by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
SHR Main Page | Opera Propria | Vestiges in Sand Introduction
The original manuscript of Blood and Sand included a full description of the Order of Suleiman. It was eventually decided that it would be better not to establish a canon version of this order, but rather to suggest a number of options that players might use. However, for those who might be interested, I present below the original description.
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by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law |
Before Islam, the Arabian Peninsula was home to a number of wizards, most of whom either lived in isolated places as hermits, or occupied positions as advisors to tribal rulers. With the rise of Islam, many of these wizards converted. As Islam expanded across the Middle East, members of other magical traditions also converted to Islam. Most of the converts continued to serve their chiefs (in the case of tribal wizards) or the new Muslim governors of their home territories, but many joined the Muslim armies as warrior mages. Initially, the precise size and quality of the magical contingents of the Muslim armies varied, depending on the whims of the wizards who joined them. In addition, even though they were Muslims, and hence required to resolve disputes through Islamic Law, rivalries between wizards still sometimes erupted into violence, crippling Muslim forces.
'Abd al-Malik decided that these mages needed to be organized into a coherent force, to ensure that every army received adequate magical support against any wizards it might encounter, and to bring an end to these rivalries and their effects. He consulted some of the senior wizards of the Muslim community, and with them conceived the idea of a loose organization of wizards, under the control of the most senior of their number, who would ultimately be answerable to the caliph. The organization was named Ikhwan Sulayman (the Brotherhood of Sulayman), taking its name from the Qur'anic Sulayman (the Solomon of the Jews and Christians), believed to be the greatest wizard who ever lived. By bringing the mages of the Muslim community into a single organization, it was easier to ensure that the Muslim armies received the magical support they required. Wizards were also now forced by their seniors to resolve disputes under Islamic Law, rather than through private feuds. The Ikhwan Sulayman was heavily involved in the Muslim conquests, most particularly in Spain. For more on their activities in this area, see Tribunals of Hermes: Iberia, pages 31-7.
When the 'Abbasids took power from the Umayyads in 750, the Ikhwan passed fairly smoothly under their control. The brotherhood enjoyed a brief period of prosperity until the ninth century, when the caliphate fell into decline. As caliphal power weakened and the Muslim world fragmented, the Ikhwan also fragmented, to the point that it was unable to prevent the Fatimid takeover of Egypt in 969. The few Sulaymanid mages who fought against the invaders were easily overwhelmed by the Berber wizards in the Fatimid armies.
This fragmentation remained a crippling problem in the eleventh and early twelfth centuries, enabling crusading Hermetic magi to establish themselves easily in the Levant. However, the unification of the Muslims under Zangi, Nur al-Din and Salah al-Din was also accompanied by a re-unification of the Ikhwan Sulayman. The brotherhood was involved in the recapture of Edessa, and also coordinated its efforts with Nur al-Din and Salah al-Din. At the Battle of Hattin in 1187 mages of the Ikhwan slew many Hermetic magi and destroyed several contingents of the Crusader army. They later provided magical artillery for the recapture of a number of Latin strongholds, and by the end of that year, several important Hermetic Crusader covenants had also been destroyed. The survivors blamed the counter-Crusading magi, saying that they had assisted the Ikhwan Sulayman and the Muslim forces against them. Whatever the truth of these allegations, no definite evidence was ever forthcoming.
When Aurora Borealis of House Jerbiton approached Salah al-Din and the caliph for a peace treaty in 1183, the senior magi of the Ikhwan counselled the caliph and sultan to accept, recognizing that a long-term Muslim victory was by no means certain. Since the signing of the Treaty of Baghdad in 1193, the Ikhwan has refrained from wholesale participation in hostilities between the Muslims and the Latins, although some members still conduct covert operations against crusading magi. The leaders of the Ikhwan attempt to curb such infractions of the treaty as far as possible.
Covering as it does a wide geographical area, the Ikhwan Sulayman has a membership considerably larger than that of the Order of Hermes, totalling some 3,000 members. The majority of these mages are sahirs or raqis, but the Ikhwan also includes members of many other traditions. Both men and women may be members, although there are more men than women in its ranks. The unifying factor for the members of the Ikhwan is that they are all Sunni Muslims, owing (at least nominal) allegiance to the caliph of Baghdad. It is fortunate for the Order that, due to the divided nature of the area, the Ikhwan Sulayman has never turned its full might against it.
Members of the Ikhwan Sulayman probably comprise somewhere between a third and a half of the fully Gifted mages of the Muslim world.
Members of the Ikhwan Sulayman are bound by all the requirements of Islam and its law. In addition, they owe allegiance to a leader, chosen by the caliph and known as the amir al-sahirin (emir of the sorcerers). The amir al-sahirin appoints regional deputies (na'ibs), to whom all other members owe allegiance. Generally, there are deputies in the courts of the most important figures of most major dynasties. In the Levant, there are na'ibs in a number of cities, including Cairo, Damascus, Aleppo, Mosul and Konya.
Mages join the Ikhwan Sulayman for a number of reasons, of which two are particularly common. Some join because they wish directly to serve Islam and its caliph, by effectively enlisting in its magical armies. Others join because membership assures a certain degree of safety. Members are forbidden from harming one another, and may call on each other for help and protection, either directly or through appeal to the local Sulaymanid na'ib. It is in this second reason for joining that the power of the na'ibs lies. Should a member behave in a manner that is obnoxious, the na'ib may forbid other members of the Ikhwan from answering any future calls from them for aid, a measure that has precedents going back to pre-Islamic times. In particularly extreme cases a na'ib may enlist other members of the Ikhwan to have the offending individual disciplined or executed. Na'ibs generally decide what punishments should be meted out on offending members, in consultation with local qadis and other Sulaymanid mages.
For the most part, na'ibs leave members of the Ikhwan alone to pursue their studies. It is only in times of war that members are summoned to take part in battles. The last major muster of Sulaymanid mages was to aid Salah al-Din against the armies of the Third Crusade. As stated above, currently the Ikhwan is holding to the truce made with the Order of Hermes in 1193, although like some Hermetic magi, some members still take part in military activities, when they can do so without their na'ibs noticing.
Every member of the Ikhwan carries a mark of membership. This is usually a ring or a pendant bearing the seal of Solomon. In some ways, this might be seen as being analogous to the sigil of a Hermetic magus, except that the Ikhwan does not normally decide matters by voting. Private disputes are usually handled through arbitration by the na'ib.
The attitudes of the Ikhwan Sulayman towards the Order of Hermes are mixed. Many Sulaymanid mages are hostile towards the Order, due to the fact that many Hermetic magi are involved in the Crusades. In addition, some label them as idolaters, worshippers of the pagan god Hermes. Other members are more willing to make peace with magi of the Order, and believe that there is much that each organisation could teach the other, if only they would listen. These two factions are currently fairly balanced. The amir al-sahirin, his na'ibs and advisors are siding with the peacemakers for the moment, continuing to uphold the truce made in 1193, although it has not yet seen a flowering of co-operation. The current Crusade in Egypt is sorely testing the truce, and it may be that when the time comes for it to be renewed in 1223, the more hostile voices will prevail, and war will break out again. It will certainly end if either side finds evidence that the other has been involved in military activities. What will happen then, only time will tell.
Text copyright © Niall Christie 2003. Artwork copyright © Stephanie Pui-Mun Law 2003.
The author would like to acknowledge the contributions of Eve Kimbrough and Eric Kouris, who provided ideas that influenced this article.