II B RAR.Y OF THL UNIVERSITY Of ILLINOIS 320. 1 v./ SOLWAN; WATERS OF COMFORT. SOLWAN; OR, WATERS OF COMFORT. BY IBN ZAFEK, FROM THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT. BY MICHELE AMARI, AUTHOR OF "THE WAR OF THE SICILIAN VKSPER8," BTC. AND RENDERED IN ENGLISH BY THE TRANSLATOR OF "THE SICILIAN VESPERS." IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON : RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET. in rttnarg to $?rr fHajcstg. 1852. v-l NOTICE. --* - IN offering to the public this new specimen of -<& >o the literature of a nation associated in the minds of all with the popularity long enjoyed by the " Arabian Nights," we would observe, that, although the " Solwan " does not aspire to rival that celebrated compilation in brilliancy, it yet r> possesses over it the advantage of truth, both Amoral and historic ; which may, we trust, recom- ^ mend it to the favourable attention of those ^interested, as well in the history and manners, o<> as in the graceful fictions of the East. i CONTENTS. PAGE INTRODUCTION 1 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION 115 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION 138 CHAPTEK I. TRUST IN GOD 145 H. PHARAOH AND HIS KINSMAN 146 III. TRADITION CONCERNING MAHOMET . . .154 IV. PHILOSOPHICAL MAXIMS, BOTH IN PROSE AND VERSE, CONCERNING TRUST IN GOD . . . .156 V. FAIR GARDEN AND EXCELLENT ARENA. DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE CALIPH WALID IBN TEZID, AND A POOR COTTAGER ~ 158 VI. ADVENTURE OF THE OMMEYAD CALIPH, ABD-AL-MALIK 161 VII. THE TWO FOXES . . . . . . 170 VIII. THE PEACOCK AND THE COCK 178 IX. THE TWO VIZIERS 183 X. CONCLUSION OF THE FABLE OF THE PEACOCK AND THE COCK 188 XI. CONCLUSION OF THE FABLE OF THE TWO FOXES . 188 XII. END OF THE ADVENTURE OF ABD-AL-MALIK . . 192 XIII. CONCLUSION OF THE DIALOGUE OF WALID 194 CONTENTS. PACE XIV. FAIR GARDEN AND EXCELLENT ARENA. AL MAMUN, AND THE OLD PERSIAN . . . .195 XV. THE KING OF THE WHITE HUNS- AND FIRUZ, KING OF PERSIA 206 XVI. CONCLUSION OF THE ADVENTURE OF AL-MAMUN .. 217 CHAPTER II. FORTITUDE 219 I. VERSES OF THE KORAN 219 II. TRADITION OF THE PROPHET CONCERNING FORTITUDE 224 III. PHILOSOPHICAL MAXIMS IN PROSE AND VERSE CON- CERNING FORTITUDE ... . 226 iv. FAIR'GARDEN AND EXCELLENT ARENA. SAPOR, KING OF PERSIA, AND THE ROMAN EMPEROR . . 229 NOTES TO THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION 250 NOTES TO THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION . . 252 NOTES TO CHAPTER 1 254 NOTES TO CHAPTER II. . 323 INTRODUCTION. i. THE Arabic work which I now offer to the English public may be considered under a twofold aspect, both philosophical and literary. As regards the former, the curiosity of the reader may well be ex- cited by a treatise concerning the political conduct of sovereigns, written in Sicily in the twelfth century, under the rule of the early Norman kings, by an Arab and a Mahometan, native of the island, but learned in all the wisdom of his race, theology, philosophy, and morality. His interest will be in- creased when he perceives in the work, together with the principles of Islamism, those of a civilisation, of the high degree of which we are indeed aware, but of which very few relics have been handed down to us ; namely, that of Persia, under the Sassanides. It is, moreover, worthy of note, that, VOL. I. B INTRODUCTION. although composed under a system differing widely from that of the present day, the Solwan offers many profound views of policy, which are as applicable now as they would have been in the age of Tacitus or of Machiavel. The work of Ibn Zafer appears to me of no less value in a literary point of view, for it offers, perhaps, the most ancient specimen in existence of the historical romance, together with a praiseworthy and by no means servile imita- tion of the Indian fables introduced into Europe by the Persians and Arabs, seven centuries before the study of Sanscrit had made us ac- quainted with the originals. These considerations have induced me to be- lieve, that a translation of the work in question might merit the indulgence of the English public, which has always displayed so great an interest in everything connected with the East. I have thought it desirable to prefix to the translation a historic, biographic, and bibliographic sketch : before entering upon which I have, however, to solicit the patience of the reader, whilst I give some account of the circumstances which led me to devote my attention to the writings of my Arab fellow-countryman of the twelfth century. INTRODUCTION. 6 II. My translation of the Solvvan forms a portion only of a far more comprehensive undertaking, upon which I have now been occupied for several years. Having taken up my abode at Paris in 1842, in consequence of the persecution entailed upon me on the part of the Neapolitan Government, by the publication in Sicily of a historical work already known in England under the title of The War of the Sicilian Vespers, I sought to turn my exile to account by employing it in the compilation of a history of the Mussulmans in Sicily, a sub- ject hitherto obscure, and imperfectly delineated, owing to the deficiency of materials for the pur- pose. The Canon di Gregorio did, indeed, pub- lish at Palermo, in 1790, a volume in folio en- titled, Rerum Arabicum quce ad Historian, Sicidam spectant ampla Collectio, which collection is, however, anything but ample or complete; and since its publication much additional light has been thrown upon the subject: amongst other things by the publication, in 1841, of a fragment of the history of Ibn Khaldun, together with a French translation, and a learned commentary, by M. Noel Des Ver- gers, which proved to me one of the strongest s2 4 INTRODUCTION. inducements to search the records of the Saracen dominion in Sicily. I, however, at once perceived the impossibility of executing such a task without being able both to take a comprehensive view of the general history of the Arabs and of the principles and institutions of the faith of Islam, and to enter upon a minute examination of the unpublished Arabic manuscripts having reference to Sicily. For these purposes it was essential to obtain an acquaintance with the language and written character of the Arabs, as well as access to the principal collections of Arabic manuscripts; and this was an advantage not to be looked for in Sicily, or indeed anywhere in Italy, excepting in Rome, where an impassable barrier still guards from the curious eyes of the world the accumulated treasures of the Eternal City. The reverse of fortune which transplanted me to Paris, afforded me in compen- sation every facility for the prosecution of my pur- pose. Within a few weeks, I had undertaken the study of Arabic, which, after the lapse of some months, enabled me to commence my researches amongst the MSS. of the Bibliotheque Nationalc, with the assistance of my instructor, M. Reinaud, a Member of the Institute, and of Baron Mac- Guckin de Slane. at that period resident in Paris. INTRODUCTION. Under the guidance of these two learned oriental- ists, I published in the Journal Asiatique a few of the fragments which I collected by degrees ; and at the commencement of 1848, I had already sketched the outline of my history, from the first attacks of the Arabs upon Sicily, a province of the Byzantine Empire, to those of the Normans upon Sicily, a Saracen state ; so that I had only further to study the JSorman conquest, the condition of the vanquished under the new monarchy, and the vicissitudes of fortune which they experienced until the last remnant of them was transplanted to Lucera, by the emperor, Frederick II., at the com- mencement of the thirteenth century. The mate- rials had been collected by myself amongst the Arabic MSS. of Paris, Oxford, Ley den, and London, while for some additional contributions I was indebted to Dr. Dozy of Leyden, and other foreign orientalists, with whom I had entered into correspondence. I had not only corrected, by col- lation with the originals, the manifold errors of the geographical and historical works, as published by di Gregorio, but I had added to them in nearly the proportion of twenty to one. In fact, the Arabic authorities which I have in my possession, extracted from works of geography, INTRODUCTION. chronicles, and biographies, relating to Sicily and its Mussulman inhabitants, would be sufficient of themselves to fill a large quarto volume. They are, perhaps, as complete a collection as the libra- ries of Europe could furnish, and would form a fitting appendix to the lierum Itulicarum Scrip- tores of Muratori. I have, moreover, the materials for one or even two more volumes of poems, written by Sicilian Arabs, including two divans, as the complete works of a poet are called in Arabic. The prose works of Sicilian authors which I could not copy, I read, in order to be able to form a judgment concerning them, and also took extracts from them. Amongst them all, however, none pleased me better than the Solwan, and I therefore proposed to trans- late it into Italian, after the publication of my his- tory, which was to have made its appearance in 1848. The events of that year, however, recalled me to Sicily, and the offices entrusted to me both at home and abroad, put an end to my studies for the time. Being again driven into exile in 1849, I resumed them, and from circumstances, interesting only to myself, was induced to invert the order of my pro- jected publications, and to offer the Solwan to the public before the history, to which I am now putting the finishing touches. INTRODUCTION. 7 III. To return to the work in question, and to the period of its composition. The Arabic nation having, in four hundred years, run through the whole cycle of its rise, its ascendancy, and its gra- dual decline, fell prostrate in the eleventh century, when we behold it trampled in the dust, and re- duced once more to the condition of disunited tribes, in which it had existed from time immemorial, previous to the proclamation of the faith of Islam. The Prophet, who, by an almost miraculous effort of human genius and human will, had called this new power into existence, had, nevertheless, been unable to quench the antagonism of the two Arab races of Cahtan and Adnan, or to efface the distinction between the inhabitants of cities and the nomadic hordes, or Bedouins ; and while seeking to destroy another, and far more obvious division, that which separated the nobles from the people, he thought to attain his end by withholding every shadow of privilege from the aristocracy, and inscribing in the book purporting to have descended from heaven, the absolute equality of the whole human race, with a trifling exception in favour of his own kindred. This new civil and religious code was, however, INTRODUCTION. powerless to break the strong social bond by which the members of each tribe were united together, forming a league for the mutual protection of the individuals of a social body in a state of constant hostility against other similar bodies, which was equivalent, in fact, to a permanent military, and therefore aristocratic organisation. This aristocracy, ignored by the law, greatly increased its power by conquest, and not being able, in consequence of the immutability of Mussulman institutions, to as- sume a share in the government, it subdivided the territory. Other causes tended to the same result. Such were the ethnological and geographical divi- sions of the Arabic race, and of the other nations from beyond the Oxus to the Straits of Gibraltar, which it sought to incorporate with itself by the feeble link of a common faith ; for although Ma- homet, indeed, imitated and enforced the fraternal charity inculcated by the Christian religion, even this has been hitherto unable to silence national antagonism or social discord ; the two hostile ele- ments with which society is doomed to struggle. To the destroying forces already enumerated were added the reaction against civil and religious despotism, which began under the reign of the third Caliph, and finally led to the civil wars of the INTRODUCTION. 9 Karmatians ; the error of the sovereign in calling in the aid of foreign arms ; the weakness inseparable from a government centred exclusively in the court ; the inefficiency of princes reared in its enervating atmosphere, and lastly, the fatal union of the civil and ecclesiastical power. The faith of Islam, grand and simple in its doctrines, and pure in its morality, notwithstanding the contrary belief entertained by those who have not studied it, is very defective in its discipline; of which, one of the most dangerous features was the union of the pontifical and sove- reign powers in the hand of the Caliph. This .it was which prevented the reforms, both political and religious, which after the lapse of two centuries had become imperatively necessary ; and the conse- quence entailed was, in the first place, the corrup- tion of the faith, and in the second, the destruction of the state. Hence, after the first flush of triumph had passed away, the vast Mussulman empire, over which the race of Ishmael had dis- seminated itself, fell to pieces, and its fragments were almost infinitesimally subdivided. The sceptre, already escaping from the grasp of the Arabs, was seized by nations of other origin ; in the East by the Turks, in the West by the Berbers, and, lastly, by the Christians also. This general overthrow was B 3 10 INTRODUCTION. consummated, in almost all parts of their domi- nion, in the llth century of the Christian era. Sicily, like a microcosm of the Mussulman world, having been conquered in the 9th century by the Arabs and Berbers, in the 10th separated itself from Africa, and in the llth was broken up into three or four principalities, in the bosom of which worked and fermented the hostile elements of the Greek and Latin population and the Christian faith. It is, there- fore, no marvel if, favoured by these divisions, the Italians, under the guidance of enterprising Nor- man leaders, obtained possession of the island towards the close of the century. The conquest of Sicily was achieved after a struggle of thirty years 1 dunition. The Mussulman population, thinned first by civil war, then by the sword of the Chris- tians, and always by emigration, was numerous and powerful still at the commencement of the Norman sovereignty, since Count Roger was able, in 1096, to lead twenty thousand Saracens to the siege of Amain". They inhabited chiefly the western half of the island, in which Palermo was included ; nor is it improbable that they were there more numerous than the Christian inhabitants, a mixed multitude of Greeks, Italians, and Normans, consisting partly of the INTRODUCTION. 11 ancient inhabitants, and partly of those who had immigrated at the time of the conquest : while, on the other hand, Christianity prevailed in the rest of the island. The Italian portion of the immigrants, designated as Lombards, occupied the centre of the island, or rather a strip of terri- tory which, bounded on the one side by the mountains which overlook the sea towards the centre of the southern coast, extended to the foot of the chain which runs parallel to the northern sea-board, and, making a sharp angle towards the west, terminated on the brow of the heights commanding the western plains. Lastly, the Greek population occupied the eastern side of the island, which they did not vacate during the whole period of Mussulman supremacy, and clustered amidst the mountains of Messina, whence they spread themselves along the coast, as far as Cape Passaro on the one side, and Cefalu on the other. Such were, as I believe, the ethno- logical divisions of Sicily, when it once more became a member of the Italian family. Agricul- ture would seem to have prospered in the Mussul- man and Greek portions of the island, where the land had never been left uncultivated, and no great changes had taken place. All the inhabitants appear 12 INTRODUCTION. to have been addicted to commerce ; the Mussul- mans alone to industry : the arts were cultivated by the Saracens and Greeks ; letters and science by the Saracens ; but in both letters and arts the influence of the baronage, or more properly of the French feudal system, soon became manifest. It assuredly prevailed in the organisation of the mili- tary force, many features of which, and more espe- cially a corps of engineers, were, however, borrowed from the Saracens. The finance administration, on the other hand, appears to have remained very much what it was under the Emirs, with a few trifling reforms. For that of justice we find as many different codes of law and magistrates as there were different nations in the island. Lastly, at the head of a government, framed upon the feudal system, we find a court, of which the character was entirely Mussulman. The followers of Mahomet, whose numbers and influence in the island were still considerable, appear to me to have been divided into three classes: free citizens of towns ; serfs attached to the soil ; and allodial proprietors, whose lands had been preserved to them by treaty ; and amongst whom, if I am not mistaken, might be found a few nobles, whose jurisdiction much resembled that of feudal lords. INTRODUCTION. 13 Sicily was thus divided between two distinct com- munities, the Christian and the Mussulman, which, being nearly equal in strength, could not long subsist together; and thus, a century had not elapsed before the Mussulmans were reduced to such straits that the more clear-sighted amongst them perceived that the faith of Islam would soon become extinct in the island ; an opinion shared by the Spanish traveller Ibn Jobair (Journal Asiatiqiie, 1846, vol. vii., p. 73 and 201, seq.). Tolerated at first of necessity by the conquerors, protected by the Norman kings, persecuted even to the death by the baronage and the clergy, the Mussulmans of Sicily were driven in despair to seek safety in emigration, towards the close of the reign of William the Good; and those unable to do so armed themselves for the final struggle, in which the greater number perished in less than thirty years. If from the contemplation of the general con- dition of the island, we pass to that of its literature in particular, we shall see that the Saracen colony in Sicily which, like that of Spain, passed over from Africa, but was founded later, destroyed earlier, and could not compete with it in splendour nevertheless attained to a high 14 INTRODUCTION. degree of civilisation. In its earlier days it could boast only of its colleges of civil law, of the verses of a few warrior poets, and of the biographies of some of the religious heroes of the period, of whom there were many, animated, as it appears, by that austere and martial virtue which dis- tinguished the early ages of the faith of Islam. After the conquest was secured, and towards the end of the ninth century, this ardent zeal declined, and the literature of Sicily assumed a character more in accordance with the prosperous fortunes of the country. After a succession of revolutions repressed with fearful cruelty and the extirpation by an African governor, as he himself boasted, of at least six hundred thousand persons by famine and sword, reducing southern Sicily to a desert, the island at length detached itself from the African monarchy ; and science and letters flourished at the court of its Kelbite Princes, themselves of pure Arabic descent, as is proved by their name, derived from the tribe of Kelb to which they belonged. In the tenth century, we not only find amongst them cultivators and patrons of literature, who have bequeathed to us numerous fragments of poetry, but we behold public colleges opened at Palermo ; foreign men of letters INTRODUCTION. 15 taking up their abode in the island ; a Sicilian acquainted with the Greek language going to Spain to assist in the translation of the work of Dioscorides on botany; the study of grammar, poetry, philology and philosophy prosecuted in Sicily ; while some dozen biographical sketches of that century, which have been preserved to us, are the first fruits of the literary history of the Sicilian Saracens. In the following century, which beheld the division of the island into petty states, and ended with foreign conquest, the lite- rary movement received a fresh impulse, and extended itself more widely. Amongst the seventy names or so recorded in biographical dictionaries for this century, we find, together with numerous poets, those of physicians, jurists, and sacred and profane historians ; men of letters from other Mussulman countries continued to visit Sicily, and learned Sicilians to quit the island, defiled by the presence of the infidels, to seek a refuge in foreign lands. Amongst the latter we find three memorable names. Ali Ibn Kata, (1041 1121) who witnessed all the sufferings of his native land, wrote an account of the Arab poets of Sicily, of which a part has been preserved to us in which he enumerates a hundred and 16 INTRODUCTION. sixty, and a history of Sicily, which, with many of his other works has been lost ; Ibn Hamdis, who wrote a history of Algesiras, and having taken refuge at the court of the learned and valiant Motamid Ibn Abbad, displayed a character worthy of his genius, by showing himself one of the few friends of Motamid " and not of fortune," who did not forsake him when deposed and made prisoner ; and El Mazari, so called from the place of his birth, the Val di Mazara, an eminent jurist, the author of various works, and preceptor of Mahadi, who founded the empire of the Almohades at Morocco. In the twelfth century, while those of the Sicilian Mussulmans, whose principles were more rigid, sought a grave in distant lands, others less scrupu- lous did not scorn the favour of the Norman court, which sought to surround itself with a halo of science and literature, art and industry. Four Arabo-Sicilian poets celebrated the praises of King Roger in graceful lines, preserved in the general collection of the writings of contemporary Arab poets by Imad-eddin of Ispahan ; who, however, abridged them in some degree, not liking, as he says, to rehearse the praises of infidels. Never- theless, this prince, being both a statesman and a INTRODUCTION. 17 warrior, preferred men of science, physicians, mathe- maticians, and even astrologers, to poets, if we may believe the testimony of Ibn el Athir. Lastly, the best geographical work of the middle ages, namely, that of Edrisi, justly entitled'" the Book of Roger," has been handed down to us as a lasting memorial of his glory. Should we even interpret that, which the author writes in his preface concerning the king alone, as applying to that species of academy which was held in the pnlace, it will still prove that from the study of the statistics of the kingdom the court of Palermo went on to that of universal geography ; and that, perceiving the insufficiency of the already existing works upon this subject, the king called an assembly of learned men, and for the space of fifteen consecutive years caused travellers to be examined, and their statistical and topographical statements to be collated, and at length entrusted the com- pilation and digestion of this accumulated mass of materials to Edrisi, at once a poet and a votary of science, born at Ceuta of the royal house of Beni Hamud, who, having been summoned to the court of Palermo, and overwhelmed with favours and dis- tinctions, had doubtless borne an important part in their collection. When, by a rigid scrutiny, they had been fitted for application to scientific 18 INTRODUCTION. geography as it was understood at that period, Edrisi began by causing an armillary sphere and planisphere of silver to be formed from a mass of metal given him for that purpose by the king. He then wrote the description of the different places mentioned, in Arabic, and dedicated the book to Roger, in the year 1154. It is difficult to conceive why the work was not translated into Greek, Latin, or French, unless it were that the king held the scientific acquirements of his Christian barons and courtiers in too much contempt to cast such pearls before them. An abstract, or rather a mutilation of this work has been published in Latin and Arabic, under the absurd title of Geographia Nubiensis, and with the omission of the most valuable portion, namely, the statistical records. Edrisi's own work has never seen the light, except through the medium of a few published frag- ments, and of an imperfect French translation, by M. Jaubert, in 1841 ; I have therefore transcribed from three different copies the whole of the part which treats of Sicily, and hope hereafter to publish it either in the original or in Italian. Edrisi sub- sequently published a second edition of this work, dedicated to William the Bad, which has been lost. (For further particulars concerning his writings, see INTRODUCTION. 19 M. ReinaucPs preface to the Geography of Abiilfeda, and an article by Baron de Slane in the Journal Asiatique for 1841.) Little else remains to be said concerning the lite- rature of the Sicilian Saracens, which after the death of King Roger began to decline. An Arab poet, however, whom chance brought to Sicily in 1171, dedicated some verses to William the Good, who rewarded him liberally; and so late as 1182, the name of this prince was celebrated in some very indifferent lines, engraved on stone, in the castle of la Cuba, without the walls of Palermo, and published by me in the Revue Archeoloyique for 1850. The twelfth century contributes about forty names to the list of Arabo-Sicilian writers, amongst whom we find numerous exiles. These three centuries, therefore, afford us a hundred and twenty biographical sketches, and the titles of seventy works, not including the fragments of poetry, ten of which are now to be found in the libraries of Europe ; while of nearly half the number, whether lost, or still extant, Ibn Zafer is the author. 20 INTRODUCTION. IV. Looking down with scorn upon the time- serving authors who crowded to the court of the infidels, Ibn Zafer, true to his race and to his faith, wandered about the world, main- taining himself by his writings for it was always the custom of the Arabs to use great liberality towards poets and men of letters, who, likewise, frequently sought refuge in the colleges founded for public instruction, and occasionally obtained some profit by the public recitation of their works, as we learn from the writings of Hariri. Tedious though it be, I must begin the biography of Ibn Zafer with the enumeration of his names, which are legion. That given him at his birth or circumcision was Mohammad ; to which, possibly on the birth of his eldest son, was added the surname of Abu Abdallah, " Father of Abdallah," (or, according to others, Abu Hashem, for errors in transcribing surnames are of frequent occurrence.) Ibn Abi Mohammad, was his patro- nymic, properly so called ; and that of his family was Ibn Zafer., "the Son of Victory/" 1 or, more literally, of the art of seizing, for so it is explained by the biographer, Ibn Khallikan. INTRODUCTION. 21 He was likewise known as Es-Sikilli, and El- Mekki, the Sicilian, or the Native of Mecca, names which we shall have to consider hereafter. Lastly, we find bestowed upon him the hono- rary a ppellation of Hojjet-Eddin, or " Demon- stration of the Faith ;'' and, according to others, Shems-Eddin, or Jemal-Eddin, which signify sun, or ornament of the faith. And we likewise find appended to his name, the double title of Hojjet- el- Islam, and Borhan-Eddin, (" Demonstration of Islamism," and " Argument for the Faith,") or of Hojjet-Eddin and Jemal-el- Islam. Such were the high-sounding appellations bestowed upon every Mussulman distinguished either for power or wisdom, both of which were held in equal venera- tion amongst the Mahometans; and thus the luckless Sicilian wanderer, who earned a precarious liveli- hood as best he might, was hailed by titles as honourable as those of the sovereign princes, Saladin, Aladin, and Nur-Eddin, which signify Safeguard, Height, and Light of the Faith. The epithets of Sicilian, and Native of Mecca, bestowed indiscriminately, or even conjointly, upon Ibn Zafer, have misled many of the learned as to his real birth-place. The authors of the Universal History (modern part, sect, lii.) maintain . 22 INTRODUCTION. that he could not have been born in Sicily, because the Saracens had been driven out of the island a century before, in pursuance of which untenable argument they turn a deaf ear to the testimony of Ibn Shohnah, quoted by themselves, who declares him to have been a native of Sicily. The same is affirmed by Ibn Khallikan, Cadi of Damascus, the great Arab biographer (1211 1282), who adds that he was educated at Mecca. Before this, the learned Imad-Eddin, of Ispahan, quoted above, (1125 1201) secretary of Nur-Eddin, and after- wards of Saladin, who was personally acquainted with Ibn Zafer, at Hamah, in Syria, called him a Sicilian, and wrote that he derived his origin (asl) from Mecca, but was a Magrebin, or occidental by birth, (manslid, the patria of the Latins), and domiciliated in Syria during the latter years of his life. Makrizi, an Egyptian historian (1365 1441) states him, in his biographical dictionary, to have been born in Sicily, adding in a marginal note to the MS., that he derived his origin from Mecca, was by birth a Magrebin, and had lived some time at Hamah ; while, on the other hand, Soyuti, likewise an Egyptian and a man of great learning, in another biographical dictionary written in 1463, states him to have been of Sicilian origin, but born at INTRODUCTION. 23 Mecca ; to have gone in his childhood to Egypt, and thence proceeded into Africa Proper, to Mahdia, when he combated for the faith; and where he was when the town was taken by the Sici- lians, in consequence of which he went to Sicily, then again to Egypt, and lastly to Syria. The testi- mony of Soyuti cannot, however, stand against so many opposing statements, especially if we con- sider the inconsistency of his assertions, both with the chronology of the Sicilian victories in Africa, and with that of the wanderings of Ibn Zafer, as revealed to us in his own writings. These, and other considerations, appear to leave no doubt that Ibn Zafer was born in Sicily, whence he probably passed over into Africa, together with the many other Mussul- mans who emigrated thither to avoid subjection to a Christian domination, the seductions of infidelity, and the painful companionship of renegades and temporisers ; for at that time, namely, in the reign of King Roger, persecu- tion had not yet begun. It is not improbable that Ibn Zafer may have fought on the coast of Africa against his Christian foes, and that he may either have been taken prisoner to Sicily, or have fled from the horrors of the 24 INTRODUCTION. famine which about this period ravaged Africa Proper, compelling many of its inhabitants to beg their bread in Sicily, and affording the strongest encouragement to Roger to prosecute his enter- prise. From these desolate regions, which could no longer afford support to literature, the exile, who had no other resource, appears to have pro- ceeded to Egypt ; Soyuti's assertion of Ibn Zafer^s residence there being probably founded upon some of the literary histories of the country. His stay seems, however, to have been short; and, quitting the now feeble, poor, and divided province, governed by viziers in the name of the heretic Fatimites, he sought an asylum under the protection of the most renowned for virtue of all the Mussulman princes of that day, Mahmud Ibn Zengui, surnamed Nur-Eddin, so famous in the history of the crusades. Of this we are informed by the author himself, in the preface to Klidir-el-bisliar, which appears to have been the seventh of his works, and was undoubtedly of earlier date, by several years, than the Solwan. It was dedicated by Ibn Zafer to one who bore the surname of Safi-Eddin (" Purity of the Faith"), and was probably a man of distinction at the court of Nur-Eddin, under whose protection the INTRODUCTION. 25 unfortunate author hoped, as we learn from the work itself, to find repose. Having said, in the beginning of his preface, that amidst all calamities of the times God never failed to raise up some ot His elect servants, whose only care was to ransom prisoners, relieve the indigent, and perform acts of charity, and that amongst them the aforesaid Safi-Eddin held a distinguished place for the nobility of his birth and the greatness of his soul, he continues thus : " Now flying from the remote regions of the west, I took refuge in the Nurian kingdom (that of Nur-Eddin), the bright- ness of whose glory is such as to confound all the princes of the east and west, whose warlike skill and valour envelope its enemies in the dust of destruction, since all the regions of the world are adorned with its writings, and all fortresses crumble away before its banners. . . . 1 had been plunged by destiny into the midst of such calamities as overwhelmed me with trouble, and caused me distinctly to behold the star Soha.* But whilst I was losing the track of patience, and wandering about in perplexity, like a lean cameFs foal when it is weaned, God, * " The faintest in the constellation of the Great Bear." The Arabs in their proverb place this star in contradistinction to the moon. VOL. r. 26 INTRODUCTION. whose name be praised, using as His instrument my brother and friend in him, Safi-Eddin, has caused me to become like a well-fed steed, refreshed my eyes, given repose to my soul, and lodged me with a host whose generosity resembles that of Abu Dowad ; therefore am I minded to bestow upon him this book/' &c. (Paris MS., Suppl. Arab., 586, p. 6.) This fragment needs no comment. I have only to add, that in speak- ing of the country he had quitted, the author, instead of employing the usual designation of " Magreb," meaning western land, or more par- ticularly Northern Africa, designates it as f( Ma- garib Kasiyah," (remote western lands,) which might comprise Western Africa, Sicily, and even Spain. His migration to the east, and the dedica- tion of the Kha'ir-el-Bishar, took place between 1146, the commencement of the reign of Nur-Eddin, at Aleppo (or rather 1149, when his power began to increase), and 1159, which is the date of the Solwan, a period perfectly corresponding with the calamities of Western Africa alluded to in the portion of the preface quoted above. From some obscure expressions in an edition of the Solwan, considerably anterior to that dedicated in Sicily to Ibn Abi '1 Kasim, we gather that Ibn INTRODUCTION. 27 Zafer soon quitted his asylum at the court of Nur-Eddin. The catalogue of his writings, published before the Solwan, which we find at the end of that work, enables us here to correct an anachronism of Soyuti, who states that our author, having returned to Egypt from Sicily, where he composed his book, went thence to Aleppo, and was received into the Madresa, or College of Ibn Abi A'srun, where he wrote a commentary on the Koran ; but, in a popular tumult, the Schiites of Aleppo (who were there in great force, and ill-disposed towards the orthodox portion of the population favoured by Nur-Eddin) destroyed the books of Ibn Zafer, who thereupon departed to Hamah. This is evidently an error, for in the aforesaid catalogue Ibn Zafer mentions a commentary on the Koran, and complains " that he had lost the greater part of these his works plundered by the rebels" (see v. of the present Introduction) ; whence it appears that this misfortune occurred pre- viously to the composition of the Solwan, on the return of the author to Sicily. It was assuredly also before this that he visited the court of the king (Malik), to whom he dedicated that first edition, and who was assuredly not the c2 28 INTRODUCTION. dreaded conqueror of Syria, but rather some one of the numerous petty princes whose totter- ing thrones rose and fell so rapidly at the period of the dissolution of the Mussulman Empire. Difficult as it is to discover the identity of this anonymous king, it appears to me that the particulars recorded in the preface might well refer to Mojir-Eddin, lord of Damascus, who was expelled by Nur-Eddin in 1154, in consequence of a conspiracy concerted with his subjects under the mask of pretended friendship. It would thus be easy to understand that Ibn Zafer, having uttered many reproaches against the conqueror from the court of Damascus, could no longer remain in Syria, of which nearly the whole was subject to him. It was therefore natural that he should return to Sicily, where he might hope to obtain some assistance from his kindred, and where, moreover, the death of Roger (in the same year, 1154,) had materially altered the condition of the country ; for it appears that under the reign of William the Bad, there was considerable agitation amongst the Mussulman portion of the population, who were preparing for a struggle, to which they were doubtless encouraged by the victories of the Moslems in INTRODUCTION. 29 Africa and Syria, the divisions of the Christians in Sicily, the perfidy of the Prime Minister Maio, and the influence of the eunuchs of the court, who, from having been the favourites under Roger, had now become the masters of the sove- reign. We might even go so far as to suspect an allusion to regal ambition in the dedication of the second edition of the Solwan, where, besides the wish for the success of Ibn Abi '1 Kasitn in the enterprises, " which God himself had prompted him to undertake/' the author praises in him, " the firmness of his sway," which is such, " that the people under his guidance need fear no calamity ; " expressions exceeding the limits of the adulation which might be bestowed upon a private individual. The said Ibn Abi '1 Kasim was descended from the daughter of the Prophet, and from Ali the Great, through one Edris, who, having escaped from the repeated massacres of his race, founded the principality of Fez, in the second century after the Hegira. When, however, the sovereignty had been wrested from the house of Edris, and its members had become wanderers amongst the Ber- ber tribes, it came to pass that Ali and Kasim, sons of an Edrisite, by name Hamud, became 30 INTRODUCTION. governors, the one of Ceuta and Tangier, the other of Malaga and Algesiras, at the time of the fall of the Ommeyad dynasty in Spain ; and being of illustrious birth and great valour, succeeded in obtaining possession for a short time of the throne of the Caliphs of Cordova, upon the overthrow of which the Edrisites eventually retained a fragment of territory, under the name of the Kingdom of Malaga. Driven from thence, in the latter part of the same century, they remained in Tangier and Ceuta and the surrounding country, unmolested, because inoffensive or despised, by the reigning house of the Almoravides. It appears that, in the meanwhile, a branch of the family came to seek their fortune in Sicily, amidst the confusion which followed upon the first victories of Count Roger, and occupied the towns of Girgenti and Castro- Giovanni. Their patronymic, which we do not find amongst the petty princes of the island before the coming of the Normans, is recognisable in that of Chamut of Malaterra, which exactly renders the pronunciation of the Arabic word, Hamud. In the year 1087, Chamut surrendered these two cities to Count Roger, embraced Christianity, and ac- cepted a fief near Mileto, in Calabria, from the victor. One " Eseriph essachali," or Sicilian INTRODUCTION. 31 sheriff of Mazara, deputed by the citizens to Count Roger to obtain for them terms of capitulation, though he was not, as Leo the African supposes, the author of the celebrated geography, appears to have belonged to this family. The geographer Edrisi, certainly did ; for the Edrisites, as we have said, were a branch of the house of Ali ; and the Beni Hamud, so called from the name of the father of the two Caliphs of Cordova, were a branch of the Edrisites. Considerable possessions having remained in the hands of those amongst them, who, like Chamut, adhered to the faith of Islam, the family retained great credit and influ- ence both with the court and people; as even in the civil dissensions of our own times, we find indi- viduals who retain the respect of all parties. Such appears to have been the case with Abu Abdallah, Mohammad Ibn Abi '1 Kasim Ibn Ali, of the house of Ali and tribe of Koreish, to whom, as we learn from all the authors who make mention of the work, Ibn Zafer dedicated a second edition of the Solwan, in 1159; after having already in- scribed to him three previous works, as he himself states in the preface, as a mark of his gratitude for the munificence with which the illustrious Sicilian had succoured him in his adversity. 32 INTRODUCTION. We know nothing more concerning the person thus designated by Ibn Zafer, but we have many notices of others of his family, or possibly of himself under another name. Hugo Falcandus relates that a few years later, namely, at the commencement of the reign of William the Good, about 1 168, Bulcas- simus (Abu '1 Kasim) one of the noblest and most powerful of the Sicilian Arabs, after lavishing much seeming affection and many gifts upon the great Chancellor of the Kingdom (Stephen des Rotrous, brother to the Count of Perche, who came to Sicily with Peter of Blois), stirred up the hatred of the Mussulmans against him, in resent- ment of the intimacy he had contracted with another wealthy Saracen, against whom Abu '1 Kasim bore a private grudge. We learn, more- over, from Arabic biographers, that in the same year, 1168, an Arab poet from Alexandria, surnamed Ibn Kalakis, having arrived in Sicily, the munificence shown him by Abu '] Kasim equalled that of King William, or possibly even surpassed it, since Ibn Kalakis dedicated only a short poem to the king, while for his other patron he wrote a book entitled El Zahr, el Basim, ft* Ausaf Abi V Kasim (the Flower that smiles upon the Virtues of Abu '1 Kasim). Ibn Khallikan INTRODUCTION. 33 and Haji Khalfa add that Abu '1 Kasim was one of the ka'ids of the island, and surnamed Ibn el Hajiar, or the V Aoyi/xcov.) Those here designated as notables appear to me to be the pro- prietors of the soil, or, as they were then called, dihkdri) a word which recals the Adeiganes of Polybius. The dihkdn was the proprietor of a village or farm, and according to the literal mean- ing of the word, " chief of a village." It applies either to a husbandman or a magistrate, and in time of war they, no doubt, commanded the mili- tary force of their manor. They appear, in short, to have answered to our barons of the middle ages, who were at once proprietors of the soil, captains, and magistrates ; but lesser barons, be it under- stood not great feudatories like the Dukes of Burgundy, Normandy, etc. whose prototypes had been swept away in the revolution con- INTRODUCTION. 67 ducted by Ardshir. That which I have here advanced is confirmed in the historical romance of Sapor II. related by Ibn Zafer, (chap. u. iv.) which is doubtless either a translation or a paraphrase of the Pehlwi * original, where we find the electors of the Persian monarch, designated in the first edition of the Solwan, as " chiefs of the villages," which in the second edition is exchanged for the more comprehensive expression, " chiefs of the Persians." The legal struggle between the notables and the sovereign first manifests itself in the reigns of Yezdejird I. and Yezdejird II.; and on the exaltation of Chosroes to the throne, we find that the notables (Aoyt/zoi as they are again called by Procopius), assembled in parliament for this purpose (es TOVTO dy^ycp/xeW) delibe- rated to bestow the crown upon Chosroes rather than upon his elder brother, Chaoses : and, as we gather from the statements of eastern writers, abrogated certain laws for the limitation of the regal authority, conferring upon Chosroes a species of dictatorial power. The Persian consti- tution seems, therefore, to have consisted of the States-General, parliament, or diet, such as it * Pehlwi, or Pehlewi, was the language of the Western Pro- vinces of Persia in the time of the Sassanides. 68 INTRODUCTION. existed in Europe in and after the twelfth century, but without well-defined powers, or any fixed limit to the legal authority ; and, moreover, without any trace of popular representation, but offering as a counterpoise to the power of the sovereign the moral influence of the priesthood, and the opposition of the dihkdn, members of these States- General and leaders of the militia. Hence we perceive that absolute monarchy could not in general be carried out to its full extent. The tendency of the times was, however, in that direction, as was the case subsequently in Europe at the close of the middle ages; and the opposing influence did not reside in the mass of the people, but in the privileged classes, who were alone able to defend themselves against its abuses : while the lower orders, who had aided the revolution by the power of their arms, remained abject and oppressed as heretofore, all the benefits of the change being appropriated by the new dynasty; the baronage created by Ardshir to replace the old aristocracy of the conquerors, the priesthood, and the military and proprietors of the soil, who appear to me to have constituted but one class, forming altogether a rampart which on the one hand restrained the power of the monarch, and on the other weighed INTRODUCTION. 69 down the mass of the people. But after three cen- turies had elapsed, the latter claimed its share, and the result was one of the most tremendous social convulsions recorded in history. This, exaggerations apart, was the introduction of Communism. The revolution, commenced in thought long before it could be carried out in deed, first presented itself under the form of the noto- rious Manichean heresy. In the reign of Sapor I., son of the founder of the dynasty of the Sassa- nides, one Mani, a painter and theologian, gave himself out to be the Paraclete whose coming was foretold in Scripture, worked pretended miracles, and exhibited a book which he professed to be of heavenly inspiration, containing a strange medley of the doctrines of Christianity with those of Brahma and Zoroaster. Instead, however, of the one God of the latter, the spectator of the struggle between the good and evil principles, his doctrine was that of absolute dualism ; namely, the co-existence of two antagonistic beings of opposite natures; the principles of light and darkness. This new doctrine gave a severe shock to the religion of the Magi, and paved the way for the social convulsion which followed, by teaching "that in this world no one owns anything, for all belongs to God ; 70 INTRODUCTION. that there is no such thing as marriage. . . . No one should say this is my property, or this is my wife, my son, etc., for no one has an exclusive right to anything. No one must possess too much of anything, nor any one be in want of anything, for all should enjoy all things in moderation." (See Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. i., No. 4, p. 443 ; Newhaven, 1849; fragments translated by J. P. Brown, Esq.) Such is the exposition of the doctrines of Mani which we find in the Turkish compilation of Tabari's historical work, as well as in those of most of the Eastern chroniclers, who were wont to copy from each other. But the ancient and learned work entitled Kitab-el-Fihrist, contains a long chapter on the subject of the doctrines, the worship, and the adventures of Mani, in which we find the following passages touching his moral principles : " He who seeks to enter into the faith (said the heresiarch) must first make trial of the strength of his own cha- racter, and see whether he be able to control his passions and his covetous desires, and to abstain from animal food, from wine, and from sensual pleasures ; for if he be unable to do these things, he cannot be admitted/' (Paris, INTRODUCTION. 71 MSS., vol. ii., Suppl Arab., 1400, fol. 201, verso.) This passage would lead us to suppose that the chroniclers wrote in the spirit of hostile partisanship. Be this as it may, the heresiarch came in for his full share of persecution. Sapor I., instigated probably by dislike of the control exercised by the Magi, showed at first no hostility to Mani; subsequently, however, he pronounced sentence of banishment against him : whereupon he went forth to preach in Affghanistan, in India, and, which was far more dangerous, in Tartary. Bahram I., nephew of Sapor, fearing lest he should one day return to Persia, accompanied by these fierce proselytes, recalled the sentence of exile, invited him back to his own country, and there caused him to be slain, his body to be flayed, and the skin to be stuffed and sus- pended to one of the gates of Jundi-Shapur. The heresy of Mani did not, however, perish with him ; its roots continued to spread in silence and in darkness, while the sovereigns were con- tending against the Romans, Arabs, and Tartars, the privileged classes struggling against the power of the king, and envy, hatred and covetousness, growing and waxing strong amongst the unpri- vileged orders. During this time the doctrines of 72 INTRODUCTION. Christianity, now favoured and now persecuted by the monarchs, were gradually gaining ground ; and art and science, industry and commerce making rapid progress, for we find them flourishing under Chosroes Anushirewan, whose fiat could assuredly not have caused them to spring up in a day after the catastrophe which we are about to record. Such was the condition of affairs in Persia when, towards the close of the fifth century, the heresy of Mani, reducing its doctrines to practice, broke forth afresh under the form of Socialism. The apostle of Socialism in Persia was a man named Mazdak, a native of Persepolis, or, according to some, of Nisabur (Nishapour), and a dignitary of the Persian priesthood. We cannot give implicit credence to the statement of his principles, as set forth by his enemies, and handed down to us by Tabari (Journal Asiatique, October, 1850, p. 344), for it is difficult to believe that a man whose life was marked by the utmost austerity, and who was so averse to the abuse of power as to forbid even the slaughter of animals, could have maintained the absolute indifference of human actions ; the presumed community of goods and of wives also, appears to me open to doubt, INTRODUCTION. 73 especially as Mazdak adopted in every particular the principles of Mani, as above recorded; and they who inform us that he sanctioned marriage with a sister, do not perceive that they thereby set aside this doctrine, which, perhaps, might mean nothing more than the permission of indiscri- minate intermarriage between all classes of society, and of divorce as it is likewise possible that community of goods might signify some new division of property, or social contract between the proprietors and cultivators of the soil. It is, however, undeniable that a fundamental change was in contemplation both in society and in religion, since Mazdak openly proclaimed the dualism taught by Mani, and that the God of Light had be- stowed upon all men an equal right to this world's goods. Hence, the numbers and the zeal of the dis- ciples of the new creed, the inveterate hostility of the privileged classes, and the torrents of blood which were shed. Mazdak unfurled his terrific banner in 493, and converted Kobad, king of Persia, by a fraud, causing a confederate to be concealed under the altar, so that the replies to the ques- tions of the king appeared to issue from the sacred flame. It is added that Kobad thereupon married his own sister, and sought to compel VOL. r. E 74 INTRODUCTION. another of his wives to espouse Mazdak, from which fate she was saved by the entreaties and prayers of her son, Chosroes Anushirewan, who even went so far as to kiss the feet of the prophet ; an act at the recollection of which he declared that he still shuddered, when, many years after, he caused Mazdak to be put to death. All these traditions appear, however, to be mingled with fable. Be the truth what it may, the country was devastated by a fearful civil war ; the proprietors of the soil defended themselves valiantly under one Arshukhada, gained several victories, followed by great slaughter, and deposed and imprisoned the royal convert, who was liberated through a stratagem devised by his sister-wife. Kobad then took refuge with the Hephthalites, and aided by a host of these barbarians from without, and by the disciples of Mazdak from within, he, in 502, re-entered the capital of Persia without resistance, and the Communists holding the law in their own hands, passed their terrible levelling instrument over the length and breadth of the land. From the somewhat halting narrative of the chro- niclers, ue gather that the followers of Mazdak enjoyed their triumph some twenty or thirty years, INTRODUCTION. 75 until they were massacred by Chosroes, according to some, as the representative of his father in .523 ; according to others, as king, in 531. This difference in the date, however, affects the facts of the case but slightly, for there was, doubtless, an understanding between the father and son the one betraying the Communists, the other cajoling the proprietors of the soil, as is proved by the authority conferred upon Chosroes in 523, and his nomination as successor to the throne in 531. It appears, moreover, that the enormities committed by Mazdak and his followers could not have been altogether so terrible as they are represented, since, at the end of their twenty years of absolute sway, the privileged classes could still exercise their constitutional right of confirming the title of the heir to the crown, and it appears as if there must have been some understanding between them and the followers o Mazdak, when Kobad re-ascended the throne, without opposition, in 502. On the death of the king, the nobles doubtless sought to free themselves from these conditions, dictated by necessity. Chosroes refused the proffered sovereignty, pleading his inability to wield the sceptre of an empire so divided unless his hands E 2 76 INTRODUCTION. were free. The privileged classes thereupon granted him absolute powers, and resigned their own liber- ties into the hands of the monarch, in order to obtain deliverance from the Communists. Chosroes now proceeded to carry into execu- tion the design of the founder of his race, who, in his political testament, sought to im- press upon his successors that religion must be the basis, and monarchy the bulwark, of the social system, and had devised an absolute sovereignty, supported by the threefold power of the executive, the army, and the priesthood the structure being the same as that of the despotic government of Napoleon. Chosroes began his reign by a fearful massacre. He caused Mazdak to be put to death by treachery, and with him from eighty to a hundred thousand of his followers. Two elder brothers of the king perished unheeded in the slaughter, and the infuriated friends of order, applauding and urging on the avenger of their cause, bestowed upon him the strangely inappropriate surname of "gentle spirit/' for such is the meaning of Anushirewan. More prudent than they, Chosroes, after the application of this fearful remedial measure, paused in his career, and adopting a diametrically opposite course, pro- INTRODUCTION. 77 claimed entire freedom of opinion, provided it were coupled with obedience to his laws. He restored to all their property and their wives ; caused the patrimony of such families as had become extinct during the civil war to be employed for the public benefit, orphans to be educated, villages to be rebuilt, canals to be dug, the cultivators of the soil to be supplied with seed and cattle, roads to be made, bridges, fortresses, and palaces to be built ; and during the whole course of his long reign exerted himself to the uttermost to advance the material prosperity of the country. He concluded commercial treaties, engaged in wars for the protection of the interests of trade, afforded a vent by his conquests to the restless- ness which still fermented in the masses of the people, and (assuredly no good omen for a conqueror), caused the passes of the Isthmus dividing the Black Sea from the Caspian to be closed by a wall of gigantic strength against the incursions of the Tartar tribes, even as Sapor I. had dug a trench between the Euphrates and the Tigris to secure the south-western provinces from invasion by the Arabs. Chosroes, more- over, centralised the powers of the government, and divided Persia into four great provinces, 78 INTRODUCTION. over each of which, he placed a satrap, or captain- general, entitled Marzeban, invested with civil and military authority, and with a force of 50,000 men under his command. He established a numerous order of magistrates; a system of postage, of which the officials formed a species of detective police, corresponding immediately with the central government ; and one of taxation, which consisted in a poll-tax, and a land-tax assessed according to the terrier ; lastly, he caused all the citizens who were of an age to bear arms to be enrolled in the militia, their equipment and en- rolment being conducted with the most rigorous precision. In the matter of religion, Chosroes adhered to the counsels of the founder of the dynasty, for he frequented the temples of fire, and showed great honour to the priesthood; while his own lofty intellect, and, perhaps, also motives of policy, induced him to encourage to the utmost, science, letters, and the arts, and amongst them music, which appears to have been first cultivated in Persia under Bahram V., flourished under Chosroes Anvishirewan, and continued to do so until the fall of the monarchy, when music, both vocal and instrumental, dancing, and pantomime were introduced by Greek and Persian artists, first into INTRODUCTION. 79 the tents, and at length into the palaces of the con- querors, and once more flourished at Bagdad, whence they passed to the Spanish court of the Ommeyades ; by whom, perhaps, was bequeathed to Spain the germ of those arts which still adorn it. The higher branches of art, painting, sculpture, and architecture, were held in honour long before the time of Chosroes, as is proved by many monu ments, and even by the traditions concerning Mani himself. Thus, beneath a halo of military and literary glory, outward splendour, and material prosperity, this great monarch sought to conceal, perhaps even from himself, the real weakness of Persia, originating in the wide division between the different classes, the religious dissensions, and even the extensive conquests of the Persians. Chosroes died in 579, after a reign of forty-seven years and a half; and the kingdom continued to subsist for another half century, until the tree, which was rotten to the core, fell beneath the first stroke of the foeman's axe, at the battle of Kadesia. The rapidity of the Mussulman con- quest of Persia, which it required little more than this single victory to achieve, and the sudden con- version of the inhabitants to the new faith, can 0(/ INTRODUCTION". only be explained by the corrupt state of society already described. The disciples of Mani and Mazdak did not hesitate to adopt a religion which was opposed to that of the Magi, but they carried their own doctrines into the bosom of the Mussulman empire, where they speedily kindled the political and religious struggles which for the most part took their rise in Persia, bequeathing- them as a legacy to the Karmatians and other sects which sprung up in -the bosom of this Eastern despotism. In order to complete the picture of Persian civilisation under the Sassanides, we must add an outline of the literary history of the empire, which bears more directly upon the matter in hand, namely, the origin of the Solwan. I have before stated that Chosroes was a patron of letters, being doubtless desirous not only to satisfy the intellectual cravings of his people, but to convert those mental energies, which had been so terrible an engine of destruction in the hands of Mazdak, into the instruments and allies of the regal power. For this reason, Chosroes offered an asylum to many learned men who had met with persecution in the Byzan- tine empire, on account of their religious opinions ; INTRODUCTION. 81 he restored the public schools, amongst which was the celebrated academy of medicine of Jundi-Shapur, rendered famous by many learned Indian and Nestorian physicians, and to which were afterwards added professorships of philo- sophy and literature ; he caused the works of Plato and Aristotle to be translated, books to be collected in all countries, and charged his emissaries in India not only with the conduct of political intrigues, but also to make diligent search for the celebrated works which appear to have been very jealously guarded in that singular country. By these means Persia became pos- sessed of the fables of Bidpai, and perhaps also of an early edition of the Arabian Nights, and of the Romance of the Seven Sages, of which an Arabic version of the time of Chosroes, translated from the Pehlwi, has been handed down to us. One of the Arabic or Persian prefaces to the fables of Bidpai informs us that Chosroes, being ap- prised of the existence of this work in the library of an Indian prince, organised something very nearly resembling a state intrigue, in order to procure it. He charged his learned minister, Buzurjmihr, to seek out some man well versed in the language and usages of the country, i: 5 82 INTRODUCTION. who might dexterously contrive to make a trans- lation of it ; and the Persian physician, Barzuieh, who had formerly been in India for the study of medicine, having been proposed to him, Chos- roes sent for him, and gave him his instructions in person. The narrative of the proceedings of Barzuieh, an admirable specimen of oriental subtlety and ingenuity, given by M. de Sacy in his preface to the Arabic edition of the fables of Bidpai, is very entertaining, but too long to be inserted here. Suffice it to say, that when he returned with the translation, the king loaded him with honours, and would have done so with riches also, had he not rejected them, accepting no other reward for his services than a bio- graphy of himself, written by Buzurjmihr, which has been preserved to us. Lastly, it appears to me extremely probable that what we should call historical romances were written in Persia both before and after the Mussulman conquest ; and ?uch, without doubt, are the narratives repro- duced by Ibn Zafer (chap, i., v., xiv., xv. ; ii., iv. ; in., vn. ; iv., v., xiv. ; v., ix.) ; the subjects of the two first being taken from Mussulman, and the rest from Persian history. It appears, moreover that in Persia the taste for INTRODUCTION. 83 romances was of very ancient date, and that the popular songs which form the origin of the heroic traditions of all nations, there assumed the form of heroic romance, that is, instead of being myths interwoven with the religious creed of the country and received as truth, they were pure fictions,, composed for the purpose of amusement and instruction, like the Cyropaedia of Xenophon, of which the character seems to be oriental, and the European romances of the middle ages, such as those of Turpin, The Knights of the Round Table, etc. Such at least appears to be the narrative of the Persian hero, Roostum, the proto- type of the Arabic Antar, a historical personage whose name served as the groundwork of a romance. The taste for these compositions appears never to have been lost in Persia, and is, perhaps, one of the causes of the extreme obscurity of. Persian history ; for the authentic chronicles, which we know to have been written concerning every king, could not have been disfigured by such fables, but, after the devastations of the Mussulman conquest, fragments of these fictions became interwoven with the more meagre nar- ratives of the chroniclers, while others, like the fables of Bidpai, retained their titles, or in 84 INTRODUCTION. time were incorporated into the literature of trie conquerors. The two tales on Mussulman sub- jects, which we find in the Solwan, (chap, i., v., xiv.) may either be Arabic imitations, or the compositions of Persians, who, as is well known, wrote in Arabic after the conquest ; bringing, in homage to the victors, the learning, the errors, and the vices of their country. We learn from the traditions of Mahomet, and from several poetical works of the period, that the Arabs of Mesopotamia, tributaries of the Persian monarchy, and the inhabitants of Arabia Felix, subdued by Chosroes, had already spread abroad in the peninsula of Arabia the fame of the power of the Sassanides; and even this imperfect sketch of the civilisation of Persia will serve to convey an idea of the amazement with which it inspired the rude Mussulman invaders, whose minds were fully capable of understanding and appreciating that which they beheld. They admired the splendour of the cities of Persia, the finish and magnificence of the public works whose stately ruins are in exist- ence to this day ; they turned their attention to the institutions of the country, which they proceeded to imitate ; they held intercourse with INTRODUCTION. 85 the learned Persians, converts to the faith of Islam, who completed the yet imperfect civil code of the conquerors from their own, borrowed in great part from the Romans; and when by all these means the sacred flame of science and literature had been kindled in the breasts of the Arabs, the Persians, to whom they owed it, still retained a traditionary superiority amongst them ; and, as it is the tendency of human nature always to seek a golden age in the dim regions of the past, theirs was the period antecedent to Mahomet, that of the best poets of their own country, and of the greatest splendour of Persia, the land of their instructors. Even in the twelfth century, the degenerate Arabs still clung to these t.raditio ns of past glory, of which the memory was revived in Spain by Ibn Badrun in his Commentary, and in Sicily by Ibn Zafer in the Sol wan. X. It is well known that the Indian fables, which gradually worked their way into Persia in the time of Chosroes, are to be found amongst the treasures of Sanscrit literature, which, for the last century and a half, have occupied the attention of Europe, and have supplied us with 86 INTRODUCTION. innumerable apologues of almost exclusively poli- tical tendency ; a sort of didactic poems in the form of dialogues, for the most part attributed to animals. The form of these fables is always the same they begin with a scene at court, when a sage, invariably of inferior station, seeks to instruct or amuse his superior with fables to which he prefixes the moral maxim to be incul- cated. He then proceeds to introduce his gifted animals, each of which receives a proper name. These converse together, utter wise sayings, and, in order to convince each other, relate parables concerning other animals, who do likewise, until a whole series of fables are dovetailed into one another, like the tubes of a telescope. The natural timidity of the human mind, when subjected to the sway of civil and religious despotism, the belief in the metempsy- chosis, and the almost effeminate gentleness which appears to have marked the Indian character from the days of Alexander the Great downwards, sufficiently explain this singular method of handling political subjects ; but the truths thus revealed are not on that account the less pro- found, nor the knowledge of human nature the less subtle and penetrating. INTRODUCTION. 87 Amongst the numerous collections of ..similar fables, the most remarkable, according to the state- ment of those versed in Indian philology, is the Pancha Tantra, or " The Five Sections," which has been recently published in Sanscrit, and of which the learned state the Hitopadesa to be an abridg- ment rather than an abstract. The latter, of which the title signifies "The Book of Salutary Counsels," is attributed to the learned Vishnu Sarman, and divided into four chapters, touching the formation of friendships, their dissolution, war, and peace. (See Hitopadesa, or "Salutary Counsels/' by F. Johnson, London, 1848, 1 vol., 4to.) Another work extracted from the Pancha Tantra is the book of Kalila and Dimna, attributed to Bidpai (Baidaba or Veidava in Sanscrit), a learned Brah- min, who is feigned in the preface to have com- posed it, in order to the reformation of a ribald king, who, having been admonished by this Bidpai, threw him into prison, and prosecuted his dis- ciples ; but afterwards, having summoned the philosopher to solve an astronomical problem, sub- mitted implicitly to the dictates of his wisdom. The subject of this work is the treachery of courtiers, and its disastrous consequences. Its name is derived from the Arabic corruption of the 88 INTRODUCTION. proper names of two jackals, one of which, the hero of the piece, in order to curry favour with King Lion, had sown enmity between him and his minister, the Bull. A Pehlwi version of these fables passed from India into Persia, and was translated into Arabic, with other fragments of Pehlwi literature, in the eighth century, by a Persian convert named Ibn-el-Mokaffa. Towards the end of the eleventh century it was translated into Greek by one Simeon Seth, into Hebrew by Rabbi Joel, and from Hebrew into Latin, between 1262 and 1278, by John of Capua, a converted Jew, from whose version it was ren- dered into Spanish, German, Latin, and French, as well as into Italian, though in a very defective manner, from the Greek of Simeon Seth. These translations were succeeded by paraphrases and imitations, and by degrees we find the fables of Bidpai reproduced by Boccaccio, Poggio Fioren- tino, Bandino, Bandello, and La Fontaine ; and they have at length been published in the original Arabic, by M. de Sacy (Paris, 1816, 1 vol., 4to), with an introduction worthy of so eminent a philologist They have also been rendered some- what freely into English, by the Rev. Wyndham Knatchbull (Oxford, 1819, 1 vol. in 8vo). INTRODUCTION. 89 I will say nothing of the other Sanscrit fables, entitled, " The Enchanted Throne;" "The Courts of the Parrot ; " " The Courts of the Evil Genii," etc., which have been translated into English and French ; nor of the famous romance of "The Seven Sages," or of Sendabad, which, after following in the track of Kalila and Dimna, was published at Venice in 1852, under the title of IA Compassionevoli Avenimenti di Erasto, and an episode of which has been recognised by some in that of Bradamante and Prince Leone in Orlando Furioso ; but I cannot pass over in silence the Arabian Nights, one story of which was borrowed from Ibn Zafer by the latest com- pilers of that work, or by him from an earlier edition. The Indian origin of the Arabian Nights, and their transmission to the west through the medium of the Persians and Arabs, are proved beyond a doubt by Schlegel and the Baron von Hammer (Journal Adatiqw, April, 1827, and August, 1839), as well as by the irrefragable testimony of Masudi, and of the author of Kitah el-Fihrist ; nor can it be denied, on the other hand, that the Arabs altered or transmogrified many of the tales, giving to them what frequently appears to \>e a very 90 INTRODUCTION. modern form. Such is the opinion of the learned orientalist, Lane, author of the best and most recent translation of the Arabian Nights, who brings forward strong arguments to prove that the latest compilation was made towards the end of the fifteenth, or beginning of the sixteenth century. The mere fact that one of the Arabian Nights' tales, that of the " Miller and the Ass," is to be found in the Sol wan (see chap, iv., ix n. 27.) proves nothing ; for while on the one hand it may be argued that this tale, together with two others, are the only ones of which Ibn Zafer does not claim the authorship, and that we find in the version of the Solwan some sentences which are wanting in that of the Arabian Nights ; on the other hand, the sentence given in the latter, beginning with " Gold shines," &c., is prefaced by Ibn Zafer, in the first edition, with " The author of the book says ; " and he is too conscientious in rendering to others their due, to be suspected of plagiarism in this single instance. In the case of another countryman of my own, I must indeed acknowledge a theft to have been perpetrated upon the Arabian Nights. I allude to Ariosto, and the tale which occupies the first seventy-four stanzas of canto xxviii., which, with INTRODUCTION. 91 the exception of the names, and of some accessories of little importance, is borrowed or rather copied from the introduction to the Arabian Nights, the date of which, in the absence of evidence, was formerly regarded as very recent ; one of the arguments for this belief being the supposition that the Arab author had copied this episode from Orlando Furioso. But the poem was pub- lished in 1516, and the introductory tale, which forms the groundwork of the Arabian Nights, must have been coeval with the first compilation of the collection, and must be referred to Persia, where the scene is laid ; so that the charge of plagiarism necessarily falls on the great Italian poet, proving that some fragments of the Arabian Nights had found their way into Italy in the time of Ariosto (possibly by means of Italian merchants, who might have heard them in the Levant), two centuries before they were introduced into the west of Europe, through the medium of Galland's translation, at the beginning of the eighteenth century ; while, as we have already seen, other Indian tales were known there in the thirteenth century, or, we may add, in the twelfth, through the imitations of Ibn Zafer. To return to the Solwan. With the exception 92 INTRODUCTION. of that already mentioned (chap. iv. ix.), not one of the fables it contains is to be found in Kalila and Dimna, the Hitopadesa ; nor, so far as I am aware, in the Pancha Tantra> or other Indian col- lections. The author's imitation is conducted with great skill, avoiding many of the defects of the original. He exchanges the Indian framework of his stories for the historical romances into which he inserts them, and which he acknowledges to be borrowed; and these appear to me to owe their origin to the Sassanian era in Persia, and to be partly imitated from the Arab writers of the period of Harun al Rashid, or of his immediate successors. XI. The esteem in which the Solwan was held in the East, is proved, not only by the judgment passed upon it by Imad-Eddin, Ibn Khallikan, and Haji Khalfa, but also by the fact mentioned by the latter (Edit. Fliigel, vol. iii., N. 7227, p. 61 1), that in the fourteenth century, the Solwan was put into verse by one Abu-Abd-allah, of Sinjar, in Mesopotamia-; and that numerous translations had been made of it, amongst which was a very free one into Persian, entitled Legal Gardens for the Exercises of Spiritual INTRODUCTION. 93 Life. Haji Khalfa likewise speaks (vol. iv. N. 8689, p. 345) of a book of the fifteenth century entitled Fakihat el-Kholafd, or, " Fruits offered to the Caliphs/' written by one Ibn Arabshah, as he says, in imitation of the Sol wan and of Kaltia and Dimna ; Baron von Hammer, in his History of the Ottoman Empire, makes mention of a Turkish translation of it. Lastly, I know not whether the work mentioned by Casiri (Bibl. Arab. Hisp. i,, p. 154, N. 525), is to be looked upon as a paraphrase, or merely as a copy of the Solwan with another title. The great number of copies of the Solwan of different dates, that are to be found in Europe, likewise prove its continued popularity. Of these, I am aware of the existence of twenty, and there are probably many besides, of which I know nothing. The following is a list of the MSS. of the Solwan, which has been compiled with great care as regards those at Paris, somewhat hastily in the case of those at Oxford, and from printed catalogues in all other instances. I must observe, that in enumerating the former, I shall have to make use of two different sets of numbers. The first are those of the Arabic MSS., contained in the Bibliothegue da Roi, in 1739, when the catalogue was printed; the second, 94 INTRODUCTION. of those subsequently added, of which there is now an excellent MS. catalogue, the work of M.Reinaud. These two sets of numbers are distinguished from each other by the designations Ancien Fonds Arabe, and Supplement Arabe, which I mark in initials. PARIS, Bibliotheque Nationale, A. F. 948, small 4to, written in modern and ill-formed Neskhi cha- racters. It is valuable in as much as it contains the history of the transmission of the work down te the copy from which the modern transcriber wrote out his MS. Ibn Zafer read it, and, it would appear, permitted it to be copied from his own autograph, in the city of Hamah, in the month Rajib, 565 (March and April, 1187, A.D.), that is, a few months before his death, by the Kadi Najm- Eddin, Mohammed el Mosuli, a kadi and preacher of Soyut, in Egypt ; from whom it was successively transferred in 591 (1195) to the Kadi and Emir Sherf-Eddin Mohammad Es-Soyuti ; in 602 (1206) to the jurist Ibrahim Er-reba 'i, and in 605 (1209) to one Hassan Ibn Abd-errahim, who received per- mission " to give instructions in it, observing the usual conditions required of learned men;" both the book and the permission having been counter- signed by the Kadi of Soyut, mentioned above, in the year 606 (1210). INTRODUCTION. 95 I have corrected this note to the MS., A. F. 948, by the corresponding one to S.A. 538. Id. A.F. 950, small 4to, Neskhi character?, and oriental paper ; no date. Appended to it is an autograph note by Balutius, stating it to have been brought from Aleppo, in 1673, to the library of Colbert. Id. S.A. 535, 4to, oriental paper, and very elegant Neskhi characters. Transcribed in 1014 (1605). Id. S.A. 536, small 4to, oriental paper, and very distinct Neskhi characters, transcribed the 26th of First Jumadi, 588, or June, 1192. The first ten sheets of this valuable manuscript are more modern, and are copied from a different edition of the Solwan. Id. S.A. 537, small 4to , a clear and correct copy in Neskhi characters, bearing date 998 (1590), made for a prince named Abd-allah Ibn Ali Ibn Hassan, of what country is not stated. Id. s. A. 538, small 8vo, on sheets of paper of different colours, Neskhi characters. The transmission of the work is recorded upon this, as upon the MS., A. F. 948, with some slight variations. 96 INTRODUCTION. Id. S.A. 539, 4to, a modern copy, without date, in fair characters, with a title-page, on which the title is written on a gilt ground. The first half of the MS. is illuminated with somewhat rude miniatures ; in the remainder we find the blank spaces left which they were to have occupied, and here and there the outlines of the figures sketched in red. This MS. came from the library of the Hon. Frederick North. Id. S.A. 1535, small 4 to, Neskhi charac- ters, and oriental paper. The writing modern, and very correct. In it is noted the trans- mission of the work, of which, however, only two stages are the same as those we find recorded in the MSS. A.F. 948; and S.A. 538; namely its possession by Najm-Eddin, and Sherf-Eddin, by whom the book is said to have been trans- ferred to one Abd el Monim Ibn Mohammad, Ibn Za'ir Abft'l Naja. Upon it we read the following note, in the handwriting of M. Le Grand, interprets du Roi : " Solvouan el-Moutda Fi 6udvouan-il-atibaa ; cest d dire motifs des sources de consolation dans les divers evenements de la vie. II a ete compose par le cheikh Hod-dyiat-ed-din ali Hachim Mohammed qui 'la dimse en cinq livres s/ibdivises en chapit.rcs ; INTRODUCTION. 97 (1.) Livre de la resignation et confiance en la Providence; (2.) De la consolation; (3.) De la patience ; (4.) De la soumission entiere d la volonte de Dieu; (5.) De la piete et de la retraite. Le stile de cet ouvrage est ires elegant ; Vauteur Va par seme d' histoires, d' apologues, de sentences, et de maximes de morale, qui en rendent la lecture fort agreable et interessante." This MS. contains likewise three other small works in the same handwriting. OXFORD. Bodleian Library. See catalogue, p. i., page 87 (Ury). N. 294, MS. on oriental paper, dated 904, (1498), (Marsh, 325,) on the titlepage of which, after the name of the author, we read: "Who composed this work in the style of Kalila and Dimna, searching out worldly truth (Sidk), and endeavouring to attain to eternal truth (hakk). Id. p. 93. N. 329, MS. on oriental paper, dated 786 (1335). (Huntingdon, 180). Id. p. 96. N. 346, on oriental paper, and without date. (Huntingdon, 479.) Id. P. ii., p. 382 (Nicoll). N. 382. Only a few sheets of the Solwan. Bodl. 527-8. ESCURIAL. See Casiri, Bibl. Arab. Hisp. i., p. 154. N. 525, under the title of Kitab-essolwanat VOL. i. F 98 INTRODUCTION. fi mesamah el Kholafa wa's-sadta, where, amongst other errors, we find it stated that Ibn Zafer was born in Cordova, and resided in Sicily ; MS., with 40 figures. Id. i. p. 213, N. 710, under the title of Solwdn el Mota. It is here said that the author was born in Sicily, educated at Mecca, and settled at Hamah. There is another copy marked No. 757 of the same catalogue. ROME. Barberini Library. Catalogue of Baron von Hammer, in the BiUioieca Italiana, vol. 1., p. 159. LEYDEN. Public Library. Three MSS. of the Solwan, marked 405, 406, and 407, in the catalogue recently published by Dr. Dozy (Ley- den, 1851, 8vo), vol. i., p. 268. The first of these, which has no date, is of the first edition, and the other two of the second. The latter are dated 886, and 1003, of the Hejira (A. D. 1481 and 1594). VIENNA. Palatine Library. One fine MS., dated 654 (1256), Wolfenbuttel : K 43 of the catalogue, published in the Mines de POrient (Fundgruben), vol. \i. ; Vienna, 1818, p. 272, N. 483. INTRODUCTION. 99 I learn from the catalogue of Dr. Dozy that there exists one copy of the Solwan in the library of Petersburg, and I regret having been unable to obtain a sight of the catalogue. In collating together the manuscripts of Paris from which my translation is executed, I perceived the variations of the text to be very insignificant, more so indeed than those usually to be met with in works of light literature ; such as, for instance, the Fables of Bidpai, or the Arabian Nights. But, on the other hand, in comparing the MS., S. A. 536, with all the others, I perceived such a notable difference in the arrangement, as well as in the number, of the tales and sentences, and additions and mutilations so extensive, that I could not but look upon this MS. as being one of a dif- ferent edition ; that is, the ancient portion of it, from the eleventh sheet to the end, the first ten sheets being more modern, and transcribed from the common one. We may attribute to this same scarce edition a portion of the MS., A. F. 950, in which, although the work of one copyist, the analytic portion of the first chapter is taken from the scarce edition, and the preface and all the remainder of the book from the common one. These observations, and the belief that something more was involved than 100 INTRODUCTION. a mere bibliological question, induced me to search out the commencement of this scarce edition, which, it occurred to me, must of necessity have a different preface ; and having addressed myself to my learned friend, Dr. Reinhart Dozy, of Ley den, to whose assistance I acknowledge myself deeply indebted, he speedily discovered one of the three MSS. at Leyden (namely, the one without a date, No. 97 of the Golius Fund), to belong to this scarce edition, and to have a different preface, of which he kindly hastened to supply me with a copy. 1 think it probable that the Bodleian MS. (Marsh, 325,) mentioned above, may belong to the same edition ; but when I visited the Bodleian in 1845, and copied the passage already quoted from its title-page, I was unaware of its importance, not having then studied the Solwan. Lastly, in the MS. biography of Ibn Zafer, by Makrizi, men- tioned in iv., it is stated that a Mussulman doctor, by name Abu } \ Hassan AH Ibn Abd-allah Ibn Yusuf Ibn Hamza Ansari, of Cordova, surnamed A'bid, saw a copy of the Solwan at Mecca, with an autograph of the author, who had bequeathed it to the Ribat (convent) of the Caliph, governed by Kotb-Eddin el Kastelani (who died in 686, or 1287, A.D.). The bulk of this copy was the INTRODUCTION. 101 double of that in general circulation, and at the commencement was this passage: "A king, whose actions are noble, and his intentions upright, requested me to compose a book for him which should afford an effectual remedy for the afflic- tion of his mind, and should be written in the style of Kalila and Dimna ; I willingly under- took to do so . . . ." and here he records the name and race of the king ; and thus ends Makrizi's note. Now, as these words are to be found in the Leyden MS., although with some variations, and without the name of the prince, there can be no doubt that it belongs to the same edition, which appears to have been more scarce than the other in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, just as it is now. As to its bulk being double that of the common edition, it must be owned that this is not the case with regard to the entire work, but the preface is double and treble that of the latter. Moreover, to both the MSS. above-mentioned of Paris and Leyden, is appended an authentic catalogue of the works of Ibn Zafer, which is not to be found in any of the other MSS., while in these catalogues we find no mention of three works dedicated by our author to his Sicilian patron, and which are recorded in the preface ot the others ; 102 INTRODUCTION. and this alone would suffice to prove the edition of the Paris MS., s. A. 536, to be the more ancient of the two. I have pointed out in the notes the principal differences in the two editions, and will now briefly state the conclusion to which a comparison between them has led me. The preface of the first edition, addressed to a king whose name is unknown to us, and con- cerning whom we are told that he was en- compassed by the perils of a revolution, sufficiently explains the title of the book, which could not have been suggested by the circumstances of the Sicilian noble, whether a subject or a pretender. This king might possibly be the author of the verses which we find in chap. 11., iii., and was, perhaps, the sovereign of Damascus expelled by Nour-Eddin. In the preface he is addressed with dignity, if not with pride ; a demeanour frequently adopted by [learned Mussulmans towards their sove- reigns. The portion addressed to general readers is of much merit, in my opinion, for the manner in which it sets forth the plan and design of the work, but it would be better had the author been content with a lesser display of erudition, to prove the orthodoxy of fable as a vehicle of instruction. INTRODUCTION. 103 In the second preface, which is altered and adapted to the condition of the Sicilian noble, the author no longer assumes the character of a com- forter, and makes no mention of Kalila and Dimna, but only, in a general way, of narratives which had once been preserved as state secrets ; and adds a hope that " no law would be found to prohibit his work, nor would the ear of any be offended by it " whereas he never touches this chord in the first edition. In the remainder of the work, besides the alteration of a few sentences and expressions, we find that in the second edition the author omits to mark the distinction between his own narratives, apologues, and maxims, and those of other authors. He also changes the arrangement of the parts, tastefully intermingling his own fables with the historical romances of others, instead of placing them at the end of the latter. Then, gradually diverging more and more from the Indian type, he deprives most of his animals of their proper names, changes the species of some of them, and transfers a Mussulman hypocrite to the Christians. Lastly, he suppresses several fragments of history, and one of the lives of Christian saints, some fables, and several moral and political reflections 104 INTRODUCTION. of great depth, in place of which he inserts two historical facts and a few verses. It will be readily perceived that these changes were dictated by two motives, the one literary, and the other political. It was probably to avoid the continued interruptions of the text that Ibn Zafer, having unburthened his conscience in the first edition, in the second mingles his own stories indiscriminately with those of others. He, moreover, sacrifices, apparently to his better system of arrangement, the fables of "The Peacock 1 ' and of "The Two Viziers," which I have not scrupled to restore to their place ; as well as another apologue and a few historical anecdotes of minor value, which I have mentioned only in the notes. Lastly, the first edition of the Solwan could not fail to give umbrage to Mussulman rulers, in whose hands were united both the spiritual and temporal power. The profound reasoning upon politics, as well as upon revolutions, and the causes from which they sprung, the unmasking of hypocrisy, the constant use of the philosophical and theolo- gical language of the ancient Persians, and the custom of designating the Supreme Being by other names than those in use amongst the sons of Islam, might well give offence to those more INTRODUCTION. 105 bigoted, notwithstanding the perfect piety and morality which distinguishes the entire work. This would be the case more especially, if, as appears probable, the Solwan were first published in Syria; where, about the time of its composition, that religious fanaticism which led to the struggle against the Christians, burst forth under the auspices of the Turks. I will not pursue my conjectures further, or suggest that Ibn Zafer perhaps returned to Sicily, owing to persecutions encountered in the dominions of Nour-eddin. That, at any rate, accusations were brought against him, may be inferred from the expressions contained in the second preface ; nor is it un- natural, that in presenting this book, of somewhat doubtful repute, under another form, to a good Mussulman, the author should have wished to free it from all the passages which might appear objectionable. XII. It now only remains for me to give account of my own work. I have translated it from the second edition, prefixing to it, however, the prefaces to both editions ; reinstating in their proper places the choicest of the passages which had been pS 106 INTRODUCTION. expunged from the first, owing either to fear or to religious scruple ; retaining the fragments of those which I believe to have been sacrificed to an im- proved style ; and for the rest referring the reader to the notes, in which some of them are inserted at full length. The Paris MSS., S. A. 535 and 537, are those to which I have adhered the most closely, believing them to be the most complete ; but I have likewise had recourse to the other Paris t MSS., especially to S. A. 536, which was my only authority for the passages omitted in the second edition. I derived some assistance, also, from Jmad-Eddin's anthology, for the verses of Ibn Zafer contained in the Solwan; and I must here be permitted to record my obligations to the learned Librarians of the Bibliotheque Na- lionale, who placed the eight Paris MSS. at my entire disposal, even permitting me to take them to my own house together with other books and manuscripts, thus affording me every facility for the pursuance of my task. I have adhered strictly to the letter of the Arabic, wherever it was possible to do so without falling into too quaint a style; for if a servile translation shows ignorance of either one or other of the languages, one that strays from the sense in INTRODUCTION. 107 order to elude the difficulty is no less ob- jectionable ; and even the greatest poets, when translating the works of classic writers do not dis- dain to be faithful to the original witness Byron's almost literal version of Dante. In this case, however, a few amplifications are rendered necessary by the extremely concise and elliptical character of the Arabic language. As to the title of the work, I have not scrupled to give a somewhat free translation of it on the title-page, since the literal version will be found in the preface. The first thing considered by the Arabs in compounding the titles of their books, was the rhyme; a powerful instrument in the hands of those who are able to wield it, but a heavy in- cumbrance to others ; and which often misleads Arab authors into saying that which they do not mean, both in the titles and in the works them- selves. Besides this it was essential that they should be whimsical and strange, and require an explanation, like that which Ibn Zafer gives of the word Solwan. Thus, what with obscurity of diction and extravagant play of fancy, the titles of Arabic books are often little better than enigmas, which every one interprets according to his taste; and such is the case with the Solwan, although it must be owned that some of the 108 INTRODUCTION. interpreters appear to have set commonsense alto- gether at defiance. D'Herbelot, in his Bibliotheque Orientate, begins an article on the Solowan Almothd, with u Titre d"un livre de morale et de devotion par Abu Hassan al Moazzi. Ce sont des motifs de consolations dans Ics maux de la vie ;" thus showing that he had not even read the preface. I know not whence he derived the name al Moazzi, and have therefore made no mention of it in iv. After him Casiri, in giving the title of the two MSS. in the Escurial, renders No. 70, " Solamen hominis Dei voluntati obtemperanlis," and the other, " Solatia malorum et nocturna regum con- jabulatio." (Bill Arab. Hisp. i. N. 525, 710). Ury, in the Oxford catalogue, falls into a similar error, when he writes "Solatium Pii in iniquitate temporum. }) (Cat. Oxford, i. N. 294, etc.) The learned Fraehn (Num. Bulgh., p. 32), gives the following version, " Consolatio petenda ab eo qui obedientia colendus" (a Deo, scilicet). It appears, however, that he had never had the Solwan in his hand, and had only seen the title of it in printed catalogues. I cannot find fault with the Latin interpretation, in the Vienna catalogue, " Recreatio obedientis in semild sequelce" for I do not understand it. INTRODUCTION. 109 Nicoll, in his additions and corrections to Dry's Catalogue (Cat. Oxf. n., N. 382), interprets the second portion of the title more correctly, as " Solamina Dei in malignitate Sociorum." The Baron von Hammer, in the letter quoted above (BibL Ital., vol. i., p. 159), writes the title, " Selwanol-motaa," and translates it, " The consolations of him that is obedient." Fliigel, guided by a variation in the read- ing of the last word, has rendered it (edit, of Hajii Khalfa, iii., p. 611, N. 7227,) "Solatia, a Deo oledientia colendo, in malignitate indolis, petenda." Lastly, the Baron de Slane, in his yet unpub- lished third volume of Ibn Khallikan, p. 106, translates it " Consolation for the master who suf- fers from the enmity of his servants." I have partially adopted the interpretation of this eminent Arabic scholar, but did not deter, mine upon doing so until I had read the pre- face to the first edition, in which it is recorded that a portion of the followers of the unknown king, to whom the book is dedicated, had been seduced by a certain rebel. The word which I have translated as " followers/' or " subjects," is the one with which the title concludes, and there is, therefore, no doubt as to its signification ; 110 INTRODUCTION. but for this it might have been rendered, with equal correctness in the title, as circumstances, or events; and I should have inclined to this inter- pretation, as being the more usual one. I have frequently had occasion, in the course of the work, to transcribe proper names, and other Arabic words; and amidst the confusion which reigns amongst the orientalists of Europe, I have thought it best to follow the system prescribed in the admirable works of the Oriental Translation Fund, with the amend- ments of Baron de Slane, as announced by him in the first volume of his forthcoming work (Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary], and a few other modifications required by custom for it is impossible to deny the im- perfection of a system in which one Roman letter represents two or three different Arabic jnes, for the simple reason, that the Latins had no such sounds in their language. Their practice was the same with regard to some of the letters of the Greek alphabet, which, instead of adding letters to theirs, the Latins endeavoured to imitate by doubling the consonants, and aspirating the h's. The people of the north and west had recourse to similar means ; they adopted the Latin alphabet, in order to express the sounds of their INTRODUCTION. Ill respective languages, and hence arose a Babel-like confusion in the orthography of Europe, which becomes only the more manifest when an attempt is made to represent sounds not appertainingjx> any European language. The only means of obviating these difficulties, and one to which a few distin- guished Dutch and German Orientalists have already had recourse, would be to give a conven- tional value to some of the Roman letters when used in the transcription of oriental words, marking them with points in order to show that they are not employed in the usual manner. Some years ago, I maintained an opposite opinion ; but I have since been converted by the arguments of the learned Count Francis Miniscalchi, of Verona, who is zea- lously exerting himself to obtain the adoption of such a system of transcription for all the languages of the East. In the meantime we are compelled to aid ourselves as best we may, with oui j -" *ent PP.t*e*>* imperfect instruments; and in order to avoid 61 " Wl ;i- multi- plying innovations, which would be disagreeable, if not perplexing to the reader, in the case of such titles and proper names of persons or places, as have been familiar to us from childhood, I have re- tained the conventional, though corrupt, ortho- graphy sanctioned by custom, and have written Mahomet for Mohammad, when speaking of 112 INTRODUCTION. the Prophet, Aleppo for Haleb, Caliph for Khalifah, etc. Some paragraphs of this introduction and many of the notes will, no doubt, at first sight, appear superfluously long, but, upon reflection, it will be seen that I could not do otherwise than en- deavour to elucidate the various historical and literary points brought forward in the course of the work, and which are so little known, that I was compelled to have recourse for this purpose to untranslated Arabic works, manuscript and others, as well as to works of oriental literature which are not in common circulation. Above all things, I was anxious to investigate certain historical facts, which appeared to me to be either little known, or viewed in an erroneous light ; and this I have not scrupled to do at length in some of the notes ; amongst others, in those concerning the origirraTid the fortunes of the so-called Magi; on ^ e wyhexion between the ancient creeds of India _^^ i ^ and of Persia ; on the Arab Christian poet, Adi Ibn Zeid ; and on the antiquities of the city of Hadhr, in Mesopotamia, recently illustrated by the travellers Ross and Ainsworth, to whose his- torical and topographical information I have added a few facts, which may prove of importance, extracted from the Arabic MSS. of Paris. For INTRODUCTION. 113 the compilation of the notes, I have consulted, besides numerous MSS., the Arabic originals, published by Dozy, Freytag, and Fleischer, as well as the valuable works of Caussin de Perceval, Fliigel, Quatremere, Reinaud, De Slane, and Des Vergers ; and I regret that ray ignorance of Ger- man should have prevented me from having recourse to Weil's History of the Caliphs. I have derived, in particular, much valuable matter from the researches of Caussin, and the reflections of Des Vergers on the history of the early Arabs, and from Reinaud's Memoires sur Vlnde. I am, more- over, indebted to the latter for counsel and assist- ance in one or two passages of my translation, as well as on some doubtful points of geography and erudition ; and to Dr. Dozy, for the communication of several important fragments noticed above. It is needless for me to add, that I do not offer the Arabic original to the public, inasmuch as it would be very difficult to find a publisher who would undertake the task. Such a work I have, however, prepared, by accurately noting the vari- ations of the other Paris MSS., as collated with S. A. 535 ; and am therefore ready to justify my version in the eyes of orientalists, should they desire to confront it with any of the copies of the Solwan, which are so numerous in Europe. 114 INTRODUCTION. In conclusion, I beg leave to assure the reader that I should never myself have ventured upon the task of rendering the Solwan into English, much less upon that of writing the Introduction and Notes, in that which, however familiar to my com- prehension, is nevertheless to me a foreign tongue. I therefore addressed myself to the author of the Translation of my former work, The War of the Sicilian Vespers (with which I first became ac-- quainted, through the gratification afforded me by its perusal after it appeared in print), whose assistance I esteemed myself fortunate to obtain. The English reproduction of my Italian Translation has been submitted to me in manuscript, and by me carefully revised and corrected upon the Arabic original, to which it occasionally adheres even more closely, where the English adapts itself better to the Arabic idiom. I can, therefore, conscientiously vouch for the accuracy of the version for which I alone am answerable, while to the English Translator I offer my sincere acknow- ledgments for the manner of its execution. M. AMARI. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. IN the name of God, the Merciful and Clement, Mohammad Ibn Abi Mohammad Ibn Zafer, the poor and lowly servant of the Lord, content to abide His holy will, whose sins may God assoil, thus writes : Gratitude to God is the noblest garment which man can array himself withal ; and praise of Him the surest means to obtain the blessings of this life, and of that which is to come. Glory be to God, who gives us endurance as a pledge of success, and friendship as a refuge in misfortune. Glory be to Him, who spreads an impenetrable veil over the mysteries of Fate, and restrains the loftiest intellects behind the wall of uncertainty ; to Him, who leads the submissive by smooth and pleasant paths, but drives forward the reluctant, until, stumbling and murmuring, they reach the goal of obedience to his decrees. 116 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. He, whose name be praised, has said : " Per- chance thy soul may loathe that which God hath sent thee for thy special good." * Blessed be our Lord Mahomet, whom he has sent to bear witness, and to proclaim good tidings ; to admonish men and call them to holiness, and to be, by the will of God, a shining light unto their eyes. May the blessings of the Most High be showered upon him ! And praise be to God, who created the children of Adam in so noble an image, and caused the plants of the earth to spring up by means of the waters of heaven for their use ; supplied them with such abundant means of subsistence ; instructed them by the ministry of the prophets, who taught them to distinguish right from wrong in their actions ; placed both the mighty and the lowly under the governance of princes, commanding all mankind to follow the wise precepts of princes and of holy men ; and enjoining them to afford the former all the assistance in their power in the right way, even as to princes he committed the execution of the most noble and arduous tasks ; for the burdens of the rulers of the people are heavy to be borne, and their office is full of labour. Their duty is to * Koran, chap, iv., v. 23. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 117 guard their subjects from those who would seduce them by flattering words; to secure them from all danger in their houses and in the highways; to defend them from their enemies, not only by war and violence, but by artifice and subtlety ; to re- strain the strong from oppressing the weak, and the wicked from injuring the upright; to instruct the ignorant ; to cut off, in times of sedition, the diseased members of the social body ; to levy on the goods of their subjects the dues prescribed by the law of God, and employ the revenue thence accruing for the public benefit. For all these reasons, the work performed in one day by a just prince is more meritorious than sixty years of strife in the Holy Wars. For this cause, likewise, he shall obtain an honourable place in the presence of God, at the end of the world, as we read in the Mosndd Sahiii,* on the faith of Abdallah Ibn Omar; according to whom the Apostle of God said: " Just princes are seated on thrones of light at the right hand of the Most Merciful God; and there also are those who have observed justice in their judgment, and towards their kindred:" and soon even to the end of this tradition. One of the most genuine and authentic traditions of Ibn * See note 6 to chap. i. 118 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. Shihab is the following, which he obtained from Homaid Ibn Abd-er- Rahman, who had it from Mis- war Ibn Mokhrama himself; namely, that "he having been once sent to Moawia (the first founder of the Ommey ad dynasty), afterwards related the follow- ing discourse: "Having," said he, "entered the presence of Moawia, and saluted him, he questioned me thus : * Whence is it, O Mis war, that you make such complaints against the Caliphs ?' 'Per- mit me to expound them/ replied I, ' and listen with indulgence to that which I shall say in their justifi- cation/ ' In the name of God/ replied Moawia, ' reveal the offspring of your soul without fear.' Then I did not hesitate to show him all that I had ever said against him; and Moawia having heard me, answered, 'O Miswar, I am assuredly not free from faults ; but, tell me, have you never com- mitted any which make you fear eternal damnation, unless you obtain the pardon of God?' ' Yes, God knows I have,' replied I. And the Caliph re- sumed : ' What reason have you, then, for sup- posing that you are more worthy of His forgive- ness than I, who have in my favour the merit of having so often concluded peace between men, caused the divine laws to be observed, combated in the Holy Wars, and accomplished so many great PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 119 works that neither you nor I should be able to number them ? I am indeed so heavily laden with the burden of my duties, that I doubt not God will graciously accept my good works, and pardon my evil ones. Moreover, as often as I have had to choose between God and the world, I have always made choice of God.' ' In reflecting upon this dis- course,' said Miswar, 'I held myself for vanquished;" 1 and he never afterwards heard mention made of Moawia without saying, 'May God prosper him!'" The author says : This likewise is the opinion of the wisest doctors concerning those princes who have not yet fully attained to the standard of jus- tice. But this cannot be said of the princes of our own times, to whom it rarely happens to secure an honest and able minister, a learned and faithful counsellor, one who should act with firmness and self-denial, and do battle for the cause of God ! It is moreover related that when Omar Ibn Abd- el-Aziz* sought to restrain the arrogance of the race of Beni Merwan, and of the rest of the house of the Ommeyades, and to cause justice to be done to the people at their expense and at that of their retainers, for all the misdeeds which they had * See note 4 to chap. v. 120 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. thought to commit with impunity, they assembled themselves together, and hastened in great indig- nation to the palace, where they found the son of Omar, by name Abd-el-Malik, and addressed him in these words : " Tell the Commander of the Faithful, that we will not submit quietly to the regu- lation by which he despoils us of that which was granted us from the public treasure by the princes, his predecessors, and wrests from our hands the possessions which we held, to bestow them upon others., under pretext that they were usurped by us. Why should he pretend to inquire into a matter which has been decided after mature examination by another monarch ?" Abd-el-Malik went in- stantly to report this to his father, whom he found with Amr Ibn Mohajir, a man whom the Caliph was wont to employ in matters of public business. Omar, having heard him, fixed his eyes on the ground, and remained for some time silent and absorbed in profound meditation. Then raising his head, and turning to Abd-el-Malik, "What do you say to this, my son?" asked he. And Abd-el-Malik replied, " Oh, Commander of the Faithful, go for- ward in the path which God has prescribed to you, even if you knew that the stroke of death was im- pending over us both! " " And what do you think PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 121 of it ? " then inquired the Caliph of Ibn Mohajir ; who replied : " God said to the Prophet: ' After- wards we appointed thee, O Mahomet, to promul- gate a law concerning the business of religion; wherefore follow the same, and follow not the desires of those who are ignorant. Verily, they shall not avail thee against God at all. The unjust are the patrons of one another ; but God is the patron of the pious/ " * Upon which Omar exclaimed : " Praise be to God, who has given me you two to assist me, and confirm me in my purpose." Thus Omar Ibn Abd-el-Aziz considered it in his time a piece of great good fortune to be assisted by two councillors at such a juncture. Alas ! why is it that after so many generations men have become year by year more base? We find, moreover, that the same Omar Ibn Abd-el-Aziz, having once written to Salem Ibn Abdallah, to inquire of him some details of the conduct, as Caliph, of Omar Ibn Khattab, which conduct he proposed to imitate ; Salem answered him : " You do not live in the days of Omar, nor in the midst of a generation like to that over which Omar reigned. Nevertheless," continued Salenr's letter, " keep a strict watch over your officials, and * Koran, chap, xlv., v. 17 and 18. VOL. I. G 122 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. make frequent examinations into their conduct, in order that they may fear you. Confirm in their office those with whojn you are satisfied, and re- move those who give you cause of displeasure. If you bestow or take away office not from respect of persons, but for the service of God, you may hope that he will furnish you with assistants capa- ble of seconding you." And this is very true, as is proved by the saying of the Apostle of God : " To him who is imbued with the fear of the Lord shall be made/' etc. : and so on to the end of this tradition. In continuation, I say that a king, noble both in deed and in purpose, and whose- justice was acknowledged by all ; commended for the habit of reflection, and gifted with high intellectual powers ; full of the love of science, which filled both his heart and mind ; ' and addicted to the speculations of moral philosophy; beheld his subjects assailed by a rebel, who having succeeded in alienating a portion of them, already aspired to wrest the kingdom from him by force, and had seduced away some of his most powerful followers. In the midst of so great tribulation, the king requested me to write a book of philosophy and erudition, for his comfort ; and seeing that I accepted the task, and did not despair PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 123 of being able to relieve him from the sorrow which oppressed him, it occurred to him that my work would not have power to dissipate his sadness, nor to afford relief to the affliction of his soul, unless it were written in the style of " Calila and Dimna." This prince had granted me his cordial friendship, his generous beneficence, and a degree of intimacy which he displayed as openly in public as in pri- vate ; so that my soul recoiled from the idea of refusing him consolation in his trouble. I therefore proceeded to select from amongst the best and rarest of the writings of the Arabs on the subject of moral philosophy, some narratives concerning Commanders of the Faithful, and other yet more ancient monarchs. I polished up the rough gold of these narratives, using my utmost diligence to make their meaning plain. I inserted here and there, as in a nest, philosophical maxims, both maidens and spouses ; " and I have united with them certain fabulous personages, into whom I have breathed the breath of those lofty spirits, robed their per- sons in the mantle of regal bearing, bound their temples with the garland of lofty thoughts, and suspended from their shoulders the sword of Ara- bian or foreign dominion. I have opened every chapter with a few verses from the Koran, and 124 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. some traditions of the elect Prophet Mahomet, whom may God bless with praise and worship: and lastly, I have placed in it gardens for the de- light of the heart and ears, and weapons for combat against faults of habit or of character. I have entitled this book, Solwdn al Mota fi Odican al Atba (Resources of a Prince against the Hostility of his Subjects.) The term Solwan, is the plural of Solwanah, the name of a shell, con- cerning which the Arabs believe, that if a little water be poured upon it, and given to drink to one who is in love, he will immediately recover. The Rajiz has said : " Not even were I to drink the Solwan, should I find peace. Not even were I rolling in wealth, could I live without thee." The resources of which I speak, are five in number : Firstly, Trust in God ; secondly, Forti- tude; thirdly, Patience; fourthly, Contentment ; and, fifthly, Self-denial. I therefore now prepare myself to set forth the parables of various kinds which I have suc- ceeded in collecting, all resting on the foundation of the original narratives translated into Arabic ; which parables I have sought to enliven with the charm of eloquence, and have introduced into them PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 125 various philosophical sayings put into the mouths of animals. But first I must premise one consi- deration, in order to shield myself from the blame of the short-sighted, and also from that of men of penetration, who feign not to see. And this con- sideration is the same which is recorded upon good authority, by the Imam and Jurist Abu Bekr Mohammad Ibn Hosain Ajawi, who relates that the Commander of the Faithful, Omar Ibn Abd-el-Aziz, having on one occasion attended the obsequies of a member of the House of Ommeyah when the corpse was buried, commanded those present to remain where they were, whilst he, uttering a cry, went forward into the midst of the tombs. His attendants waited for him a long time, and when he at length returned, with red eyes, and the veins of his neck all swollen, they said to him, " You have lingered a long time, O Commander of the Faithful ! what has detained you ? v And Omar replied :