dye  similar  to  our  Brazil  wood)  fjulf  and  ruscus* 
&[)j$L\  are  exported;  they  have  also  gold  and 
elephants.  Some  of  the  inhabitants  are  cannibals. 
This  archipelago  stands  in  connection  with  the 
islands  of  el-Jebalus  ^Litf,  which  have  a  popu- 
lation of  a  very  singular  appearance.  They  bring 
in  boats  ambergris,  betel,  and  other  articles,  to 
the  vessels  which  pass  them,  to  exchange  these 
articles  for  iron  and  some  clothes.  They  do  not 
employ  money.  Next  to  them  are  islands  called 
Andaman  eU!*xJ\  (^UljJl),  which  are  inhabited  by 
Negroes  of  strange  appearance  and  look.  Their 
hair  is  woolly,  and  each  of  their  feet  is  larger  than 


*  The  Haisran  is  identified  with  the  t$\J(j*J  in  the  MS. 
1075,  anc.  fonds  of  the  Royal  Library  at  Paris,  and  Laguna 
informs  us,  in  his  excellent  notes  to  his  Spanish  Translation  of 
Dioscoridcs  (Valencia,  1695,  p.  100),  that  it  is  the  ruscus;  but 
he,  as  well  as  Banqueri  (Libro  de  Agricultural  leave  it  uncertain 
what  species  of  ruscus.  In  the  said  MS.  of  Paris,  the  Haisran 
is  thus  described:  "It  is  imported  to  us  from  China;  it  has  the 
form  of  ropes  a  finger  thick,  which  are  used  for  various  domestic 
purposes.  They  are  particularly  useful  for  hanging  cloth  on  them, 
for  they  do  not  make  marks.  Some  say  they  are  the  branches  of 
some  shrub;  others  believe  that  they  are  roots."  En-Nowa'iri 
informs  us,  that  the  sceptre  of  the  khalif  was  of  this  wood. 

f  En-Nowairi  writes,  jj^U^J  and  ^Sl&J  Langalus; 
and  in  the  MS.  of  the  British  Museum  No.  7496,  their  name  r 
written  ^^jKj'U 

2  A 


354  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

one  cubit.  They  have  no  vessels,  and,  if  a  ship- 
wrecked sailor  is  thrown  on  their  shore,  they  devour 
him.  They  do  the  same  with  the  crew  of  vessels  if 
they  land  there. 

I  have  been  told  by  many  sailors,  that  they  have 
sometimes  seen  a  small  strip  of  white  cloud  over  this 
sea,  from  which  a  long  white  tongue  comes  forth 
stretching  down  to  the  sea;  and,  when  it  reaches  the 
water,  the  sea  rises  towards  it  in  a  terrible  hurricane, 
which  destroys  everything  that  may  come  within  its 
reach,  and  it  is  followed  by  a  heavy  shower. 

The  fourth  sea  is  that  of  Kilah  Bar  JL>**M 
as  we  have  said.  It  has  also  the  name  of  the  Sea 
of  Kolah  XK  ^^  (xX/J").  The  water  in  this  sea  is 
shallow;  the  shallower  a  sea  is,  the  more  frequent 
are  accidents,  and  the  greater  is  the  danger.  In 
this  sea  are  many  islands  and  sedadi  <s ^U*?  (<s j\j*> 
sing.  tf^*?).  This  word  is  a  plural  of  sadi  cfJ^>;  so 
the  sailors  call  a  land  between  two  straits,  if  they 
have  to  pass  it.  Several  islands  and  mountains  of 
this  sea  are  worth  notice;  but  our  object  is  to  give 
general  ideas,  and  not  to  enter  into  details. 

The  fifth  sea,  which  is  known  under  the  name 
of  Kerda'*  gijT,  is  equally  shallow,  and  full  of  moun- 
tains and  islands,  from  which  the  camphor  and  the 
essential  oil  of  camphor  ^ytffl  *U  are  procured. 
Camphor  has  little  essential  oil,,  but  much  vehicle, 
from  which  it  can  hardly  be  extracted. 

*  Page  346  supra,  this  sea  has  the  name  of  Kardebinj. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  355 

These  islands  are  inhabited  by  various  nations. 
One  race  is  called  el-Maht  i^sswM  («_~*asJt) ;  they 
have  crisp  hair  and  strange  features.  They  come 
in  boats  to  the  vessels  which  pass  by,  and  throw  a 
sort  of  poisoned  arrow.  Beyond  these  people,  and 
between  the  country  of  Kolah,  are  mines  of  white 
lead  (tin),  and  mountains  rich  in  silver,  which  con- 
tain also  gold  and  lead;  but  it  cannot  be  separated. 

Next  follows  the  sea  of  es-Sinf  ( — i;>^!\^^:, 
according  to  the  division  which  we  have  just  made. 
In  this  sea  are  the  dominions  of  the  Maharaj,  the 
king  of  the  islands.  The  population  and  number  of 
the  troops  of  his  kingdom  cannot  be  counted ;  and 
the  islands  under  his  sceptre  are  so  numerous,  that 
the  most  fast  sailing  vessel  is  not  able  to  go  round 
them  in  two  years.  This  king  is  in  possession  of 
several  kinds  of  spices  <5o^W  and  perfumes  ;  and  no 
kingdom  has  more  natural  resources,  nor  more 
articles  for  exportation,  than  this.  Among  these 
are  camphor,  aloes,  gillyflowers,  sandal-wood,  betel- 
nuts,  mace,  cardamoms,  cubebs,  and  the  like.  The 
limits  of  this  sea,  which  extends  from  these  islands 
towards  the  sea  of  China,  are  not  known,  and  its 
extent  is  unexplored. 

In  some  parts  of  this  island  are  high  mountains, 
with  a  dense  population,  who  have  slit  ears,  and  a 
white  complexion.  Their  faces  look  like  a  piece  of 
a  hammered  shield ;  they  wear  their  hair  long,  as 
we  (the  Mohammedans)  wear  our  beards.  From 
these  mountains  issues  fire,  by  day  and  night.  By 


356  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

day  it  has  a  dark  appearance,  and  at  night  it 
shines  red.  It  rises  to  such  a  height,  that  it  reaches 
the  regions  of  the  heaven  (i.e.  it  ascends  above  the 
atmosphere).  The  explosion  is  accompanied  with 
a  noise  like  the  loudest  thunder.  Sometimes  a 
strange  sound  proceeds  from  these  volcanos,  which 
is  indicative  that  their  king  will  die  ;  and,  if  the 
sound  is  lower,  it  foretells  the  death  of  one  of  their 
chiefs.  They  know  the  meaning  of  these  sounds, 
by  long  habit  and  experience.  This  is  one  of  the 
great  chimneys  (craters)  of  the  earth.  At  no  great 
distance  is  another  island,  from  which,  constantly, 
the  sound  of  drums,  lutes,  fifes,  and  other  musical 
instruments,  and  the  noise  of  dancing,  and  various 
amusements,  are  heard.  Sailors,  who  have  passed 
this  place,  believe  that  the  Dajjal  (Antichrist) 
occupies  this  island. 

To  the  dominions  of  the  Maharaj  belongs  Sarirah 
*jjj.~>,  the  extent  of  which  is  estimated  at  four 
hundred  farsangs.  The  whole  island  is  well  culti- 
vated. He  is  also  in  possession  of  the  island  of 
ez-Zanij,  er-Ramni  tfUij-H,  and  many  other  islands 
which  are  not  known  to  us.  The  Maharaj  is  the 
lord  of  the  sixth  sea,  which  is  the  sea  of  es-Sinf 


The  seventh  sea  is  the  sea  of  China 
which  is  also  called  the  sea  of  Saihu  * 


*  One  MS.  reads    >ss\**j  and  another 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  357 

this  is  a  stormy  and  dangerous  sea,  and  there  is  a 
great  deal  of  <-*ssd\;  this  word  means  a  great  raging 

w 

on  the  sea  jssd\  ^  X^xM  'i&£A\  <-*sd\  j>+JiSj,  and 
is  one  of  the  maritime  terms  which  are  common 
among  the  sailors  of  every  sea.  In  this  sea  are 
many  mountains,  between  which  the  vessels  must 
pass. 

When  a  great  storm  comes  on,  black  figures 
rise  from  the  water,  about  four  or  five  spans  long, 
and  they  look  like  little  Abyssinians.  They  mount 
on  the  vessels;  but,  however  numerous  they  may 
be,  they  do  no  harm.  When  sailors  observe  them, 
they  are  sure  that  a  storm  is  near ;  for  their  ap- 
pearance is  a  certain  sign  of  a  gale.  They  prepare 
themselves  for  the  storm,  which  will  either  be  their 
ruin,  or  they  will  be  saved  from  it.  Those  who  are 
to  be  saved  frequently  observe  something  like  a 
luminous  bird  at  the  top  of  the  mast  JJ»<xH.  The 
sailors  of  the  sea  of  China,  and  of  the  whole  Abys- 
sinian sea,  call  the  mast  $3M  (jj^xJ!);  and  the 
sailors  of  the  Mediterranean  call  it  <^jl^\.  This 
appearance  on  the  top  of  the  mast  is  of  such 
brightness  that  the  eye  cannot  behold  it,  nor  can 
they  make  out  what  it  is.  The  moment  it  appears 
the  sea  becomes  quiet,  the  gale  lulls,  and  the 
waves  subside.  Then  this  brightness  vanishes, 
and  no  one  can  perceive  how  it  comes,  or  how 
it  disappears.  It  is  the  sign  of  safety,  and  the 
assurance  that  they  have  escaped.  What  we  have 


358  EL-MAS'UDIJS    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

related  is  confirmed  by  the  sailors  and  merchants 
of  el-Basrah,  'Oman,  Siraf,  and  others,  who  have 
navigated  this  sea ;  and,  however  marvellous  it 
sounds,  it  may  be  true  that  God  sends  such  a 
sign ;  for  his  servants  are  saved,  through  his 
power,  from  the  dangers  of  the  sea,  and  guided  in 
their  voyage. 

In  this  sea  is  a  sort  of  crab,  of  the  length  of 
one  cubit,  or  a  span,  more  or  less :  if  it  comes  forth 
from  the  sea  in  rapid  motion,  and  goes  on  shore,  it 
loses  the  qualities  of  an  animal,  and  is  petrified. 
This  stone  forms  an  ingredient  in  the  collyria,  and, 
generally,  in  medicines  for  the  eye.  It  is,  therefore, 
well  known.  There  are  wonderful  accounts  reported 
respecting  the  sea  of  China,  and  those  which  are  in 
connection  with  it.  We  refer  the  reader  to  our 
books  on  these  subjects,  which  we  have  frequently 
had  occasion  to  bring  under  his  notice. 

Beyond  the  coast  of  China  is  no  other  kingdom 
known  or  described,  excepting  the  country  of  es- 

Sabal  y^\  (es-Sila?),  and  the  islands  which 
belong  to  it.  No  one  from  el-Irak,  or  any  other 
place  of  the  West,  frequents  this  country.  The 
air  of  this  country  is  wholesome,  the  water 
good,  the  soil  fertile,  and  the  precious  stones  are 
brilliant  and  genuine :  hence,  the  country  is  rich  ; 
and  it  seldom  happens  that  any  of  the  inhabitants 
leave  their  native  soil.  They  are  allies  of  the 
Chinese,  and  the  kings  of  both  countries  constantly 
exchange  presents. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  359 

Some  say  they  are  descendants  of  'Abur,  who 
settled  there  in  the  same  way  as  the  Chinese  took 
possession  of  their  country. 

In  China  are  many  rivers,  which  may  be  com- 
pared with  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates.  They  come 
from  the  country  of  the  Turks,  et-Tubbet,  and  of  the 
Soghd  JouaJi.  The  Soghd  live  between  Bokhara  and 
Samarkand.  In  their  country  is  the  mountain  en- 
Nushadir*  jiliytfl  (the  mountain  of  sal-ammoniac), 
from  which  fire  rises  in  summer  at  night,  which  may 
be  seen  at  a  distance  of  nearly  one  hundred  farsangs ; 
and  by  day  smoke  issues,  which  is  so  dense  that 
the  rays  of  the  sun  cannot  penetrate  through  it. 
This  mountain  yields  sal-ammoniac  ^sliy .  Tra- 
vellers in  summer  take  their  road  from  Khorasan  to 
China  by  this  mountain;  for  there  is  a  valley 
through  it,  which  is  forty  or  fifty  miles  long.  At 
the  entrance  of  the  valley  wait  some  men  who  offer 
themselves  to  carry  the  baggage,  if  they  are  well 
paid.  They  use  sticks  to  drive  the  passengers  on 
their  journey;  for  any  stoppage  or  rest  would  be 
fatal  to  the  traveller,  in  consequence  of  the  irritation 
which  the  ammoniacal  vapours  of  this  valley  pro- 
duce on  the  brain,  and  on  account  of  the  heat.  The 
way  becomes  more  and  more  narrow  till  the  travellers 


*  This  volcano  has  been  introduced  to  the  notice  of  Europe  by 
Klaproth,  Abel  Remusat,  and  Humboldt. 


360  EL-MAS5UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

come  to  the  end  of  their  perilous  passage.  Here 
are  pits  with  water,  in  which  they  throw  themselves, 
to  obtain  relief  from  the  depressing  influence  of  the 
vapours  of  sal-ammoniac,  and  of  the  heat  of  the  air. 
No  animal  passes  through  the  valley  in  summer,  nor 
anybody  who  is  excited  by  fanaticism*.  The  sal 
ammoniac  throws  out  flames  in  summer.  In  winter 
much  snow  and  rain  fall,  which  extinguish  the 
heat  and  flames:  at  that  time  men  and  animals  can 
pass  it  without  inconvenience.  When  travellers 
arrive  in  the  Chinese. territories,,  they  are  beaten  as 
in  passing  (to  counteract  the  congestion  of  blood  in 
the  brain).  The  distance  from  Khorasan  to  China, 
through  the  pass  just  mentioned,  is  about  forty  days' 
journey;  partly  through  steppes,  solitudes,  and 
deserts.  The  other  road,  which  is  used  for  animals, 
is  about  four  months' journey ;  but  on  that  the  tra- 
veller enjoys  the  protection  of  several  Turkish  tribes. 
I  have  seen  a  very  intelligent  and  agreeable  man 


*  c^sfi  ^  £\*  gjyt  Jfo  JUo  y>:  literally,  "No 
caller  (or  one  who  makes  proselytes,)  nor  one  who  answers,  (or 
a  proselyte,)  passes  this  valley."  I  doubt  whether  the  meaning 
which  I  have  given  to  this  passage  in  the  text  is  correct ;  but  I  do 
not  know  the  true  sense.  Perhaps  the  author  means  to  say  one 
must  not  speak;  but  why  should  he  use  such  an  artificial  expres- 
sion ?  Moreover,  if  he  meant  to  circumscribe  the  word  speak,  by 
saying  the  traveller  must  neither  ask  nor  answer,  he  would  have 

used  JoUj,  and  not  cb  • 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  361 

at  Balkh,  who  had  made  the  journey  to  China, 
several  times ;  but  he  had  never  been  at  sea.  I  have 
seen  many  other  persons  who  went  from  the  country 
of  the  Soghd,  through  the  mountains  of  en-Nushadir, 
to  et-Tubbet  and  China.  Khorasan  is  contiguous 
to  India,  and  es-Sind,  in  the  direction  of  el- 
Mansurah  and  el-Multan.  The  same  caravan 
goes  from  es-Sind  to  Khorasan,  and  the  caravans  of 
India  go  in  the  same  manner  into  this  country,  as 
far  as  Zabolistan  j,UuJJj,  which  has  the  name  of 
Fairuz  Ibn  KaTk  JC/J"  ^.jj\  jjj±*-  This  is  an  ex- 
tensive country:  it  has  many  astonishingly  strong 
castles,  and  is  densely  inhabited  by  nations  of 
different  tongues.  Historians  do  not  agree  respect- 
ing their  origin.  Some  trace  their  descent  from 
Yafeth  Ben  Nuh,  and  others  connect  them  with  the 
first  Persians,  giving  a  long  genealogy. 

The  country  of  et-Tubbet  (Tibet)  is  separated 
and  distinct  from  China.  The  rulers  of  et-Tubbet 
are  the  Himyarites,  who  were  led  there  by  one  of 
the  Tobba's,  as  we  shall  relate  in  the  history  of 
Yemen,  to  which  we  shall  devote  some  of  the 
following  pages  of  this  book  ;  and  it  is  to  be  found 
in  our  Akhbar  ez-zeman.  The  population  of  et- 
Tubbet  consists  partly  of  nomades,  and  partly  of 
settled  inhabitants.  The  wandering  Tibetans  are 
of  Turkish  origin,  and  so  numerous  that  they 
cannot  be  counted.  They  yield  to  no  nomadic  nation 
of  the  Turks,  and  are  respected  by  other  Turkish 


362  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

hordes ;  for  in  ancient  times  the  king  (khdkan) 
was  of  their  horde ;  and  it  is  generally  believed, 
among  all  Turks,  that  they  will  again  obtain  the 
royal  power. 

The  country  of  et-Tubbet  has  some  peculiarities 
in  its  air,  water,  soil,  plains,  and  mountains,  which 
deserve  notice.  There,  man  lives  gay  and  full  of 
cheerfulness,  which  is  neither  interrupted  by  sor- 
rows, nor  cares,  nor  by  reflection.  The  varieties 
of  fruits,  flowers,  meadows,  and  rivers,  of  this 
country,  are  innumerable.  The  nature  of  this 
country  predisposes  men  and  animals  to  be  light- 
hearted  and  cheerful ;  you  will  not  even  see  old 
men  or  old  women  dull ;  but  old  and  young  are 
equally  gay.  This  cheerfulness,  joviality,  and  gaiety, 
lead  them  to  indulge  in  music  and  dancing;  and 
it  goes  so  far,  that  the  relations  of  persons  who  die 
do  not  feel  such  deep  sorrow  as  other  people  feel 
at  the  loss  of  a  beloved  individual,  or  in  the  absence 
of  one  to  whom  they  are  attached ;  but,  notwith- 
standing this  levity,  they  are  affectionate  to  each 
other. 

This  country  has  the  name  of  Thobbet  after 
those  Himyarites  who  had  settled  LH^xS  (thobbit) 
there.  This  is  expressed  in  the  poem  of  Di  'bil 
Ben  'All  el-Khoza'i  ^r^kvM  ^c  ^j  J^c^,  in  which 
he  lowers  the  Komait  il^&i,  boasting  of  the  superi- 
ority of  the  Kahtan  tribes  above  the  Nizar^J  tribes. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  363 

"  They  have  put  an  inscription  on  the  gate  of 
Merw  and  on  the  gate  of  China.  Both  these  are 
our  inscriptions.  They  have  named  Samarkand 
after  (their  king)  Shamir,  and  they  have  colonized 
et-Tubbet." 

We  shall  relate,  in  the  chapter  on  the  history  of 
the  kings  of  Yemen,  the  principal  events  in  the 
history  of  the  kings  of  et-Tubbet,  and  of  those  who 
made  (military)  excursions.  Et-Tubbet  borders  on 
one  side  on  China,  and  on  the  other  side  on  India, 
Khorasan,  and  the  Turkish  steppes.  It  comprises 
extensive  cultivated  lands  and  many  towns,  some 
of  which  are  fortified.  In  ancient  times,  they  gave 
to  their  kings  the  title  Tobba5,  in  imitation  of  the 
title  of  the  king  of  Yemen.  But,  as  time  changes 
every  thing,  the  Himyaritic  language  was  lost 
amongst  them,  and  exchanged  for  a  language  which 
is  similar  to  those  of  the  neighbouring  countries 
and  nations  ;  and  they  called  their  king  Khakan 


The  Tubbetan  and  Chinese  musk  comes  from 
contiguous  countries,  in  which  the  musk  deer  U& 
jCJLI  lives;  and  the  superiority  of  the  Tubbetan 
musk  over  the  Chinese  musk  depends  on  two  causes  : 
the  musk  deer  of  et-Tubbet  lives  upon  spikenard 
and  all  sorts  of  aromatic  herbs,  whilst  the  Chinese 
musk  deer  has  none  of  those  odoriferous  plants; 
further,  the  Tubbetans  leave  the  musk  in  the  blad- 
der, as  it  is  in  its  natural  state,  and  the  Chinese  take  it 


364  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

out  from  the  bladder,  and  adulterate  it  with  blood 
and  other  sophistications.  Besides,  the  Chinese 
musk  is  imported  to  us  by  sea,  and  is  thus  exposed 
to  moisture  and  different  air.  When  the  Chinese 
have  spoiled  their  musk  by  adulteration,  they  put  it 
into  pots  and  bottles,  which  they  carefully  close,  and, 
in  this  state,  it  is  imported  into  the  Moslim  territory 
by  the  seaports  of  'Oman,  Paris,  el-Irak,  and  other 
large  towns*. 

The  musk  which  the  zebif  yields,  immediately 
after  it  has  come  to  maturity,  is  the  best  and  most 
exquisite,  such  as  the  musk  of  et-Tubbet  is.  There 
is  no  difference  between  the  musk  gazelles  J^JU  ^j* 
and  the  common  gazelles  £^>*>  as  to  form,  appear- 
ance, colour,  or  horns;  the  sole  difference  that 
exists  is,  that  they  have  canine  teeth,  resembling 
the  projecting  teeth  of  the  elephant.  The  musk 
deer  has  two  such  teeth  projecting  from  the  jaw, 
which  are  very  strong,  white,  and  straight,  and  about 


*  En-Nowairi  gives  some  precious  details  respecting  the  trade 
of  perfumes,  which  was  the  most  considerable  branch  of  foreign 
commerce  under  the  Abbasides.  He  confirms  the  statement  of 
our  author,  saying  that  the  musk  of  et-Tubbet  and  of  China  are 
originally  of  the  same  quality ;  but  that  the  Tubbetan  musk  is 
imported  by  land  »^liJ\  .Jks.  through  Khorasan,  and  preserves 
its  fragrancy;  whilst  the  Chinese  musk,  although  it  comes  origin- 
ally from  Tubbet,  is  brought  from  Canton  (Khaniku)  by  sea,  and 
loses  its  strength. 

f  Compare  Ancient  Accounts  of  India  and  China,  p.  71. 


AND    MINKS    OF    GEMS.  365 

one  span  long,  more  or  less.  The  Chinese  and  Tub- 
betans  set  nooses,  nets,  and  traps,  to  catch  the 
musk  deer  ;  sometimes  they  shoot  them  with  arrows. 
They  pull  them  down  and  cut  out  the  musk  bladder. 
The  blood  in  the  navel  has  a  foetid  smell,  and,  as 
long  as  it  is  fresh,  it  has  not  only  no  fragrance,  but 
it  is  very  offensive.  After  it  has  been  kept  for  some 
time,  it  loses  that  offensive  smell,  and  it  becomes, 
under  the  influence  of  air,  musk.  It  undergoes 
exactly  the  same  process  as  fruits,  if  they  have  been 
taken  from  the  tree  before  they  have  their  flavour. 
The  best  musk  is  that  which  is  found  in  the  navel 
of  the  animal,  and  matured  in  the  bladder  till  it  has 
its  fragrancy.  The  blood  is  accumulated  in  the 
navel  of  the  animal,  and,  when  its  particles  have 
undergone  a  change  there,  it  receives  an  agreeable 
smell.  The  animal,  feeling  some  inconvenience, 
rubs  its  navel  on  rocks  and  stones  which  are 
warmed  by  the  sun,  for  this  excites  a  pleasing 
sensation.  By  this  means  (this  changed  blood)  is 
discharged,  and  adheres  to  the  stones.  The  sen- 
sation may  be  compared  to  the  relief  felt  if  a 
tumour  or  boil,  in  which  much  matter  has  been 
collected,  is  discharged.  When  the  musk  bladder 
which  is  the  Persian  word  for  navel]*  is 


*~>     i>^  Sj.*  j£«Ju  ^  X4-1J.     The  word  is 

written  &jU  in  Persian,  and  does  not  mean   "  navel,"  generally, 
but,  as  in  Arabic,  especially,  "  the  navel  bag  of  a  musk  goat." 


366  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

emptied  of  its  contents,  it  cicatrizes,  and  the  blood 
accumulates  there  a  second  time,  as  in  the  first 
instance.     The   Tubbetans   go  out   to    the    rocks 
and  mountains,  and  there  they  find  the  blood  con- 
gealed on  the  stones,  which  has  been  matured  by 
nature  in  the  animal,  and  dried  by  the  sun,  after  it 
has   been   exposed   to   its   influence.     This  is  the 
most  exquisite  musk,  and  is,  in  gathering,  put  into 
the  musk  bladders   which   have  been  taken  from 
hunted  deer,  and  brought  for  the  purpose  to  the 
spot  where  the  musk  is  gathered.     This  is  the  musk 
used  by  the  Tubbetan  princes,  and  which  they  send 
as  presents  to  each  other;  but  it  is  seldom  exported 
from   their  country.     There  are  many  towns  in  et- 
Tubbet,  and  the  musk  is  called  after  the  town  or 
district  from  whence  it  comes. 

The  kings  of  China,  of  the  Turks,  of  India,  of 
the  Zanj,  and  all  other  kings  of  the  earth,  looked  up 
to  the  king  of  the  climate  (kishwar)  of  Babel 
with  great  respect;  for  he  is  the  first  king  on  earth, 
and  occupies  the  same  position  with  respect  to 
others  as  the  moon*  with  respect  to  the  stars.  For 
his  country  is  the  noblest  and  most  populous :  he  is 
the  richest  of  all  sovereigns ;  he  is  most  favoured  by 
nature ;  and  he  has  a  powerful  and  firm  government. 
This  was  the  case  in  ancient  times ;  but  now,  [in 


One  copy  reads,  in  the  margin,  as  a  correction,  "  the  sun.1 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  367 

332  A.H.,]  this  description  does  not  at  all  agree  with 
the  sovereign  of  this  country.  The  ancient  kings  of 
Babel  had  the  title  of  Shahan  Shah  ali^UU,  which 
means  the  King  of  Kings.  He  has  the  same  position 
with  regard  to  the  rest  of  the  world  as  the  heart  in 
the  body,  and  the  buckle  in  a  necklace.  Next  ranks 
the  king  of  India,  who  is  the  king  of  wisdom  and 
of  elephants ;  for  it  was  acknowledged  amongst  the 
Khosraws  that  wisdom  comes  from  India.  After 
the  king  of  India  ranks  the  king  of  China,  who  is 
the  king  of  wise  government,  good  institutions,  and 
perfection  in  arts.  No  king  on  earth  pays  more 
attention  to  internal  government  than  the  king  of 
China,  nor  keeps  any  other  the  citizens,  soldiers,  and 
persons  in  office,  better  under  control.  His  people 
are  brave,  strong,  and  powerful.  He  is  able  to  defend 
his  country  with  well  equipped  armies.  His  troops 
receive  pay,  as  it  was  the  case  under  the  kings  of 
Babel.  The  first  rank  after  the  king  of  China  is 
claimed  by  the  king  of  the  Turks ;  who  resides  in 
the  city  of  Kofristan*  ^U*-  jjLf,  and  rules  over  the 
Turkish  nation  called  Taghizghiz.  He  is  called  the 
king  of  lions  (tigers)  and  of  horses  ;  for  there  is  no 
nation  on  earth  braver,  nor  more  lion  (tiger) -like  in 
shedding  blood,  than  his  subjects;  nor  has  any 
country  greater  abundance  of  horses  than  this.  His 


*  One  copy  reads  Kushan  j^li 


368  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

country  is  between  China  and  the  steppes  of  Kho- 
rasan.    The  title  of  this  monarch  is  Irkhan  WU^5 
(the  Khan  of  Men).    The  Turks  have  several  kings, 
who  rule  over  different  hordes,  and  are  not  under 
submission  to  the  irkhan;   but  there  is  no  other 
Turkish  king  who  excels  him.    The  Byzantine  king, 
who  follows  next,  is  named  the  King  of  Men ;  for 
there  are  no  men  on  earth  better  formed  than  his 
subjects.     This  gradation  was  recognized  in  ancient 
times ;    but  subsequently   the   kings  of  the   earth 
have  become  more   equal  in  their   positions.      A 
man  who  takes  a  very  correct  view  of  the  history  of 
the   world,    describes    thus,   in   some    poem,    the 
kings  of  the  world  : — 

"  There  are  two  famous  palaces  on  earth,  the 
Iwan  (of  the  Khosraws,  at  Ctesiphon),  and  the 
Ghomdan  (of  the  kings  of  Yemen,  at  San'a);  and 
there  are  only  two  great  royal  families,  the  Sasa- 
nians  and  Kahtanites.  Faris  is,  in  preference, 
called  the  earth,  and  Babil  the  climate  (or  Kishwar). 
The  site  of  the  Islam  is  Mekka,  and  Khorasan 
is  the  world.  The  two  royal  cities,  Bokhara  and 
Balkh,  form  the  two  corners  (of  Khorasan),  and 
render  it  formidable.  El-Bailakan  ^liX/^!  and 
Taberistan  are  its  frontiers ;  er-Rai  is  its  Sharwan 
(fortified  frontier  pass).  In  society  some  men  are 
distinguished  by  higher  rank,  as  the  Marzoban  (in 
the  Persian  empire),,  the  Batrick  (or  Patrician, 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  369 

amongst  the  Romans),  and  the  Tarkhan*.  The 
title  of  the  Persian  king  is  Kisra;  the  Romans  call 
their  monarch  Caesar;  the  Abyssinians  Nejashi; 
and  the  Turks  Khakanf." 

The  king  of  Sicily  XJJus  and  Afrikiyah,  in  the 
Maghrib,  had,  before  the  Islam,  the  title  Jirjis 
U^AJS*^.  (George) ;  and  the  king  of  Spain  had  the 
name  Lodrik  c — Jijj«M  (Roderic) ,  which  was  common 
to  all  the  kings  of  Spain.  The  inhabitants  of  this 
country  are  said  to  belong  to  the  nation  of  el-Ishban 

*  Tarkhan  is  the  title  of  the  Tatar  Magnates.  A  Tarkan  had 
the  right  to  go  to  court  whenever  he  pleased,  and  to  commit  nine 
crimes  without  being  subject  to  the  laws.  These  privileges  were 
inherited  through  nine  generations.  The  Hungarians,  who  are 
Tatars,  have  preserved  and  extended  these  humane  institutions. 
A  Hungarian  Magnate  may  commit  as  many  crimes  as  he  chooses; 
he  is  never  checked  by  the  court  of  Vienna,  except  if  he  should 
dare  to  wish  to  better  the  condition  of  his  country;  and  his 
privileges  are  inherited  by  his  whole  posterity  without  end. 


2    B 


370  EL-MAS'UDl'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

j,U-&yJ  (Hispani),  who  are  descen  dents  of  Yafeth 
Ben  Nuh,  and  are  spread  over  this  country.  But 
the  more  generally  received  opinion  amongst  the 
Moslims  in  Spain  is,  that  Lodrik  (Roderic)  was  of 
the  Galician  nation,  who  are  a  French  race.  He 
was  the  last  sovereign;  and  was  killed  by  Tank 
L^jVjUs,  the  freed  slave  of  Musa  Ben  Nosair,  when 
he  conquered  Spain  and  entered  Tolaitilah  *XkJik 
(Toledo),  which  was  the  metropolis  and  the  residence 
of  the  king.  Through  this  city  runs  a  large  river, 
which  has  the  name  Taj  ah*  <^lj'  (Tagus).  It  comes 
from  the  country  of  the  Galiciansf  Xi'^i^  and  the 
Basques;};.  They  are  a  great  nation,  ruled  by  a 
king  who  goes  as  frequently  to  war  with  the  Mos- 
lims in  Spain,  as  the  Galicians  and  the  French 
£saj>jj^i.  This  river,  (the  Tagus,)  falls  into  the 
Atlantic  Ocean.  It  is  one  of  the  most  celebrated 
rivers  in  the  world:  in  the  middle  of  its  course  it 
passes  the  town  of  Toledo.  Over  the  Tagus  goes 
the  arched  bridge  es-Saif  i^ix**!!  ^ko,  which  was 
constructed  by  ancient  kings  ;  it  is  one  of  the 

*  Almost  all  MSS.  read  the  name  of  this  river  Abirah  SJAO!, 
and  it  is  evident  from  what  follows,  that  our  author  did  not  suffi- 
ciently distingTiish  between  the  Tagus  and  the  Ebro. 

H-  This  is  the  plural  of  <JiX:s»,  as  it  has  been  said  in  the  note 
to  page  177  supra.  The  Arabic  name  of  the  country  is  Jiilikiyah 


All  MSS.  read  &£\\  instead 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  371 

most  remarkable  buildings  on  earth,  and  much  more 
surprising  than  the  bridge  Sajineh*  £Lsx->,  on  the 
frontier  between  Mesopotamia  and  the  Byzantine 
empire,  not  far  from  Somaisat  kL»A*-o,  in  the  coun- 
try of  Sarujah  f  X^*-.  This,  and  the  city  of 
Toledo,,  are  fortified,  and  have  strong  walls. 

The  (Mohammedan)  inhabitants  of  this  city 
rebelled  against  the  Omaiyides  after  the  conquest, 
and  defended  themselves  two  years  with  success 
against  them;  but,  in  315,  the  town  was  taken  by 
'Abder-Rahman  Ben  Mohammed  Ben  'Abdullah 
Ben  Mohammed  Ben  'Abder-Rahman  Ben  el- 
Hakam  Ben  Hisham  Ben  'Abder-Rahman  Ben 
Mo'awiyah  Ben  Hisham  Ben  'Abdel-Melik  Ben 
Merwan  Ben  el-Hakam,  and  he  is  at  present  [332 
A.M.,]  king  of  Spain.  Many  buildings  of  this  city 
were  destroyed  when  it  was  taken.  Kortobah 
AA^J  was  made  the  metropolis  of  Spain,  and  con- 
tinues to  be  so  to  this  day.  It  is  seven  days' jour- 
ney from  Toledo,  and  about  three  days  from  the 
sea:  one  day's  journey  from  the  sea  is  the  town 
Ishbiliyah  *JlAA£f  (Seville).  The  cultivation  and 
towns  of  Spain  extend  about  two  months'  journey, 

*  This  seems  to  be  a  corruption  of  the  Greek  word  ^evy^a, 
or  of  the  Arabic  name  Jasr  Manbij,  and  to  mean  one  or  the  other 
of  these  two  bridges  over  the  Euphrates. 

f  Abulfeda  writes  Saruj.  But  en-Nowa'iri  in  an  autographic 
copy  of  one  of  the  volumes  of  his  history  (MS.  of  Leyden),  spells 
the  name  like  our  author. 

2  B   2 


372  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

and  amongst  them  there  are  nearly  forty  renowned 
cities. 

The  Omai'yades  in  Spain,  are  called  the  sons 
of  the  khalifs  cjb^i!  \  csvj,  but  they  do  not  give 
them  the  title  khalifah  (successor  of  the  prophet), 
for  no  prince  has  a  claim  to  this  title,  in  their 
opinion,  who  is  not  master  of  the  two  holy  cities 
(which  formed  the  dominions  of  the  Prophet). 

'Abd  er-Rahman  Ben  Mo'awiyah  Ben  Hisham 
Ben  'Abd  el-Melik  Ben  Merwan  went  to  Spain  in 
in  the  Rebi'  of  137*  A.H.  (and  died  in  171).  He 
was  succeeded  by  his  son  Hisham  Ben  'Abd  er- 
Rahman,  who  reigned  nine  years  (180).  Then 
reigned  his  son,  el-Hakam  Ben  Hisham,  nearly 
twenty  years  (206) f-  At  present  reigns  'Abd 
er-Rahman  Ben  Mohammed  (350)  in  Spain  as  we 
have  said.  He  has  a  very  good  government. 

He  made  in  327  A. H.,  an  expedition  against  the 
Christians,  with  more  than  one  hundred  thousand 
men,  and  encamped  before  the  capital  of  the  king- 


*  One  copy  reads  the  year  137,  and  another  139;  the  real 
date  is  the  tenth  of  Rebi'L,  138. 

f  Here  the  names  of  'Abd  er-Rahman  Ben  el-Hakam  [238]  ; 
Mohammed  Ben  'Abd  er-Rahman  [273];  el-Mondir  Ben  Mo- 
hammed [275];  and  Abdullah  [300];  are  left  out  in  all  copies 
by  a  mistake  of  the  transcribers.  The  dates  between  crotchets 
are  the  years  of  the  death  of  the  kings,  and  have  been  borrowed 
from  Conde's  Historia  de  la  Domination  de  los  Arabes  en 
Espana,  Madrid,  1820. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  373 

dom  of  the  Galicians,  which  is  called  Samurah, 
'ijjv*  (Zamora),  and  surrounded  with  seven  walls, 
which  form  one  of  the  most  wonderful  buildings 
raised  by  ancient  kings.  From  one  wall  to  another 
is  a  considerable  distance,  in  which  run  ditches 
filled  with  water.  He  conquered  two  walls,  and 
then  the  besieged  made  a  sally  upon  the  assailants, 
and  killed  as  many  as  they  could  reach;  the 
number  of  those  who  fell  under  the  sword,  or  were 
drowned,  amounted  to  forty  thousand  men.  This 
gave  to  the  Galicians  and  Basques  the  superiority 
over  the  Moslims,  and  they  took  the  towns  and 
frontiers  towards  France  from  them.  On  this 
frontier  is  the  city  of  Orbunah  XJ^t,  which  the 
Moslims  lost  in  300  A.H.,  with  other  towns  and 
fortresses,  but  the  town  is  still  existing  after  the 
conquest,  to  this  day  332  A.H. 

In  the  eastern  part  of  Spain,  on  the  Medi- 
terranean, is  the  city  of  Tortushah  *&£>  j^  ;  and 
a  little  farther  north,  is  Faraghah  Xr^j  on  a  large 
river,  then  Laridah  SJ^,  and  still  further  north 
lies  csvxb ;  the  last  mentioned  town  is  on  the 
French  frontiers.  This  is  the  most  narrow  pass  of 
the  Pyrenees. 

A  short  time  previous  to  the  beginning  of  the 
fourth  century  of  the  Hijrah,  ships  landed  in  Spain 
which  had  thousands  of  men  on  board,  who  made 
incursions  on  the  coast.  The  Moslims  of  Spain 


374  EL-MAS'tJDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

believed  that  they  were  a  Magian  nation  ^  U 
jM^sOlJ  (fire  worshippers)  who  were  in  the  habit  of 
visiting  this  country  every  two  centuries.  They 
came  from  a  gulf  of  the  Ocean,  and  not  from  the 
strait  on  which  the  pillars  of  copper  (columns  Her- 
culls)  stand.  I  suppose  this  gulf  is  connected  with 
the  sea  of  Mayotis  and  the  Pontus,  (through  a 
northern  passage,)  and  that  the  invading  nation 
were  the  Russians  *  u*j^5  of  whom  we  have 
spoken;  for  no  other  nation  sails  in  the  seas  which 
stand  in  connexion  with  the  Ocean.  In  the  Medi- 
terranean f,  not  far  from  Crete,  planks  of  vessels 
of  Indian  plantain  wood  have  been  found,  which 
were  well  cut  and  joined  with  fibres  of  the  cocoa  nut 
tree.  It  was  evident  that  they  were  of  wrecked 
vessels,  and  had  been  a  long  time  in  water;  vessels 
of  this  description  are  only  found  in  the  Abyssinian 
sea,  for  the  vessels  of  the  Mediterranean  and  of  the 
West  are  all  joined  with  nails.  In  the  Abyssinian 
sea,  iron  nails  would  not  be  applicable  for  sbip 
building,  for  the  water  of  that  sea  corrodes  the  iron, 
and  the  nails  become  thinner  and  weaker  in  the 
water;  hence  the  planks  are  joined  with  fibres  and 
besmeared  with  grease  and  quicklime.  This  is  a 
proof  that  the  seas  have  a  communication.  The 

*  They  were  the  Normans.  This  suggestion,  although  it  is 
not  correct,  does  honour  to  the  sagacity  of  our  author. 

f  Compare  Ancient  Accounts  of  India  and  China,  translated 
by  Renaudot,  page  59. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  375 

sea  towards  China  and  the  country  of  es-Sila 
^XA*J!  (jo-Jl),  goes  all  round  the  country  of  the 
Turks,  and  has  a  communication  with  the  sea 
of  the  West  c-^jdj^  (the  Atlantic),  through  some 
straits  of  the  great  ocean  ^^  u*^^' 

On  the  coast  of  Syria,  ambergris  has  been  found 
thrown  on  shore,  although  it  has  never  been  a  pro- 
duction of  the  Mediterranean  since  ancient  times, 
and  it  is  possible  that  it  came  there  through  the 
same  way  by  which  we  suppose  that  the  planks  of 
the  vessels  came  there  from  the  sea  of  China.  God 
knows  best.  The  sea  of  Spain  *  abounds  in  am- 
bergris, and  it  is  exported  from  Spain  to  Egypt  and 
other  countries,  from  the  coasts  of  this  sea  called 
Shantirin  ^.^J^JU-K  (Santarem),  and  Shodaunah 
*3j*xi  (Sidonia) .  The  ounce ,  in  Bagdad  weight,  i s  paid 
with  three  mithkals  of  gold  in  Spain,  and  in  Egypt 
with  ten  dinars,  although  it  is  of  an  inferior  quality. 

It  is  probable  that  the  pieces  of  ambergris  found 
on  the  Byzantine  (Syrian)  coasts  have  been  propelled 
there  by  the  waves,  for  the  sea  of  Spain  is  in  com- 
munication with  the  sea  that  washes  these  coasts. 

In  Spain  are  considerable  mines  of  silver  and 
quicksilver,  and  since  this  is  the  best  quicksilver 
that  exists,  it  is  exported  into  all  Moslim,  and  not 
Moslim,  countries.  Other  articles  of  exportation 

*  Compare  Al-Makarri,  History  of  the  Mohammedan  dynas- 
ties in  Spain,  translated  by  M.  Gayangos,  vol.  I.  p.  89. 


376  EL-MAS'lJDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


from  Spain  are  saffron  and  ginger  roots  J^-ST  y\  \ 
The  principal  ingredients  of  perfumes  are  five: 
musk,  camphor,  aloes,  ambergris,  and  saffron  ;  they 
all  come  from  India,  except  saffron  and  ambergris, 
which  are  found  in  the  country  of  the  Zanj,  in  esh- 
Shihr,  ^.=i=UJJ,  and  Spain. 

The  kinds  of  spices  x^Ut  are  twenty-five,  viz., 
the  hyacinth  (spikenard)  J^JUJI,  gilly-flower 
sandal-wood  ^AxaJJ,  betel-nut  (nutmeg) 
the  rose  ^\9  cassia  Xs:Ou*J!,  the  bark  of  pomegra- 
nate «-o;^  the  finer  species  of  cinnamon  XJ^iM, 
cardamoms  xXsijiH,  cubeb<£  XjUJft,  a  species  of 
cinnamon*  |yxlL^J\,  the  berries  of  Ceesalpinia  Sappa 
^XA!\  «-7-^5  the  roots  of  the  Nymphea  S^ULM, 
a  species  of  grain  resembling  cherry-stones  (growing 
in  Aderbaijan)  ^Lsv*!!,  saffron  of  Yemen  <j^»^> 
costus-root  \a.*»&\,  clove  jlxli^i,  the  gum  of  the  lada 
^J^M^  styrax  X*xU,  the  seed  of  satonicum 
calamus  aromaticus  HiXjjjOi  ^^9  orobanche  j 
We  have  described  the  mines  of  silver,  gold,  quick- 
silver, and  the  places  where  all  sorts  of  perfumes 
are  found,  in  our  work,  the  Akhbar  ez-zeman:  we 


*  The  Arabs  distinguished  particularly  two  species  of  cinna- 
mon which  are  both  mentioned  here:  one  of  them  is  most  likely 
the  cinnamon  of  Ceylon  (laurus  cinnamonum)j  and  the  other  the 
cinnamon  of  China  (laurus  cassia?)  or  perhaps  the  Malabrathrum. 

•j-    The  names  of  three  drugs  are  left  uncertain  in  the  MSS. 


AND    MINF.S    OF    GEMS.  377 

may,  therefore,   dispense  with  entering  further  on 
this  subject  in  this  book. 

The  accounts  which  are  reported  respecting  the 
sea  of  the  west,  are  marvellous,  particularly  those 
which  regard  the  sea  that  washes  the  cultivated 
districts  of  the  Sudan  (Negroes),  and  the  extreme 
west.  Men  who  are  possessed  of  an  extensive 
knowledge  of  our  globe,  say,  that  the  Abyssinians 
and  Sudan  (Negroes)  occupy  a  country  of  seven 
years'  journey;  that  Egypt  forms  the  sixtieth  part 
of  the  country  of  the  Sudan ;  and  that  the  country 
of  the  Sudan  forms  only  a  small  portion  of  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth,  the  dimension  of  which  is  five 
hundred  years'  journey.  One  third  of  it  is  inha- 
bited, one-third  is  desert,  and  one-third  is  covered 
with  seas.  The  country  of  the  Sudan  borders  on 
the  most  distant  plains  of  the  dominions  of  Idris 
Ben  Tdris  Ben  'Abdullah  Ben  el-Hasan  Ben  el- 
Hosain  Ben  'All  Ben  Abi  Taleb,  in  the  Mag  rib, 
which  is  the  country  of  Tilimsan  ^U^Xj,  Tahart 
djjjblj,  and  Fas  ^  (Fezz) :  then  comes  Sus  el- 
adna  ^^1^*^,  which  is  about  two  thousand  three 
hundred  miles  from  el-Kairwan,  and  twenty  days' 
from  Sus  el-aksa.  The  cultivation  extends,  with- 
out interruption,  as  far  as  the  Wadi-r-raml  (valley 
of  sandj  and  Kasr  el-aswad  (the  black  palace). 
Farther  on  come  deserts  of  sand,  in  which  one  finds 
a  town,  of  the  name  of  Medinat  en -Nonas  wa 


378  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

Kibab  er-Rasas  (the  town  of  copper,  and  the  cupo- 
las of  lead)  . 

Musa  Ben  Nosair  has  penetrated  as  far  as 
Medinat  en-Nonas,  under  the  reign  of  'Abd  el- 
Melik  Ben  Merwan.  The  wonderful  things  which 
he  has  seen,  are  related  in  several  books  which  are 
known  to  every  one.  Some  are  of  opinion  that 
the  town  which  has  been  stormed  by  Musa,  is  in 
the  plains  of  the  Ardh  el-Kebirah  S^AA&J  u*j\  (the 
main  land),  which  extends  (north  of  the  Peninsula) 
of  Spain.  Maimun  Ben  'Abd  el-Wehhab  Ben  'Abd 
er-  Rahman  Ben  Rostam  el-Farisi,  who  was  of  the 
Ibadhian  sect  *\AC  ^.j  u-jl^H  tX^c  (.^j  (_^^^> 
^Uyfc  ^  L5*»;UJi  jr*»j  ^.j  ^^J  has  spread  there 
the  tenets  of  the  Khawarij.  Some  historians  believe 
that  the  inhabitants  are  remnants  of  the  Ishban, 
who  have  cultivated  those  countries.  Maimun 
had  several  wars  with  the  Talebites.  We  shall 
speak  on  the  different  opinions  respecting  the 
Ishban  ^jU£t  in  another  chapter  of  this  book. 
Some  connect  them  with  the  Persians,  deriving  the 
name  from  Isbahan  ^1$.^. 

In  these  places  of  the  Maghrib  are  found  some 
of  the  sect  of  the  Khawarij,  called  the  Harurians* 


*  One  copy  reads  "  Sofrians  (Sj^JUaJl."  They  are  a 
fraction  of  the  Harurians,  so  called  from  Saffar,  the  founder  of 
the  sect. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  379 

l.  They  possess  several  cities,  like  the  town 
of  Dar'ah*  Xj^a,  which  has  large  silver  mines:  this 
town  lies  towards  el-Jasrf  j*»*L\,  and  is  contiguous 
with  the  country  of  the  Abyssinians,  with  whom 
the  inhabitants  are  at  constant  war.  In  our  book 
called  the  Akhbar  ez-zeman,  we  have  related  the 
wars  of  the  Maghrib;  and  we  have  described  the 
towns  of  that  country ;  we  have  named  the  sects  of 
the  Khawarij,  as  the  Ibadhians,  Sofrians,  and  the 
Mo'tazilite  sects,  who  live  there ;  and  we  have  re- 
lated the  wars  which  arose  between  the  followers 
of  those  two  religious  opinions.  We  have  also 
acquainted  the  reader  with  the  history  of  el-Aghlab 
et-Temimi  ^&\  cAc^,  who  was  appointed  by  el- 
Mansiir  over  the  Maghrib %,  of  his  residence  in 
Afrikiyah,  of  the  state  of  his  affairs,  during  the 
reign  of  er-Rashid,  and  the  succession  of  his  son,  as 
an  independant  prince,  over  Afrikiyah,  and  other 
provinces  of  the  Maghrib,  till  Abu  Nasr  Ziadatul- 
lah  Ben  'Abdullah  Ben  Ibrahim  Ben  Ahmed  (Ben 
el-Aghlab  Ben  Ibrahim  Ben  Mohammed  §)  Ben 


*  The  MSS.  read  XcJo  and  SufJ. 

f  One  copy  reads  "  towards  the  South." 

J  Abulfeda  and  Rasmussen  (Annales  Moslim.)  say,  that 
Ibrahim  Ben  el-Aghlab  is  the  founder  of  the  dynasty,  and  that 
he  has  been  appointed  by  er-Rashid. 

§  It  should  run  Ben  Mohammed  Ben  Ibrahim,  leaving  out 
Ben  Aghlab.  Compare  Abulfeda  ad  annum  296. 


380  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

el-Aghlab,  one  of  his  successors,  was  expelled  by 
Abu  'Abdullah,  the  Mohtesib,  who  was  a  Sufi,  and 
an  emissary  of  the  governor  of  el-Mahdiyah.  He 
drove  him  out,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Ketamah 
5LoUr,  and  other  tribes  of  the  Berbers,  in  297,  A.H., 
during  the  Khalifat  of  el-Moktader.  All  this  is 
related  in  the  Akhbar  ez-zeman,  where  we  also 
describe  his  march  to  er-Rakkah.  This  man  had 
originally  been  Mohtesib  (officer  of  police)  at 
Ramhormuz,  in  the  Ahwaz. 

We  now  resume  our  subject,  and  continue  to 
name  the  kings,  postponing  the  description  of  the 
kingdoms  situated  on  the  Abyssinian  sea,  which  we 
intend  hereafter  to  introduce  to  the  notice  of  the 
reader. 

The  king  of  the  Zanj  is  Wafliman  (2j^X 
the  king  of  el-Lan  is  Kerkendaj  glxiTjT  ( 
the  kings  of  el-Hirah  were  the  No'mans  XJ 
and  the  Mondirs  *,iUU ;  the  king  of  the  mountainous 
country  of  Tabaristan  was  Faran  ^U  (cv,lj  or  jjjU), 
and  el-Jebel  is  named  after  him  and  his  sons  to  this 
day.  The  king  of  India  is  the  Ballahra  cf^XxJl; 
the  king  of  Kinnauj,  who  is  one  of  the  kings  of  es- 

Sind  is  Budah  SA^J  (»)^  or  iatp) ;  this  is  a  title 
general  to  all  kings  of  el- Kinnauj  *:  at  present  this 


*  En-Nowa'iri  states,  that  the  title  of  the  king  of  Kinnauj  is 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  381 

city  is  under  the  sceptre  of  the  Islam,  for  it  forms  a 
province  of  el-Multan.  Through  this  town  passes 
one  of  the  (five)  rivers,  which  form  together  the 
river  Mihran  in  es-Sind,  which  is  considered  by  el- 
Jahit  k^lit  as  the  Nile,  and  by  others  as  the 
Jai'hun  of  Khorasan*.  This  Budah,  who  is  the 
king  of  el-Kinnauj ,  is  an  enemy  of  the  Ballahra  the 
king  of  India.  The  king  of  el-Kandahar  ^U^XJ!, 
who  is  one  of  the  kings  of  es-Sind  ruling  over  this 
country,  is  called  Jahaj  ^\^-.  (^^v^-) ;  this  name  is 
common  to  all  sovereigns  of  that  country.  From 
his  dominions  comes  the  river  Rayid  <>oV,,  one  of 
the  five  rivers  which  form  the  Mihran  of  es- 
Sind.  Kandahar  is  called  the  country  of  the  Rahbut 

(j  *• 

(Rajbut)  ls}*&>^\  (k^/jfc^H);   another   river   of  the 

Panjab  is  called  Hatil  JJsbb ;  it  comes  also  from  the 
mountains  of  es-Sind,  and  runs  through  the  country 
of  er-Rahbut,  which  is  the  country  of  el-Kandahar: 
the  fourth  river  of  the  Panjab  comes  from  the  coun- 
try of  Kabul  and  its  mountains,  which  forms  the 
frontier  of  es-Sind  towards  Bost  k*»j,  Ghaznahf 


Ray  (S\y  Perhaps  the  difference  of  the  times  when  el-Mas'udi 
and  en-Nowai'ri  wrote,  may  account  for  the  difference  of  their 
statements. 

*  The  first  of  these  two  errors  came  from  the  Greeks  to  the 
Arabs,  and  the  others  from  the  Persians. 
MSS.  read        -Js  and 


382          EL-MASU'DI'S  MEADOWS  OF  GOLD, 


Nafsh  (?)  (jliu  (yjjju,  er-Rokhkhaj  g^jti,  and 
the  country  of  er-Rawan*  (^^  which  is  the  fron- 
tier of  Sijistan.  One  of  the  five  rivers  comes  from 
the  country  of  Kashmir  ^^L3.  The  king  of  Kash- 
mir has  the  name  er-Rama  ^\^\  (cfyi),  which  is 
a  general  title  for  all  kings. 

Kashmir  is  situated  in  the  mountains  of  es- 
Sind,  and  forms  a  powerful  kingdom,  which  com- 
prizes from  sixty  to  seventy  thousand  towns  and 
villages  ;  and  his  territory  is  unapproachable  except- 
ing from  one  side,  so  that  he  can  shut  up  the  whole 
of  his  dominions  with  one  gate  ;  for  it  is  surrounded 
by  mountains  of  such  height  that  neither  men  nor 
wild  animals  can  climb  over  them,  and  they  are 
only  accessible  to  birds.  Where  there  are  no 
mountains,  there  are  inaccessible  valleys,  trees, 
jungles,  and  rivers  which  defend  the  place  by  their 
rapidity.  The  natural  fortifications  of  this  country 
is  well  known  in  Khorasan  and  other  provinces, 
and  it  is  one  of  the  most  wonderful  things  in  the 
world. 

The  dominions  of  Budah  the  king  of  Kinnauj, 
extend  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  Sindian 
farsangs  in  length  and  breadth  ;  one  of  their  far- 
sangs  is  eight  of  our  miles.  The  above-mentioned 
king  has  four  armies,  corresponding  with  the  four 

*  MSS.  read  here  and  in  other  passages  .*    j. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  383 

cardinal  winds.  Each  of  these  four  armies  consists 
of  seven  hundred  thousand  men.  The  army  of  the 
north  has  to  oppose  the  king  of  el-Multan  and  his 
allies.  The  army  of  the  south  has  to  defend  the 
the  country  against  the  Ballahra,  the  king  of  el- 
Mankir ;  and  in  the  same  manner  are  the  other 
armies  engaged  against  the  other  neighbouring 
powers.  It  is  said  that  the  towns,  villages,  and 
estates  in  his  dominions,  the  extent  of  which  we 
have  stated,  amount,  as  far  as  can  be  counted,  to 
one  million  and  eight  hundred  thousand  villages, 
surrounded  by  trees,  rivers,  mountains,  and 
meadows. 

Although  he  possesses  few  elephants  in  com- 
parison with  other  kings,  he  maintains  near  a 
thousand  war  elephants.  If  an  elephant  is  spirited, 
pugnacious,  and  brave,  a  rider  sits  on  his  back,  and 
he  has  a  Fautal  jJ^j  (J^O  which  is  a  kind  of 
sword,  in  his  trunk.  The  trunk  is  covered  with 
mail  and  iron,  and  the  rest  of  his  body  is  protected 
by  an  armour  of  iron  and  leather ;  such  an  elephant 
is  surrounded  by  five  hundred  men,  who  protect 
him  from  behind.  An  elephant  thus  equipped, 
keeps  his  ground  against  six  thousand  horsemen. 
He  advances,  retires,  goes  round  (and  makes  the 
military  evolutions),  like  a  horse  with  a  rider  on  his 
back.  These  are  the  manoeuvres  of  the  elephants 
of  the  Hindus  in  all  their  wars. 

We  have  already  stated  that  the  sovereign  power 


384  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

over  el-Multan  rests  in  the  family  of  Samah*  Ben 
Lawi    Ben    Ghalib   <-_*JU  ^  ^  ^j  JUU  They 
have  considerable   forces.     Their   territory   is  one 
^   of  the  greatest  of  those  Moslim  countries,  which 
\  form  a  frontier  against  unbelieving  nations.     There 
i  are  on  the  frontiers  of  el-Multan  about  one  hundred 
^thousand  villages  and  estates,  as  far  as  they  can  be 
'counted.    There  is  the  celebrated  idol  of  el-Multan, 
to  which   the   inhabitants   of    es-Sind   and   India 
perform  pilgrimages  by  thousands,  from  the  most 
distant  places  ;   they  carry  money^  precious  stones, 
aloes,  and  other  sorts  of  perfumes,  there  to  fulfil 
their  vows.     The  greatest  part  of  the  revenue  of  the 
king  of  el-Multan,  comes  from  the  rich  presents  of 
genuine  komari  aloes  ;  one  mann  of  which  is  worth 
two  hundred  dinars ;   for  it  is  so  genuine,  that  it 
receives  the  impression  of  a  seal  like  wax ;    and 
from  other   objects  of  value,   which   are   brought 
there  as  offerings.     When  the  unbelievers  march 
against  el-Mi'iltan,  and   the   Moslims  do  not  feel 
themselves  strong  enough  to   oppose   them,  they 
threaten   to   break    their  idol,    and   their   enemies 
immediately  withdraw  their  armies. 

I  visited  el-Multan  after  300  A.  H.,  when  Abu 


*  Page  234,  supra,  this  name  is  spelt  Osamah  SLoLwJ  in  all 
copies,  whilst  they  read  in  this  passage  Samah,  and  lower  down 
they  write  the  family  name  of  this  dynasty,  es-Samf . 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  385 

-d-Dilhat   el-Monbad   (el-Monabbih)  Ben  Asad  el- 
Karshi  es-Sami 


was  king  there.  At  the  same  time, 
I  visited  el-Mansurah  ;  the  king  of  that  country 
was  then  Abul-Mondir  Omar  Ben  'Abdullah 
^3!  ju>c  ^j  jS^**^]  f*\.  I  was  acquainted  with 
his  vizier  Riah  ^.lj^>  with  his  sons  Mohammed  and 
'Ali,  and  with  an  Arab  of  the  name  of  Hamzah, 
who  was  one  of  the  lords  and  kings  of  the  Bedouins. 
There  were  also  many  descendants  of  'Ali  Ben  Abi 
Taleb,  of  'Omar  Ben  'Ali,  and  of  Mohammed  Ben 
'Ali,  at  el-Mansurah.  There  is  some  relationship 
between  the  royal  family  of  el-Mansurah  and  the 
family  of  esh-Shawarib  the  Kadi  ^IXM  u_r,^^J!, 
for  the  kings  of  el-Mansurah  are  of  the  family  of 
Habbar  Ben  el-Aswad,  and  have  the  name  of  Beni 
'Amr  Ben  'Abd  el-Aziz  el-Karshi,  who  is  to  be 
distinguished  from  'Amr  Ben  'Abd  el-Aziz  Ben 
Merwan,  the  Omaiyide  (khalif). 

When  all  the  rivers  which  we  have  enumerated 
have  passed  the  Golden  house  (or  temple)  *  ^^AJ 
c_jui>«xH,  which  is  the  meaning  of  the  name  of  el- 
Multan,  they  unite  at  about  three  days'  journey 
below  this  city  and  above  el-Mansurah,  at  a  place 


*  It  is  probably  a  fault  of  the  copyists  that  we  read  in  a  pre- 
ceding passage,  that  the  name  of  el-Multan  means  "  meadow  of 
gold." 

2  c 


386  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


called  Dushab  v*A^>  in^°  one  stream  which  pro- 
ceeds to  the  town  of  er-Rud  ^^\  (^<^0>  which  lies 
on  its  western  bank  and  belongs  to  el-Mansurah, 
where  it  receives  the  name  Mihran  j,|j$-o.  There  it 
is  divided  into  two  branches,  both  of  which  fall  at 
the  town  of  Shakirah  kyi-l,  which  belongs  also  to 
one  of  the  districts  of  el-Mansurah,  into  the  Indian 
sea,  under  the  name  of  Mihran  of  es-Sind  j,|^« 
JsJUJ!,  about  two  days'  journey  from  the  town  of 
ed-Daibol. 

El-Multan  is  seventy-five  Sindian  fursangs  from 
el-Mansurah.  Each  farsang  has  eight  miles,  as 
stated  above.  All  the  estates  and  villages  under  the 
dependency  of  el-Mansurah  amount  to  three  hundred 
thousand.  The  whole  country  is  well  cultivated, 
and  covered  with  trees  and  fields.  They  are  at 
constant  war  with  a  nation  called  the  Mind  «\j*H, 
who  are  a  race  of  the  Sind,  and  with  other  nations 
on  the  frontiers  of  es-Sind.  El-Multan  is  equally 
on  the  frontier  of  es-Sind,  and  so  are  the  towns  and 
villages  belonging  to  it.  El-Mansurah  has  its  name 
from  Mansur  Ben  Jamhur,  governor  of  the  Omai- 
yides.  The  king  of  el-Mansurah  has  eighty  war 
elephants,  every  one  of  which  is  supported  by  five 
hundred  infantry  in  battle,  as  we  have  already  re- 
marked; and  these  elephants  can  oppose  thousands 
of  horse. 

I  have  seen  two  elephants  of  this  king,  which 
had  become  famous  at  the  courts  of  India  and  es- 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  387 

Sind  for  their  courage  and  success  in  wars.  One 
had  the  name  Monkirkals  y^Xi^Ju^o  (y^X^^o),  and 

o- 

the  other  Haidarah  k^j^.  Many  curious  stories 
are  related  respecting  Monkirkals,  throughout  all 
India.  On  the  death  of  one  of  his  leaders,  he  did 
not  eat  nor  drink  for  several  days,  and  he  cried  and 
sighed  like  a  human  being  who  is  mourning.  Tears 
fell  from  his  eyes,  and  thus  he  continued  for  a  con- 
siderable time.  Another  story  is,  that  he  went  out 
one  day  from  his  hayir  ^>U»,  which  means  the 
stable  of  elephants;  Haidarah  was  behind  him,  and 
they  were  followed  by  eighty  other  elephants. 
When  they  came  to  a  narrow  street  in  el-Mansurah 
a  woman  came  unawares  on  the  elephant,  and  was 
so  frightened  that  she  fell  on  her  back,  and  she  was 
uncovered  in  the  middle  of  the  road.  Monkirkals, 
observing  this,  posted  himself  across  the  road,  turn- 
ing his  right  side  in  opposition  to  the  elephants 
coming  behind  him,  to  prevent  them  from  injuring 
the  woman,  and  he  gave  her  a  sign  with  his  trunk 
to  rise  from  the  ground,  having  first  placed  her  dress 
in  order  and  covered  her.  When  she  was  in  safety 
with  her  husband,  the  elephant  changed  his  position 
and  continued  his  way,  followed  by  the  others. 

The  natural  history  of  the  elephant  is  full  of 
interesting  stories  of  this  kind;  and  they  are  not 
only  used  for  war,  but  for  many  other  purposes,  as 
for  carrying  burdens,  drawing  carriages,  threshing 

2  c  2 


388          EL-MAs'uni's  MEADOWS  OF  GOLD, 


rice,  and  other  sorts  of  grain  £»tyH,  as  oxen  tread 
out  corn  on  a  floor.  We  shall  speak  on  the  ele- 
phants in  the  chapter  on  the  Zanj  :  for  nowhere  else 
are  they  so  numerous  as  in  their  country,  where 
they  live  in  a  wild  state. 

Let  us  now  resume  our  short  account  of  the 
kings  of  es-Sind  and  India.  The  language  of  es- 
Sind  is  different  from  that  of  India.  Es-Sind  is 
the  country  which  is  nearer  the  dominions  of  the 
Moslims,  and  India  that  which  is  farther  from 
them.  The  inhabitants  of  el-Mankir,  which  is  the 
residence  of  the  Ballahra,  speak  the  Kiriyah  lan- 
guage X.j^T  (xyJ'),  which  has  this  name  from  the 
places  where  it  is  spoken.  On  the  coast,  as  in 
Saimur  (?)  j»^v*»,  Subarah,  Tanah,  and  other  towns 
on  the  coast  of  the  Ladiwa  sea,  a  language  is 
spoken  which  has  its  name  from  the  sea  which 
washes  these  countries;  and  this  is  the  Ladiwa  sea, 
which  has  been  described  above.  On  this  coast 
are  many  rivers,,  which  run  from  the  south,  whilst 
all  other  rivers  of  the  world  flow  from  north  to 
south,  excepting  the  Nile,  of  Egypt,  and  the  Mihran, 
of  es-Sind.  We  have  given  an  explanation  why 
this  is  the  case,  and  we  have  stated  what  the 
learned  say  on  the  subject,  in  our  Akhbar  ez- 
zeman.  In  the  same  work  we  have  named  the 
places  which  have  a  great  elevation  (above  the  level 
of  the  sea),  and  those  which  are  less  elevated. 

Neither  in  India,  nor  in  es-Sind,  is  there  a  sove- 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  389 

reign  who  disturbs  the  peace  of  the  Moslims  in 
their  own  country*.  The  Islam  is,  therefore, 
flourishing  there.  The  mosques  and  jami's  for 
Moslim  worship  are  large  and  splendid,  their  kings 
are  long-lived,  and  reign  forty,  fifty,  and  more 
years,  and  the  (Moslim)  subjects  believe,  that  the 
length  of  the  life  of  a  sovereign  depends  upon  his 
justice  and  the  respect  paid  to  the  Moslims.  He 
(the  Ballahra)  pays  his  army  from  the  public  trea- 
sury, as  the  Moslims  do.  In  his  empire  Talata- 
wian  5u^kXk  (Tatarian  Xj^klk)  dirhams  are  in  cir- 
culation, one  of  which  weighs  a  drachm  and  a  half. 
The  coins  are  impressed  with  the  date  when  their 
king  succeeded  to  the  throne.  His  war  elephants 
are  beyond  number.  This  country  is  also  called 
the  country  of  el-Kiminker  j&JJl  (^XjJj).  On 
one  side  it  is  exposed  to  the  inroads  of  the  king  of 
the  Khazar  ^y^J,  who  possesses  a  great  number  of 
horses,  camels,  and  troops,  and  they  believe  that 
there  is  no  king  on  earth  more  glorious  than  he, 
excepting  the  king  of  the  climate  of  Babel,  which 
is  the  fourth  climate ;  for  this  king  surpasses  in 
magnificence  and  valour  all  other  kings  of  the 
world.  The  Ballahra  has  a  great  animosity  against 


*  One  copy  reads  "  who  persecutes  the  Moslims  in  his  coun- 
try ;  so,  for  instance,  the  Ballahra ;"  and  all  that  follows  respecting 
the  longevity  of  the  kings,  is  said  there  in  reference  to  the  Bal- 
lahra. 


390    /         EL-MAS'UDl'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

the  Moslims.  He  has  a  number  of  elephants  :  his 
dominions  occupy  a  tongue  of  land,  and  are  so  rich 
in  mines  of  gold  and  silver,  that  gold  and  silver  is 
the  medium  of  their  commerce. 

Next  to  this  country  is  the  kingdom  of  et-Takin 
0y»lU!.  The  king  is  on  friendly  terms  with  the 
neighbouring  sovereigns  and  with  the  Moslims  ;  his 
military  forces  are  less  considerable  than  those  of 
the  kings  whom  we  have  named.  In  this  kingdom 
are  the  prettiest  women  of  all  India.  They  are 
praised  for  their  beauty  in  books,  De  Coitu  <_o;r* 
*U!J,  and  sailors  are  excedingly  anxious  to  buy  them. 
They  are  known  under  the  name  of  Takinians. 
Beyond  this  kingdom  is  that  of  Rahma  ^,  which 
is  the  title  for  their  kings,  and  generally  at  the  same 
time  their  name.  His  dominions  border  on  those 
of  the  king  of  the  Khazars ;  and,  on  one  side,  on 
those  of  el-Ballahra,  with  whom  he  is  frequently 
at  war.  Rahma  has  more  troops,  elephants,  and 
horses,  than  the  Ballahra,  the  king  of  el-Khazar  and 
of  et-Takin.  When  he  takes  the  field,  he  has  no 
less  than  five  thousand  elephants.  He  never  goes 


*  A  work  of  this  title,  by  the  celebrated  Rhazes,  is  in  the 
library  of  Ley  den.  The  number  of  curious  observations,  the 
correct  and  practical  ideas,  and  the  novelty  of  the  notions  of 
eastern  nations  on  these  subjects,  which  are  contained  in  this  book, 
render  it  one  of  the  most  important  productions  of  the  medical 
literature  of  the  Arabs. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  391 

to  war  but  in  winter,  because  the  elephants  cannot 
bear  thirst.  His  forces  are  generally  exaggerated  ; 
some  believe  that  the  number  of  fullers  and  washers 
in  his  camp,  is  from  ten  to  fifteen  thousand.  The  above- 
mentioned  kings  fight  in  squares,  every  one  amount- 
ing to  twenty  thousand  men ;  so  that  every  one  of 
the  four  sides  of  the  square  has  five  thousand  men. 

In  the  kingdom  of  Rahma  cowries  are  used  as 
the  medium  of  exchange  in  commerce.  His  country 
abounds  in  silver,  gold,  and  aloes,  and  there  the 
finest  cloths  known  are  manufactured.  From  this 
country  a  sort  of  hair,  called  ^QxA)  saiman, 
is  exported,  which  is  fastened  on  ivory  and  silver, 
and  used  as  fly-flaps.  Servants,  with  such  instru- 
ments in  their  hands,  stand  at  the  head  of  the  kings 
when  they  hold  court. 

In  his  country  is  an  animal  of  the  name   of 

j 

j{u<U  (<JJuJj)  ^l&Jt,  which  common  people  call  the 
unicorn  ^jJ^fil-  It  has  in  its  forehead  one  horn 
and  is  not  as  great  as  the  elephant,  but  much 
higher  than  the  buffalo.  This  animal  bellows  like 
a  bull.  Elephants  take  flight  from  it,  because,  God 
knows,  there  is  no  animal  stronger  than  this.  Its 
bones  are  not  divided  into  limbs,  but  the  legs  are 
without  articulation;  hence,  it  cannot  bend  its  limbs. 
It  lives  in  forests  and  woods,  and  when  it  sleeps  it 
leans  on  a  tree.  The  Hindus  and  the  Moslims  in 
India  eat  the  flesh  of  this  animal,  for  it  enters  into 


392  EL-MAS'fjDl'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

the  class  of  bulls  and  buffaloes.  Most  Hindus  are 
unacquainted  with  this  animal;  but  in  the  kingdom 
of  Rahma  it  is  more  frequent,  and  its  horn  is  there 
purer  and  finer.  The  horns  are  white,  with  a  black 
figure  in  the  middle,  on  a  white  ground;  representing 
the  outlines  and  shades  of  the  figures  of  men, 
guinea-fowls,  fish,  and  of  the  unicorn  itself,  or  of 
some  other  animal  found  in  those  countries.  This 
horn  is  wrought,  and  they  make  girdles  and  ribbons 
of  it,  just  as  such  ornaments  are  made  of  gold  and 
silver.  These  articles  form  part  of  the  dress  of  the 
kings  and  nobles  of  China;  and  they  are  so  much 
valued,  that  such  a  girdle  costs  from  two  to  four 
thousand  dinars.  From  these  girdles  ornaments  of 
gold  are  suspended,  and  they  look  exceedingly  well : 
sometimes  they  are  inlaid  with  precious  stones  and 
gold.  The  figures,  in  the  horn  of  the  unicorn,  are 
black,  on  a  white  ground;  sometimes,  however, 
they  are  white  on  a  black  ground.  El-Jahit  be- 
lieves, that  the  unicorn  is  a  seven  months'  camel, 
which  stretches  its  head  out  from  the  womb  of  the 
mother  to  graze,  and  then  it  draws  it  in  again.  He 
relates  this  extraordinary  fact  in  his  book  te  On 

Animals"  ^V-^  v^-  This  story  led  me  to 
inquire  of  the  merchants  of  Siraf  and  'Oman,  who 
visit  those  places,  and  whom  I  saw  in  India :  every- 
body was  surprised  at  my  question,  and  assured  me, 
that  the  pregnancy  and  delivery  of  the  unicorn  are 
not  different  from  that  of  the  buffalo.  I  do  not 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  393 

know  how  el-Jahit  learnt  this  story;  whether  he 
found  it  in  some  book,  or  whether  it  had  been 
related  to  him. 

The  king  Rahma  has  maritime  and  inland 
provinces.  On  his  empire  borders  a  kingdom, 
which  has  no  sea:  the  name  of  the  king  is  el-Kas 
i^l&J  (u-U&O-  Tne  inhabitants  are  white;  they 
have  their  ears  slit;  and  the  men  and  women  are 
very  handsome.  They  have  elephants.,  camels,  and 
horses. 

The  neighbour  of  this  king  is  the  king  of  el- 
Farbikh  gi^AN  (g^\  or  ^yfll)  (Kamirus?);  who 
possesses  maritime  provinces  and  inland  provinces, 
his  dominions  being  situated  on  a  peninsula.  The 
sea  throws  ambergris  on  shore,  and  the  country  is 
productive  of  pepper  and  elephants.  He  is  brave 
and  proud.  But  he  is  less  powerful  than  proud, 
and  less  brave  than  overbearing. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  country  of  el-Maujah 
x^.U  which  comes  next,  are  of  a  white  complexion 
and  handsome;  they  do  riot  slit  their  ears.  They 
have  horses  and  the  necessary  warlike  equipment 
for  defence.  Their  country  is  rich  in  musk.  We 
have  described  the  musk-deer  in  the  preceding  pages. 
The  inhabitants  dress  like  the  Chinese.  Their 
country  is  defensible  against  invasion  by  its  moun- 
tains, the  summits  of  which  are  white;  and  there 
are  no  higher  mountains,  either  in  India  or  in 
es-Sind,  than  these.  The  musk  of  their  country  is 


394  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

celebrated  and  is  named  after  it,  for  sailors  and 
merchants,  who  export  this  article  and  carry  on 
commerce  with  it,  call  it  Maujahian  musk 


Beyond  el-Maujah  is  the  kingdom  of  el-Mayid 
jolU  or  JulU),  which  has  a  number  of  towns, 
extensive  cultivated  districts,  and  numerous  armies. 
Their  kings  employ  eunuchs  in  their  service,  and 
for  the  administration  of  their  provinces,  which 
yield  very  many  natural  products*,  for  levying  the 
revenues,  and  as  governors  ;  as  it  is  the  habit  with 
the  kings  of  the  Chinese,  which  we  have  described  in 
their  history.  El-Mayid  borders  on  China,  and 
there  pass  constantly  ambassadors  from  one  country 
to  the  other  with  presents,  which  are  exchanged 
between  the  two  courts.  But  these  two  kingdoms 
are  separated  by  great  mountains,  which  are  very 
difficult  of  access.  The  Mayid  are  very  brave  and 
strong.  The  messengers  of  the  king  of  the  Mayid, 
which  are  sent  to  China,  are  watched  lest  they  should 
spy  out  the  country,  and  take  advantage  of  the 
weak  points  ;  and  lest  they  should  know  the  roads  of 
the  extinsive  dominions  of  the  Chinese. 


^J1  Literally,  "they  are  mines."  The  word 
mine  is  used  in  Arabic,  as  well  for  places  which  yield  perfumes  and 
spices,  as  for  such  as  yield  metals.  Another  copy  has  ^UlJ 
instead  of  •  slxU,  an(l  gives  to  the  sentence  the  meaning,  *'  as, 
for  instance,  the  province  of  el-Mawan." 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  395 

The  Hindu  and  Chinese  nations,  which  we 
have  mentioned,  have  their  own  manners  and  usages 
in  eating,  drinking,  husbandry,  dressing,  and  in  the 
art  of  healing.  They  use  actual  cautery  ^UJL  ^\, 
&c.  An  example  of  their  manners  is,  that  their 
kings  do  not  think  it  prudent  to  prevent  the  free 
passage  of  wind,  "for,"  they  say,  "it  is  a  noxious 
matter,"  and  they  do  not  think  it  at  all  improper  to 
let  it  freely  escape  under  any  circumstance.  Their 
sages  had  the  same  opinion  and  practice.  They 
thought,  that  restraint  in  this  matter  was  unwhole- 
some and  productive  of  illness ;  whilst  they  con- 
sidered it  as  a  cure,  to  give  free  psssage  to  the 
wind.  This  they  considered  as  the  greatest  remedy 
as  a  preservative  against  cholic  and  constipation, 
and  as  a  relief  for  complaints  of  the  spleen.  Hence 
they  pass  wind  both  gently  and  aloud,  without  any 
restraint ;  nor  do  they  consider  it  to  be  against 
good  breeding.  The  ancient  Hindus  were  well 
skilled  in  medicine,  and  curious  anecdotes  are 
related  of  them,  which  are  connected  with  this 
subject.  An  historian  says  of  the  Hindus,  that 
they  consider  it  less  genteel  to  cough,,  than  to 
break  wind  aloud.  An  eructation  is  considered  as 
the  same  thing,  as  smothered  effects  of  flatulency,, 
for  the  noise  in  breaking  wind  loudly  deprives  it  of 
the  offensive  smell.  The  historian  shows  that  what 
he  says  respecting  the  Hindus  is  generally  known, 
and  has  been  acknowledged  in  biographical,  histo- 


396  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

rical,  miscellaneous,  and  poetical  works,  as  in  the 
poem  which  has  the  title  jAit  cMi,  which  he  quotes. 

"The  wise  and  eloquent  Hindu  pronounces  an 
opinion  which  I  am  embellishing  with  the  charms 
of  poetry.  Do  not  restrain  loud  wind  whenever 
you  may  feel  it,  but  break  it  and  open  the  doors  to 
it,  for  restraint  in  this  matter  is  unwholesome ;  but, 
to  give  to  wind  free  passage,  brings  you  rest  and 
health.  Coughing  and  blowing  the  nose  is  indecent 
and  ill-bread  ;  but  not  breaking  wind  aloud.  Eruc- 
tations and  genteel  winds  are  the  same  thing,  with 
the  only  difference,  that  a  genteel  wind  has  a  more 
offensive  smell." 

The  wind  in  the  bowels  is,  indeed,  in  both  cases 
the  same,  and  only  different  with  reference  to  the 
way  by  which  it  is  expelled  ;  that  which  comes  up 
is  called  eructation,  and  that  which  goes  down  is 
called  flatulency  :  it  is  the  same  as  the  distinction 
between  slapping  (the  face),,  and  a  thump  (on  the 
back  of  the  head)  (wyUaJ!^  X*kMi),  the  one  is  on  the 
face,  the  other  on  the  occiput,  but  in  reality  they 
are  the  same  thing ;  it  is  only  a  distinction  of  the 
region  of  the  body. 

Man  is  subject  to  many  affections,  constant 
accidents,  and  long  diseases,  as  cholic,  pains  in  the 
stomach,  and  other  accidents,,  which  arise  from  an 
accumulation  of  impurities  in  the  primes  via,  which 
are  not  discharged  when  they  are  mobile,  and  when 
nature  makes  its  regular  efforts  to  discharge  them. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  397 

Other  animals  are  free  from  these  evils ;  for  matters 
which  create  disorders  in  the  bowels  are  with  them 
immediately  discharged,  since  they  oppose  no  con- 
straint. Ancient  philosophers  and  the  sages  of  the 
Greeks,  like  Democritus  u^^H**,  Pythagoras 
u^jys.  UL5,  Socrates  k^Ju*,  Diogenes  u*jU»jS,  and 
other  sages  of  all  nations  rejected  every  restraint 
in  these  things,  because  they  knew  what  harm 
arises  from  it;  and  everybody  who  has  the  talent  of 
observation  will  have  noticed  in  himself,  that  they 
were  right  in  their  opinion ;  for  it  is  a  rule,  esta- 
blished by  experience,  and  confirmed  by  reasoning. 
But  moralists  find  fault  with  it,  for  different  rea- 
sons, although  it  has  nothing  to  do  with  them. 

El-Mas'udi  says,  we  have  related  the  history  of 
the  kings  of  India,  their  usages,  interesting  anec- 
dotes, showing  their  manners  j^~>,  and  their  social 
habits,  in  our  Akhbar  ez-zeman,  and  in  the  Kitab 
el-ausat,  where  we  have  entered  into  details  res- 
pecting the  Maharaj,  who  is  the  king  of  the  islands 
from  which  drugs  and  spices  are  exported,  as  well 
as  on  other  kings  of  India,  as  the  king  of  el-Komar, 
and  other  sovereigns  of  the  mountainous  districts, 
which  are  opposite  these  islands,  as  ez-Zanij,  and 
others;  and  the  history  of  the  kings  of  China,  of 
the  king  of  Serendib,  and  of  the  country  of  Man- 
dura  u^JsLo  (&*  (jjuy***)>  which  is  opposite  to 
the  island  Serendib,  as  Komar  is  opposite  the 
islands  of  the  Maharaj,  to  which  ez-Zanij  belongs. 


398  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

Every  king  of  the  country  of  Mandura  has   the 
title  el-Kay idi  £JuUH- 

We  shall  give  notices  of  the  kings  of  the  east 
and  west,  south  (^.j^l)  and  north,  in  this  book, 
speaking  of  the  kings  of  Yemen,  and  of  the  Per- 
sians, Romans,  Greeks,  the  Maghrib  and  the  differ- 
ent Abyssinian  and  Negro  nations,  and  of  some 
nations  who  have  descended  from  Yafeth. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  399 


SEVENTEENTH  CHAPTER. 


On  the  Caucasus;  account  of  the  Alans,  Khazar  ; 
of  the  different  races  of  Turks,  and  the  Bulgarians; 
also  a  notice  of  Bab  el-Abwdb  (Derbend),  and  the 
neighbouring  nations.* 


THE  mountain  of  el-Kaikhf  £*&!  (Caucasus)  is  a 
large  mountain,  and  is  of  such  extent  that  it  com- 


*  This  chapter  of  our  author,  for  the  most  part,  is  translated 
into  French  in  Klaproth's  Magazin  Asiatique,  Paris,  1835.  I 
made  this  translation  without  being  aware  that  there  already 
existed  one ;  but,  subsequently,  when  I  had  seen  the  French 
version,  I  compared  mine  with  it,  and,  in  several  instances  where 
I  differ  from  it,  put  the  Arabic  text,  to  justify  myself. 

f  Caucasus  means  the  lull  mountain,  from  the  Persian  words 
Hjfr^gdw  Koh.  It  is  therefore  not  to  be  considered  as  a  mis- 
take, if  Herodotus  gives  to  the  Caucasus  the  name  Taurus,  but 
as  a  translation  of  the  Persian  name.  The  Boun-Dehesh  offers  a 
sufficient  explanation,  why  so  many  mountains  were  called  Taurus 
or  Bull  mountains.  The  Persians  took  the  same  view  of  the 
mountains  as  of  the  rivers,  which  has  been  shown  p.  243,  supra, 
attaching  religious  ideas  to  these  natural  fortresses,  with  which 
Providence  had  protected  their  country  on  some  parts.  As 
long  as  the  empire  had  narrow  limits,  the  Taurus  was  the  end  of 


400  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

prizes  a  number  of  kingdoms  and  nations.     In  this 

their  world;  when  it  extended  further  to  the  north,  it  was  the 
Caucasus,  and  the  Imaus  in  the  south,  both  of  which  received 
therefore  the  sacred  name  of  Bull  mountain,  which  was  con- 
nected with  star  worship,  for  the  Bull  mountain  was  evidently 
sacred  to  el-Borj  _  oJj.  The  first  meaning  of  this  word  is 
stronghold ;  and  it  has  been  applied  to  the  signs  of  the  zodiac, 
for  a  reason  which  has  been  stated  in  page  205,  supra,  note. 

These  natural  fortresses  or  strongholds  of  Iran  were  naturally 
compared  with  the  strongholds  of  heaven,  and  hence  they  are 
simply  called  Alborj  in  the  Zend-Avesta,  whilst  other  writers  call 
them  simply  the  Bulls  (el-Kaf,  i,e.,  Gaw). 

Providence  considered  the  welfare  of  Iran  or  Khunnerets, 
at  the  moment  of  the  creation,  protecting  this  sacred  country  by 
rivers  and  mountains;  hence  we  find,  even  in  Mohammedan  cos- 
mogony, that  their  world  (the  Khunnerets)  is  based  upon  a  fish, 
(/.<?.,  the  four  rivers,  see  p.  243,  supra)  which  rests  upon  a  bull, 
on  whose  back  stand  the  mountains,  (see  the  third  note  to  p.  44, 
supra). 

The  name  of  the  Caucasus  ^£\  in  Mas'udi  is  so  variously 
punctuated,  that  we  can  little  rely  on  the  correctness  of  the  read- 
ing of  it  by  later  authors.  They  make  generally  ^XiM  of  it, 
because  this  word  has  a  meaning  in  Arabic.  I  read  it  ^vxiJI 
el-Ka'ikh,  considering  the  word  as  a  contraction  of  Gaw-Koh.  This 
suggestion  is  founded  upon  the  authority  of  several  Arabic  authors, 
(MS.  of  the  Royal  Library  at  Paris,  No.  847,  anc.fonds,  fol.  22, 
recto;  en-Nowairi;  Kamus,  p.  1330;  Isstachri,  tabula  xv.,and  el- 
Kazwini  aja'ib  el-Makhlukat,  where  by  a  mistake  cJixXM  is  written), 
who  derive  their  knowledge  of  the  Caucasus  from  a  different  source 
than  el-Mas'udi,  and  write  jJuxM  el-Kaik,  which  is  only  a  dif- 
ferent mode  for  expressing  the  same  sound. 

The  passage  to  which  I  am  alluding  of  the  MS.  874,  anc. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  401 

mountain  live  seventy-two  nations*,  and  every  nation 
has  its  own  king  and  language  which  differs  from 
the  others.  This  mountain  has  several  passes  and 
valleys;  in  one  of  them,  Kisra  Anushirwan  has 
built  the  town  of  Bab  el-Abwab.  He  constructed 
also  a  wall  between  this  town  and  the  sea  of  the 
Khazar  (the  Caspian  sea)  which  runs  even  one  mile 
into  the  sea.  This  wall,  which  extends  to  the  sum- 
mit of  the  mountain  of  el-Kaikh,  is  about  forty 
farsangs  long,  and  crosses  mountains  and  valleys. 
At  the  other  end  stands  the  fortress  of  Taberistanf 
^(X*»j^3.  Anushirwan  made  at  every  three  miles, 
more  or  less,  according  to  the  importance  of  the 
way  which  leads  to  it,  a  gate  of  iron  ;  and  he  settled 


fonds,  is  curious  :  "  A  man  (whose  name  is  not  clear  in  the  MS.) 
related  to  me,  that  he  had  been  sent  by  some  king  of  the  Cau- 
casus i_JuxJ\  Jj^  to  the  king  of  the  Russians,  for  he  believed 
that  they  had  an  inscription,  engraved  on  wood.  (When  I  came 
there)  they  showed  me  some  white  pieces  of  wood,  with  drawing 
.jifcju  on  them.  I  do  not  know  whether  they  were  the  signs  for 
whole  words  or  separate  letters.  They  looked  like  this"  —  here 
follows  a  drawing. 

*  Timosthenes  finds  in  Diuscurias,  the  capital  of  the  Colchians, 
three  hundred  different  nations  and  tongues.  —  Pliny  vii.,  5. 

f  Taberistan  is  a  wrong  reading  met  with  in  other  authors  as 
well  as  in  el-Mas'udi,  instead  of  /  .  ^U^jJo  Tabasseran,  which  is 
the  name  of  an  ancient  fortress,  and  of  a  province  of  Daghestan. 
It  has  with  the  Persians,  also,  the  name  •  U^xls  Taberseran 
(Klaproth). 

2    D 


402  EL-MAS'lJDi's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

at  every  gate,  within  the  wall,  people  who  were  to 
guard  the  gate  and  the  wall  near  it,  to  check  the 
incursions  of  the  nations  who  live  on  these  moun- 
tains: as  the  Khazar,  el-Lan,  the  different  Turkish 
hordes,  the  Serir,  Targhiz*,  and  other  unbelieving 
nations.  The  jebel  el-Kaikh  extends  in  length  and 
breadth  about  two  months'  journey  ;  and  the  people 
who  live  upon  and  about  it  can  only  be  counted  by 
Him  who  created  them. 

One  pass  of  this  mountain  *jU£  Je^l  leads 
towards  the  sea  of  the  Khazar  (Caspian),  and  is  not 
far  from  Bab  el-Abwab  as  we  have  mentioned. 
Another  runs  towards  the  sea  Mayotis,  with  which 
the  strait  of  Constantinople  communicates  as 
we  have  before  said.  On  this  sea  is  the  town 
of  Trebizond  k'Joyj^k.  There  is  a  fair  once  a  year, 
at  which  merchants  assemble  from  all  nations — 
Moslims,  Byzantines,  Armenians,  and  others  from 
the  country  of  Kashakf  S.ZS. 

*  All  copies  read  ..cjjJJ.  Klaproth  reads  JfcX>JJ  Bulgarians; 
and  this  seems  to  be  correct,  for  there  are  some  passages  further 
on  in  this  chapter  where  our  author  speaks  of  the  wars  of  this 
nation  against  the  Byzantines.  And  the  comparison  of  his  ac- 
count with  Greek  authors  shows,  that  he  means  the  Bulgarians. 
In  the  copy  of  Cambridge,  JLL  is  written  in  some  instances  as  a 
correction  on  the  margin.  I  thought  it  better  not  to  change  this 
error,  for,  in  some  instances,  it  may  be  that  our  author  means  not 
the  Bulgarians,  but  a  different  nation. 

f  One  copy  reads  "  Alans." 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  403 

When  Anushirwan  had  built  this  city,  which 
bears  the  name  of  Bab  el-Abwab,  and    the   wall 
which  runs  over  land,  water,  and  mountains,  and 
when   he   had    settled    people    there,    (a   military 
colony,)  and  kings,  he  assigned  to  them  (the  kings) 
their  ranks  v^'lr*  an^  districts,    and   marked  the 
boundary,  as  Ardeshir  Ben  Babek  had  done  when 
he  assigned  to  the  kings  of  Khorasan  their  ranks. 
One  of  the  kings  in  those  districts  which  border  on 
the  country  of  the  Moslims,  near  the  province  of 
Barda'ah  Xc^j,  to  whom  Anushirwan  assigned  his 
rank,  was  a  king  of  the  name  of  Sharwan  (jj^£> 
and  from  him  his  dominions  have  this  name*.    His 
title    was    Sharwan   Shah   *L2»  (jj\-^,    and   every 
king  who  is  in  possession  of  those  districts  has  the 
name  Sharwan,  (which  sounds  Sharwan-Shah  with 
the  title).     His  kingdom  has  at  present  [332  A.H.] 
about  one  month's  journey  in  circumference,  for  he 
has  conquered  several  provinces  which  had  not  been 
assigned  to  him  by  Anushirwan  ;  and  these  new  ac- 
cessions are  now  considered  as  part  of  his  dominions. 
The  present  king  [we  have  just  mentioned  the  date 
in  which  we  write]  is  a  Moslim  of  the  name  of  Mo- 
hammed Ben  Yezid.     He  is  a  descendant  of  Behram 
Gur  j^  -l^j.     The  ruler  of  Khorasanf  at  present 


f   This  is  probably  an  error  instead  of  Khosru  Shah  ( Abulfeda, 
page  387). 

2  D  2 


404  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

[we  have  just  mentioned  the  date]  is  one  of  the 
descendants  of  Isma'il  Ben  Ahmed  ;  and  Isma'il 
derived  his  origin  also  from  Behram  Gur.  Nobody 
who  knows  genealogy  will  contradict  it. 

The  king  of  the  Serir,  Mohammed  Ben  Yezid, 
equally  a  descendent  of  Behram  Gur  who  is  the 
Sharwan,  is  in  possession  of  the  city  of  Bab  el- 
Abwab,  since  the  death  of  a  near  relation  of  his,  of 
the  name  of  'Abdul-Melik  Ben  Hesham  <XXU«x*c 
-Uob  (JL^j?  who  was  a  man  of  the  Ansar.  He  and 
his  forefathers,  had  been  the  governors  of  Bab  el- 
Abwab,  and  had  been  settled  there  since  the  time 
when  Moslemah  Ben  'Abdul-Melik  «xxc  ^j.j  '&*»** 
c^XU  and  other  Moslim  leaders,  conquered  that 
country  in  the  beginning  of  the  Islam. 

On  the  kingdom  of  Sharwan  borders  another 
kingdom  of  the  mountains  of  el-Kaikh,  which  has 
the  name  Layidan*  j,1«x^  (e^W).  The  king  is 
called  Layidan-shah  sLS^Utf  (*l-S»  £^)-  It  has 
recently  been  conquered  by  Sharwan  Mohammed 
Ben  Yezid.  He  has  also  subjugated  the  kingdom  of 
the  Mukanians  *ol*jXi.  The  king  of  el-Kizf 


*  Klaproth  found  this  name  spelt   •  LjJ    Abran. 

f  El-Kiz  seems  to  be  a  wrong  reading,  instead  of  OCXM  el-Lakz. 
This  seems  to  be  the  Arabic  name  for  the  Lesghiz,  which  has 
some  resemblance  to  the  Georgian  name  of  the  same  nation, 
Lek'hethi :  and  the  Lekos,  mentioned  in  Vakhthang  (apud  St. 
Martin,  vol.  ii.,  page  182)  as  one  of  the  fathers  of  the  Caucasian 
nations,  is  in  all  likelihood  the  father  of  the  same  nation. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  405 

is  equally  a  vassal  of  Sharwan.  The  population 
of  this  kingdom,  which  is  situated  on  the  mountains, 
is  innumerable.  Some  of  them  are  unbelievers,  and 
do  not  acknowledge  the  Sharwan  as  their  master: 
they  are  the  Dudanians  2Lob^«xM  (X/Jb^JM  or  XiA^l), 
who  are  pagans,  and  have  no  king.  The  usages 
which  they  are  said  to  have  in  their  marriages  and 
traffic,  are  very  singular. 

There  are  passes  and  valleys  in  this  mountain 
which  are  inhabited  by  nations  who  are  unac- 
quainted with  each  other,  on  account  of  the  diffi- 
culty of  communication,  which  is  impeded  by  the 
height  and  roughness  of  the  mountains,  by  marshes 
and  forests,  by  the  waters  which  flow  down  from 
the  summits,  and  by  the  immense  rocks  and  stones. 

This  man,  named  Sharwan,  has  subjected  many 
kingdoms  in  these  mountains  which  had  been  given 
to  various  chiefs  by  Anushirwan  and  others  who 
organized  that  country.  They  are  now  all  under 
the  sceptre  of  Mohammed  Ben  Yezid ;  amongst 
them  is  Khorasan  Shah  (Khosru  Shah)  and  Rawan 
Shah  ^Lfc  ^j  (*t£  gUb).  We  shall  relate  how 
he  became  master  of  the  kingdom  of  Sharwan.  He 
and  his  father  were  in  possession  of  Layidan,  and 
had  no  other  kingdom*.  The  king  of  Sharwan  is 


Jj    a 


406  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

the  neighbour  of  the  king  of  Taberistan  ^.jU^x^, 
who  is,  in  our  time,  a  Moslim  of  the  name  of  Ibn 
Okht  'Abdul  Melik  JiJH  «XAC  £^J  ^J,  who  has  been 
Emir  of  Bab  el-Abwab. 

The  nation  nearest  to  Bab  el-Abwab  are  the  Hai'dan 
(^.jjj^  ((^oyc*).  They  form  one  of  the  kingdoms 
of  the  Khazar.  Next  to  Haidan  is  the  kingdom  of 
the  Khazar.  Their  metropolis  was  the  city  of  Se- 
mender  *  ^*x;*~>,  which  is  eight  days'  journey  from 
the  town  of  Bab  el-Abwab.  This  city  has  a  nume- 
rous population  of  Khazar,  but  it  is  no  longer  the 
capital,  for  when  Solaiman  Ben  Rabi'ah  el-Bahili 
^Lfc  UJi  ***j;  £•>  ^UxX*d  conquered  Semender  in  the 
beginning  of  the  Islam,  the  king  transferred  his 
residence  to  Itil  JJJ,  which  is  seven  days'  journey 
from  Semender ;  and  since  this  time  the  kings  of 
the  Khazar  reside  there. 

This  town  (Itil)  is  divided  into  three  parts,  by 
a  large  river,  which  rises  from  the  higher  regions 
of  the  country  of  the  Turks,  and  from  which  an 
arm  branches  off,  somewhere  near  the  country  of 
the  Targhiz  y*j&\  (Bulgarians),  and  falls  into  the 
sea  of  Mayotisf.  This  town  has  two  sides.  In 

*  Compare  Fraehn,  de  Chasaris,  in  Actis  Acad.  Imp.  Scient. 
Petersbourg,  1822,  vol.  viii.  Klaproth  informs  us,  that  the 
modern  name  of  Semender  is  Tarku,  or  Tarkhu  »^.jjN 

f  The  error  that  the  Don  is  a  branch  of  the  Wolga  is  also 
met  with  in  Byzantine  authors.  (Klaproth.) 


AND    MINES    OP    GEMS.  407 

the  middle  of  the  river  is  an  island,  in  which  the 
king  resides.  The  palace  of  the  king  stands  on  the 
extremity  of  this  island,  and  is  connected  by  a 
bridge  of  boats  with  one  of  the  two  sides  of  the 
town.  In  this  town  are  many  Moslims  and 
Christians,  Jews  and  Pagans.  The  king,  his  suite, 
[and  the  Khazar  of  his  army*,]  embraced  the 
tenets  of  the  Jews,  in  the  reign  of  er-Rashid.  To 
this  king  flock  the  Jews  from  all  the  Moslim  dis- 
tricts, and  from  the  Byzantine  empire ;  for  the  em- 
peror forced  the  Jews  of  his  dominions  to  turn 
Christians,  and  loaded  the  converts  with  favours. 
The  present  [332,  A.H.]  Byzantine  emperor  is  Ar- 
manus  u-^JU;!  (Romanus  II.).  We  shall  speak  in 
another  chapter  on  the  Byzantine  emperors ;  how 
many  there  were ;  and  we  shall  also  give  the  history 
of  Romanus  and  his  colleague.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, many  Jews  took  flight  from  the  By- 
zantine empire  into  the  country  of  the  Khazar.  As 
we  cannot  insert  in  this  book  the  history  of  the 
conversion  of  the  king  of  the  Khazar  to  Judaism, 
we  refer  the  reader  to  our  former  works. 

One  of  the  various  Pagan  nations  who  live  in 
his  country  are  the  Sekalibah  XxJlx*^  (Sclavonians), 
and  another  the  Rus  y*^  (the  Russians).  They 
live  in  one  of  the  two  sides  of  this  town :  they  burn 


*  These  words  are  left  out  in  some  copies. 


408  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

the  dead  with  their  cattle,  utensils,  arms,  and  orna- 
ments. When  a  man  dies,  his  wife  is  burnt  alive 
with  him;  but,  when  the  wife  dies,  her  husband  is 
not  burnt.  If  a  bachelor  dies,  he  is  married  after 
his  death.  Women  are  glad  to  be  burnt;  for  they 
cannot  enter  into  paradise  by  themselves.  This 
usage  prevails  also  among  the  Hindus,,  as  we  have 
said.  But  the  Hindus  never  burn  a  woman  with 
her  husband,  unless  it  is  her  own  wish. 

The  majority  of  the  population  of  this  country 
are  Moslims;  for  the  standing  army  of  the  king 
consists  of  Moslims.  They  are  called  al-Larisians 
L^SUi  (XAA*.^),  and  come  from  Khowarezm; 
whence  they  emigrated  at  an  early  period,  after  the 
spreading  of  the  Islam ;  on  account  of  drought  and 
plague  which  had  visited  their  country.  They  are 
brave,  good  soldiers,  and  form  the  strength  of  the 
king  of  the  Khazar  in  his  wars.  They  fixed  certain 
conditions  under  which  they  would  establish  them- 
selves in  his  country;  one  of  these  conditions  was, 
that  they  should  be  allowed  to  profess  publicly  the 
Islam;  to  build  mosques  and  call  out  the  prayers; 
and  that  the  vizier  of  the  kingdom  should  be  a  man 
of  their  religion  and  nation.  The  vizier  there  is  at 
present  from  amongst  them;  his  name  is  Ahmed 
Ben  Kuwaih  &*£  (Jj.j  *x^.  Another  condition  is, 
that  if  the  king  of  the  Khazar  should  have  a  war 
against  the  Moslims,  they  would  remain  separate  in 
his  camp,  (observe  neutrality,)  and  not  fight  against 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  409 

a  nation  who  profess  the  same  religion;  but  they 
would  fight  for  him  against  any  other  nation. 
There  are,  at  present,  seven  thousand  horsemen 
of  theirs,  in  the  army  of  the  king,  armed  with  bows 
and  equipped  in  cuirasses,  helmets,  and  coats  of 
mail:  he  has  also  some  spearsmen.  In  point  of 
arms,  they  are  like  the  soldiers  in  Moslim  coun- 
tries. Their  supreme  judges,  in  religious  and  civil 
matters,  are  Moslims. 

In  accordance  with  the  constitution  of  the  king- 
dom of  the  Khazar,  there  are  nine  supreme  judges  in 
the  country;  two  of  them  for  the  Moslims;  two  for  the 
Khazars,  who  follow  the  laws  of  the  Pentateuch  in 
passing  sentence ;  two  for  the  Christians,  who  follow 
the  laws  of  the  gospel  in  their  decisions ;  and  one 
for  the  Sclavonians,  Russians,  and  the  other  pagan 
population.  The  pagan  judge  decides  after  the 
heathen  laws;  that  is  to  say,  the  dictates  of  reason, 
(not  revelation).  If  any  important  case  comes 
before  him,  he  refers  to  the  Moslim  judges,  and  lets 
them  decide  after  the  law  of  the  Islam. 

There  is  no  other  king  in  these  parts  who  has 
paid  troops,  except  the  king  of  the  Khazar.  Every 
Moslim  has  there  the  name  Larisian,  (although  he 
may  not  be  of  this  nation,)  and  it  is  even  extended 
to  such  Russians  and  Sclavonians  as  serve  in  the 
(standing)  army  or  household  of  the  king;  although 
they  are  pagans  as  we  have  said*.  But  there  are 


410  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

many  Moslims  in  this  kingdom  besides  the  Larisi- 
ans;  they  are  artisans,  tradespeople,  and  merchants, 
who  have  been  attracted  by  the  justice  and  security  (of 
persons  and  property)  afforded  by  the  government. 
They  have  a  great  public  mosque  £«U-f>  the  Minaret 
of  which  rises  above  the  royal  palace ;  and  several 
private  mosques  «xsa«Jlf,  where  children  are  in- 
structed in  reading  the  Koran.  If  the  Moslims 
and  Christians,  who  are  there,  agree,  the  king  has 
no  power  over  them. 

El-Mas'udi  says,  What  we  have  said  does  not 
refer  to  the  king  of  the  Khazar  himself,  but  we 
mean  the  Khakan  (jjbA^  (Major  domus)-,  for  there 
is  a  king  in  the  country  of  the  Khazar,  besides  the 
Khakan.  He  is  shut  up  in  his  palace :  he  never 
makes  a  public  procession,  nor  does  he  show  him- 
self to  the  nobility  or  the  people,  and  he  never 
goes  out  from  his  palace.  His  person  is  sacred, 
but  he  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  affairs  of  the 
state,  either  to  command  or  forbid.  Everything 
is  administered  by  the  Khakan  for  the  king,  who 
lives  with  him  in  the  same  palace.  If  a  drought, 
or  any  other  misfortune,  befals  the  country  of  the 
Khazar,  or  if  a  war  or  any  other  accident  happens 
to  them,  the  lower  and  higher  classes  of  the  nation 
run  to  the  king,  and  say,  "The  administration  of 


AND    MINES   OF    GEMS.  411 

tliis  Khakan  brings  misfortune  upon  us:  put  him  to 
death,  or  deliver  him  to  us,  that  we  may  kill  him." 
Sometimes  he  delivers  him  to  them,  and  they  put 
him  to  death;  at  other  times  he  takes  charge  himself 
of  the  execution;  and  sometimes  he  has  pity  on 
him,  protects  him,  and  sets  him  free  without  doing 
him  any  harm,  although  he  might  have  deserved  it. 
I  do  not  know  whether  this  institution  dates  from 
ancient  times,  or  whether  it  has  been  recently 
introduced.  The  Khakan  is  chosen  from  among 
the  nobility  *  by  their  chiefs  ;  but  I  think  that  the 
royalty  of  the  present  dynasty  takes  date  from  a 
remote  period. 

The  Khazar  have  boats,  with  which  they  go  on 
a  river,  which  falls  above  their  city  (Itil)  into  the 
river  (Wolga)  that  runs  through  their  capital  (Itil). 


»)\  cf  iU  Ahl  bait,  or  ahl  el-boyutdt 
means,  I  believe,  generally  persons  of  family,  or  the  nobility. 
Klaproth  and  Frsehn  differ  from  my  opinion  :  the  latter  translates 

the  words  (^yu*  d^  J^l  J  $\  XxJlXiU  <£***£  $3 
"  Dignitas  autem  non  nisi  certse  alicui  families  competit,"  which  I 
should  have  rendered  by  "  To  the  Khakanship  only  men  of  family 
are  competent,  who  have  distinguished  themselves."  With  the 
Alites  I^IAAJ  ^&>\  means  the  members  of  the  family  of  Moham- 
med; and  thus  I  ought  to  have  explained  it  in  the  note  page  52, 
supra.  In  Persian  history,  t  •*  AJ'^AJI  JjM  are  the  ancient 
nobility. 


412  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

On  the  banks  of  this  river,  which  has  the  name  of 
Bortas  u-U^j,  Turks  have  settled,  who  form  part  of 
the  kingdom  of  the  Khazar.  Their  country  is  well- 
cultivated,  and  lies  between  the  Khazar  and  the 
kingdom  of  the  Targhiz  (Bulgarians).  The  river 
(Bortas)  comes  from  the  Targhiz  (Bulgarians), 
and  there  is  an  active  navigation  carried  on  be- 
tween the  Targhiz  and  Khazar.  Bortas  is  origi- 
nally the  name  of  a  Turkish  nation,  as  we  have 
before  said,  who  live  on  this  river,  and  give  to  it 
their  name.  From  their  country  come  the  furs  of 
black  and  red  foxes,  which  are  called  the  Bortasian 
furs.  A  black  fur  of  this  kind  costs  one  hundred 
dinars,  and  more;  but  the  red  are  cheaper.  Dresses 
of  these  furs  are  worn  by  the  kings  of  the  Arabs 
and  the  Barbarians ;  and  they  form  part  of  their 
vanity;  for  they  are  considered  more  valuable  than 
the  furs  of  sable  jye*»>  herrneline  <*&*!!,  and  the  like. 
The  kings  wear  tiaras  (j*J&S,  khaftans,  and  robes 
g\j*,  of  these  furs.  If  kings  have  their  khaftans 
and  robes  lined  with  black  Bortasian  foxs'  fur,  it  is 
excusable  (although  it  is  against  the  divine  laws). 

From  the  upper  course  of  the  river  of  the 
Khazar  (Wolga),  an  arm  branches  off  (the  Don), 
that  falls  into  a  narrow  gulf  of  the  sea,  Pontus, 
which  is  the  sea  of  the  Russians ;  for  no  nation, 
excepting  the  Russians,  navigates  this  sea.  They 
are  a  great  nation,  living  on  one  of  the  coasts  of 


AND    MINES   OF    GEMS.  413 

this  sea.  They  neither  have  a  king  nor  do  they 
acknowledge  a  positive  law  (revelation),  X*j^. 
Many  of  them  are  merchants,  and  trade  with  the 
kingdom  of  the  Targhiz.  The  Russians  are  in 
possession  of  great  silver  mines,  which  maybe  com- 
pared with  those  in  the  mountain  of  Lahjir  jsa&y 
(^acuj)  in  Khorasan.  The  capital  of  the  Targhiz 
is  situated  on  the  coast  of  the  sea  Mayotis*.  In 
my  opinion,  this  country  belongs  to  the  seventh 
climate.  The  Targhiz  are  of  Turkish  origin.  Their 
caravans  go  as  far  as  Khowarezm  in  Khorasan,  and 
from  Khowarezm  caravans  go  to  them ;  but  there 
live  several  wandering  hordes  of  Turkish  origin, 
who  are  distinct  from  the  Targhiz,  between  these  two 
countries  which  render  the  road  of  the  caravans 
unsafe. 

The  present  king  of  the  Targhizf  [in  332  A.H.] 
is  a  Moslim.  He  embraced  this  religion,  in  the 
time  of  el-Moktader  Billah  after  310  A.H.,  in  con- 
sequence of  a  vision.  His  son  has  made  the  pil- 

*  The  town  of  the  Bulgarians,  says  Klaproth,  is  situated  on 
the  Wolga,  under  the  place  where  it  unites  with  the  Kama,  and 
not  on  the  Black  Sea.  El-Mas'udi  confounds  the  Bulgarians 
who  live  on  the  Wolga  with  those  on  the  Danube.  So  far  Klap- 
roth. I  think  that  el-Mas'udi  made  a  distinction,  calling  the  one 
nation  Targhiz,  and  the  other  Bulgar  JfcXjj  and  that  some  copy- 
ists wrote  in  both  instances  Bulgarians,  and  others  Targhiz. 

f  One  copy  reads  Bulgarians,  and  this  name  agrees  with  the 
Byzantine  historians. 


414  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

grimage  (to  Mokka),  and  was  at  Bagdad.  Moktader 
sent  him  one  great  and  several  small  standards,  and 
presents  of  money.  They  have  a  great  public 
mosque.  This  king  has  made  a  holy  expedition 
against  Constantinople,  with  about  fifty  thousand 
horsemen.  His  predatory  corps  spread  as  far  as 
the  territory  of  Rome,  Spain,  the  country  of  Borjan 
^U^j  (Burgundy?),  Galicia,  and  France*,  which  is 
about  two  months'  journey  from  Constantinople  ; 
the  intermediate  country  is  partly  cultivated  and 
partly  uncultivated.  The  Moslims  had  made  a  re- 
ligious war  from  Tarsus,  on  the  Syrian  frontier, 
against  Jarkendiyah  &<xj£^*,  under  the  minister  f 
Thaml  $£,  the  governor  of  the  frontier,  who  is 
known  under  the  name  ed-Daksi  ^A^JA!!  (^xJAll), 
with  the  Moslim  and  Christian  {  vessels  which  he 

*  X-xr'w^!  El-Ifranjah.  I  suppose  this  word  means  the  French 
in  authors  who  wrote  before  the  crusades,  for  the  eastern  Arabs 
derived  their  knowledge  of  Europe  from  the  Moors  in  Spain,  who 
were  best  acquainted  with  the  French  amongst  all  European  na- 
tions, if  they  were  not  the  only  Christian  nation  beyond  the 
Pyrenees  of  whom  they  had  a  precise  knowledge.  Since  the 
Crusades,  the  word  Ifranjah  means  any  European. 


t  ..tJliLj  means  that  he  had  a  place  in  the  household  of  the 
khalif.  First,  slaves  were  employed  to  serve  the  khalif ;  subse- 
quently, they  took  advantage  of  the  weakness  of  the  sovereign, 
and  the  menial  offices  in  his  household  became  of  more  importance 
than  right  or  talent.  Thus,  Khadim,  or  servant,  became  a  title 
as  minister  with  us. 

J   One  copy  reads       xjljj^  (.jytu^U  ^S\^9  "The  Mos- 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  415 

commanded,  in  A.  H.  312;  they  passed  through 
the  strait  of  Constantinople  and  entered  a  gulf  of 
the  Mediterranean,  which  has  no  communication 
with  any  other  sea,  and  then  they  came  into  the 
country  of  Jarkendiyah.  On  land  they  met  a  num- 
ber of  Targhiz  who  came  to  their  aid ;  and  they  said 
that  their  king  was  not  far  off.  This  proves  what 
we  have  said,  that  the  Targhiz  had  extended  their 
military  expeditions  as  far  as  the  Mediterranean. 
Some  went  with  the  Moslims  on  board  the  Tarsian 
vessels,  and  came  to  Tarsus. 

The  Targhiz  (Bulgarians)  are  a  great  and  power- 
ful nation :  they  are  brave  and  have  subjected  their 
neighbours;  and  one  horseman  of  theirs,  who  has 
turned  Moslim,to  the  number  of  which  belongs  the 
king,  can  oppose  three  other  horsemen  and  two 
hundred  unbelievers.  The  inhabitants  of  Constan- 
tinople are  not  able  to  defend  themselves  against 
them,  excepting  by  their  walls;  the  same  is  the 
case  with  other  districts  in  that  neighbourhood ; 
their  only  protection  are  their  fortresses  and  walls. 

The  night  is  exceedingly  short  in  the  country  of 
the  Bulgarians  all  the  year  round;  some  believe 
that  a  Bulgarian  cannot  boil  (meat  in)  his  kettle 

lim  and 'Omanian  vessels ;"  and  another  ^  •juyoLUi  t-»f]^ 
/.yAJj^AjJ  "  the  Syrian  and  Basrian  vessels."  As  they  could 
not  bring  the  vessels  from  the  Persian  Gulf  into  the  Mediterra- 
nean, I  read  the  last  word 


416  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

before  the  morning  comes.  We  have  explained  the 
reason  of  this  phenomenon  in  our  former  books,  as 
depending  upon  the  spherical  form  (of  the  earth); 
we  have  also  said,  that  the  night  lasts  in  some 
parts  of  the  world  six  months  without  interruption ; 
and  then  again,  that  they  have  six  months'  day, 
and  no  night.  This  is  about  (the  time  when  the 
sun  is  in)  capricornus  cf<x^.  The  reasons  which 
are  connected  with  the  spherical  form  (of  the  earth) 
are  also  stated  by  the  authors  of  the  astronomical 
tables. 

The  Russians  cr^t  consist  of  several  different 
nations  and  distinct  hordes ;  one  is  called  *A£te^JM 
(*>l*jjXJ()  (Lithuanians?).  They  go  on  their  mer- 
cantile business  as  far  as  Spain,  Rome,  Constan- 
tinople, and  the  Khazar.  After  the  year  300,  they 
had  five  hundred  ships,  every  one  of  which  had  one 
hundred  men  on  board :  they  passed  up  the  estuary 
(of  the  Don)  which  opens  into  the  Pontus,  and  is  in 
communication  with  the  river  of  the  Khazar 
(Wolga).  The  king  of  the  Khazar  keeps  a  garrison 
on  this  side  the  estuary,  with  efficient  warlike 
equipments  to  exclude  any  other  power  from  this 
passage,  and  to  prevent  them  from  occupying,  by 
land,  that  branch  of  the  river  of  the  Khazar 
which  stands  in  connection  with  the  Pontus ;  for 
the  Nomadic  Turks,  who  are  the  Ghozz  yai,  try 
frequently  to  winter  there.  Sometimes  the  water 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  417 

(the  Don)  which  connects  the  river  of  the  Khazar 
(Wolga)  with  the  above-mentioned  estuary  is  frozen, 
and  the  Ghozz  cross  it  with  their  horses,  for  although 
it  is  a  great  water,  the  ice  does  not  break  under  them. 
The  king  of  the  Khazar  himself  frequently  takes 
the  field  against  them,  if  his  garrison  is  too  weak 
to  drive  them  back,  and  he  prevents  them  from 
going  over  the  ice,  thus  defending  his  dominions.  It 
is  impossible  for  the  Turks  to  cross  the  river 
in  summer. 

When  the  Russian  vessels  came  to  the  garrison, 
on  the  entrance  of  the  estuary,  they  sent  to  the 
king  of  the  Khazar  to  ask  his  permission  to  pass 
through  his  dominions,  to  go  down  his  river,  and 
enter  into  the  sea  of  the  Khazar,  which  is  the  sea 
of  Jorjan,  Taberistan,  and  of  other  places  of  the 
Barbarians  ^U^t  as  we  have  stated,  promising 
him  half  the  plunder  which  they  should  make  from 
the  nations  who  live  on  the  coast  of  this  sea.  He 
gave  them  leave.  They  entered  the  estuary,  and, 
continuing  their  voyage  up  the  river  (Don) ,  as  far 
as  the  river  of  the  Khazar  (Wolga),  they  went 
down  this  river,  passed  the  town  of  Itil,  and 
entered  through  its  mouth  into  the  sea  of  the 
Khazar.  This  is  a  very  large  and  deep  river.  By 
these  means  the  Russians  came  into  this  sea,  and 
spread  their  predatory  excursions  over  el-Jil,  ed- 
Dailem,  Taberistan,  Aboskun,  which  is  the  name 
for  the  coast  of  Jorjan,  the  Naphtha  Country 

2  E 


418  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


uIl,  and  towards  Aderbijan,  the  town  of  Ardobil 
J.AJ^J  which  is  in  Aderbijan,  and  about  three  days' 
journey  from  this  sea.  They  shed  blood,  plundered 
property,  made  children  prisoners,  and  sent  out 
predatory  and  incendiary  corps  in  all  directions. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  coasts  of  this  sea  were 
thrown  into  consternation,  for  they  had  never  had 
to  contend  with  an  enemy  from  these  quarters  ;  for 
the  sea  had  only  been  frequented  by  peaceful  traders 
and  fishing-boats.  They  had  been  at  war  with 
el-Jil,  ed-Dailem,  and  the  leader  of  the  forces  of 
Ibn  Abi-s-Saj  ^L?  g]  ^>\,  but  with  no  other 
nation.  The  Russians  landed  on  the  coast  of  the 
Naphtha  Country,  which  is  called  Babikah  XLL 
(Baku),  and  belongs  to  the  kingdom  of  Sharwan- 
Shah.  On  their  return  from  the  coast,  the  Russians 
landed  in  the  islands  which  are  near  the  Naphtha 
Country,  being  only  a  few  miles  distant  from  it. 
The  king  of  Sharwan  was  then  'Ali  Ben  el-Haithem. 
As  the  merchants  sailed  in  boats  and  vessels  in 
pursuit  of  their  commercial  business  to  those  islands, 
the  Russians  attacked  them  ;  thousands  of  Moslims 
perished,  and  were  partly  put  to  the  sword,  partly 
drowned.  The  Russians  remained  several  months 
in  this  sea,  as  we  have  before  said.  The  nations 
on  the  coast  had  no  means  of  repelling  them,  although 
they  made  warlike  preparations  and  put  themselves 
in  a  state  of  defence,  for  the  inhabitants  of  the 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  419 

coasts  on  this  sea  are  well  civilized.  When  they 
had  made  booty  and  captives,  they  sailed  to  the 
mouths  of  the  river  of  the  Khazar  (Wolga),  and 
sent  messengers  with  money  and  booty  to  the  king, 
in  conformity  with  the  stipulations  which  they  had 
made.  The  king  of  the  Khazar  has  no  ships  on 
this  sea,  for  the  Khazar  are  no  sailors;  if  they  were, 
they  would  be  of  the  greatest  danger  to  the  Moslims. 
The  Larisians  *  and  other  Moslims  in  the  country 
of  the  Khazar  heard  of  the  conduct  of  the  Rus- 
sians, and  they  said  to  their  king:  "  The  Russians 
have  invaded  the  country  of  our  Moslim  brothers  ; 
they  have  shed  their  blood  and  made  their  wives 
and  children  captives,  as  they  were  unable  to  resist ; 
permit  us  to  oppose  them."  As  the  king  was  not 
able  to  keep  them  quiet,  he  sent  messengers  to 
the  Russians,  informing  them  that  the  Moslims 
intended  to  attack  them.  The  Moslims  took  the 
field  and  marched  against  them,  going  down  the 
banks  of  the  river.  When  both  parties  saw  each 
other,  the  Russians  left  their  vessels  and  formed 
their  battle  array  opposite  the  Moslims.  In  the 
ranks  of  the  latter  were  many  Christians  of  Itil 
ys\.  The  number  of  the  Moslim  army  was  about 


AM,Jl  al-Larisiah,  or  Allaris,  for  the  syllable  iah expresses 
sometimes  the  plural;  they  are  the  Alares  of  the  middle  ages, 
as  Klaproth  correctly  supposes. 

2  E   2 


420  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

fifteen  thousand  men,  provided  with  horses  and 
equipments.  They  fought  three  days,  and  God 
gave  victory  to  the  Moslims:  they  put  the  Russians 
to  the  sword,  others  were  drowned,  and  only  five 
thousand  escaped ;  who  sailed  (first)  along  the  bank 
of  the  river,  on  which  Bortas*  is  situated;  (then) 
they  left  their  vessels  and  proceeded  by  land.  Some 
of  them  were  slain  by  the  inhabitants  of  Bortas,  and 
others  came  into  the  country  of  Targhiz,  where  they 
fell  under  the  sword  of  the  Moslims.  There  were 
about  thirty  thousand  dead  counted  on  the  banks 
of  the  river  of  the  Khazar.  The  Russians  did  not 
make  a  similar  attempt  after  that  year. 

El-Mas'udi  says,  we  have  related  this  fact  in 
proof  (of  our  statement  that  the  Black  sea  and 
Caspian  are  separated)  against  those  who  maintain 
that  the  sea  of  the  Khazar  is  connected  with  the  sea 
Mayotis  and  the  strait  of  Constantinople,  through 
the  Mayotis  or  Pontus ;  for  if  this  was  the  case,  the 
Russians  would  have  made  their  voyage  by  this  way, 
being  the  masters  of  the  Black  sea,  as  we  have 
said.  Besides,  the  merchants  of  all  the  nations 
who  live  near  this  sea  state,  unanimously,  that  the 
sea  of  the  Barbarians  ^U^  has  no  strait  by  which 
it  is  connected  with  any  other  sea ;  and  as  this 
sea  is  but  small,  it  can  be  known  in  its  whole  ex- 


*  One  copy  reads  Autas 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  421 

tent.  The  history  of  the  Russian  ships,  which  we 
have  related,  is  generally  known  amongst  all  nations 
who  live  there.  I  have  forgotten  the  exact  date  of 
their  expedition,  but  it  happened  after  300  A.  H. 
Perhaps  those  who  maintain  that  the  sea  of  the 
Khazar  is  connected  with  the  strait  of  Constanti- 
nople mean,  under  the  sea  of  the  Khazar,  the  sea 
Mayotis,  and  the  Pontus,  which  is  the  sea  of  the 
Targhiz  and  Russians ;  God  knows  how  this  is. 

The  coast  of  Taberistan  extends  along  this  sea 
(the  Caspian) ,  and  there  is  the  town  called  es-Samer 
^**J\  (*jdO>  which  is  a  seaport,  and  one  hour  of  the 
day  from  the  town  of  Itil.  On  the  coast  of  Jorjan 
is  the  town  Aboskun*,  about  three  days'  journey 
from  (the  town  of)  Jorjan.  On  this  sea  are  also 
el-Jil  and  ed-Dailem.  There  is  a  constant  naviga- 
tion carried  oa  between  the  above-mentioned  towns 
and  Itil.  They  go  up  the  river  [Wolga]  as  far  as 
Itil;  they  sail  also  to  Bakah  (Baku)  XTL,  which 
yields  white  and  other  naphtha ;  white  naphtha  is 
found  no  where  on  earth  but  there.  Baku  lies 
on  the  south  of  the  kingdom  of  Sharwan.  In  this 
naphtha  country  is  a  crater  (chimney)  from  which 
fire  issues  perpetually,  throwing  up  a  high  flame. 
Opposite  this  coast  are  several  islands :  one  of  them 
is  three  days  distant,  in  which  there  is  a  great  vol- 


*   All  MSS.  write  this  name  invariably 


422  EL-MAs'tJDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

cano  which  often  throws  out  fire,  at  all  seasons 
of  the  year.  The  fire  rises  like  a  high  mountain 
in  the  air,  and  its  light  spreads  over  the  greater  part 
of  the  sea,  so  that  it  is  seen  at  a  distance  of  one 
hundred  farsangs.  This  volcano  is  like  el-Borkan 
(jo^j-jJJ  in  Sicily,  which  is  between  the  country  of 
the  Franks  and  Afrikiyah.  There  is  no  volcano  on 
earth  which  makes  a  greater  noise,  nor  any  the 
smoke  of  which  is  more  black,  or  the  flames  more 
copious,  than  that  which  is  in  the  kingdom  of  the 
Maharaj.  Next  comes  the  volcano  of  Barahiit 
£»yt^j,  which  is  not  far  from  Asfar  and  Hadhramaut, 
in  the  country  of  esh-Shihr,  which  is  in  the  province 
of  Yemen  and  'Oman.  The  noise  is  heard  like 
thunder  at  a  distance  of  several  miles,  and  it  throws 
live  coals  up  from  its  depth  like  mountains,  and 
pieces  of  black  rock  which  rise  so  high  in  the  air 
that  they  can  be  seen  at  many  miles'  distance;  then 
they  fall  down  again,  partly  into  the  crater,  and 
partly  round  it.  The  live  coals  which  are  thrown 
out  are  stones  which  have  become  red  by  the  par- 
ticles of  heat  which  they  have  absorbed.  We  have 
explained  the  cause  which  produces  volcanoes 
(springs  of  fire)  in  our  Akhbar  ez-zeman. 

In  this  sea  are  islands  opposite  the  coast  of 
Jorjan,  where  a  sort  of  white  falcons  *!j.j  are  caught. 
These  falcons  are  soon  made  tame ;  and  one  has 
little  to  fear  that  they  will  associate  (with  the  wild 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  423 

birds) ;  but  they  are  rather  weak,  for  the  sports- 
men who  catch  them  in  these  islands  feed  them  with 
fish;  and,  if  any  other  food  is  given  to  them,  they 
become  reduced  in  strength.  Men  who  distinguish 
themselves  by  their  knowledge  of  falconry  ^j\yd\9 
and  of  the  different  sorts  of  rapacious  birds  which 
have  been  employed  for  the  same  purpose,  among 
the  Persians,,  Turks,,  Byzantines,  Hindus,  and  Arabs, 
say,  that  falcons  of  a  white  colour  are  the  quickest 
and  handsomest ;  that  they  have  the  best  shape  and 
chest;  and  that  they  are  soonest  tamed,  and  the 
strongest  of  all  falcons  to  rise  in  the  air  ;  that  they 
have  the  longest  breath,  and  fly  furthest,  for  they 
are  very  light  and  spirited*,  and  they  have  a  hotter 
temper  than  any  other  species  of  falcons.  The  dif- 
ference of  colour  depends  upon  the  difference  of 
climate.  Hence,  they  are  of  a  pure  white  in  Ar- 
menia, in  the  country  of  the  Khazar,  in  Jorjan, 
and  the  neighbouring  countries  of  the  Turks,  on 
account  of  the  great  fall  of  snow  in  those  climates. 
A  sage  of  the  Khakans  (J^^\^9  or  kings  of 
the  Turks,  to  whom  all  other  kings  of  the  Turks 
pay  submission,  says,  "  When  the  falcons  of  our 
country  bring  out  their  young  from  the  nest  into 
the  open  field,  they  rise  in  the  air  till  they  come  to 
a  cold  and  dense  atmosphere,  where  there  are  insects 

*  Literally?  "  there  are  parts  of  warmth  in  them." 


424  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

with  which  they  feed  them  ;  this  soon  makes  them 
strong,  and  they  learn  to  use  their  wings  and  to  fly 
high  to  find  their  food.  Some  times  fragments  of 
those  insects  are  found  in  the  nests  of  falcons." 
According  to  Galen's  classification,  the  air  is  warm 
and  moist ;  so  that  the  cold  of  the  air  is  owing  to 
the  intenseness  of  winds  which  rise.  The  air  is  not 
without  beings  which  inhabit  it.  Balinas  cr-U^L 
(tjAolJb)*  (Pliny)  says,  "  Since  in  these  two  ele- 
ments, viz.,  earth  and  water,  are  beings  and  inhabit- 
ants, the  two  upper  elements,  i.e.,  air  and  fire,  must 
also  have  beings  and  inhabitants." 

I  have  found  in  some  anecdotes  of  er-Rashid, 
that  he  went  out  hunting  one  day  in  the  country 
near  el-Mausil,  with  a  white  falcon  on  his  hand. 


*  This  author  is  in  the  Royal  Library  at  Paris.  I  shall  have  an 
opportunity  of  inserting  the  leading  points  of  the  contents  of  this 
curious  and  very  philosophical  book  in  another  volume.  M.  De 
Sacy  supposes,  that  the  word  is  a  corruption  of  Apollonius ;  this, 
however,  seems  not  to  be  well  founded.  There  are  many  instances 
in  which  the  Arabs  put  an  \  at  the  beginning  of  foreign  names;  but 
perhaps,  none  where  they  omit  it.  Dr.  Nicolls  found  this  author 
quoted  in  a  MS.  of  the  Bodl.  Library  (see  Catal.  Bill.  Bodl). 
In  a  geographical  work  in  the  British  Museum,  which  was 
composed  under  Mo'tadhed,  he  has  the  surname  ^vcjJJ  the 
Roman,  and  is  said  to  have  constructed  talismans.  It  seems  that 
the  fame  of  the  Latin  naturalist  penetrated  to  the  Arabs,  but  as 
they  had  no  translation  of  his  works,  they  connected  marvels  with 
his  name,  and  put  it  on  the  head  of  their  own  compositions. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  425 

The  bird  became  uneasy  on  his  hand,  and  he  let 
it  off:  it  rose  in  the  air  till  it  disappeared  from 
his  eyes.  After  he  had  despaired  of  seeing  it 
again,  he  perceived  it  with  an  insect,  which  was 
like  a  serpent,  or  a  fish,  with  wings  like  the  fins  of 
a  fish.  Er-Rashid  had  it  put  on  a  plate;  and,  when 
he  had  returned  from  his  sport,  he  called  learned 
men,  and  asked  them  whether  they  were  aware  of 
a  being  living  in  the  air.  "  O,  Commander  of 
the  Faithful,"  answered  Mokatil  JJUU,  "  a  tradition 
of  thy  ancestor  'Abdullah  Ben  el-'Abbas  informs 
us,  that  the  air  is  inhabited  by  people  f\  of  different 
forms;  and  nearer  to  us  than  these  people  live 
white  insects,  which  breed  in  the  air,  being  kept 
aloof  by  the  thicker  atmosphere.  They  grow  to 
the  shape  of  a  serpent,  or  a  fish,  with  wings ;  they 
have,  however,  no  feathers.  These  insects  are 
caught  by  the  white  falcons,  which  live  in  Arme- 
nia." The  Khalif  produced  the  plate,  showed  the 
insect,  and  made  rich  presents  to  Mokatil. 

Some  good  observers  have  told  me  in  Egypt 
and  other  countries,  that  they  have  seen  white  ser- 
pents in  the  air,  which  moved  from  one  place  to 
another  with  a  celerity  that  was  equal  to  lightning; 
that  they  fell  sometimes  upon  an  animal  on  the 
earth  and  killed  it;  that  they  are  sometimes  heard 
flying  by  night ;  and  that  their  locomotion  in 
the  air  is  accompanied  with  a  noise  like  that  which 
is  produced  when  a  new  cloth  is  unfolded.  Persons 


426          EL-MAs'uni's  MEADOWS  OF  GOLD, 

who  have  no  knowledge  of  this  subject,  or  other 
women  (superstitious  and  ignorant  persons),  are 
frequently  heard  saying,  that  this  sound  proceeds 
from  witches,  who  fly  on  wings  of  quills  through 
the  air.  Various  opinions  have  been  stated  on  these 
topics ;  and  such  proofs  have  been  adduced  of  the 
existence  of  animals  in  the  two  (upper)  elements, 
as  leave  no  doubt  that  animals  are  generated  and 
grown  in  the  two  light  elements,  which  are  air  and 
fire,  as  there  are  generated  and  grown  in  the  two 
denser  elements,  earth  and  water. 

El-Mas'fidi  says,  the  sages  and  kings  have 
described  the  falcons,  and  dilated  on  their  praise. 
The  Khakan,  or  king  of  the  Turks,  says,  "  The 
falcon  is  courageous  and  well-behaved."  Kisra 
Anusharwan  praises  this  bird  in  these  words:  "  He 
is  active  and  watchful,  and  he  seizes  the  opportunity 
when  he  can."  The  Csesar  says,  "  The  falcon  is  a 
noble  king ;  when  he  is  in  need  he  takes,  and  when 
it  is  expedient  he  relinquishes."  The  philosophers 
speak  thus  of  the  falcon:  "  You  may  expect  that  a 
falcon  will  pursue  his  prey  with  great  velocity, 
attack  it  powerfully,  and  fly  very  high,  if  he  have 
long  legs  and  a  wide  chest ;  for  this  is  a  sign  of 
strength,  and  that  he  is  light  and  quick.  You  will 
observe  in  birds  of  prey,  that  their  strength  is  in 
proportion  to  the  width  of  their  chest,  whereas 
their  velocity  and  skill  in  turning  round  (in  vertical 
motion)  are  in  proportion  to  the  length  of  their 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  427 

legs  and  the  compactness  of  their  bodies ;  for  the 
strength  of  the  falcon  is  reduced  if  the  wings  are 
short,  and  the  body  thin  (delicate) ;  but  if  they  are 
too  long  he  is  rendered  weak  and  soon  fatigued. 
Birds  of  prey  cannot  overtake  any  other  birds  than 
such  as  have  short  legs,  and  you  will  find  that  the 
strength  of  woodcocks,  quails,,  and  partridges,  is 
in  an  inverse  proportion  to  the  length  of  their 
legs. 

Arsijanis  says,  the  falcon  is  a  rapacious  bird, 
but  he  is  not  provided  with  any  sort  of  protection 
by  nature;  his  strength  consists  in  the  slenderness 
(of  the  hind  part  of  his  body  and  the  length)  of  his 
feet;  and  although  he  is  the  weakest  of  all  birds  in 
body,  he  is  the  most  courageous,  for  he  possesses  a 
degree  of  heat  which  is  not  found  in  other  birds. 
We  found  that  his  chest  consists  of  a  tendinous 
texture,  and  is  not  swelled  with  flesh.  The  words 
of  Arsijanis  are  confirmed  by  Galen.  The  former 
author  says  further,  that  the  falcon  builds  his  nest 
on  trees  of  thorns,  which  he  puts  together  at  differ- 
ent intervals;  and  he  protects  himself  by  these 
means  against  heat  and  cold.  If  he  is  breeding  he 
builds  for  himself  a  house  (nest),  with  a  roof  that 
shuts  out  rain  and  snow,  that  he  may  be  comfort- 
able and  protected  against  cold. 

Adham  Ben  Mohriz  j^sz  ^j  f&&\  says,  that 
the  first  who  amused  himself  with  birds  of  prey  was 
el-Hareth  Ben  Mo'awiyah  Ben  Thaur,  who  was  the 


428  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


father  of  Kindah  ^ 
»«>*r.     He   went  out  one   day   sporting,  and   laid 
snares  for  sparrows  (small  birds).     An  akdar  bird 
^^n  fell  upon  one  of  the  sparrows,  which  had  already 
been  caught  in  the  snares.     Akdar  ^\  has  the  same 
meaning  as  Sakr*  jLa,  and  is  also  called  the  Ajdal 
J<>c».3!.     He  ate  the  sparrow  although  he  was  him- 
self caught.     The  king,  surprised  at  his  devouring 
the  sparrow,  although  his  wings  were  broken,  shut 
him  up  in  a  large  cage,  and  he  saw  that  he  was 
quiet,  and  that  he  did  not  make  any  efforts   to 
escape.     If  food  was  given  to  him  he  ate  it  ;  if  he 
saw  meat  he  jumped  on  the  hands  of  his  master; 
and  he  became  so  tame  that  he  did  what  was  said  to 
him,  that  he  ate  from  the  hand,  and  was  carried 
unconfined.     One   day   he   saw   a  dove  ;    he   flew 
after  it,  from  the  hand  of  his  master,  and  caught 
it.     The  king  ordered  therefore  to  use  the  falcon 
for  hunting.      One  day  when  the  king  was  going 
with  the  falcon  and  saw  a  hare,  the  falcon  flew  upon 
the  hare  and  took  it.     The  king  used  it  therefore  for 
sporting  and  killing  birds  and  hares.      Since  this 
time    falcons    have   been   employed   amongst   the 
Arabs,  and  their  use  became  more  general. 

Arsijanis  y^JUzv^l  the  philosopher,  relates  res- 


*  This  is  a  species  of  hawk.      Baron  v.  Hammer-  Purgstall 
(Falkner-Klee)  renders  this  name  in  German  by  Sakerfalke. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  429 


pecting  the  hawks  ^/jMyLM,  in  his  book  which  the 
Byzantine  emperor,  who  had  the  name  Nisban(?) 
^UMU  (^U*A*),  sent  to  el-Mahdi  as  a  present  from 
his  country,  that  is  to  say,  the  Byzantine  dominions, 
one  day  a  hawk  ^M-*  descended  upon  a  water-fowl 
and  caught  it  ;  then  he  rose  in  the  air  and  repeated 
the  same  movements  several  times.  The  king  said, 
"  This  is  a  sporting  bird;  he  has  shown  his  skill  in 
flying  down  on  the  water-fowl,  and  this  makes  him 
fit  for  sporting;  and  he  has  shown  us  his  quickness 
in  rising  in  the  air,  which  speaks  for  his  agility." 
He  was  surprised  when  he  saw  how  well  he  could 
turn  round  (in  vertical  motion),  and  was  the  first 
who  used  hawks  ^/jfc^-*  for  sporting. 

Sa'id  Ben  'Ofair  (  j*s)  j>*£  ^^t  «V~>  relates, 
on  the  authority  of  Hashim  Ben  Khadij  ^U 
^.«Xi.  QJ.J  QM*U),  that  Constantine,  the  king  of 
Amariyah,  went  out  sporting  with  a  falcon,  and 
came  as  far  as  the  strait  of  the  Pont  us,  which  joins 
this  sea  with  the  Mediterranean.  He  crossed  it, 
and  went  to  the  plains  between  the  strait  and  the 
sea.  Seeing  a  hawk  persecuting  a  water-fowl,  he 
admired  him  for  his  quickness,  violence,  and  cou- 
rage, in  pursuing  his  prey,  and  he  ordered  him  to  be 
caught  and  tamed  ;  and  he  was  the  first  who  used 
kawks.  Observing  that  the  meadow  was  extensive, 
and  covered  with  flowers  of  different  colours,  he 
said,  this  is  a  strong  place,  between  the  sea  and  a 


430  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

river  (the  strait),  and  fit  for  a  town:  and  this  in- 
duced him  to  build  Constantinople. 

We  shall  relate  the  history  of  Constantine,  the 
son  of  Helena,,  who  made  the  Christian  religion  vic- 
torious, in  the  chapter  which  treats  on  the  history 
of  the  Byzantines.  This  is  one  version  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  construction  of  Constantinople. 

Ibn  'Ofair  relates,  upon  the  authority  of  Abu 
Yezid  el-Fehri  cs^\  Jo  ^j  #\  (V?.?Ji  Joj  ^\)9  that 
it  was  the  usage  with  the  Lodriks  A^jJlH,  of  Spain, 
that  the  king  had  hawks  flying  over  the  army,  and 
over  the  cavalcade,  whenever  he  went  out  on  an 
expedition,  or  in  procession.  The  birds  were 
taught  to  fly  sometimes  high  and  sometimes  low; 
so  they  went  on  till  he  took  his  quarters ;  then  they 
sat  round  him.  One  day  one  of  their  kings  set 
out ;  the  hawks  were  with  him,  in  the  described 
manner,  and  one  of  them  pursued  and  caught  some 
birds  which  flew  up.  This  induced  the  king  to  dress 
them  for  sporting;  and  he  was  the  first  who  used 
them  for  this  purpose  in  the  Maghrib  and  in  Spain. 

El-Mas'udi  says,  it  is  the  account  of  many 
persons  who  are  well- versed  in  this  subject,  that  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Maghrib  were  the  first  who 
amused  themselves  with  vultures  ^1>J^.  When 
the  Byzantines  (Romans)  observed  the  robust  con- 
stitution of  their  body  and  the  abundance  of  their 
excrements  l^-ob!?  their  wise  men  said  no  bird 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  431 

is  more  fit  for  mischief  than  this.  It  is  related  that 
the  emperor  sent  a  vulture  to  the  Kisra,  and  wrote 
him,  that  he  was  more  efficient  than  the  falcon 
uaM,  with  the  sport  of  which  he  was  so  delighted. 
The  Kisra  ordered  him  to  be  set  against  a  wild  buck 
csvk,  and  the  bird  got  the  better  of  him,  notwith- 
standing his  resistance.  The  Kisra  returned,  full 
of  joy,  from  this  sight.  When  he  hungered  him 
for  sporting,  the  bird  fell  upon  a  boy,  and  killed 
him.  The  Kisra  said,  "  The  emperor  deprives  us 
of  our  children  without  an  army."  The  Kisra  pre- 
sented the  emperor  in  return  with  an  eagle,  and 
wrote  to  him  that  he  had  killed  wild  bucks,  and 
similar  animals ;  but  he  did  not  mention  that  the 
vulture  had  killed  a  boy.  The  emperor  admired 
the  eagle,  which  was  like  a  hyena  *x$3;  but  as  he 
was  not  on  his  guard,  several  boys  were  torn  to 
pieces  by  the  bird.  The  emperor  said,  "  The 
Kisra  takes  us  for  his  game;  but,  since  we  have 
made  a  game  of  him,  it  does  no  harm." 

In  speaking  of  the  sea  of  Jorjan  and  its  islands, 
we  went  beyond  our  limits,  and  treated  on  the 
different  sorts  of  birds  of  prey ;  we  shall  give  a 
summary  account  of  the  falcons,  and  how  many 
different  species  of  birds  of  prey  there  exist,  in  the 
chapter  on  the  Byzantine  kings.  Now  we  return 
to  our  account  of  Bab  el-Abwab,  and  the  nations 
which  live  in  the  neighbourhood  of  this  wall,  and  of 
the  Caucasus. 


432  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

We  have  already  stated,  that  the  population  of 
Haidan  is  one  of  the  worst  nations  near  Bab  el- 
Abwab  ;  their  king  is  a  Mohammedan,  and  con- 
siders himself  as  descended  from  Kahlan.  His 
children  and  his  household  are  the  only  Moslims 
in  all  his  dominions.  The  name  of  the  present 
[332  A.H.]  king  is  Salman*  j,UL*  (^IxXA-j) ;  and 
I  believe  this  is  the  title  of  every  king  of  this 
country.  Between  the  kingdom  of  Khaidan 

-    O  ,- 

(^U/^  (Hai'dan)  and  Bab  el-Abwab,  is  a  Moham- 
medan population  of  Arabian  origin  f  who  speak 
only  Arabic.  They  live  in  villages  situated  in 
forests,  jungles,  valleys,  and  on  large  rivers.  They 
have  been  there  since  the  time  when  the  country 
was  conquered  by  them.  Although  their  country 
is  on  the  frontier  of  the  kingdom  of  Haidan,  they 
are  independent ;  for  it  is  inaccessible  on  account 
of  its  forests  and  rivers.  The  distance  from  the 
town  of  Bab  el-Abwab  to  this  country,  is  only 
three  miles.  The  inhabitants  of  Bab  el-Abwab 
call  them  sometimes  to  their  aid. 

On  the  frontiers  of  the  kingdom  of  Haidan, 


*  This,  observes  M.  Klaproth,  is  probably  a  fault  instead  of 
ioi  Shamgal,  which  is,  to  this  day,  the  title  of  the  prince  of 
Kormik,  who  resides  at  Tarkhu. 

f  These  Arabs  live  to  this  day  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Sharwan  as  nomades.  See  Klaproth. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  433 

towards  the  Caucasus  and  the  wall,  is  a  king  called 
Birzoban  j,L^j,  he  is  a  Moslim,  and  the  name  of 
his  country  is  el-Karaj  g^tfi.  The  inhabitants  are 
armed  with  clubs.  Birzoban  is  the  title  of  every 
king  who  rules  over  this  country. 

Next  to  the  Birzoban  is  a  nation  called 
Ghumik  < — **$  (< — 5u*e).  They  are  Christians,  and 
have  no  king,  but  chieftains,  who  are  on  friendly 
terms  with  el-Lan.  Next  to  them,  towards  the 
wall  and  the  mountain  is  the  kingdom  of  Zarikeran 
6b^d;!>  which  means  "  coat  of  mail  manufactory," 
for  most  of  the  inhabitants  are  employed  in  making 
coats  of  mail,  stirrups,  bridles,  swords,  and  similar 
instruments  of  iron.  They  have  various  religions; 
some  are  Moslims,  others  are  Jews  and  Christians. 
Their  country  is  very  rough  and  inaccessible  to  the 
neighbouring  nations.  Beyond  them  are  the  do- 
minions of  Filan  Shah  *U>  ^^/J,  who  is  a  Christian; 
and,  as  we  have  already  stated,  he  is  descended  from 
Behram  Gur.  He  has  the  name  of  king  of  the 
Serir  (throne),  for  Yezdejerd,  the  last  of  the  Sasa- 
nian  kings,,  sent,  when  he  took  flight,  his  throne  of 
gold  and  his  treasures,  with  one  of  the  descendants 
of  Behram  Gur,  to  this  country,  and  there  they 
were  preserved  till  his  death;  for  Yezdejerd  went  to 
Khorasan,  where  he  was  killed  during  the  khalifat 
of  'Othman,  as  we  have  related  in  this  book  and  in 
our  other  works.  They  remained  in  this  coun- 

2  F 


434  EL-MAS'UD1'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

try;  he  made  himself  master  of  it,  and  his  succes- 
sors have  therefore  the  name  Sahib  es-Serir*  to  this 
day.  The  capital  of  this  king  is  called  Khomikhf 
£j**-  Twelve  thousand  villages  obey  him,  and 
it  is  in  his  choice  to  make  any  of  their  inhabitants 
slaves.  His  country  is  rough,  and  therefore  well 
protected  against  any  invasion ;  it  occupies  a  valley 
of  the  Caucasus.  He  some  times  overruns  the 
country  of  the  Khazar,  for  they  live  in  plains,  and 
he  in  mountains. 

Next  to  this  kingdom  comes  the  kingdom  of  el- 
Lan,  the  king  of  which  has  the  name  of  el-Ker- 
kendaj  ^\^S^\  (^jarjJft),  which  is  a  general 
title  for  all  kings  of  this  country,  as  Filan-Shah  is 
the  title  of  all  kings  of  es-Serir.  The  capital  of 
el-Lan  is  Ma's  oax^  (<_,***>),  which  means  "  obser- 
vation of  religion,"  2wL»x  He  has  several  magnifi- 
cent palaces,  besides  his  residence  in  the  capital,  in 
which  he  occasionally  resides.  He  is  related  to  the 
king  of  es-Serir,  one  having  married  the  sister  of 
the  other.  The  kings  of  el-Lan  embraced,  after  the 
rise  of  the  Islam,  during  the  'Abbaside  dynasty,  the 

*  Serir  is  evidently  the  name  of  the  nation,  who  are  probably 
the  same  as  the  Serri  of  Pliny,  (lib.  vi.,  cap.  5,)  who  wrote 
nearly  six  hundred  years  before  Yezdejerd.  As  Serlr  happens 
to  mean  throne  in  Arabic,  the  above  fable  was  invented. 

f  Klaproth's  MS.  reads  Homraj ;  he  identifies  therefore  this 
town  with  Humry,  in  the  territory  of  the  Uzmei  of  the  Kaitak, 
now  called  Kavah  Kend. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  435 

Christian  religion ;  previously  they  were  Pagans ; 
and  after  320  A.  H.,  they  returned  to  their  former 
faith,  giving  up  Christianity,  and  expelling  the 
bishops  and  priests  who  had  been  sent  to  them  by 
the  Byzantine  emperor. 

Between  the  kingdom  of  el-Lan  and  the  Cau- 
casus is  a  fortress,  and  a  bridge  over  a  large  river. 
The  fortress  has  the  name  of  Kal'ah  Bab  el-Lan  (the 
citadel  of  the  Alan  gate  or  pass),  and  was  built  by  a 
king  of  the  first  Persian  dynasty,  called  Isfendiar.  He 
placed  there  a  garrison,  to  prevent  the  Alans  from 
entering  the  Caucasus ;  for  no  other  road  leads 
there  but  that  which  goes  over  this  bridge,  which  is 
commanded  by  the  castle.  It  is  built  on  live  rock^ 
which  renders  it  impregnable,  and  it  is  impossible 
to  cross  the  bridge,  if  opposed  by  the  garrison. 
This  castle,  which  stands  on  the  summit  of  the 
rock,  has  a  spring  of  fresh  water  in  its  centre. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  famous  fortresses  on  earth, 
both  for  its  strength  and  for  the  historical  recol- 
lections which  are  connected  with  it,  and  related  by 
Persian  poets,  who  describe  its  construction  by 
Isfendiar. 

Isfendiar  had  many  wars  with  various  nations 
of  the  eastern  countries:  he  marched  to  the  country 
of  the  Turks,  and  destroyed  the  city  of  es-Safr 
^ju^JI,  which  was  very  extensive,  fortified  by  nature, 
and  considered  as  impregnable ;  so  that  it  had  be- 
come proverbial  with  the  Persians.  The  exploits 

2  F  2 


436  EL-MAS'lJDi's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

of  Isfendiar,  and  the  details  which  we  have  given, 
are  related  in  the  book  y^X**!!  i^UT  (^xCuJl  or 
LtAxJI  or  (5V&JJ1),  which  has  been  translated  by 
Ibn  el-Mokaffa'  into  Arabic.  When  Moslemah 
Ben  'Abd  el-Melik  Ben  Merwan  penetrated  to  those 
countries,  he  settled  some  Arabs  in  this  fortress, 
after  he  had  made  peace  with  the  nations,  whose 
posterity  defend  the  place  to  this  day.  Sometimes 
they  receive  their  provisions  from  the  plains  which 
are  near  Tiflis.  This  town  is  five  long  days'  jour- 
ney distant  from  this  fortress.  One  man  can  op- 
pose all  the  unbelieving  kings,  in  this  castle,  so 
advantageous  is  its  commanding  position,  it  being 
(as  it  were)  suspended  in  the  air,  over  the  bridge 
and  valley. 

The  king  of  the  Alans  *  musters  thirty  thousand 
brave  and  stong  horsemen:  this  force  gives  him 
the  supremacy  over  other  kings.  The  cultivation 
of  his  kingdom  is  uninterrupted,  so  that  when  the 
cock  crows,  he  is  answered  in  the  whole  of  his 
dominions,  the  country  being  all  covered  with  inha- 
bitants and  cultivation. 

Next  to  the  Alans  live  a  nation  called  Kashak 
^S:  their  country  extends  from  the  Caucasus  to 
the  Mediterranean  ^\  ^sr.  They  are  a  great 
nation,  and  follow  the  Magian  religion.  They  are, 
among  all  the  nations  whom  we  have  mentioned, 

*  One  copy  reads,  the  king  of  es-Serir. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  437 

the  cleanest,  and  the  most  handsome  in  their  ap- 
pearance, both  men  and  women.  They  have  good 
persons,  are  slender  round  the  waist,,  have  well- 
shaped  hips,  and  are  of  a  comely  form.  The  Kashak 
women  are  celebrated  for  their  charms.  They  dress 
in  white,  in  Greek  brocade  ^^  ^UjjJJ,  in  cloth 
of  scarlet  ^^k&JLJ!  colour,  and  other  sorts  of 
cloth,  as  gilt  brocade.  In  their  country  various 
sorts  of  cloths  are  manufactured  of  hemp  and  other 
materials:  one  sort  is  called  et-Talli  cloth  ^XkJI 
(jUl):  it  is  finer  than  damask  (silk)  <j^.j«x!!,  and 

stouter  than  (our)  hemp  cloth  JulT  (<xT).  One  piece 
of  this  sort  of  cloth  costs  about  ten  dinars;  and  is 
exported  to  the  neighbouring  Moslim  countries. 
The  same  cloth  is  exported  from  other  nations,  who 
live  near  the  Kashak ;  but  the  best  comes  from  them. 

The  Alans  are  much  stronger  than  this  nation., 
and  they  cannot  maintain  their  independency, 
except  by  fortifying  themselves  against  the  Alans 
in  the  citadel  which  they  have  erected  on  the  sea 
coast.  There  is  some  controversy  respecting  the 
sea  on  which  they  live ;  some  take  it  for  the 
Mediterranean,  whilst  others  consider  it  to  be  the 
Pontus.  I  have  only  to  observe,  that  their  sea  is 
not  far  from  the  country  of  Trebizond,  and  that  a 
constant  navigation  and  trade  are  kept  up  between 
them  and  this  city. 

The  reason  why  they  are  too  weak  to  oppose 


438  EL-MASJUDi's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

the  Alans  is,  that  their  power  is  not  concentrated 
under  one  king.  If  they  were  united,  neither  the 
Alans  nor  any  other  nation  would  have  power  over 
them.  The  word  kashak  is  Persian,  and  means 
pride  &*jil\  and  arrogance  c^X^St,  for  a  person  who 
has  these  two  qualities  is  called  JiS  in  Persian. 

Next  to  this  nation  comes  another,  the  country 
of  which  is  called  the  Seven  Lands  *  ^taXj  £x*JI, 
and  lies  on  the  sea.  They  form  a  large  and  power- 
ful nation,  who  are  in  possession  of  an  extensive 
country.  I  know  nothing  respecting  their  religion 
and  government.  On  the  Seven  Lands  border  a 
large  nation,,  who  are  separated  from  the  Kashak 
by  a  great  river  which  falls  into  the  Mediterranean, 
or  into  the  sea  Mayotis.  On  this  river  live  nu- 
merous hordes,  of  a  nation  of  the  name  of  Irem 
-j\  (fttl)'  They  are  Pagans,  and  strange  looking 
people.  There  is  a  curious  story  related  of  fish 
which  come  every  year  to  this  country.  They  cut 
flesh  off  from  them.  When  they  come  back  the 
next  year,  the  flesh  has  grown  again,  and  they  cut  it 
off  from  the  other  side.  This  story  is  well  known 
amongst  the  unbelievers  of  that  country  f. 

*  The  German  name  for  Transylvania — Siebenbiirgen — has 
nearly  the  same  meaning,  but  is  not  as  ancient  as  el-Mas'udi. 

f  Klaproth  remarks,  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  coast  of  the 
Caspian,  on  the  mouth  of  the  Korr,  cut  the  eggs  out  from  the 
belly  of  the  fish  for  caviar,  and  throw  the  fish  back  into  the 
water. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  439 

Not  far  from  this  country  is  another  between 
four  high  and  inaccessible  mountains,  which  include 
a  plain  of  nearly  one  hundred  miles.  In  the  centre 
of  this  plain  is  a  circle,  as  exact  as  if  it  had  been 
marked  out  with  compasses  J^9  in  solid  stone. 
The  circuit  is  formed  by  a  complete  ring  hewn  in 
stone,  which  is  fifty  miles  in  circumference.  The 
pieces  [of  rock  by  which  this  ring  is  formed]  go 
vertically  down  like  a  wall  which  is  raised  from  be- 
low upwards,  two  miles  high.*  These  rocks  render 
it  impossible  to  go  within  the  inclosure.  By  night, 
you  see  many  lights  in  it  in  different  places  ;  and 
by  day,  you  discover  villages,  cultivated  grounds, 
rivers  which  water  those  villages,  men,  and  cattle  f; 
but  every  thing  appears  little,  on  account  of  the 
height  from  which  you  look  down.  Nobody  knows 
what  nation  they  are,  for  they  are  unable  to  climb 


'r 

f  A  similar  story  is  related  in  Abul-ghazi  Khan,  who  fol- 
lowed Mongolish  traditions.  It  seems,  therefore,  to  be  a  widely 
spread  tradition  of  Central  Asia.  Perhaps  such  places  were  se- 
cluded from  the  world  to  give  to  them,  and  those  who  inhabit  them, 
through  remoteness,  a  degree  of  sacredness.  Any  one  who  has 
passed  the  dreary  and  solitary  plains  extending  many  miles  round 
Stonehenge,  a  sacred  place  of  the  Druids,  near  Salisbury,  must  be 
struck  with  this  idea.  Perhaps  a  comparison  might  be  drawn, 
and  even  an  affinity  and  connexion  might  be  discovered,  between 
those  Tatar  places  of  worship  and  the  sacred  forests  of  the 
Druids. 


440  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

up  (the  surrounding  mountains  from  within),  and  no 
one  who  ascends  to  the  top  (from  without)  can  go 
down  to  them. 

Behind  these  four  mountains  on  the  sea  coast 
is  another  ring  near  the  precipice ;  in  it  are  forests 
and  jungles,  which  are  inhabited  by  a  sort  of  mon- 
keys who  have  an  erect  stature  and  round  face ;  they 
are  exceedingly  like  men,  but  they  are  all  covered 
with  hair.      Sometimes  it  happens  that  they  are 
caught.     They   show  very   great   intelligence   and 
docility;  but  they  are  deprived  of  speech,  by  which 
they  could  express  themselves,  although  they  un- 
derstand* what  is  spoken.     But  they  express  them- 
selves by  signs.     Sometimes  they  are  brought  to  the 
kings  of  those  nations,  and  they  are  taught  to  stand 
by  them  and  to  taste  what  is  on  their  table ;  for  the 
monkeys  have  the  peculiar  quality  of  knowing  if 
poison  is  in  food  or  drink.     Some  part  of  the  food 
is  given  to  the  monkey  who  smells  it,  and,  if  he 
eats  of  it,  the  king  eats:    but,  if  not,  he  knows 
that  it  contains  poison.     The  same  is  the  practice 
of  most  Chinese  and  Hindu  sovereigns.     We  have 
given   in   this   book   an   account   of   the   Chinese 
embassies  which  came  to  el-Mahdi ;  and  we  related 
what  they  said  of  the  use  which  their  kings  make  of 
monkeys  for   tasting   their  food.     We   have   also 


*  One  copy  reads  that  they  do  not  understand  what  is  spoken. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  441 

mentioned  the  tale  of  the  monkeys  in  Yemen,  and 
of  the  plate  of  iron  on  which  Solaiman  Ben  Dawud 
wrote  a  treaty  to  the  monkeys  of  Yemen;  and  of 
the  governor  of  Mo'awiyah  Ben  Abi  Sofyan,  who 
wrote  a  document  respecting  them:  and  we  have 
given  the  description  of  the  great  monkey  who  had 
a  table  on  his  neck. 

There  are  no  monkeys  on  earth  who  are  so  clever 
and  mischievous  as  this  species.  Monkeys  live  in 
warm  climates,  as  in  Nubia,  and  in  the  most  northern 
part  of  Abyssinia,  on  the  banks  of  the  upper  course 
of  the  Nile.  They  are  called  Nubian  monkeys,  and 
are  of  a  diminutive  size,  have  little  faces,  and  their 
body  is  as  black  as  pitch,  as  the  Nubians  themselves 
are.  This  is  the  species  which  the  monkey  men 
j^jjXH  have.  They  mount  on  a  spear  and  go 
through  their  exercises  on  the  top  of  it.  Another 
species  of  monkeys  are  in  the  northern  regions, 
forests,  and  jungles,  in  the  country  of  the  Sclavo- 
nians  and  of  other  nations,  of  which  we  have  said, 
that  they  approach  in  their  appearance,  to  the  figure 
of  man.  Monkeys  are  also  found  on  the  coasts  of 
the  straits  of  el-Zanij,  in  the  Chinese  sea,  and  in 
the  dominions  of  the  Maharaj,  who,  as  we  have  al- 
ready said,  is  king  of  the  islands  opposite  the  king- 
dom of  China,  being  situated  between  the  kingdom 
of  el-Ballahra  and  China.  The  monkeys  of  those 
countries  are  very  numerous,  and  famous  for  the 
perfection  of  their  figure.  From  thence  monkeys 


442  EL-MAS'UDIJS    MEADOWS    OP    GOLD, 

and  serpents  were  brought  to  el-Moktader,  They 
were  in  long  chains,  and  some  of  the  monkeys  had 
beards  and  long  whiskers ;  some  were  young,  and 
others  old.  The  present  was  accompanied  by  many 
other  curiosities  of  the  sea ;  they  were  brought  by 
Ahmed  Ben  Hilal  j^fc  ^j  <x^!,  who  was  then 
governor  of  'Oman.  These  monkeys  are  very  well 
known  to  the  sailors  of  Siraf  and  'Oman,  who 
trade  with  the  countries  of  Kolah  and  ez-Zanij  ; 
they  are  also  acquainted  with  the  way  of  hunting 
the  crocodiles  (alligators),  which  live  at  the  bottom 
of  the  water.  El-Jahit  believes  they  are  only  found 
in  the  Nile  of  Egypt,  and  in  the  river  Mihran  of 
es-Sind.  We  have  related  what  is  said  on  this  sub- 
ject, and  where  crocodiles  are  found,  in  the  previous 
pages  of  this  book.  In  many  places  of  Yemen,  the 
traveller  is  not  able  to  fight  his  way  through  the 
monkeys,  they  are  so  numerous;  so,  for  instance, 
in  the  valley  of  Nakhlah  aXis?  <ss\j,  which  is  between 
el-Jenned  and  Zabid,  which  is  now  [332  A.H.]  under 
Ibrahim  Ben  Ziyad  *L>)  ^j  ft*jri>  the  governor 
of  el-Harmali  JU^J.1.  This  valley  is  one  day's 
journey,  or  more,  from  Zabid.  It  is  well  cultivated, 
and  has  abundance  of  flowing  water  and  musa  trees 
^JU.  It  is  surrounded  by  two  mountains.  The 
monkeys  form  there  two  corps;  each  is  lead  by  a 
Hazr  j,yfc  (jj&\  which  means  a  male  monkey,  who 
is  distinguished  by  his  superior  size  and  virility, 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  443 

and  who  is  the  leader  of  the  rest.  A  she  ape  gives 
birth  to  a  dozen  young  monkeys  at  once,  as  the 
sow  brings  forth  many  'pigs.  Some  of  the  young 
monkeys  are  nursed  and  carried  by  the  mother  just 
as  women  carry  their  children,  and  the  male  takes 
care  of  the  rest.  They  have  parties  and  meetings, 
which  are  numerously  attended.  There  you  may  hear 
them  speechify,  and  discuss  matters.  The  female 
monkeys  chatter  like  women,  when  they  are  alone. 
If  a  man  hears  their  conversation  and  does  not  see 
them,  in  those  mountains,  in  musa  and  other  trees, 
and  by  night,  he  has  no  suspicion  but  that  they  are 
human  beings.  The  monkeys  of  Yemen  are  the 
wildest,  most  mischievous,  and  have  the  greatest 
docility.  The  Yemenites  call  the  monkeys  ^yi- 
The  male  and  female  animal  have  long  ringlets  of 
hair  flowing  over  their  shoulders,  which  are  as  black 
as  possible.  When  they  meet,  they  sit  according  to 
their  rank,  after  their  leader;  and  they  imitate  man 
in  all  their  doings. 

In  the  valleys,  plains,  and  mountains  at  Marib, 
which  is  between  the  country  of  San'a  and  the  castle 
of  Kahlan  ^^T  **Xi',  the  monkeys  are  so  numerous, 
that  they  may  be  compared  with  clouds. 

Kahlan  ^%r  is  one  of  the  fortresses  of  Yemen, 
where  now  As'ad  Ben  Ya'fur  jy.*.*  ^>  <x**~t 
(yL*j),  the  king  of  Yemen,  lives;  separated  from 
society,  only  with  his  court.  This  king  is  a  rem- 


444          EL-MASU'DI'S  MEADOWS  OF  GOLD, 

nant  of  the  Himyarite  sovereigns,  and  has  an  army 
of  about  fifty  thousand  men,  infantry  and  cavalry, 
in  pay.  They  receive  their  pay  every  month  at  a 
fixed  time,  which  is  called  XJ^JM*.  They  assemble 
here,  and  then  they  return  into  the  Mikhalif  of  that 
country:  Mikhalif  means  fortresses  £&xM  cjl^L^OL^t- 

This  prince  had  wars  in  Yemen  with  the  Kar- 
matians,  and  the  Lord  of  the  Zanj  J,  who  was  'Ali 
Ben  el-Fadhl  >UM  ^  JL*,  after  270  A.H.-  'Ali 
acted  a  great  part  in  Yemen  until  he  was  killed: 
then  Yemen  surrendered  to  As'ad. 

The  monkeys  are  in  several  places  of  Yemen, 
and  in  other  regions  of  the  earth,  which  we  forbear 
to  mention;  for  we  have  explained  the  reason  why 


*  JyS  means  to  encamp  and  to  quarter.  They  were  pro- 
bably drawn  up  in  review  when  they  received  their  pay : 
XJyJi  would  therefore  mean  here,  the  being  drawn  up. 

•f1  o&sS  plural  cjUJl^j  means,  with  other  Arabic  authors, 
a  district  of  Yemen,  of  which  there  were  seventy-two  or  seventy- 
three.  Some  of  the  names  of  these  districts  are  found  in  Johann- 
sen  (Hist.  Jemanae,  p.  34) ;  but  the  list  of  all  of  them  is  in  Ibn 
Khordadbeh's  Geography  (MS.  of  the  Bodleian  Library).  This 
passage  of  el-Mas'udl's  leads  us  to  suppose  that  in  every  such 
district  was  a  fortress,  inhabited,  as  one  may  presume,  by  one  of 
the  Abna  ^Uj^J  or  chiefs  of  the  Persian  expedition,  which  con- 
quered the  country  under  Anusharwan,  and  introduced  a  sort  of 
feudal  system  as  it  would  appear. 

The  MSS.  read  S^U  and  S 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  445 

they  live  in  some  quarters  of  the  world,  whilst  they 
are  not  met  with  in  others,  in  our  Akhbar  ez- 
zeinan,  where  we  have  also  given  an  account  of  the 
nisnas*  ^UwJM,  and  the  'irbid  J^^xM,  which  are  a 
sort  of  animals  like  serpents,  in  the  Hajrf  j.ar  of 
Yemamah:  the  singular  is,  according  to  the  opinion 
of  some  lexicographers,  ^^.  El-Motawakel  asked, 
in  the  beginning  of  his  Khalifat,  Honain  Ben  Ishak 
to  bring  him,  amongst  other  species  of  animals, 
some  nisnas:  only  two  specimens  were  brought  for 
him  to  Serrmenray ;  but  he  did  not  think  to  send 
for  an  'irbad;  perhaps  because  this  animal  perishes 
if  it  is  removed  from  Yemamah,,  at  a  certain  dis- 
tance from  this  province,  in  the  cage  in  which  it  is 
carried.  The  people  of  Yemamah  use  it  against 
serpents,  scorpions,  and  other  vermin,  as  the  people 
of  Sijistan  make  use  of  the  urchins  Jolo  for  this 
purpose.  In  ancient  times  no  urchin  was  killed 
in  that  country.  This  town  was  built  by  Alex- 
ander, in  an  open  and  sandy  country,  and  it  is  sur- 
rounded by  sand  hills,  which  are  supported  by 
wood  arid  reeds.  There  are  a  number  of  vipers, 


*  A  kind  of  ape  or  satyr,  which  are  said  to  inhabit  the  desert 
of  el- Ahkaf. 

f  This  town  is  to  be  distinguished  from  el-Hijr,  which  is  the 
Petra  of  ancient  geographers :  there  is  for  the  rest  a  passage  in 
Pliny,  lib.  iv.,  cap.  32,  where  this  town  of  Yemamah  is  to  be 
understood  under  Petra. 


446  EL-MAS'tTDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

and  several  species  of  serpents ;  so  that  if  they  had 
not  many  urchins,  the  inhabitants  would  be  over- 
come by  them.  In  the  same  situation  are  the 
Egyptians,  in  upper  Egypt,  and  elsewhere.  They 
have  a  little  animal,  which  they  call  el-'iras  u^-ty^l  • 
it  is  larger  than  a  locust  and  smaller  than  a  weazel, 
of  a  red  colour,  with  a  white  belly ;  and,  if  it  was 
not  for  this  reptile,  the  Egyptians  would  be  over- 
come by  basilisks  ^UA!!,  which  are  a  sort  of  great 
serpents.  When  the  basilisk  forms  a  ring  round 
this  little  animal,  it  emits  an  air,  by  which  the 
basilisk  bursts.  This  air  is  peculiar  to  this  little 
animal.  The  east  has  several  peculiarities  in  land 
and  sea,  in  animals,  vegetation,  and  such  as  are 
caused  by  the  destructive  effects  of  the  hot  season. 
The  same  can  be  said  of  the  west,  the  Tayammon 
(J<yM,  i.e.,  the  south,  and  the  Jari  i^y*,  which  means 
the  north.  We  have  given  an  account  of  the  nature 
of  the  quarters  of  the  world,  and  it  would  be  a  di- 
gression from  the  plan  of  our  work  to  enter  into 
details  on  those  subjects  in  this  chapter. 

We  will  therefore  return  to  the  account  of  the 
nations  which  live  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Bab 
el-Abwab,  the  wall,  the  Caucasus,  the  country  of 
the  Khazar,  and  the  Alans.  On  the  frontiers  of 
the  Khazar  towards  the  west,  live  four  Turkish 
nations,  which  derive  their  origin  from  the  same 
forefather.  Some  of  them  are  settled,  whilst 
others  are  nomads.  They  are  all  brave  and  can 


'AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  447 

resist  any  nation .  Each  of  them  has  its  own  king, 
whose  dominions  have  an  extent  of  several  days, 
and  they  are  contiguous  to  each  other.  Some  of 
them  are  on  the  Pontus.  They  extend  their  pre- 
datory excursions  as  far  as  Rome  ***•,;  XijtX-o 
which  is  in  the  direction  towards  Spain.  They  are 
victorious  over  all  the  nations  who  live  there. 
Between  the  king  of  the  Khazar  and  the  lord  of 
el-Lan  a  friendship  exists.  They  are  immediate 
neighbours  of  the  former.  The  first  of  these 

o 

nations   has  the  name  Bajna  Us?  (<£s?  or  tf^sr). 

^0^0 

The  second  is  called  Bajkord  <^x==:,  the  next 
following  nation  is  called  Bajinak  JU^  (Uar^v- 
a/arot),  and  is  the  bravest  of  the  four.  The  fourth 
is  called  Nukerodah  (Novgorod?)  *<^Ty.  Their 
kings  have  sovereign  power*,  they  had  wars  with 
the  Byzantines  after  the  year  320  A.H.  (932  A.D.) 
or  in  that  yearf.  The  Byzantines  have,  oir"the~~ 
frontiers  towards  these  four  nations,  a  large  Greek 
city  which  is  called  Walender^j^  (£$OuJj  or  «\jjj), 
which  has  a  great  population  (garrison),  and  is 
protected  by  the  sea  on  one  side,  and  by  mountains 
on  the  other.  The  inhabitants  (garrison)  of  this 
town  defended  the  country  against  the  invasions  of 


_5^j 

f  Compare  Cedrenus  ad  annum  .934. 


448  EL-MAS'UD1'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

the  before  mentioned  four  Turkish  nations,  and 
they  were  unable  to  penetrate  into  the  country  of 
the  Byzantines,  being  precluded  by  mountains,  the 
sea,  and  this  town.  These  four  nations  have  been 
at  war  with  each  other,  on  account  of  a  dispute 
respecting  a  Moslim  merchant  of  Ardobil,  who, 
although  he  enjoyed  the  protection  of  hospitality  of 
one  of  these  nations,  was  injured  by  another.  This 
gave  rise  to  disunion.  The  Byzantines  of  Walen- 
der  took  advantage  of  it,  invaded  their  country 
whilst  they  were  disunited ;  they  took  many  of 
their  children  prisoners,  and  plundered  their  pro- 
perty. When  they  heard  of  this,  as  they  were 
occupied  in  their  war,  they  united  under  one  com- 
mander, proclaimed  a  mutual  amnesty,  remitting 
blood  revenge ;  and  the  whole  nation,  about  six 
thousand  horse  strong,  at  once  repaired  to  the 
town  of  Walender,  and  this  without  being  called 
out,  and  without  collecting  the  men.  If  they  had 
called  out  their  men,  they  would  have  mustered 
about  one  hundred  thousand  horsemen.  When 
Romanus  who  is  the  present  emperor  of  the  Byzan- 
tines, that  is  to  say,  in  332  A.H.,  had  received 
intelligence,  he  sent  against  them  twelve  thousand 
(Arabic)  horsemen*  who  had  embraced  the  Chris- 


*  The  Taghlebites,  some  of  the  Rabi'ah,  and  other  tribes  of 
Syria  and  Mesopotamia,  used  to  serve  in  the  army  of  the  Byzan- 
tine emperors. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  449 

tian  religion,  with  spears  in  the  Arabic  costume 
(Sj,  and  fifty  thousand  Byzantines.  They  came  in 

-   o   .- 

eight  days*  to  the  town  of  Walender^ja^,  encamped 
beyond  the  town,  and  took  (partly)  their  quarters 
in  the  houses  of  the  inhabitants.  The  Turks  had 
already  killed  a  vast  number  of  the  population  of 
Walender,  but  they  defended  themselves  with  their 
walls  till  this  reinforcement  reached  them.  When 
the  four  kings  had  oberved  that  their  enemies  had 
received  the  aid  of  those  (Arabs)  who  had  turned 
Christians,  and  of  the  Byzantines,  they  sent  unto 
their  own  country,  which  lies  towards  the  country 
of  the  Khazar,  Alans,  Bab  el-Abwab,  and  others, 
and  collected  the  Moslim  population  j*  who  did  not 
enlist  except  in  wars  against  unbelievers. 

When  the  two  armies  had  drawn  up  in  battle 
array,  the  Christian  Arabs  advanced  in  front  of  the 
ranks  of  the  Byzantines;  and,  on  the  side  of  the 
Turks,  the  merchants  who  were  in  their  army  pro- 
ceeded from  the  ranks,  and  invited  them  to  the 
Mohammedan  religion,  promising  to  bring  them 
into  the  Moslim  territory,  if  they  would  take  quar- 
ter from  the  Turks.  They  refused  to  accept  these 

*  One  copy  reads  eighteen  days. 

f  One  copy  reads,  they  collected  Moslim  merchants  who  were 
resident  in  their  country,  in  that  of  the  Khazar,  Bab  el-Abwab,  of 
the  Alans,  or  any  other  country,  and  that  portion  of  the  four 
Turkish  nations  who  had  embraced  the  Islam. 

2  G 


450  EL-MAS'UDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

terms,  and  they  fought  a  general  battle,  in  which 
the  Christian  Arabs  and  Byzantines  were  superior 
to  the  Turks;  for  their  number  was  many  times 
greater  than  that  of  their  enemies.  They  remained 
that  night  at  their  posts.  The  four  Turkish  kings 
held  a  council,  in  which  the  king  of  the  Bajinak 
said,  "  Give  me  the  command  to-morrow  morning." 
They  agreed  to  give  it  to  him;  and  the  next  morn- 
ing they  posted  many  close  bodies  of  troops 
(squares),  of  a  thousand  men  each,  on  the  extremity 
of  the  right  wing,  and  on  the  extremity  of  the  left 
wing.  When  the  soldiers  were  drawn  up,  the 
bodies  of  troops  (squares)*  of  the  extremity  of  the 
right  wing  advanced,  and  fell  upon  the  centre  of 
the  enemy,  fighting  their  way  to  the  place  of  the 
squares  which  had  been  posted  at  the  extremity  of 
the  left  wing,  and  the  latter  advancing  upon  the 
right  wing,  fell  equally  upon  the  centre  of  the  enemy, 
and  fought  their  way  to  the  right  wing:  an  uninter- 
rupted shooting  (of  arrows,  stones,  &c.)  ensued,  and 
these  bodies  of  troops  ground  the  enemy  like  a  mill- 
stone, following  each  other;  but  the  centre,  and  the 
right  and  left  wings  of  the  Turks  stood  quiet,  whilst 
the  squares  were  in  action.  They  fought  thus:  the 
squares  of  the  Turks  who  went  out  from  the  extre- 

(j~*$S  means  the  squares  or  close  bodies,  as  they  were 
in  the  Roman  order  of  battle.  But  here  it  seems  to  mean  light 
cavalry  in  contracjjstinction  to  the  troops  of  the  line. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  451 

mity  of  the  right  wing  opened  their  operations  by 
shooting  on  the  left  wing  of  the  Byzantines:  they 
passed  their  (own)  right  wing,  keeping  up  the  shooting 
and  came  to  the  centre.  The  squares  which  came 
from  the  extremity  of  the  left  wing  began  to  shoot 
on  the  side  of  the  right  wing  of  the  enemy,  proceeded 
to  the  left  wing,  and  continued  to  shoot,  advancing 
to  the  centre  where  the  squares  (of  both  sides)  met, 
grinding  the  enemy,  as  we  have  said.  When  the 
Christian  (Arabs)  and  the  Byzantines  saw  their 
.state,  and  the  breaking  up  of  their  ranks  under  the 
uninterrupted  shower  of  arrows  which  came  from 
their  enemies,  they  charged  the  loose  troops  in  front 
of  the  army.  Thus  they  came  close  on  the  line  of 
the  Turks,  which  stood  firm  to  receive  them.  The 
squares  opened  before  them,  and  the  Turks  fell  all 
at  once  en  masse  upon  them ;  this  had  the  effect  of 
putting  the  Byzantines  to  flight.  The  Turkish  line 
[not  the  loose  troops  (or  squares)  of  their  battle 
array]  charged,  after  this  attack,  the  line  of  the 
enemy  without  intermission ;  and,  at  the  same  time, 
the  squares  fought  them  from  the  right  and  left. 
They  fell  under  the  sword,  and  were  in  the  greatest 
difficulty ;  the  cries  of  men  and  horses  were  terrible  ; 
and  about  six  thousand  Byzantines  and  Christian 
(Arabs)  were  killed,  so  that  they  could  almost 
ascend  to  the  walls  of  the  town  over  their  carcases. 
The  town  was  taken,  the  sword  made  several 
days'  ravages ;  and  the  inhabitants  were  made  pri- 

2  G  2 


452  EL-MAS'tJDl's    MEADOWS    of   GOLD, 

soners.  After  three  days,  the  Turks  proceeded 
towards  Constantinople.  They  passed  a  number  of 
cultivated  districts,  meadows,  and  estates,  spreading 
slaughter  and  taking  prisoners,  till  they  came  to  the 
walls  of  Constantinople.  There  they  staid  for 
about  forty  days,  and  sold  the  captive  women 
and  children  for  linen,  cloths  of  brocade,  and 
silk.  They  put  the  men  to  the  sword,  none 
received  quarter  ;  sometimes  they  did  not  spare  even 
women  and  children.  They  made  predatory  excur- 
sions all  over  these  countries,  and  as  far  as  [the 
country  of  the  Sclavonians  and  Rome.  At  present 
their  invasion  extends  even  to*]  the  frontiers  of 
Spain,  France,  and  Galicia.  The  predatory  incur- 
sions of  the  above-mentioned  Turkish  nations  con- 
tinue to  this  day  to  infest  Constantinople,  and  the 
above-mentioned  kingdoms. 

We  return  to  the  account  of  the  Caucasus,  the 
wall,  and  Bab  el-Abwab,  having  given  a  concise 
account  of  the  nations  who  live  in  those  countries. 
One  of  these  nations  lives  on  the  frontiers  of  the 
Alans,  and  has  the  name  el-Abkhaz  jLs?5N.  They 
are  Christians,  and  form  a  monarchy:  the  present 
king  has  the  name  et-Tobili  ^X^LM  (Theophilus?)f. 


*  These  words  are  left  out  in  some  MSS.  and  by  Klaproth;  and 
it  is  very  likely  that  they  are  interpolated. 

f  The  MS.  of  Ley  den  reads  thus  :  "  They  have  at  present 
their  own  king,  but  they  are,  nevertheless,  under  the  supremacy 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  453 

The  dominions  of  this  Tobili  are  called  Mesjid  of 
Dul-Karnain  (Alexander).  The  Abkhaz  and  Kha- 
zarians  used  to  pay  tribute  to  the  governor  of  the 
frontiers  of  Tiflis,  since  the  time  when  this  city 
was  subjected  by  the  Mohammedans,  who  settled 
there  (a  military  colony),  which  continued  up  to 
the  reign  of  el-Mot awakel.  There  was  a  king  in 
these  frontiers,  of  the  name  of  Ishak  Ben  Isma'il, 
who  had  subjected,  with  the  Moslims  whom  he 
had  under  his  command,  the  nations  of  that  neigh- 
bourhood. They  acknowledged  their  submission  to 
him  by  paying  the  capitation  tak.  His  power  was 
in  the  ascendant  (and  he  considered  himself  as  an 
independent  prince),  until  el-Motawakel  sent  an 
army  against  the  frontier  of  Tiflis,  which  took  the 
country  by  force,  after  some  battles.  Ishak  was 
killed;  for  he  had  made  himself  independent  in 
that  country.  It  would  be  too  long  to  relate  his 
whole  history,  which  is  pretty  well  known  in 


of  the  king  of  the  Alans.  Their  country  extends  as  far  as  the 
Caucasus.  Next  to  them  live  the  Khazarians  £j  iV^U?  wno  are 
a  great  nation  and  profess  the  Christian  religion.  They  are  also 
called  el-Hazran  •  J  jV^*  They  have  at  present  a  king  of  the 
name  of  Tobl'a  ju/,yj,  whose  dominions  occupy  the  place  called 
Mesjid  Dul-Karnain.  The  Abkhaz  and  Khazarians  used  to  pay 
tribute  to  the  governor  of  the  frontiers  of  Tiflis,"  etc. 

Klaproth  observes,  that  the  Hazran  occupied  a  part  of  Min- 
grelia  and  Guria.  which  is  still  called  Kadzaro  by  the  Turks. 


454         EL-MASU'DI'S  MEADOWS  OF  GOLD, 

those  countries  and  elsewhere,  amongst  persons 
possessed  of  a  knowledge  of  history.  He  pretended 
to  be  a  KoraTshite  and  of  the  Omaiyde  family  ;  but 
it  is  not  true.  Since  that  time  the  Moslims  have 
lost  their  power  on  the  frontiers  of  Tiflis,  and  have 
never  recovered  it.  The  neighbouring  kingdoms 
refused  their  submission,  and  they  encroached  upon 
the  principal  estates  (villages)  of  Tiflis.  You 
are  obliged  to  pass  through  those  unbelieving- 
nations  if  you  wish  to  go  to  the  most  distant  Mo- 
hammedan dominions  about  Tiflis,  since  they  live 
all  round  this  Moslim  province,  the  inhabitants  of 
which  are  a  people  of  great  strength  and  bravery; 
but  they  are  surrounded  by  the  said  kingdoms. 

Beyond  the  Kharzan  (j_>V^  (Hazaran),  is  the 
country  of  the  Samsaha  l^ua^!,  who  are  Chris- 
tians, mixed,  however,  with  Pagans  :  they  have  no 
king.  Next  to  the  Samsahians,  between  the  fron- 
tier of  Tiflis  and  the  fortress  Bab  el-Lan,  which  we 
have  described,  is  the  kingdom  of  the  Senarians 
x>^UxaJ!  (Xj^U*a!l):  their  king  has  the  name  Ke- 
reskus  u»j£»jS'  (^^fj.r).  They  are  Christians, 
and  believe  that  they  are  of  Arabic  origin,  and 
a  portion  of  the  'Oka'il*  tribe  (which  belongs  to  the 


*  One  copy  reads 
^ic    <>,  and  another  copy  reads 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  455 

confederation)  of  the  Modhar  tribes  (which  have 
the  same  origin  as  the  other)  Nizar  tribes.  They 
have  lived  there  from  ancient  times,  and  have 
subjected  many  nations  of  the  Caucasus.  I  have 
seen  in  the  country  of  Marib,  in  Yemen,  several 
men  of  the  'Ok ail  tribe,  variously  accoutred,  and 
did  not  find  any  difference  between  them  and  the 
manners  of  their  brethren  on  the  Caucasus.  This 
tends  to  strengthen  their  assertion.  They  have 
many  horses  and  great  wealth,  and  there  are  no 
people  in  all  Yemen  of  the  tribe  of  Nizar  Ben 
Ma'add  besides  the  '  Ok  ail  family,  except  the  ac- 
counts which  are  given  of  the  children  of  Anmar 
j{f\  Ben  Nizar  Ben  Ma'add,  of  their  immigration  into 
Yemen,  of  the  interview  which  Jarir  Ben  'Abdullah 
el-Bajaliy  ^X-rsOJ  <*MUxc  ^i  jj.j^-  had  with  the  Pro- 
phet, and  the  history  of  the  Bajilah  ^X^s:.  The 
Sinarians  believe  that  they  had  lived  with  the  'Okail 
in  the  country  of  Marib,  and  that  they  sepa- 
rated from  the  'Oka'il,  who  still  live  in  Yemen,  in 
ancient  times,  under  several  circumstances  which 
are  related  in  history. 

Next  to  the  kingdom  of  the  Sinarians  lives  a  na- 
tion called  Shakin  *  ($£&  who  are  Christians,  inter- 
spersed with  Moslims  who  are  mostly  merchants, 


*  This  is  the  country  of  Shakhi,  which  lies  north  of  the  Korr 
and   Karabagh.     (Klaproth.) 


456  EL-MAS'lJDl'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 


or  employed  in  other   trades  ^3^.     Their  king 
is  at  present,  when  we  publish  this  book,  Ader  Ben 

Samah  Ben  Homayir  (^»U>)  jj\$  ^j  *«v*  ^j  j£\- 

Next  to  them  is  the  kingdom  of  Ka'ilah  XXo. 

The  population  of  the  capital  consists  of  Moslims, 

whilst  the  villages,  and  estates  about  the  town,  are 

inhabited   by   Christians.     Their   present   king  is 

<j" 
A'anbasah    x*»j^\   (**»*)   The   Lame.     He    gives 

shelter  to  robbers,  vagabonds,  and  highwaymen. 

Next  comes  the  kingdom  of  the  Mukanians 
3USb>U.  We  have  already  mentioned  this  country, 
saying  that  it  has  been  conquered,  and  now  forms 
part  of  the  dominions  of  Sharwan-Shah.  But  it  is 
to  be  distinguished  from  a  country  on  the  coast  of 
the  sea  of  the  Khazar,  which  has  the  same  name. 
Mohammed  Ben  Yezid  who  is  at  present  known  as 
Sharwan-Shah  sli  {Jsj***  had  been  King  Layidan- 
Shah  *L3»  j,J«X)^,  and  his  ancestors  had  the  same 
title;  for,  at  that  time  'Ali  Ben  el-Haithem  had  the 
title  of  King  Sharwan-Shah.  But  when  'AH  was 
dead,  Mohammed  made  himself  master  of  (the 
dominions  and  title  of)  Sharwan-Shah  and  other 
countries,  as  we  have  related,  after  he  had  killed 
his  uncles,  and  occupied  the  said  kingdoms.  He 
is  in  possession  of  a  fortress,  called  the  fortress  of 
Tiar  ^Uj,  which  is  situated  on  the  Caucasus,  and 
the  strongest  known  on  earth,  excepting  a  fortress 
in  Paris  not  far  from  Siraf,  on  the  sea  coast,  in  a 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  457 


place  called  ez-Zirobad  Jo^yi,  which  belongs  to 
'Abdullah  Ben  Tmarah.  This  fortress  has  the  name 
ofed-Dikdan  ^JjXjjJl. 

There  are  many  fortresses  on  earth  of  which 
strange  stories  are  related,  which  have  been  collected 
by  Abu-1-Hosa'in  el-Medaini,  in  a  monograph  on 
this  subject,  which  he  has  entitled,  "The  book  of 
the  Fortresses"  £&*tt  ^UT.  In  this  book  are  select 
stories  respecting  fortresses,  some  of  which  we  have 
given  in  our  Akhbar  ez-zeman. 

Ei-Mas'udi  says,  this  is  a  view  of  the  account  of 
the  town  Bab  el-Abwab,  the  wall,  Caucasus,  and 
the  inhabitants  of  these  countries.  We  have  given 
a  detailed  narration  of  their  manners  and  modes  in 
warfare,  and  of  the  stratagems  of  their  kings,  in  our 
Akhbar  ez-zeman.  The  accounts  which  we  have 
given  of  them,  and  the  descriptions  of  their  kingdoms, 
dwell  on  objects  which  are  palpable  (i.  e.,  the  pre- 
sent state),  and  not  on  abstractions  (or  the  history 
of  past  times),  and  which  anybody  who  chooses  to 
visit  the  countries  which  we  have  described  may  see*. 

'Oba'id  Allah  Ben  Khordadbeh  gives  in  his  book 
which  has  the  title  of,  "The  Roads  and  the  King- 
doms," the  distances  of  places  by  the  road  (not  as 


458  EL-MAS'UDI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

the  crow  flies),  but  he  does  not  give  any  account  of 
the  kings  and  kingdoms.  There  is  no  use  in  show- 
ing merely  the  distances  and  roads,  for  this  regards 
only  sending  couriers*  and  despatching  parcels  and 
letters.  The  same  author  mentions  how  great  the 
revenue  of  the  villages  of  elTrak  was.  Such 
account,  however,  cannot  be  correct,  for  the 
revenue  is  always  sinking  and  rising,  disminishing 
and  increasing,  according  to  circumstances  f  ;  and  he 
states,  that  the  mount  el-'Arij  gj*$\  which  is 
between  Mekka  and  Medina  coheres  with  the 
mountains  of  Syria,  so  that  it  is  connected  with  the 
mount  of  el-Akra'  at  Antiochia,  which  is  again  in 
connexion  with  the  mount  el-Kam  -\&J.  This  is  a 
curious  notice,  and  shows  that  he  knew,  that  the 
various  parts  of  the  earth  are  connected,  and  no 
where  interrupted  nor  separated,  except,  that  in  some 
places  there  are  low,  in  others  high,  countries.  His 


*  The  MS.  of  Ley  den  leaves  the  reading  of  this  word  doubt- 
ful, and  others  write  _  .X5,  instead  of  „  ^o.  The  reader  may 
refer,  respecting  Ibn  Khordadbeh,  to  the  note  to  page  331.  Here 
is  confirmed  what  has  been  said  there  partly  as  conjecture,  without 
being  aware  of  this  passage,  namely,  that  Ibn  Khordadbeh 's  work 
was  intended  as  a  road  and  post  book.  Perhaps  it  was  even  the 
official  directory. 

t  I  published  the  whole  of  this  account  of  the  land-tax  of 
Ibn  Khordadbeh,  from  the  MS.  of  Oxford,  with  the  accounts  of 
some  other  authors  on  the  same  subject,  in  the  Asiatic  Journal 
of  1839. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  459 

book  may  be  considered  as  the  best  work  in  its  way. 
Of  equal  merit  is  his  book  on  the  chronology  and 
history  of  the  nations  before  the  Islam. 

Ahmad  Ben  et-Taib,  the  companion  of  el-Mo'- 
tadhed  Billah,  wrote  a  book  on  the  same  subject,  in 
which  he  gives  an  account  of  the  whole  world ;  but 
what  he  says,  is,  for  the  most  part,  contrary  to 
truth ;  and  I  believe  that  it  is  a  pseudonym  work 
to  which  his  name  is  prefixed,  for  he  was  possessed 
of  much  more  knowledge  than  what  this  book  be- 
speaks; and  if  it  is  genuine,  we  must  consider  that 
God,  the  Almighty,  gives,  by  his  infinite  wisdom, 
absolute  power  and  mercy  to  his  servants — to 
those  success  in  their  labours  to  whom  he  thinks 
best. 

One  of  the  Persian  kings  built  the  town  of  Bab 
el-Abwab,  of  the  wall  of  which  we  have  said,  that  it 
extends  over  land,  sea,  and  mountains,  and  several 
fortresses:  he  settled  military  colonies  there,  and  he 
defined  the  ranks  of  the  kings.  He  wrote  to  the 
king  of  the  Khazar,  el-Lan,  and  Turks,  and  to  the 
kings  of  other  nations,  who  ruled  over  Berda'ah  er- 
Rum,  el-Bailakan,  Aderbijan,  Zanjan  ^U^,  (sic,  or 
y^j),  Abhar  ^\  (^^0*  Kazwin,  Hamadan,  ed- 
Dainawar,  Nohawand,  and  other  places  which  were 
under  the  dependency  of  el-Kufah  and  el- Basrah 
(after  the  Arabic  conquests),,  and  form  part  of  el- 
'Irak.  God  may  keep  the  said  nations  within  their 
limits,  particularly  since  the  Moslim  power  has  been 


460  EL-MAS'UOI'S    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

so  reduced,  and  is  in  such  a  decline  that  the  Byzan- 
tines are  victorious  over  the  Moslims;  the  pilgrim- 
age to  Mekka  is  in  a  bad  state;  holy  warfare 
is  neglected;  the  highways  are  unsafe,  and  the 
roads  bad ;  every  chief  makes  himself  the  independ- 
ent master  of  the  provinces  in  which  he  is,  as  was 
the  case  under  the  kings  of  the  Satrapies,  after  the 
death  of  Alexander,  until  Ardeshir  Ben  Babek  Ben 
Sasan  united  the  empire.  He  restored  order,  he 
rendered  religious  service  safe,  and  promoted  the 
cultivation  of  the  country  (by  paying  attention  to 
irrigation,  and  thus  it  continued)  until  God  sent  his 
prophet,  through  whom  he  dispelled  the  darkness  of 
wrong  religions,  and  destroyed  the  services  ordained 
by  false  creeds.  The  Islam  was  victorious  till  at 
present,  but  now,  that  is  to  say,  in  332  A.H.,  under 
the  Khalifat  of  Abu  Ishak  Ibrahim  el-Mottaki  Lilian 
its  pillars  give  way,  and  its  foundations  are  sinking. 
God  is  the  helper  in  human  affairs. 

There  are  many  curious  accounts  connected 
with  Bab  el-Abwab,  and  the  various  fabrics  which 
have  been  raised  by  Kisra  Ben  Kobad  Ben  Fairuz, 
that  is  to  say*,  Kisra  Anusharwan:  as  the  town 
of  stone  2,lilXijjco  near  a  place  called  el-Masit 


*  The  MS.  of  Ley  den  reads,  "  Who  was  the  father  of  Anu- 
sharwan." If  this  reading  is  adopted,  the  word  "  Ben  "  before 
"  Kobad  "  is  to  be  left  out.  This  alteration,  however,  is  not  con- 
firmed by  any  MS. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  461 

(kjuJU)-  The  wall  which  he  raised  in  the 
country  of  Sharwan  and  which  is  called  the  wall  of 
clay,  and  the  wall  of  stone  which  has  the  name  el- 
Bermeki  u£*riJ!;  other  accounts  refer  to  the  coun- 
try of  Berda'ah  Xc<^j.  We  will  not  enter  into  fur- 
ther details,  having  spoken  on  this  subject  in  our 
former  works. 

The  river  el-Koru  ^\  (jj£fy  (Korr  or  Cyrus) 
rises  in  the  country  of  Khazaran  in  the  kingdom  of 
Jerir  jjj^  ;  it  takes  its  course  through  the  country 
of  Abkhaz*  to  the  province  of  Tiflis,  which  forms 
the  Moslim  frontier ;  in  the  middle  of  this  province 
it  is  divided  and  runs  to  the  Solawerdians  Xj^LJI, 
(XjJ^UJJ  or  XjjjUJ!)  (Shulawerdi)  who  are  a 
brave  and  strange  nation  of  Armenian  origin, 
as  we  have  said.  From  these  the  hatchets  called 
Xj^  *U*J1  (we)  i^UL,  \f&>  have  their  name ;  which 
are  in  use  with  the  Siabihah  X^L**]!  (Xx^UiJ!) 
and  other  Barbarian  corps  p^U^  JJ^..  This  river, 
which  has  the  name  el-Korr^Xl!,  passes  through  Bar- 
daj  TT^JJ  a  place  of  the  province  of  Berda'ah,  and 
a  few  miles  distant  from  this  capital ;  then  it  receives 
near  es-Sinarah  iT,l,Ldt  (sJlyaJJ)  the  river  es-Ras 
u*y  (ur^l^)>  which  runs  near  Trebizond.  And 
after  these  two  rivers  are  united,  they  fall  into  the 
sea  of  the  Khazar. 

*  The  MSS.  read  .  .Ur*\  and  ,^\A\. 


462  EL-MAS'uDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD, 

The  river  er-Ras  comes  from  the  dominions  of 
Babek  el-Khorrami  ^j^  joL,  which  are  called  the 
country  of  Badin  ^jj«Xf,  and  belong  to  Aderbijan, 


and  from  a  mount,  which  has  the  name  of  Jebel 
Abi  Miisa,  in  el-Gharat*  ci»^U!i:  on  this  moun- 
tain live  several  nations,  belonging  to  er-Ran,  in 
Armenia.  It  passes  the  town  Warthan  ^lij^ 
(^ydjj),  and  it  comes  to  the  place  where  it  falls 
into  the  Korr,  near  the  village  called  Sinarah,  as 
we  have  said. 

The  river  Isfedrtid  j^JujU,  which  means  the 
White  River,  by  the  way  of  the  transposition  of  the 
words,  according  to  the  genius  of  each  of  the  two 
languages,  the  Persian  and  the  Arabicf,  passes 
through  the  country  of  ed-Dailem,  and  washes  the 

castle  which  has  the  name  Kal'ah  of  Salar  ^^U- 
(»&*))  which  is  the  name  of  Ibn  Aswar  the  Dai- 

lemite  ^JbAJJ  j\y»*\  (jj^^  wno  *s  one  °f  the  kings  of 
ed-Dailem,  who  has  at  present  [that  is  to  say,  in 
the  date  when  we  write  this  book]  rendered  himself 

*   Some  copies  read  er-Ran. 


-j- 

literally,  "  According  to  the  putting  before  and  behind  between 
the  two  languages,  namely,  the  Persian  and  the  Arabic."  That 
is  to  say,  the  Persians  put  the  adjective  before  the  substantive, 
and  say  the  white  river  ;  whilst  the  Arabs  observe  the  reverse 
order,  saying  the  river  the  white. 


AND    MINES    OF    GEMS.  463 

master  of  Aderbijan.  Then  this  river  takes  its 
course  from  ed-Dailem  to  el-Jil  J/Jj  [from  Jil  is 
derived  Jilan  j,3U>],  and  there  it  receives  another 
river  from  the  country  of  ed-Dailem,  which  is  called 
Shahanrud  ^5l£l£  (^.j^jfcLi) ,  that  is  to  say,  the 
King  of  Rivers :  it  is  so  called  on  account  of  the 
purity,  white  colour,  limpidness,  and  abundance  of 
its  waters.  These  two  united  rivers  fall  into  the 
sea  of  the  Dai'lem,  the  Khazar,  and  other  nations 
who  live  on  its  coasts.  The  majority  of  the  popu- 
lation on  the  banks  of  these  rivers  form  the  Dailem 
and  the  Jil,  who  have  conquered  and  subjected  a 
great  part  of  the  country. 

Having  given  an  account  of  the  Caucasus,  the 
nations  who  live  on  it,  and  round  it,  of  Bab  el- 
Abwab,  and  the  Khazar,  we  will  proceed  to  speak 
of  the  kings  of  the  Assyrians,  who  are  considered 
as  the  first  monarchs  in  astronomical  tables  (observa- 
tions) and  chronology ;  then  follow  the  kings  of 
el-Mausil  and  of  Ninive  ;  then  the  kings  of  Babel,, 
who  are  the  cultivators  of  the  earth,  who  have  dug 
canals,  planted  trees,  converted  waste  lands  into 
fields,  and  made  roads.  These  are  followed  by  the 
first  series  of  Persian  kings,  who  are  the  Jahan 
wl£lj^  (..jljfclJ^),  which  means  Lords,  down  to 
Feridun :  then  follow  the  Askan  ^IsCJ,  the  last  of 
whom  was  Dara  Ben  Dara,  which  is  the  same  as 
Darius:  the  are  the  Soki'm 


464  EL-MASJUDl's    MEADOWS    OF    GOLD. 

(Kaianians).  After  them  follow  the  kings  of  the 
Satrapies,  who  are  the  Ashghan  ^UliSM.  Then 
comes  the  second  series  of  Persian  (kings),  that  is 
to  say,  the  Sasanians :  then  the  Greeks :  then 
follows  the  Roman  empire.  We  shall  add  the 
kings  of  the  Arabs  (or  Maghrib)  who  followed 
them.  We  shall  also  give  an  historical  account  of 
the  Sudan,  of  Egypt,  Alexandria,  and  of  other  places 
of  the  earth,  if  it  is  the  will  of  God ;  for  there  is  no 
strength  but  in  God. 


END    OF    THE    FIRST    VOLUME. 


LONDON  :  HARRISON  AND  Co.,  PRINTERS,  ST.  MARTIN'S  LANE. 


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