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Abu Tahir Muhammad al-Tarsusi (12th century);
Darabnamah-yi Tarsusi
(History of Darab by al-Tarsusi)
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Taken from: Minoo Southgate: The negative Images of Blacks In some Medieval Iranian Writings. In : Iranian studies 1984.
Pictures found in Bernard Lewis; Race and Slavery in the Middle East
Mughal, India, ca. 1580-1585.
Mughal, India, ca. 1580-1585.
Darabnama is Abu Tahir Tarasusi's tale of Darab, son of Zal. According to Muslim tradition Darab was grandfather of Alexander the Great. Darab, the son of the eighth Kyanian King was drifted along a river, being placed in a wooden case by his mother, Homai. Being brought up by a washerman in his early years, when he became a young man, his mother found him to make him King of Iran. The Darabnama speaks of his life. The Darabnama (Story of Darab) was illustrated under the illustrious Akbar�s patronage c. 1585 and some of his finest artists like Baswan, Kesudas, etc. are believed to have contributed to the Darabnama set.
The book is about the adventures of Darab (King of Persie), Burandukht (Queen) and Alexander (their son).
On the road to Zanzibar
They come at the land of Sabat, inhabited only by women, and their queen is called Sabaterah. All are originally from Greece and believers......Young men from Zanzibar from then on have been giving babies to these women, but the male ones always died.
(also in the land of Sabat) What lovely things in this world; says Alexander. If you are already surprised by this, answers Plato; wait till you arrive in Zanzibar. I will show you other more prodigious things, and you will know that the power of God is immense.... When are we going into that country, so that I can see its marvels? Asks Alexander.
The war with the Zanj
Three days later the army is attacked by birds the size of cows and camels, who grab people to eat them. They are chassed by throwing them burning torches. After a month the fog lifts and they arrive in the neighborhood of Zanzibar. Alexander notices that 15000 men have disappeared. Djamharah, hit by a bird on the head, has died.
The army stops on the island of Makarbes. Alexander answers to a peaceful invitation, but his escord of 5000 people is encircled by the army of the king of Zanzibar. Hearing of this, Burandukht brings the rest of the army to the gates of the town. The king of Zanzibar is impressed and offers his daughter in marriage to Alexander and asks to make peace. Plato has made him believe that the man they are holding is not Alexander but his brother, and so the king lets them leave to go and negotiate peace. Plato then has a robot made and the king thinks it is Alexander. In exchange for the hostage (robot) the 5000 are liberated. Then Plato pretends to make Burandukht come to sign the peace. The king has him look for her and so Plato gets back to the camp and all escaped the trap. The king who is a moon worshipper pretends to accept Islam and gains time to assemble his troops from the islands of his kingdom. Plato meets by chance Loqman (mythical black philosopher from Arabia) on his way to Mecca who informs them of the nightly attack that is planned on their forces. Fearing for his live Loqman agrees to join the expedition of Alexander on the condition that his identity is kept secret. Alexander�s army destroys the enemy. Just before that as a measure of security Plato putted the city gate under his authority. God then blows the wind into the torches on the fortress and the fire destroys the town. 200000 people die in the inferno. Suffering this way for their fake conversion. The army retakes the road. Plato had suggested to take the road to Mecca so as to avoid meeting the reinforcements sent for by the king of Zanzibar; but Alexander continues as he finds immense marvelous things in the islands of the Zanj. Loqman follows on food walking on the water. The next morning they meet the troops of a neighboring island of which part of the army had help the king of Zanzibar. With an arrow, Burandukht kills the chief who is having a sterile religious debate with Plato........
It contains several descriptions of African people.
The queen of a black tribe is blacker than raven�s feathers, her figure like a half burnt tree � all sticks and bones � her mouth like a trough, her teeth like a sheep�s ribs and yellower than saffron, their tips sticking out of her mouth�. Two children, like the offspring of a demon (afreet), were hanging from her neck. She falls in love with Darab and enters his bed at night. Awaking, he takes her for a demon and hurls her into the sea.
(The white slave girls) In their gorgeous gowns and bejeweled headgear, they line up to receive the black queen (and attendants), who, upon removing their veils, are discovered to be black with a cow�s eyes, noses flared like a buffalo�s nose, and with hanging lower lips�
The Zanj conftont Darab, Burandukht and Alexander in Zangbar and the Oman sea and its islands, fighting with huge sticks or clubs, some weighing over 600 pounds, or with 30 foot whale bones and matching shields made of turtle shell bordered and covered in iron.
(near the end of the war with the Zanj)The Zanj complain to their king: We saw a short stick with an iron point, which they would suddenly throw at us and it would without leave, enter our bodies and at once kill us. The king examines one of the arrows and falling to throw it more then a few yards concludes that the invaders work the arrows through sorcery. The king is taken captive and brought before Alexander.
Alexander looked and saw a man large-limbed and black, wearing red breeches, iron bracelets, a golden torque around his neck, and ankle-rings like a camel�s�
He resembles anything but a king, Alexander says contemptuously, concluding that the man is destitute � why else would he go about naked? Learning that the king is very rich, Alexander demands a huge war tribute. The black king removes his ankle rings and places them before Alexander, as guarantee that he will return with the booty. That is some guarantee, Alexander laughs. Unless I wear these ankle rings no one will call me king or will obey me, the king explains.
Later the king reappears and jumps up and down before Alexander as children jump. Alexander not recognizing him takes him for a mad man or a clown, until he is told; this man is the king, and he has never honored anyone to the degree that he has been honoring you.
Alexander demands the size of the area�s population: Our population is beyond measure, for each man has 30 wives and each wife 4 or 5 sons. The strong eat the weak; otherwise the world would overflow with our people.
Alexander asks: Who is the most learned among you? Ka�b the king replies. What branches of knowledge does he know? He knows the name of each and every one of these thousands of people and gives all our children their names; and every night he has sexual intercourse 21 times, says the king. That is some learning he has; the king sneers.