HISTORY OF TABARI VOLUME 1 PART 20

HISTORY OF TABARI
VOLUME 1


From the Creation to the Flood



   After the birth of Yanish, he lived another 807 years. [984. Genesis 5:7.]

  After the passing of his father Seth, Enosh took over the political administration of the realm and the guidance of the subjects under his control in place of his father Seth. He reportedly continued his father's ways with no noticeable changes. As mentioned by the people of the Torah, Enosh lived altogether 905 years. [985. Genesis 5:11]

  According to al-Harith-Ibn Sad-Hisham-his father-Abu Salih-Ibn'Abbas: Seth begot Idris a.s and numerous other children. Enosh was Seth's legatee . Kenan was then born to Enosh b. Seth b. Adam by his sister, Seth's daughter Na'mah, after ninety years of the life of Idris a.s and 325 years of that of Adam had passed. [986. Genesis 5:9. The figure of 325 agrees with the Biblical data.]

  In Ishaq, in turn, said as we were told by Ibn HumaydSalamah-Ibn Ishaq: Seth's son Yanish married his sister, Seth's daughter Na'mah. When he was ninety years old, she bore him Kenan. After Kenan's birth, Yanish lived another 815 years. (Several) sons and daughters were born to him. The total length of Yanish's life was 905 years. At the age of seventy, Yanish's son Kenan married Dinah, the daughter of Barakil b. Mehujael b. Enoch b. Cain b. Adam. [987. See above, n. 947] She bore him his son Mahalalel. After the birth of Mahalalel, Kenan lived another 840 years. Thus the total length of Kenan's life was 910 years. [988. Genesis 5:13 f.]
 According to al-Harith Ibn Sad-Hisham-his father-Abu Salih-Ibn `Abbas: Enosh begot Kenan and numerous other children. Kenan was his legatee. He begot Mahalalel and other children in addition. Mahalalel was his legatee. He begot Jared [Yarid]-that is, al-Yarid-and other children in addition. Jared was his legatee. He begot Enoch-that is, the prophet Idris a.s [989. The Qur'anic Idris was commonly identified with Enoch, probably on the basis of etymological speculation (h-n-k and d-r-s), which may, or may not, be grounded in fact . See E12, 111, 1030 f., s. v. Idris.] -and other children in addition. Enoch begot Methuselah and other children in addition. Methuselah was his legatee. He begot Lamech and other children in addition. Lamech was his legatee. [990. The statement on Lamech that is found in a manuscript used in the Cairo edition no doubt belonged to the original text. For the succession of "legatees," cf. the "commandments" (p-q-d) of Schatzhbhle, text, 112-14, trans., 27.]

  In the Torah , according to the people of the Book , it is mentioned that Mahalalel ' s birth took place after 395 years of Adam's life and seventy years of that of Kenan had passed. [991. Genesis 5:12.]

  According to Ibn Humayd -Salamah-Ibn Ishaq : When Mahalalel b. Kenan was sixty - five years old, he married his maternal aunt Sim ' an, the daughter of Barakil b . Mehujael b. idris b. Cain b. Adam . [992. Sim'an (vocalization ?), who is mentioned again in text below, I, 172, thus was a sister of Dinah ( above, nn. 947 and 987). According to Jubilees , it was Dinah who was married to Mahalalel.] She bore him his son Jared . After Jared 's birth, Mahalalel lived another 830 years . ( Several other) sons and daughters were born to him . The total length of Mahalalel ' s life was 895 years. [993. Genesis 5:17.] Then he died.

  According to the Torah, Jared reportedly was born to Mahalalel after 460  years of Adam ' s life had passed . [994. Because Mahalalel was sixty - five when Jared was born ( Genesis 5:15).] He followed the ways of his father Kenan, but (certain) events happened in his time.

The Events That Took Place in the Days of the Children of Adam from the Rule of Adam's Son to the Days of Jared [995. The chapter, in fact , extends to Noah . Jared ' s assumed crucial role in world history derives from the fact , stressed in Schatzhohle , that the first millennium of the world came to an end during his lifetime. ]


  It has been mentioned that when Cain killed Abel and fled from his father to the Yemen , [996. See above, n. 894] Iblis came and said to him: Abel 's offering was accepted and consumed by fire only because he used to serve and worship fire . So, you, too, set up a fire for yourself and your descendants ! Cain thus built a fire temple . He was the first to set up and worship fire.

  According to Ibn Humayd-Salamah-Ibn Ishaq : Cain married Adam 's daughter Ashut . [997. See above , n. 904.] She bore him a male and a female, his son Enoch and his daughter 'Adan [998. The Tabari manuscripts seem to have final b, but n is assured by Enoch 85:3. See also Malik , The Books of Enoch , 42. In Jubilees 4:20, Edni is Methuselah's mother, in 4:27 , Edna is the name of the wife of Methuselah. See below , nn. 1031 and 1035.] Cain ' s son Enoch married his sister, Cain's daughter `Adan. She bore him three male children and one female, his sons Irad, Mehujael, and Abushil [999. Instead of b, it probably was originally ( before Tabari?l th , as the name apparently represents Methushael of Genesis 4:18. There Methushael is the son of Mehujael, who, in turn, is the son of had. A reading Anushil , an angelic name consisting of Enosh plus it/el, seems unlikely.] and his daughter Mulith. [1000 . Mulith no doubt corresponds to Mualeleth in jubilees 4:14, where it is the name of Kenan's wife.] Enoch's son Abushil married Enoch's daughter Mulith. She bore Abushil a male named Lamech. Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. Adah bore him Tulin (Jabal), who was the first to dwell in tents and to acquire property, and Tubish ( Jubal),[ 1001. The initial tin Tulin and Tubish should probably be ready, since Jabal and Jubal of Genesis 4:20 f. are meant here.] who was the first to play string instruments and cymbals. [1002 . For sanj (" cymbal "), the meaning of some kind of string instrument is probably more common , so that Tabari may have understood the instruments as representing two different string instruments] Zillah bore him a male called Tubalcain, who was the first to work copper and iron. [1003. Genesis 4:19-22.] Their children were godless tyrants (jababirah and fard'inah ("Pharaohs" )). They were given a large stature, supposedly thirty cubits (15 meters) tall. He continued. The children of Cain then disappeared, having left only a few descendants. Knowledge of the pedigrees of all the progeny of Adam was lost, and they no longer had offspring, except among the descendants of Adam's son Seth. They produced offspring, and the pedigrees of all men today go back to  Seth rather than his father Adam, who is the father of mankind, except those children of his father and his brothers who left no (further) descendants.

  He continued. The people of the Torah say: Rather, Cain married Ashut. She bore him Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad, to Irad Mehujael, to Mehujael Abushil, and to Abushil Lamech. Lamech married Adah and Zillah, who bore him those mentioned by me. [ 1004 . This genealogy is, of course, more in line with Genesis 4:17] God knows best!

  Ibn Ishaq mentioned only what I have reported about Cain and  his descendants. Someone else knowledgeable in the Torah mentioned that the descendant of Cain who invented musical instruments was a man called Tubal (Jubal). He invented musical instruments such as flutes, drums, lutes, pandores, and lyres in the time of Mahalalel b. Kenan. As a result, the descendants of Cain became very much engaged in amusement. [1005 . Lahw " amusement " seems to be used here in this wider meaning . it is not merely musical entertainment.] Information about them reached the descendants of Seth in the mountain, and a hundred of them thought of going down to them, acting contrary to the exhortations of their forefathers. When Jared learned about it, he admonished them and forbade them (to go down), but they simply insisted and went down to the descendants of Cain. They liked what they saw there. When they wanted to go back, they were prevented by a previous call (da'wah) [1006 . Schatzhohle speaks of an "oath." The Arabic may be understood as prayer or curse.] of their forefathers. When they tarried where they were, some misguided people in the mountain thought that they remained (down there) because they were happy there. They therefore slipped away and went down from the mountain. When they saw the amusement taking place there, they, too, liked it. They reached an accommodation with female descendants of Cain who rushed to them, and they stayed with them. They became very much engaged in iniquity. Wickedness and wine drinking spread. [1007. See Schatzhohle, text, 64-68, trans., 15 f. This and the following story expand on Genesis 6:1-4.]

  Abu Ja'far (al-Tabari) says: This statement is not far from the truth. That is so because about the same information has been transmitted on the authority of a number of the early scholars from the nation of our Prophet, even if they did not clearly indicate the time of the person during whose rule this event took  place but mentioned only that it was in the period between Adam and Noah.

Those on whose authority this story has been transmitted

  According to Ahmad b. Zuhayr [1008. That is, the historian Ibn Abi Khaythamah above, n. 533).] -Musa b . Ismail-Dawud, meaning Ibn Abi al-Furat. [1009. According to Tahdhib, 111, 197, Dawud b. Abi al-Furst died in 167/783-84, but this may not be correct.] -'Ilba' b. Ahmar-'Ikrimah-Ibn 'Abbas, reciting this verse of the Qur'an (addressing women): "And do not display your finery as in the first Jahiliyyah!" [1010 . Qur. 33:33.] and commenting on it as follows: It was the period between Noah and Idris(!) and it was a thousand years. There were two tribes (batn) of Adam's descendants. One of them dwelled in the plain, and the other in the mountain . The mountain men were handsome, and the mountain women ugly, while the women of the plain were beautiful, and the men ugly. Iblis came to one of the inhabitants of the plain in the form of a young man and hired himself out as his servant. HIS invented something like the flutes used by shepherds but produced with it a sound, the likes of which people had not heard before. When those around them heard about it, they took turns going to them and listening to it. They established a yearly festival where they assembled, arranging for the women to display their finery to the men-he continued-and for the men to come down to them. One of the mountain people intruded upon them during that festival of theirs. He saw the beauty of the women and, going back to his companions, told them about it. They moved down to live with the women, with the result that wickedness appeared among the women. This is (meant by) God's word: "And do not display your finery as in the first Jahiliyyah!"1170)

  According to Ibn Waki'-Ibn Abi Ghaniyyah [1011. Yahya b. Abd al- Malik b. Humayd b. Abi Ghaniyyah died between 186 and 188/802-4. See Tahdhib, XI, 252. His father is listed in Tahdhib, VI, 392 f.] -his fatheral-Hakam , [1002 .Al-Hakam b. Utaybah lived from around 47-50/667-70 to about 113-15/731-33. See Tahdhib, II, 432 f.; Khalifa , Tabaqat, 162; Bukhari, Ta'rikh, 1, 2 330 ff] commenting on: "And do not display your finery as in the first Jahiliyyah," as follows: There were eight hundred years between Adam and Noah. Their women were as ugly as could be, and their men were handsome. A woman always wanted a man for herself. Therefore, this verse was revealed: "And do not display your finery as in the first Jahiliyyah!"

  According to al-Harith Ibn Sad-Hisham-his father-Abu Salih-Ibn 'Abbas: Adam did not die before the number of his children on (Mount) Nudh had reached forty thousand. Adam noticed adultery, wine drinking, and corruption among them. He exhorted the children of Seth not to marry the children of Cain. The children of Seth placed Adam in a cave and appointed a guardian for him, so that none of the children of Cain would get near him. Those who came to him and for whom he would ask for forgiveness belonged to the children of Seth. One hundred handsome children of Seth said: Would that we could look at what our cousins -meaning the children of Cain-are doing. So the hundred went down to the beautiful female children of Cain . The women detained the men , and they remained for a while. Then, another hundred said : Would that we could look at what our brothers are doing. They went down from the mountain, and the women detained them . Then all the children of Seth went down. The result was the coming of sin . They intermarried and mingled , and the children of Cain grew in numbers until they filled [1013. The Leiden edition has "ruled."] the earth . They are the ones who drowned in the days of Noah. [1014. The figure of one hundred occurs also in Schatzhbhle, see above, n. 1007. See also the version in Ya'qubi, Ta rikh, 1, 8.]

  I have already mentioned what the Persian genealogists have said about Mahalalel b. Kenan. He was Oshahanj who ruled over the seven climes. I have explained the statements of the Arab genealogists who oppose their (views). [1015. See text above, I, 154 f. The section is translated in Christensen, 1, 148 f. (comments on I, 156 ff.)]

  If it was as stated by the Persian genealogists, I, in turn, was told on the authority of Hisham b. Muhammad b. al-Sa'ib that (Oshahanj) was the first to cut trees and build buildings and the first to produce minerals and make people understand their use.

  He commanded the people of his time to use mosques. He built two cities, the first to be built on earth. They are the city of Babil in the southern region (sawad) of al-Kufah and the city of al-Sus (Susa). He ruled forty years.

  Someone else said: It was during Oshahanj's rule that iron was first produced. He made it into tools for the crafts. He assessed the available water in localities with a stagnant water supply. [1016. Christensen: Et it am6nagea lea eaux oit elles 6taient utiles.] He urged people to till the soil, sow, harvest, and engage in all (kinds of agricultural) activity. He commanded people to kill beasts of prey and use clothing made from their skins as well as mats and to slaughter cows, small cattle , and wild animals and eat their meat. He ruled forty years . He built the city of al-Rayy. Reportedly, it was the first city built after the city that was Jayumart's residence, in Dunbawand of Tabaristan. [1017. See text above , 1, 147.]

  The Persians say that this Oshahanj was born a king. His way of life and the way he administered his subjects were outstandingly praiseworthy. That gave rise to his surname Feshdadh, which in Persian means " the first to judge in justice ," for fish ( pesh) means "first ," and dadh (dad) means " justice and legal decision." They further mention that he went down to India and moved about in many places . When his situation was straightened out and his rule firmly established , he placed a crown ( ta i ) upon his head and gave an address in which he said that he had inherited the realm from his grandfather Jayumart and that he meant ( to inflict) punishment and revenge upon rebellious human beings and Satans. Again, they mention that he subdued Iblis and his armies and forbade them to mix with human beings . Writing a document on a white sheet (firs), he imposed covenants upon them enjoining them not to confront any human being . He threatened them in case they did. He killed the rebels among them and a number of ghuls . Fearing him they fled into deserts, mountains , and (river) valleys. Oshahanj ruled over all the climes . There were 236 years between the death of Jayumart and the birth and rule of Oshajanj. They further mention that Iblis and his armies rejoiced at the death of Oshahanj . That was because his death enabled them to enter the dwellings of the children of Adam and go down to them from the mountains and (river ) valleys.

  Let us now return to Jared ( Yarid ), also said to be Yarid. After 460 years of Adam 's life had passed , Jared was born to Mahalalel and his maternal aunt Sim'an, the daughter of Barakil b. Mehujael b. Enoch b. Cain.[ 1018 . See above, n. 992] He was the legatee and successor of his father, according to what his father Mahalalel had set down in his last will addressed to him when he made him his successor after his death. His mother reportedly gave birth to him after sixty-five years of Mahalalel's life had passed. After his father perished, he acted in accordance with the last will of his ancestors and his forefathers, as they had done during the days of their lives.

  As we were told by Ibn Humayd-Salamah-Ibn Ishaq, when Jared was 162 years old, he married Barakna, the daughter of alDarmasil [1019. The names in jubilees 4:16 are Baraka, the daughter of Rasuyal. Barakna might originally have been Barakt(h)a ?). The tradition reflects Genesis 5:18-20 quite literally.] b. Mehujael b. Enoch b. Cain b. Adam. She bore him his son Enoch, who is the prophet Idris. He was the first of Adam's children to be given prophecy-as Ibn Ishaq assumed-and the first to write with a pen. Jared lived 8oo years after Enoch's birth. (Several) sons and daughters were born to him. The total length ofJared's life was 962 years. Then he died.

  Someone else among the people of the Torah said : Enoch-that is, Idris -was born to Jared. God granted him the gift of prophecy after 622 years of Adam's life had passed. He revealed thirty scrolls to him. He was the first after Adam to write and to exert himself in the path of God, [1020. "Undertook the jihad. " See also below, n. 1033.] as well as the first to cut and sew clothes. He also was the first to lead some of Cain's descendants into captivity and to enslave them. He was the legatee of his father Jared and exhorted to act in accordance with what his forefathers had stated in their last wills addressed to him and to each other. All this he did during Adam's lifetime.

  He continued. Adam died after 308 years of the life of Enoch had passed, thus completing the 90 years we have mentioned as being the length of Adam's life. [1021. See text above, 1, 160.] Enoch summoned his people and admonished them. He commanded them to be obedient to God and disobey Satan and not to mix with the descendants of Cain. However, they did not follow his command. Group after group of the descendants of Seth used to go down to the descendants of Cain. [1022. See text above, I, 170.]

  He continued. It is (written) in the Torah that after 365 years of  Idris' life and 527 years of the life of his father had passed, God raised up Idris. Thereafter, his father lived another 435 years to complete 962 years, as this was the length of Jared's life. Enoch was born after 162 years of Jared's life had passed.

  According to al-Harith-Ibn Sad-Hisham-his father-Abu Salih -Ibn `Abbas: It was in Jared's time that idols were made, and some turned away from islam.

  According to Ahmad b. 'Abd al-Rahman b. Wahb-his paternal uncle-al-Magi b. Muhammad-Abu Sulayman-al-Qasim b. Muhammad-Abu Idris al-Khawlani-Abu Dharr al-Ghifari: The Messenger of God said to me: Abu Dharr! Four-that is, messengers-were Syrians: Adam a.s, Seth a.s, Nuh a.s, and Idris a.s  who was the first to write with a pen. God revealed thirty scrolls to him.

  Some(one) assumed that God sent Idris to all the people of the earth living in his time. He gave to him the combined knowledge of the men of the past, adding to it thirty scrolls. This is (meant by) God's word: "This is in the first scrolls, the scrolls of  Ibraham a.s and Musa a.s.  [ 1023. Qur. 87:18 f-1024. Bewarasb (meaning, as explained in Firdawsi , " ten thousand horses") is another name for al-Dahhak (Asdahak). See Bundahishn, ed. Anklesaria, ch. 29,] He continued: By "first scrolls" are meant the scrolls that were revealed to Adam's son Hibat Allah (Seth) and to Idris.

(Persian Kings after Oshahanj: Tahmurath)


  Some(one) said: Bewarasb[1024. 244 f., and ch. 34, pp. 282 f.; Firdawsi, Shahndmah, Jamshid, verse 95 Mohl, verse 84 of the Russian ed.; text below, I, 181 and 201. See also justi, Iranisches Namenbuch, 6o f., and Dinawari, al-Akhbar al-tiwal, 6.] ruled in the time of Idris. Some of Adam's speeches had happened to reach him, and he used them to perform magic. Bewarasb practiced that magic. [1025. See also Dinawari, loc. cit.] When he wanted something from anywhere in his realm, or when he liked a mount or a woman, he blew into a golden reed (pipe) he had, and everything he wished for would come to him. This is the origin of (the custom of) the Jews to blow (the shofar). The Persians say: After Oshahanj, Tahmurath b. Wewanjihan b. Khubandadh b. Khuyaydar b. Oshahanj became ruler. [1026. Translated in Christensen, I, 193. In al-Athir, Kamil, ed. Tornberg, I, 43, thought of bih and jihdn "the best of the people of the earth " as a possible etymology of Wewanjihan, but he is certainly wrong. The name of the father of Wewanjihan is given as Vivangah in Bundahishn, ed. Anklesaria, ch. 35, Pp. 292 f. Dinawari, al-Akhbdr al- tiwal, 4, has Iran as his father . Justi , Iranisches Namenbuch, 374a, mentions Ayanhad as his father.]

  There are differences of opinion concerning the pedigree from Tahmurath to Oshahanj. Some give the pedigree just mentioned by me. Another Persian genealogist says, however, that it is Tahmurath b. Ewankihan b. Ankhad b. Askhad b. Oshahanj. [ 1027. For the genealogies, see Christensen , II, 110 ff.]

  As I was told on his authority, Hisham b. Muhammad al-Kalbi said: Scholars have mentioned that the first ruler of Babil was Tahmurath. He continued. We have heard-God knows best!-that God gave him so much power that Iblis and his Satans were submissive to him. He was obedient to God. He ruled forty years.

  The Persians, in turn, assume that Tahmurath ruled over all the climes. He placed a crown (taj) upon his head and, on the day he became ruler, he said: With God's help, we shall remove the corrupt rebels from God's creation. His rule was praiseworthy, and  he was kind to his subjects. He built Sabur in Fars [1028 . See Yiqut, Mu'jam , III, 5 f. For Tahmurath 's inventions, cf. Firdawsi.] and resided there. He moved about in (various) countries. He jumped on Iblis, mounted him, and rode around on him in the regions of the earth near and far. [1029 . Ibn al-Athir , Kamil, ed. Tornberg, 1, 44, comments : "( The sources) must bear the responsibility ( for this information ). We have only reported what they have stated."] He frightened Iblis and his rebellious companions until they scattered and dispersed. He was the first to use wool and hair for clothing and carpeting, and the first to use the horses, mules, and donkeys that are part of royal pomp. He ordered people to use dogs to guard and protect cattle from wild beasts and (to use) birds of prey (jawarih) for hunting. He wrote in Persian. Bewarasb appeared in the first year of his rule and made propaganda for the religion of the Sabians. [1030. Bewarisb is mentioned again in connection with the Sabians in text below, I, 184. There, the editor of the Leiden text indicates in a footnote that he withdraws his earlier suggestion that Budasb ( Bodhisattva, see EI2 , I, 1215 f., s. v. Bilawhar wa-Yudasaf) might have been intended here . Tabari almost certainly thought of Bewarasb , although Christensen, I, 206, strongly supports Badasb. See also Mas' udi, Muruj , II, 111.]

  We now return to Enoch-that is, Idris. As we were told by Ibn Humayd -Salamah-Ibn Ishaq , when Jared ' s son Enoch was sixty - five years old, he married Hadanah , or Adanah , the daughter of Bawil [1031 . Notwithstanding the difference in the initial consonant , Hadanah/Adanah is no doubt originally identical with Edna / Edni ( see also above, n. 998 ) in jubilees 4:20. She is there the daughter of Danel who appears to be identical with Bawil, although the relationship of the forms Danel and Bawil is difficult to explain.] b. Mehujael b . Enoch b . Cain b . Adam . She bore him his son Methuselah . He lived for 300 years after the birth of Methuselah . ( Several ) sons and daughters were born to him. The total length of Enoch's life was 365 years . Then he died.

  Some ( one) else among the people of the Torah said , referring to the authority of the Torah [1032 . The reading of the Cairo edition may be preferable to what is found in the Leiden edition: "as mentioned by the people of the Torah.] : Methuselah was born to Enoch after 687 years of Adam 's life had elapsed . Enoch appointed him his successor to do God 's command ('ala amr ALLAH). Before Enoch was raised up ( to God ), he addressed his last will to Methuselah and his family, informing them that God would punish the descendants of Cain and those who mixed with them and were sympathetic to them, and he forbade them to mix with them . It has been mentioned that he was the first to ride horses , because he followed his father 's prescribed practice with respect to the jihad, [1033 . See above , n. 1020.] In his days, he went in the path of his forefathers and acted in obedience to God . Enoch had lived for 365 years when he was raised up (to God). Methuselah was born to him after sixty - five years of his life had passed.

  As I was told by Ibn Humayd-Salamah -Ibn Ishaq, when Enoch's son Methuselah was 137 years old, [1034. In the Old Testament tradition , the figures diverge more than usual in'this case . The Hebrew text, for instance , has 187 ( Genesis 5: 25). The LXX has 167, and Targum Neofiti has 180 . If the text is correct , the indicated 9i9 years of Methuselah's life would require that there was an interval of eighty - two years between his marriage and the birth of Lamech. Now, the Old Testament has 969, not 919, and so on.] he married 'Adna ( Edna ), [1035 . 1uhilees 4 : 27 has Edna, the daughter of Azri ' al. Following Lidzbarski (above , n. 903 ), Tabari, Introductio etc., DLXXVI, suggests reading'Adna for'Arba and accordingly also corrects Qinush ( below, n. 1036 ) and 'Amziurah ( below, n. 1037 ). For Abushil , see above , n. 999] the daughter of 'Azra'il b. Abushil b. Enoch b . Cain b. Adam . She bore him his son Lamech. Methuselah lived 700 years after the birth of Lamech . ( Several ) sons and daughters were born to him. The total length of Methuselah's life was 91g years. Then he died. When Lamech b. Methuselah b. Enoch was 187 years old, he married Batanus(h), [1036. For Lamech's wife Bath Anosh, see Genesis Apocryphon, col. II; Fitzmycr, The Genesis Apocryphon, 42 ff., 74, 77. Fitzmycr argues for the vocalization Bitenosh . jubilees 4:28 has Betenos . Tabari 's Qinush is found in Tha'labi, Qisas, 54• It is not quite clear whether the initial b in the Cairo edition is based upon manuscript evidence.] the daughter of Barakil b. Mehujael b. Enoch b. Cain b. Adam. She bore him Noah, the prophet-may God pray for him and give him peace! After Noah's birth, Lamech lived another 595 years. (Several) sons and daughters were born to him. The total length of his life was 780 years. Then he died. When Lamech's son Noah was 500 years old, he married 'Amzurah, [1037. jubilees 4:33 has 'Emzara, the daughter of Rake'el. ] the daughter of Barakil b. Mehujael b. Enoch b. Cain b. Adam. She bore him his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. They were Noah's children. [1038 . Genesis 5:32.]

  The people of the Torah say: Lamech was born to Methuselah after Adam had lived 874 years. He maintained his forefathers' obedience to God and their faithfulness to the agreements with Him. They continued. When Methuselah was about to die, he appointed Lamech as his successor and exhorted him in his last will addressed to him in the same way his forefathers had done. They continued. Lamech admonished his people and forbade them to go down to the descendants of Cain, but they did not allow themselves to be admonished , and eventually all those in the mountain went down to the descendants of Cain. Methuselah reportedly had another son besides Lamech, who was Sabi'. The Sabians are said to have been named Sabians after him. Methuselah was 960 old; Lamech was born after 187 years of his life had passed. Lamech then begot Noah, 126 years after the death of Adam, that is, after 1,056 years had elapsed from the day Adam was cast down by God to Noah's birth. When Noah reached maturity, Lamech said to him: You know that no one but us has remained in this place, but do not feel lonely and do not follow after the sinful nation! Noah would pray to his Lord and admonish his people, but they made light of him. God revealed to him that he had given his people a respite (from punishment) and would grant them a postponement for a certain period, so that they might retract (what they had done) and repent. That period, however, passed before they had expressed regret and repented.

 Others than those'whose statement ( s) I have mentioned said: Noah lived in the time of Bewarasb . His people (worshiped idols). [1039. It is not quite clear whether the restoration of the text as indicated in the Cairo edition is derived from a manuscript ].For 950 years, [ 1040 . See Qur . 29:14]  he called them to God. Whenever one generation passed away, another followed in this same religion of unbelief, until God sent ( His) punishment down upon them and annihilated them.

  According to al-Harith-Ibn Sa'd-Hisham-his father-Abu Salih-Ibn 'Abbas: Methuselah begot Lamech and a number of other children in addition. Lamech was his legatee . He begot Noah. When Noah was born, Lamech was eighty-two years old. [ 1041. The Hebrew text of Genesis 5: 28 has 128 years, the LXX , 188 years . Lamech is said to have marned Noah 's mother at the age of 187 ( text above , 1, 177. This would indicate agreement with the LXX.] In that time, nobody was there to forbid evil. Therefore, God sent Noah to them-he was then 480 years old. Noah called them (to God) during his prophethood for 120 years. Then God commanded Noah to build the ark, and Noah did. He boarded it at the age of 600 years. All those people drowned. After (the building of) the ark, Noah lived on for another 350 years.

(Persian Kings from Tahmurath to Jamshed and al-Dahhak)


  The Persian scholars, in turn, say [1042 . Christensen, 11, 85-88, contains a translation of this section.] : After Tahmurath, jam al-shid (Jamshed) became ruler. In their opinion, al-shidh means "ray". He was supposedly given this nickname because of his beauty. He is jam b. Wewanjihin, a brother of Tahmurath. [1043 . See above, n. 1026.] He is said to have ruled over all the seven climes. He subjugated the jinn and humans living in them. He placed the crown (tai) upon his head. When he was (securely) settled in his realm, he said: God has given us perfect splendor [1044 . No doubt, the xvarenah, the eternal divine light of royalty, is meant here. See also below, n. 1054 . The "golden crown" is expressly mentioned in the beginning of Firdawsi 's chapter on Jamshed.] and great support. We shall do much good to our subjects. He originated the manufacture of swords and weaponry. He also showed (people) how to make brocade, silk, and other textile threads. He ordered garments woven and dyed and saddles with pommels carved to make the mounts more manageable.

  As mentioned by some(one), he went into hiding after 616 years and six months of his rule had passed, and the country was without him for a year.[ 1045. In the Bundahishn, trans . Justi , ch. 34, P. 46; ed. Anklesaria, ch. 36, pp. 306 f., the figures are 616 years and six months, plus one hundred years of hiding. For a flight of one hundred years, see Hamzah al-Isfahani , Annales, 25, and Firdawsi, Shahnamah, famshid, verse 203 Mohl, verse 179 of the Russian edition; text below, I, 181 and 183.] After the first year to year five [1046. The Leiden edition suggests a correction to "fifty."] of his rule, he ordered the production of swords, coats of mail, bid swords, [1047. There seems to be no way of telling what distinguished "white " swords from others swords. The word is commonly used simply for "sword."] and other kinds of weapons as well as iron tool(s) for craftsmen. From the year 50 to the year loo of his rule, he ordered the spinning and weaving of brocade, silk, cotton, linen, and every other textile thread, the dyeing of material in various colors, cutting it into various patterns, and wearing it. From the year 10o to the year 150, he grouped people in four classes: warriors, jurists, government functionaries, craftsmen and farmers, and he reserved one class for himself as his servants. [1048. Tabari seems to suggest that the fourth of the four classes was that of the royal servants . However, the fourth class might rather be the craftsmen and farmers . They could hardly have been lumped together in the same class with civilian officials . Cf. the fourfold division in Tha'alibi , Ghurar, 12. Tha'ilibi often relies on Tabari, but apparently not in this instance.] He ordered each class to do the work he had made obligatory for them. From the year 150 to the year 250, he fought the Satans and jinn, causing great slaughter among them and humiliating them. They were subjected (to doing forced labor) for him and had to follow his orders. From the year 250 to the year 316, he charged the Satans with cutting stones and rocks from the mountains and making marble, gypsum, and chalk. They also were directed to build buildings and baths with (these materials ) and with clay. He also charged them with producing depilatories and with transporting, from the oceans, mountains, mines, and deserts, everything useful for mankind, such as gold, silver, and all other meltable precious metals, as well as different kinds of perfumes and medicines. They carried out all those orders of his. Jamshed then ordered the manufacture of a glass chariot. [1049. Tha'alibi, Ghurar, speaks of a coach made of ivory and teakwood (al-'ai wa-l-sal), not glass (zujaj).] He harnessed [1050. Read safada with the Cairo edition.] the Satans to it, mounted it, and went on it through the air from his place, Dunbawand, to Babil in one day. That was the day Hurmuzroz of Fawardin Mah.[ 1051. That is, the first day of the month Fawardin. See Biruni, Chronology, text, 216, trans., 200.] Because of the miracle people saw him perform on that occasion , they established the day as New Year's Day (nawroz). He ordered them to establish this day and the following five days as a festival and to celebrate it joyously. On the sixth day, Khurdadhroz, he wrote to the people informing them that he had led a way of life pleasing to God among them. Part of God's reward to him for it was that God had removed from them (excessive) heat and cold, diseases,  old age decay, and envy. For 300 years following the 316 years that had elapsed of his rule, people remained unaffected by any of the misfortunes that God had reportedly removed from them. [1052. See Biruni, Chronology, text, 217 f., trans., 202]

  Thereafter, jam became ungrateful for the favor shown him by God. He gathered the jinn and humans and informed them that he was in complete charge (wali and malik) of them and that it was he who by his power was keeping diseases , old age decay, and death away from them. Denying God's benefactions to him, he persisted in his perversity, and nobody attending him (dared to) answer him. [1053. See Firdawsi, Shahnainah, jamshid, verse 76 Mohl, verse 69 of the Russian edition.] ; Immediately, he lost his splendor and might, [ 1054. Sec above, n. 1044. For jam's history as providing the prototype for being deprived of the xvar''nah, see Yasht, No. 19, in Lommel's translation.] and the angels whom God had commanded to administer his affairs withdrew from him. Bewarasb, who is called al-Dahhak, became aware of that. [1055. Namely, the fact that the xvarenah had departed from jam.] He hurried to jam to chew him up, but jam fled. Bewarasb got hold of him afterwards. He tore out his innards and swallowed them and sawed him apart with a saw.

  Some Persian scholars say that jam continued with his praiseworthy way of life until the last one hundred years of his rule. Then he became mentally confused and claimed divinity. Thereby he and his government got into trouble. His brother Isfitur (Spityura) [1056. Tabari, Introductio etc., DLXXVIII, refers to R. von Stackelberg as having made the identification in Wiener Zeitschrift fur die Kunde des Morgenlandes 12 [1898].246. Spityura, considered a brother of Jamshed, joined al-Dahhak in sawing him apart, see Yasht, trans. Lommel, 180, and Bundahishn, trans. Justi, ch. 2, p. 44; ed. Anklesaria, ch. 35, pp. 292 f.] attacked him and searched for him in order to kill him. Jam hid from him. During that period of hiding, he was an itinerant ruler . Bewarasb then went out against him, deprived him of his realm , and sawed him apart with a saw.

  It is assumed by some(one) that jam ruled 716 years, four months, and twenty days.

  A story similar to that of King Jamshad [1057. That is, Jamshed.] has been mentioned on the authority of Wahb b. Munabbih from one of the kings of the past. If the chronology of that king did not differ from that of Jam, I would say that it is the story of jam. This is what I was told by Muhammad b. Sahl b. 'Askar-Isma'il b. 'Abd al-Karim-'Abd al-Samad b. Ma'qil-Wahb b. Munabbih: A man became a ruler as a young man. He said: I have a taste for ruling and find it pleasurable. I do not know whether all men (would find) it so, or I am alone among them in this respect. When told that ruling was like that, he asked: What will enable me (to remain a ruler a long time)? He was told: Obeying God rather than disobeying Him. So he summoned some of the best men in his realm and said to them: Attend to me at court, and whatever you think is an act of obedience to God, order me to do it, and whatever you think is an act of disobedience to God, warn me away, and I shall stay away from it! Both he and they did that. On account of it, his realm was in good shape for four hundred years, during which time he obeyed God. Then Iblis got wind of it. He said: I have let a man who worships God be a ruler for four hundred years! He entered into the ruler's presence in the shape of a man, but the ruler was frightened of him and asked him who he was. Iblis replied: There is no reason for you to be afraid. But inform me who you are! The ruler said : I am one of the children of Adam. Iblis said to him: If you were one of Adam's children, you would have died as they do. Don't you see how many human beings have died and how many generations have passed ? If you were one of them, you wouldhave died as they did. No, you are a god! Thus, summon the people to worship you! This idea entered the ruler's heart. He then ascended the pulpit and addressed the people saying: I have concealed something . Now, it has become clear to me that I should reveal it to you. You know that I have ruled you for four hundred years. Now, if I were one of the children of Adam, I would have died as they did. But I am a god! Therefore worship me! Immediately, he was seized by trembling. God revealed to one of those who were with the ruler: Inform him that I have been straightforward with him as long as he was straightforward with Me. Now that he has turned from obedience to Me to disobedience and is  no (longer) straightforward with Me, I swear by My might that I shall give Bukht Nasir [1058. Or, as in some manuscripts , Bukht Nassar. See EI2, I, 1297, s. v. BukhtNas(s)ar.] power over him. He shall cut off his head and seize all that is in his treasuries. At that time, whenever God was angry with someone, He gave Bukht Nasir power over him.

  The ruler did not stop saying, what he had been saying, and eventually, God gave Bukht Nasir power over him. Bukht Nasir cut off his head and loaded seventy ships with gold from his treasuries.

  Abu Ja'far (al-Tabari) says: However, there is a long time gap between Bukht Nasir and lam, but al-Dahhak might have been called Bukht Nasir at that time.

  Hisham b. al-Kalbi, as I was told on his authority, said: Jam became ruler after Tahmurath. He had the most handsome face and the largest body among his contemporaries. He continued. It has been mentioned that Jam spent 619 years being obedient to God with his government flourishing and the country being securely his. Then he became an unjust tyrant. God therefore gave al-Dahhak power over him. AI-Dahhak marched against him with 200,000 men, and Jam kept fleeing from him for a hundred years. Al-Dahhak then got hold of him and sawed him apart with a saw. He continued. The total length of Jam's rule, from the time he became ruler to his death, was 719 years.

 According to a report transmitted on the authority of a number of early (scholars), there were ten generations between Adam and Noah, all of them followers of the true religion. Unbelief originated only in the generation to whom Noah was sent. Reportedly Noah was the first prophet to be sent by God as a messenger to a people to warn them and call them to the recognition of the oneness of God.

Those who said this

  According to Muhammad b. Bashshar-Abu DawudHammam [1059. Hammam b. Yahya died between 163 and 165/779-82. See Tahdhib, XI, 67-70. Tafsir, II, 194 (ad Qur. 2:213), has Hammam b. Munabbih (see Sezgtn, GAS, 1, 86) for Hammam -Qatidah, seemingly a mistake.] -Qatadah-Ikrimah-Ibn 'Abbas: There were ten generations between Noah and Adam, all of them followers of a true religious law. Then they had disagreements "and God sent prophets as bringers of good tidings and warners." [1060. Qur. 2 : 213. The verse is broken up here in nonconsecutive portions. This as well as the following tradition appear in Tafsir, II, 194, on this verse.] He continued. According to the reading of 'Abdallah, [1061 . The addition of f a - khtlaf u in the verse at this point is the reading of 'Abdallah b. Masud. See Jeffery, Materials, 30.] (the Qur'anic verse reads): "Mankind was one nation. Then they had disagreements."

  According to al-Hasan b. Yahya-'Abd al-Razzaq-Ma'marQatadah, commenting on God's word: "Mankind was one nation," as follows: All of them were rightly guided. Then they had disagreements, "and God sent prophets as bringers of good tidings and warners." The first prophet to be sent was Noah.