VOLUME 2
An Account of Biwarasb,
that is, al-Azdahaq' [1. New Persian Bdwar. asp, another name for Zahhik (al-Dahhik) in thez Shahnameh . A compound from bewar "myriad, ten thousand " and asp/asb "horse ", i.e., "master of ten thousand horses ." See Shdhnameh, 44, verses 83-85 . Al-Azdahaq, from Avestan ati.dahaka - who was a three-headed dragon king. This Avestan form was later Arabicized into al -Azdahiq and finally alDahhik ( Zahhik in New Persian ). For a full discussion see Omidsalar, n. 9.]
The Arabs call him al-Dahhak, for they take the sound between the letters s and in Persian to be a d, the h to be h, andz the q to be k. [2. This is Tabari' s effort to explain the phonetic shift from what he considered a Persian form, Azdahiq ( which, as we have seen above, is already Arabicized), to al-Dahhik] He is the one whom Habib b . Aws [3. Abu Tammim Habib b. Aws al-TWI (808 - 842). This is found in his Diwan, III, 32t . There the name of the hero is Ifridhnn.] had in min when he said, "He did not accomplish merely what Pharaoh had accomplished in this world, nor Haman, nor Korah [4. Fir' aun, Haman , Qirun; in the Qur ' an, 40 : 23-25 , Moses was sent to these three with "our revelation and clear warrant ," but they disbelieved and ordered the slaying of the sons of believers . The three became symbolic figures representing disbelief and tyranny in Islamic literature.] rather, he was like al-Dahhak in the greatness of his power over the world, and you are Afaridhun. " [5. The name occurs as Fari dun, Feridim , Afridnn, and Afaridim in New Persian . The hero who defeated Zahhik and imprisoned him in Mount Damavand . ( See below).] He was the one about whom al-Hasan b. Hani [6. Muhammad b. Hini ' b. Muhammad b. Sa'dun al-Azdi al - Andalusi, Abu alQasim (326 -362(938 - 973)). See al-A'lam , VII, 354.] boasted by claiming that al –Dahhak was from his people:
One of us was al-Dahhak whom
the madmen and jinns worshipped in their river beds.
The Yemenites have claimed him as one of themselves. I have transmitted the following account from Hisham b. Muhammad b. al-Sa'ib regarding this al-Dahhak: The Persians claim alDahhak, asserting that jam [7. Or Jamshid; Avestan, Yima-. Fourth of the mythical kings of Iran, he appears as both jam and Jamshid in the Shahnameh. He was overthrown and killed by Zahhak after a reign of some seven hundred years. Shahnameh, I, 49,verses 165 - 183, and I, 50, verses 184-186.] gave his sister in marriage to one of the nobles of his family and made him ruler over the Yemen, whereupon she bore him al-Dahhak. But the Yemenites claim him, asserting that he was one of them. They say that he was alDahhak b. 'Alwyn b. 'Ubayd b. 'Uwayj, and that he appointed his brother Sinan b. 'Alwyn b. 'Ubayd b. 'Uwayj as ruler over Egypt. The latter was the first Pharaoh and was ruler of Egypt When Ibrahim a.s, the Friend of the Merciful, came there.
As for the Persians, they attribute to this al-Azdahaq a Yemenite genealogy different from the one given by Hisham. They say that he was Biwarasb b. Arwandasb b. Zinkaw b. Wiraw- shak b. Taz b. Farwak b. Sayamak b. Mashy b. Jayumart [8. The genealogy as given in the Bundahishn, 293, is Dahhak son of Khrutasp son of Zaingaw son of Avirashyang son of Taj son of Farvak son of Siyamak [son of Mashya son of Gayomart (Jayumart ], op. cit., line 11. Tabari is thus in general agreement with this early genealogy , although the individual names Appear in greatly differing forms in various manuscripts. The next genealogy given below may be explained , in part at least, as being due to confusion of Arabic letters r for z, or substitution of y and w.] There are others who attribute this geneazlogy to him, but pronounce the names of his forefathers differently . They say that he is al-Dahhak b. Anduramasb b. Ranhadar b. Wandarisah b. Taj b. Faryak b. Sahimak b. Madhi b. Jayumart. The Magians [9. Al-Majus , i.e., the Zoroastrians . See Shorter Encyc., 298.] assert that this Taj was the ancestor of the Arabs, and they also claim that al-Dahhak's mother was Wadak bt. Wiwanjahan. [10. Not mentioned in the Shahnameh, her name and genealogy are given in the Bundahishn , 293, as Uta (misreading by editor for Vadak) daughter of Tambayak of Owoikhm of Pairiurvo of Urvaesm of Gadwithw of Drujaskin of Gana Minify]
Also, they claim that he killed his father to curry favor with the devils . He often lived in Babylon , and he had two sons, one of them named Sarnafiwar and the other Nafawar. [ 11. Not mentioned in any of the sources.]
Al-Sha'bi [12. Abu 'Amr 'Amin b. Sharahil (640-721). An early traditionist, legal and literary scholar. See GAS, I, 2775] used to say that he ( al-Dahhak ) was Qarishat, whom God had transformed into Azdahaq.
The Account of That Tale
According to Ibn Humayd-Salamah b. al-Fadl-Yahya b. al-'Ala'-al-Qasim b. Salman -- al-Sha 'bi: Abjad, Hawwiz, Hutti, Kaliman, Sa'fas, and Qarishat [13. These names are actually combinations of the letters of the alphabet in the traditional order of the Semitic alphabet (huruf al-ajiad), combined in groups of four, three, three, four, and four from aleph to taw.] were tyrannical rulers. One day Qarishat became engrossed in thought and said, "Blessed be God, the best of Creators ," so God transformed him into Ajdahaq. He had seven heads and was the one who lived in Danbawand . [14. The highest summit of the Elburz Mountains in Iran. While the early Persian manuscripts show the spelling Danbavand, the word is today pronounced Damavand. The nb cluster > to mb and finally > m] All the historians , both Arab and Persian, claim that he ruled over every clime and that he was a wicked sorcerer.
According to Hisham b. Muhammad : Al-Dahhak reportedly reigned for one thousand years after Jam-but God knows better. Settling in the Sawad in a town called Nars [15. Nars, on the canal of the same name, which took its name from the Sassanian king Narses who came to the throne in A.D. 292 (LeStrange, Lands, 74) to the east of al-Kufah. The latter was founded immediately after the Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia, about 17(636) during the caliphate of 'Umar. On the Arab, or desert, side of the Euphrates, it became 'All's capital city. (LeStrange, op.cit., 74-75).] near the Kufah Road, he ruled over all the earth , displaying tyranny and oppression . He killed excessively and was the first to enact (the punishments of) crucifixion and mutilation . He was also the first to levy tithes and to mint dirhams , and the first to sing and be sung to . It is said that there were two ganglia growing out of his shoulders , which caused pain to him . The pain be came so intense for him that he would anoint them with the brains of human beings. For this purpose he killed two men each day and anointed his ganglia with their brains . When he did this, the pain would abate.
A man of the common people of Babylon rebelled against him; he set up a banner and many people rallied to him. When al-Dahhak learned of this he was alarmed and sent (the following message) to him, "What is the matter? What do you want?" The man replied, "Do you not claim that you are the ruler of the world, and that the world belongs to you?" Al-Dahhak replied, "Certainly." Whereupon the rebellious man said, "Then let your thirst be for all the world and not only for us, for you kill us alone of all the people." Al-Dahhak agreed with him about this and ordered that the two men whom he would slay each day should be divided among all the people and should not be taken specifically from one place rather than another. [16. ee the Persian translation of the text by al-Bal ' ami, which adds many details.]
We have been told that the people of Isbahan [17. See LeStrange , Lands 202 - 207. Today generally known as Isfahan, the usual Arabic name was as given in the text. Located in the southwestern corner of the Jibal province of Iran. Yaqut , Mu'jam, 1, 292-98.] are descendants of that man who raised the banner, and that this banner is still preserved by the kings of Firs [18. The province of Firs southwestern Iran) was the home of the Achaemenian dynasty and the center of their government . Its name , Hellenized as Persia, became a common European name for the whole country. Shiraz , founded by the Arabs after the conquest , became its capital . LeStrange, Lands, 248-298; Yaqut, Mu'jam, III, 835-838, s.v. Faris.] in their treasurehouses. According to what we have been told, it was the skin of a lion, which the kings of Fars covered with gold and brocade and from which they drew good auguries.
Hisham continued: We have been tozld that al-Dahhak was Nimrod [19. Namrud, Namrudh, Nimrod. As in Jewish aggadic literature, though not in the Bible or explicitly in the Qur'an , associated with the childhood of Abraham. The Muslim tales hinge on the verses in surah 2 , which are attributed to Nimrod' s speech although he is not mentioned by name . Muslim legend derives the name from tamarrada "he who rebelled " ( against God ). See Shorter Encyc., 437-438. See also n. 52 below.] and that Abraham, the Friend of the Merciful, was born during his era, and that al-Dahhak was Abraham's master who wanted to bum him. We have been told that Afaridhun (who was of the stock of jam, the king before al-Dahhaksome claim that he was the ninth among his children and that his birthplace was Danbawand) went forth until he reached the residence of al-Dahhik while the latter was away in India. Afaridhun then took possession of the residence and of everything in it. News of this reached al-Dahhak, and he came back. But God deprived him of his power, and his rule was ended. Afaridhun attacked him, tied him fast, and led him to the mountains of Danbawand. The Persians claim that he is there to this day, fettered with iron, and still being punished.
Someone other than Hishim mentioned that al-Dahhak was not away from his residence, but that Afaridhun b. Athfiyan came to a dwelling of his in a fortress called Zaranj [20. Zaranj /Zarang. The capital of Sijistan/Sistin ( present-day Zahedan) on the Afghan frontier in eastern Iran, destroyed by Timur. LeStrange, Lands, 335; Yaqut, Mu'jam, I, 926.] (during the month of) Mah Mihr, (on the day of) Ruz Mihr [21. Lit. "the month of Mihr, the day of Mihr," here in its Arabic form. In the Sassanian calendar each month had thirty days, each one named after a deity, as were the months. When the name of the day coincided with the name of the month in which it fell, there was a festival . The 16th day of every month was called Mihr Roz (or Roz ), "day of Mihr" (Old Iranian, Mithra-), the god of contracts and protector of the Iranian peoples . The name of the seventh month was also Mihr. Thus the 16th day of the seventh month, when the day-name and the month-name coincided, was called Mihrgin (Arabic, Mihrjan/Mahrjan) and was an important festival . It fell on the autumnal equinox , and was the harvest festival] and married two of his women, one called Arwanaz and the other Sanwir. Biwarasb was frightened when he discovered this, and fell down speechless and uncomprehending. Afaridhun struck his head with an iron mace-he had one with a curved top [22. Jurz, for Persian gurz, club or mace . After preparing to attack Zahhik, Fereydun ordered a great mace topped with a bull 's head to be made for him. See Shahnameh, I, 75, verse 429, and 66, verses 261-265.]-and Biwarasb became more terrified and confused. At this, Afaridhun made off with him to Mount Danbawand where he tied him up securely. He ordered the populace to adopt Mihr Mah, Mihr Ruz, the day on which Biwarasb was tied up, as a holiday ('id)-it is today called al-Mihrjan. [23. Seen. 21, above] Then Afaridhun ascended the throne. It is mentioned that when alDahhak reigned and the crown was set upon him, he said, "We are rulers of this world, possessors of all therein ." The Persians claim that rule will belong only to the clan from which Awshhanj, Jam, and Tahmurat came , [24. Awshhanj, for Persian Hushang, the second mythical king of the Shiahnameh and the father of Jam and Tahmurath ( here, Tahmiuat ; Avestan, Taxmu . urupi ), the third of the mythical kings. ] and that al-Dahhak had been a rebel who had seized the people of the land with witchcraft and deceit and had completely terrified them with the two serpents which had been on his shoulders. They also said that he had built a city in the land of Babylon and named it Hawb, [25. Bundahishn XXXII:4. " One is that which Zahhik erected in Babylon which they call Kvirinta Duzita ." If this is the same as Hawb , the latter was probably spelled khawb/khub/khw'ab] and that he made the Nabateans [26. Nabateans : in the early Arab chronicles , usually applied to peoples who inhabited areas of Iraq; later applied to people of mixed stock ( i.e., Arab and non-Arab) and the lowest level of society -probably because of their being distinguished for agriculture . See Lane, VIII:2759- 6o, s.v. nbt.] his companions and courtiers. The people were subjected to every kind of pressure by him, and he slew the young boys.
Many of those who are learned in books say that the things on his shoulders were two long, swollen pieces of flesh, each of which looked like the head of a serpent, and that in his wickedness and cunning he hid them with his clothing. In order to cause terror he let it be known that they were two snakes which demanded food from him and moved under his garment when he was hungry , just as the organ of a person moves when he bums with hunger or anger. However, there are some people who say that they really were two snakes. I have mentioned what is related on the authority of al-Sha'bi regarding that, but God knows better concerning its truthfulness and accuracy. [27. Some variations on this story occur in the Persian version by al-Bal'ami, who records that these actions of al-Dahhak the Arab went on for two hundred years and almost caused the world to be depopulated . See al-Bal'ami, 144.]
According to some authorities on the genealogies of the Persians and their affairs : People went on suffering greatly from this Biwarasb until God decided to destroy him. At that time a common man of I^bahan , named Kabi, [28. Kibi is an Arabic rendering of the New Persian, Kiva ; Middle Persian, Kivag. Not mentioned in Avestan material , he figures prominently in the Classical Persian sources.] attacked him. He did this because two of his sons had been seized by Biwarasb's messengers for the two serpents on his shoulders. It is said that when grief for his sons overtook this Kabi , he took a staff which he had and hung a leather bag on its end . He set this up as his banner and called upon the people to come out against Biwarasb and engage him in combat , since they shared his great distress and felt oppressed as he did. When Kabi was victorious, the people looked upon the banner as a good omen. They bestowed more and more honor upon it until it became the greatest banner of the kings of Persia . They sought blessing through it and named it Darafsh Kabiyan . [29. Lit. "banner of Kibi."] They brought it out for travel only in the most important campaigns, and raised it only for princes who were being sent on important missions.
From the account of Kabi we learn that he left Isbahan with his original followers and with those who joined him on his way. When he drew near to al-Dahhak and looked over his position, al-Dahhak became terrified and fled from his encampments, abandoning his place to the Persians who were able to capture whatever they wanted from him. They gathered round Kabi and argued. Kabi told them that he did not want to be king because he was not of royal lineage . He ordered them to take one of the sons of jam as king because jam was the son of the great king Awshhanq b. Farwak, [30. Jam, son of Hushang , was the first king to sit on a throne , and he began many important institutions of kingship , according to Iranian tradition. See Shahnameh, I, 41, verses 48-49 , and 42 , verses 500-52.] who had been the first to design the institution of kingship and had preceded all others in carrying it out.
Afaridhun b. Athfiyan, [31. Athfiyin . ( Middle Persian, Aspyin) was Fereydun 's father . See Bundahishn XXXV, line 8 . In the Shahnameh his name appears as Atbin or Abtin; see Shahnameh, I, 57, verse 117.] who was off in some other region hiding from al-Dahlhak , appeared before Kabi and those who were with him . The people took his arrival to be a good omen because, according to a tradition of theirs, Afaridhun was a candidate for rule. They then made him king, and Kabi and the notables became aides to Afaridhun in his affairs. Afaridhun assumed control and did everything necessary to consolidate his rule. Having also taken possession of al-Dahhak's dwellings , he pursued him and made him a prisoner in the Danbawand mountains. Some Magians claim that he took al-Dahhak captive and imprisoned him in those mountains , putting a group of jinn in charge of him; others assert that he killed him.
They assert that only one thing that could be considered good was ever said of al-Dahhak. When his affliction became great, his tyranny prolonged, and his days lengthened, the people felt that they were suffering so badly under his rule that their notables discussed the situation and agreed to travel to alDahhak's gate. When the notables and powerful men from various districts and regions reached his gate, they argued among themselves about coming into his presence and complaining to him and achieving reconciliation with him. They agreed that Kabi al-Isbahani would approach him to speak on their behalf. When they were traveling toward al-Dahhak's gate, al-Dahhak was told that they were coming and permitted them to enter, which they did, with Kabi leading them. The latter appeared before al-Dahhak but refrained from greeting him. He said, "0 king! What greeting should one give you? The greeting for one who rules all these climes or the greeting for one who rules only this clime-meaning Babylon?" AlDahhak replied, "Nay, but the greeting for one who rules all hese climes, for I am king of the earth." Then al-Isbahani said thes 'e' to him, "If you rule all the climes and your sway extends to all of them, why then have we in particular been assigned the burden of you, your intolerance, and your misdeeds out of all the peoples of the climes? Why then do you not divide such-andsuch a matter between us and the other regions?" Speaking the truth boldly, he addressed the issue and enumerated to alDahhak the ways in which the latter would be able to lighten their burdens. His words pierced al-Dahhak's heart, and he kept working on him in that way until the king ended by admitting his wrongdoing. He talked intimately with the people and promised them what they wanted. Then he commanded them to leave so that they might go to their camps and remain calm. They were to return to him to fulfill their needs before going back to their towns.
They claim that his mother Wadak was worse than he, and more wicked, and that while the people were remonstrating with him she was nearby, following what they were saying to him. When the people left she entered, burning with anger. Disapproving of al-Dahhak 's patience with the people, she said to him, " I have been told of everything that happened and of these people 's boldness toward you, that they frightened you in such-and-such ways and reviled you in such-and-such ways. Would you not destroy them and unleash your wrath on them or cut off their hands?" When this became too much for alDahhak he said to her, in spite of his haughtiness , " 0 you! You have not thought of anything that I had not thought of before, but the people surprised me with the truth and frightened me with it . When I was about to assail them harshly and attack them, the truth presented itself and appeared between me and them like a mountain . So I was unable to do anything against them." Thus he silenced her and sent her away. Then, after some days, he held audience for the people of the provinces and fulfilled his promises to them. He thus warded them off, having become gentle with them, and met most of their needs. This was the only good deed which is said to have been done by al-Dahhak.
The lifespan of this al-Ajdahaq,was reportedly a thousand years . He actually ruled for six hundred years , while during the rest of his life he was like a king because of his power and the authority of his command . Some have said that he ruled for one thousand years and lived for one thousand one hundred years, until Afaridhun rebelled against him and overthrew and killed him . Some of the Persian sages have said, "We do not know of anyone who lived longer, whose name was not mentioned in the Torah, than this al-Dahhak and Gomer b. japheth b. Noah, [32. Gomer: Jamir, Jamar, in the text , and Jawmar or Jiimar, Tabari, I, 211.
)The Arabic text by De Goeje is meant whenever Tabari is cited, as here.) According to Gen 10:2- 3, 1 Chron r:5-6 , the first-born son of japheth and the father of Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. Also, in Ezek 38:6, the name of a nation, today associated with the Assyrian, Gi-mir-ra-a; Greek, Kimmerioi. See Encyc. Judaica, VII:768.] the father of the Persians-for it is [also] said that Gomer' s lifespan was one thousand years."
We have only mentioned the story of Biwarasb at this point because some people claim that Noah lived during his reign and was, in fact, sent to him and to those people in his kingdom who gave him allegiance and followed him in spite of his insolence and insubordination towards God. [ 33. Illustrative of the effort by early Islamic chroniclers to connect the two ancient histories known to them , i.e., those of the Jews and the Persians, to serve as a unified history of revelation culminating in the final revelation to Muhammad s.a.w.] We have mentioned God' s kindness and helpfulness to Noah. This was because of Noah's obedience to God and his steadfastness in the face of all the injury and unpleasantness which befell him in this world. God thus saved him and those of his people who believed with him and followed him. God peopled the world with his descendants and made his name a name to be praised forever, and stored up for him a life of everlasting pleasure and ease in the hereafter. All others He slew, because they had disobeyed Him and rebelled against Him, contradicting His command. He deprived them of the comforts they had and made an example of them for all those who came after them, along with the painful punishment He had stored up for them in the hereafter with Him.
Now let us return to Noah and the tales about him and his progeny, for they-as God has mentioned-are those who are alive today. The others to whom Noah was sent, save his children and descendants, perished as did their offspring; none of them or their descendants remained . We have mentioned earlier that God's messenger, referring to God's word, "And we made his seed the survivors,” [34. Qur'an 37:77.] said that they (his seed) are Shem, Ham, and Japheth. [35. In the text, Sam, Ham, and Yafeth (rarely, Yafit) see Tabari, I, 222 ) . Though alluded to in the Qur'an , they are not mentioned by name there. According to Qur'an 40:42-47, one son of Noah drowned in the deluge and three survived . Hence a fourth son is posited, sometimes (but not here) associated with Canaan, who in the Bible is a son of Ham . See Shorter Encyc., 128, s.v. Ham; Ell, s.v. Ham.]
According to Muhammad b. Sahl b. 'Askar-Ismail b. 'Abd al-Karim- 'Abd al-Samad b. Ma'qil-Wahb b. Munabbih: Shem b. Noah was the father of the Arabs, the Persians, and the Greeks; Ham was the father of the Blacks; and Japheth was the father of the Turks and of Gog and Magog [36. Yajuj, Majuj (also Ya'juj, Ma'juj); Gen 10:2, Qur'an 21 : 96. Two peoples who belong to the outstanding figures of Jewish and Muslim eschatology. Connected with the peoples of the Northeast of the ancient world, the dwelling place of peoples who are to burst forth from their isolation in the last days, devastating the world southwards . Shorter Encyc., 637.] who are cousins of the Turks. It is said that the wife of Japheth was Arbasisah b. Marazil b. al-Darmasil b. Mehujael b. Enoch b. Cain b. Adam, and that she bore him seven sons and a daughter. One of the sons she bore him was Gomer b. Japheth, who was the father of Gog and Magog as told by Ibn HumaydSalamah-Ibn Ishaq. The other sons she bore him were Marihu b. Japheth, Wa'il b. Japheth, Hawwan b. Japheth, Tubal b. Japheth, Hawshil b. Japheth, and Tiras b. Japheth. Their daughter was Shabokah bt. Japheth. They also claim that among the sons of Japheth were Gog and Magog, the Slavs and the Turks. 12.The wife of Ham b. Noah was Nahlab bt. Marib b. al-Darmasil b. Mehujael b. Enoch b. Cain b. Adam. She bore him three offspring: Cush b. Ham b. Noah, Put [37. Qul throughout the Arabic text.] b. Ham, and Canaan b. Ham [38. Kan' an. See n . 35 above, as well as Shorter Encyc., 216, s . v. Kan'an] Cush b. Ham b. Noah married Qamabil, the daughter of Batawil b. Tiras b. Japheth, and it is asserted that she bore him the Abyssinians, Sindis and Indians. Put b. Ham b. Noah married Bakht, another daughter of Batawil b. Tiras b. Japheth b. Noah, and it is said that she bore him the Copts-that is, the Copts of Egypt. Canaan b. Ham b. Noah married Arsal, another daughter of Batawil b. Tiras b. Japheth b. Noah, and she bore him the Blacks, Nubians, Fezzan, Zanj, Zaghawah, and all the peoples of the Sudan.
According to Ibn Humayd-Salamah -Ibn Ishaq in the hadith: The people of the Torah claim that this was only because of an invocation of Noah against his son Ham. This was because while Noah slept his genitals were exposed , and Ham saw them but did not cover them. Sheen and Japheth, on the other hand, saw them and the two of them threw a garment over him and concealed his genitals. When he awoke from his sleep he knew what Ham had done as well as what Shem and Japheth had done. He said, "Cursed is Canaan b. Ham. Slaves will they be to his brothers!" Then he said, "May God my Lord bless Shem, and may Ham be a slave of his two brothers. May God requite Japheth and let him alight at the dwelling places of Shem, and may Ham be a slave to them." [39. Note the shift of the object of the curse from Canaan to Ham . For differing versions of this curse in Jewish and Muslim tradition, see Encyc. 'udaica, 7:1216-17; Ell, s.v. Ham.] The wife of Shem b. Noah was Salib bt. Batawil b. Mehujael b. Enoch b. Cain b. Adam, who bore him several male offspring: Arpachshad b. Shem, Asshur [40. Tabari , 1, 213, has Ashadh] b. Shem, Lud [41. Tabari, loc. cit ., has Lawudh.] b. Shem, and Elam b. Shem. Shem also had Aram b. Shem. I (Ibn Ishaq) do not know whether Aram was from the same mother as Arpachshad and his brothers or not.
According to al-Harith-Ibn Sa'd-Hisham b. Muhammad-his father-Abu Salih-Ibn `Abbas: When Suq Thamanin became too confining for the children of Noah they moved to Babylon and built it. It is situated between the Euphrates and the Sarat. It was twelve farsakhs (seventy-two km) by twelve farsakhs; its gate was situated in the place of today's Duran, [42. See Yaqut, Mu'jam, II, 615.] above the Kufah Bridge to the left as you cross it. They multiplied there, and they had reached one hundred thousand when they became Muslims.
Returning to the account of Ibn Ishaq: Lud b. Shem b. Noah married Shakbah bt. Japheth b. Noah, and she bore him Fans, Jurjan, and the races (ajnas) of Faris.[ 43. The significance of this genealogy is that the descendants of Shem and Japheth are here united-thus the two great peoples of Islam at the time of Tabcri, the Arabs and the Persians, may be of a common origin . Tabari shows some doubts about this , however. See below, note 61.] In addition to the Persians, Lud begat Tasm and 'Imliq, but I do not know whether the latter was by the mother of the Persians or not. 'Imliq was the progenitor of the Amalekites, who were dispersed throughout the land. The peoples of the East and those of 'Uman, of the IIijaz, of Syria, and of Egypt are all descended from him. From them, too, came the giants in Syria who were called Canaanites, the Pharaohs of Egypt, and the people of Babrayn and Uman from whom a nation (ummah) called the Jasim is descended. The inhabitants of al-Madinah are descended from them-the Banu Huff, Sa'd b. Hizzan, the Banu Matar, and the Banu al -Azraq. The people of Najd-the Badil, the Rahil, and the Ghafar-were of them, and the same is true of the people of zTayma'. The king of the Hijaz in Tayma' was one of them name was al -Arqam), but they were inhabitants of Najd nevertheless, while the inhabitants of al-Ta'if were the Banu 'Abd b. Dakhm, a clan of the first'Abs.
The Banu Umaym b. Lud b. Shem b. Noah were the people of Wabar in the sandy land, the sands of 'Alij. [44. For an explanation of the origin of this name and its location in Arabia, see Yaqut, Mu'jam, III, 591; Brice , Atlas, 15.] They had increased and multiplied there when God's vengeance struck them down because they were openly disobedient. As a result, they were destroyed; only a remnant of them survived, which are the ones called the Nasnas.
Having increased and multiplied in al-Yamamah [45. A region of eastern Arabia southwest of the area known as al-Bahrayn in early Islamic times, roughly equivalent to the regions of al-Hasa and al-Khan in the Eastern Province of today 's Saudi Arabia. See Brice , Atlas, 19.] and its surroundings , the Tasm b. Lud inhabited that area as far as (the borders of) al-Bahrayn. The Tasm, the Amalekites, the Umaym, and the Jasim comprised an Arab people (qawm); their language, to which they were predisposed, was an Arabic dialect. Faris was of the people of the East in the land of Persia ( Fars ), where they spoke Persian (farisiyyah).
Aram b. Shem b. Noah begat Uz b. Aram, Gether b. Aram, and Hul b. Aram. Then Uz b. Aram begat Gether b. Uz (and'Ad b. Uz) and Ubayl b. Uz. And Gether b. Aram begat Thamud b. Gether, and Judays b. Gether; they were an Arab people speaking the Mudari tongue. [46. Namely descendants of Mudar, the ancestor of most of the North Arabian tribes, as distinct from the descendants of Rabi'ah and Qahtan . See Wiistenfeld, Genealogische Tabellen, ( 1) tibersichts -Tabelle, and D.] The Arabs would call these nations the 'dribah Arabs because the Arabic language was their original language, whereas they called the children of Ishmael b. Abraham the muta'arribah Arabs because they only spoke these peoples ' languages after they had settled among them." The 'Ad, the Thamud, the Amalekites, the Umaym, the Jasim, the Judays, and the Tasm are the real Arabs. The 'Ad dwelt in the sands all the way to Hadramawt and in the Yemen. The Thamud occupied the rocky land between the Hijaz and Syria as far as the Wadi al-Qura and its environs. The Judays followed the Tasm and lived with them in al-Yamamah and its environs as far as Bahrayn. The name of al-Yamamah at that time was Jaww. The Jasim inhabited 'Uman and thus came to be situated there.
Others besides Ibn Ishaq have said that Noah prayed that prophets and apostles would be descended from Shem and that he prayed that kings would be among the descendants of Japheth. He began with the prayer for Japheth and, in so doing, gave him precedence over Shem. He prayed that Ham 's color would be changed and that his descendants would be slaves to the children of Shem and Japheth.
It is mentioned in the books that Noah took a milder attitude toward Ham afterwards and prayed that he should be granted compassion by his brothers. He also prayed for some of his children's children-for Cush b. Ham and Gomer b. Japheth b. Noah. That was because some of the grandchildren matured while Noah grew old, and served him as the sons of his loins had done. As a result, he prayed for a number of them. To Shem were born Eber, Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. Shem' s place was in Mecca. From the descendants of Arpachshad came the prophets and apostles and the Best of Mankind's and all the Arabs and the Pharaohs of Egypt. Descended from Japheth b. Noah were all the kings of the nonArabs, such as the Turks, the Khazars, and others, as well as the Persians. The last to rule among them was Yazdajird b. Shahriyar b. Abrawiz, [49. Yezdigrid III Jr. 634 - 642), the last Sassanian ruler of Iran , was defeated by the Arabs at Qidisiyyah (637) and finally at Nehawend ( 642). He fled to Central Asia and was murdered in 65 r.] whose genealogy leads back to Jayumart b. Japheth b. Noah.
It is said that a people descended from Lud b . Shem b. Noah, and others descended from his brothers, went off to this Gomer, and that Gomer took them under his favor and his rule. Among them was Maday (Madhay) [50. Madhi in Arabic] b. Japheth, the one to whom madhiyyah swords are attributed. Cyrus the Mede, [51. The text reads : Khayrash or Kirash al-Madhi.] the slayer of Belshazzar b. Evil merodach b. Nebuchadnezzar, was reportedly descended from this Maday. Among the descendants of Ham b. Noah are the Nubians, the Abyssinians, the Fezzanites, the Indians, the Sindis and the peoples of the coastlands in the East and the West. Among them was Nimrod, that is, Nimrod b. Cush b. Ham. [52. Seen. 19, above.]
To Arpachshad b. Shem was born his son Qaynan, who is not mentioned in the Torah. He was the one of whom it was said that he was not worthy of being mentioned in the revealed scriptures , because he was a magician and called himself a god. The genealogies in the Torah reach to Arpachshad b. Shem and then continue with Shelah b. Qaynan b. Arpachshad, without mentioning Qaynan. That is because of what has been said.
It is (thus) said about Shelah that he was Shelah b. Arpachshad, among those born to Qaynan. To Shelah was born Eber, and to Eber two sons were born. One of these was Peleg, which in Arabic means Qasim (one who divides , distributes ); he was called that only because it was during his era that the earth was divided up into diverse regions and tongues became diversified. Eber' s other son was named Joktan (Qahtan ), to whom were born Ya'rub and Yagtan-the two sons of Joktan b. Eber b. Shelah. They settled in the land of Yemen. Joktan was the first to rule the Yemen and the first to be greeted with the kingly salute, "May you disdain the curse."
To Peleg b. Eber [53. The text reads : Faligh b . 'Abir.] was born Reu, [54. The text reads : Arghu.] and to Reu Serug was born, and to Serug Nahor was born, and to Nahor was bom Terah, whose name in Arabic is Azar. [ 55. This name for Abraham's father occurs in Qur' an 6:75 . It has been suggested that it is based on the name of Abraham ' s servant Eliezer . See Shorter Encyc., 49-50. Tabari was aware of the problem ; see below, Tabari, 1, 224.] To Terah was born Abraham.
Arpachshad also had a son , Nimrod b. Arpachshad, whose dwelling was in the vicinity of al-Hijr. To Lud b. Shem were born Tasm and Judays, who dwelled in al-Yamamah. Lud also begat 'Imliq b. Lud whose dwelling place was the holy area (al Haram) and the outskirts of Mecca. Some of his descendants reached Syria; among these were the Amalekites, from whom the Pharaohs of Egypt came. To Lud too was born Umaym b. Lud b. Shem, who had many offspring. Some of these broke away to join Gomer b. Japheth in the East. To Aram b. Shemwas born Uz b. Aram, whose home was al-Aligaf. To Uz was born 'Ad b. Uz.
As for Ham b. Noah, to him were born Cush and Mizrayim and Put and Canaan. One of the offspring of Cush was Nimrod, the one who ruled tyrannically in Babylon. He was Nimrod b. Cush b. Ham. The rest of Ham's offspring came to reside in the coastlands of the East and West, and in Nubia, Abyssinia, and Fezzan. It is said that Mizrayim begat the Copts and Berbers and that Put journeyed to the land of Sind and Hind, [56. That is, India , Sind being nearer India and Hind being further India.] where he settled; the inhabitants there are said to be his descendants. As for Japheth b. Noah, to him were born Gomer, Magog, [57. Tabari, I, 218 has Maw'a '/Mu'a'. Note that Ms. A has variant Mawghugh/Murghugh.]
Maday, Javan , Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. Among the descendants of Gomer were the kings of Persia; the descendants of Tiras included the Turks and Khazars. Among the offspring of Meshech are the Ashban; [58. Also Ishban . According to Blach6re, Dictionnaire, I, 126, an Irania colony from Isfahan established in Syria , Egypt, North Africa, and Spain. Here, possibly Spain and the Spanish are meant] descended from Maday are Gog and Magog, who are in the eastern part of the land of the Turks and Khazars. Among the offspring of Javan are the Slavs and Burjan . [59. Probably the Bulgars, who settled in the Balkans in 678. See Blachere, Dictionnaire, 1, Sox.] The Ashban formerly lived in the land of the Byzantines before it was attacked by the descendants of Esau an others. Each of the three branches-Shem, Ham, and Japheth -set out for a land which it settled and from which it drove others away.
According to al-HArith b. Muhammad-Muhammad b. Sa'd-Hisham b. Muhammad b. al-SA'ib-his father-Abu Salih-Ibn `Abbas: God revealed to Moses, "You, 0 Moses, and your folk and the people of the island [60. Al-Jazirah, the Arabic name for the Arabian Peninsula.] and of the high lands are descendants of Shem b. Noah." Ibn `Abbas continues: The Arabs, the Persians, the Nabateans, the Indians, and the Sindis are among the offspring of Shem b . Noah." [61. An example of the effort to link the major peoples of the early Islamic Empire in their genealogy, even though this conflicts with other genealogies given earlier. The name of Ibn 'Abbas is often used to validate unusual and even forged traditions . See Shorter Encyc., 171]
According to al-Harith-Muhammad b. Sa'd-Hisham b. Muhammad-his father: The Indians and Sindis are children of Buqayin b. Yagtan b. Eber b. Shelah b. Arpachshad b. Shem b. Noah, while Makran is the son of al-Band. Jurhum's name was Hadhram b. Eber b. Siba b. Joktan b. Eber b. Shelah b. Arpachshad b. Shem b. Noah. Hazarmavet was the son of Joktan b. Eber b. Shelah, and (this) Joktan was Qahtan b. Eber b. Shelah b. Arpachshad b. Shem b. Noah, according to the words of whoever ascribed him to someone other than Ishmael.
The Persians are descendants of Faris b. Nabras b. NAsur b. Shem b. Noah, while the Nabateans are children of Nabit b. Mash b. Aram b. Shem b. Noah. The people of the island and of the highlands are the offspring of Mash b. Aram b. Shem b. Noah. 'Imliq-who is `Urayb and Tasm and Umaym are sons of Lud b. Shem b. Noah. `Imliq is the father of the Amalekites, from whom came the Berbers, who are children of Thamili b. MArib b. FAran b. 'Amr b. 'Imliq b. Lud b. Shem b. Noah, with the exception of Sinhajah and Kitamah who are offspring of Furayqish b. Qays b. Sayfi b. Siba'. It is said that 'Imliq was the first to speak Arabic when they departed from Babylon. They and Jurhum were called the 'aribah Arabs.
Thamud and Judays were sons of Eber b. Aram b. Shem b. Noah, while 'Ad and Ubayl were sons of Uz b. Aram b. Shem b. Noah. The Byzantines are descendants of Lanti b. Javan b. Japheth b. Noah while Nimrod was the son of Cush b. Canaan b. Ham b. Noah. He was the lord of Babylon and of Abraham, the Friend of the Merciful.
In that era 'Ad was called "'Ad of Iram," and when 'Ad was destroyed, Thamud was called Tram. When Thamud in turn was destroyed, the remaining sons of Iram were called Armin they are Nabateans [62. Tram occurs frequently in early Arabic literature as the name of a tribe or place, usually connected with'Ad but also, as here, with Thamud, Himyar, etc. See EI2, s.v. Himyar . The name of the early Nabateans who inhabited Transjordan was connected , after the Arab conquest, with the people of Iraq.] All of them were of Islam while they lived in Babylon, until Nimrod b. Cush b. Canaan b. Ham b. Noah ruled over them and called on them to worship idols, which they did. Whereas one evening their speech was Syriac, the next morning God had confused their tongues, and thus they became unable to understand each other. As a result, the descendants of Shem came to have eighteen languages . The descendants of Ham also came to have eighteen languages, while the descendants of Japheth had thirty- six languages. [63. Thus yielding 72, the supposed number of languages spoken in the world. The number 72 is also used for the number of sects of the children of Israel, while Islam was to be divided into 73 sects, 72 of which would be in Hell while one, that of the Prophet and his companions, would be the right one. See Mishkat, I, vi, 2.]
God made 'Ad, 'Ubayl, Thamud, Judays, 'Imliq, Tasm, Umaym, and the children of Joktan b. Eber b. Shelah b. Arpachshad b. Shem b. Noah able to understand Arabic. The one who flew these peoples' banners over Babylon was Bunizir [64. A problematic reading. Possibly a variant on the name Nebuchadnezzar, which is usually Bukhtnasar in Arabic texts. Note that the story of this otherwise unknown son of Noah is again attributed to Ibn 'Abbas.] b. Noah.
According to al-Hirith-Ibn Sa'd-Hishim-his fatherAbu Silih-Ibn 'Abbis: Noah married a woman of the children of Cain and she bore him a son whom he named Bunizir. He begat him in a city in the East called Ma'lun Shamsa. [65. Probably not an actual place but an Arabization of the Aramaic Ma'alenei Shimsha [Dt 11: 30) "the [place of the[ setting of the sun," i.e., the West, whereas here the city is in the East.]
The descendants of Shem settled al-Majdal, the navel of the earth, which is situated between Satidama [66. A name often mentioned in early Arabic poetry, referring either to a snow-covered mountain in India or to a place in the vicinity of Mosul in northern Iraq or in eastern Anatolia . Yaqut, Mu' jam, III, 6-8 argues that India is incorrect and that either of the other two is meant by these references. Here northern Iraq would seem more likely] and the sea between the Yemen and Syria. God bequeathed them prophecy, scripture , and beauty, and gave them complexions that were brown and white.
The descendants of Ham settled along the course of the south and west wind -this region is called al-Darum [67. Hebrew datum means "south."] and God gave them brown complexions, though a few were white. He populated their land and their sky. He made them free of plague, and he placed in their land the tamarisk , the thornbush, the asclepias , the sweet -fruited trees, and the date-palm. The sun and the moon move in their heavens.
The descendants of Japheth settled in al-$afun, [68. Hebrew safon means "north.] along the course of the north and east wind. There are ruddy- complexioned and blond people among them. God emptied their land, intensified its cold, and emptied its skies-none of the seven planets moves above them, because they came to be under (the constellation of) Ursa (Major), the North Star, and the two bright stars of Ursa Minor. There they were afflicted with the plague . After this, 'Ad reached a1-Shihr [69. On the Indian Ocean in southern Arabia. See Yaqut, Mu'jam, III, 313-314.] and perished there in a valley called Mughith. [70. Lit. "helper" when used with ghayth, as in ghayth mughith meaning "a rain which brings help" or " general rain," hence-ironically here the good omen. See Lane, VI, 2306, 2314.] Following that, Mahrah still reached them in al-Shihr. The 'Ubayl reached the site of Yathrib, while the Amalekites reached San a' before it had that name . Following that , some of them went to Yathrib and evicted 'Ubayl, who then settled in the site of al-Juhfah. But a flood came and swept them away, destroying them. For this
reason the place was named "the sweeping place" (al-Juhfah).
Thamud entered al-Hijr and its environs and perished there. Tasm and Judays entered al-Yamamah and perished, while Umaym entered the land of Mir" and perished there. It lies between al-Yamamah and al-Shihr and no one goes there nowadays, for the jinns have taken possession of it. It was called Abar for Abar b. Umaym.
The descendants of joktan b. Eber entered the Yemen. It was named the Yemen (south) as they moved southward into it. Some folk (qawm) descended from Canaan entered Syria, which was named al-Sha'm as they moved northward into it. Syria had been called the land of the Canaanites, but the children of Israel came and slew them there and drove them off. After that Syria belonged to the children of Israel until the Byzantines (Rum) attacked and slew them, exiling all but a few of them to Iraq. Then the Arabs came and conquered Syria. It was Peleg-that is, Peleg b. Eber b. Arpachshad b. Shem b. Noahwho divided the land among the descendants of Noah, as we have described.
The accounts received from the Messenger of God and from the scholars before us concerning the genealogies of the nations who are on the earth today, according to Ahmad b. Bashir b. Abi `Abdallah al-Warraq-Yazid b. Zuray`-Said -Qatadah-al-Hasan-Samurah: The Messenger of God said, "Shem was the father of the Arabs, Japheth was the father of the Byzantines, and Ham was the father of the Abyssinians."
According to al-Qasim b. Bishr b. Ma'ruf-Rawh-Said b. Abi `Arubah-Qatadah-al-Hasan-Samurah b. Jundub: The Prophet said, "Noah begat three: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Shem was the father of the Arabs, Ham was the father of the Blacks, and Japheth was the father of the Byzantines."
According to Abu Kurayb-`Uthman b. Said-'Abbad b. al-'Awwam-Said-Qatadah-al-Hasan-Samurah: The Messenger of God said, "Shem was the father of the Arabs, and Japheth was the father of the Byzantines, while Ham was the father of the Abyssinianshistory
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