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Chapter One
AL-MAJNUN THE DEXTEROUS
ОглавлениеCity of Aoudaghost, frontier territory, possession of Caliph Abdallah ibn Yasin from the Almoravids dynasty, year 1056 (presently known as the city of Tegdaoust, Eastern Hodh in the province of the republic of Mauritania).
“Al-Majnun[1]?! Where are you? You slacker?! May Allah, the Almighty and Merciful, shorten your abominable days?!” – cried the exasperated rider, dressed in a black turban, embroidered with golden seven-pointed stars and crescents. The blue satin robe on his shoulders was richly decorated with golden ornaments.
“Here I am?! Oh, great Stargazer of the Caliph and the wisest of the soothsayers, the Honorable al-Farukh ibn Saud?!” – answered the dwarf with a big nose that vaguely resembled an elongated squash.
The high spiked astrologer’s hat, pulled over his bulgy ears, was embroidered with seven-pointed stars and crowned at the top with a sleazy string attached to a tiny rusty bell. From under the hat sleek black eyes observed the outer world with a thievish look that expressed unconditional allegiance. His sunburnt face and black beard belonged to those ageless, unchanging men, who might be thirty, forty, who might be of any age, and one would have never guessed it, and only after a thorough look at him, one would say that this chap had for sure reached maturity. Clumsily moving the flaps of the large tent aside, with a drawling groan he tried to get outside, but awkwardly fell twice, being traitorously caught by the long sleeves of his black Bedouin robe. For a moment behind the open flaps of the large tent appeared a very pleasant young Berber[2] woman’s face.
“Here it is, 500 mithqals[3], a bag of gold dust and three golden dinars[4]?! You are to buy 20 slaves, 10 camels, suitable for a long journey through the desert, 30 muds[5] of wheat, 30 sheep and goats, spices, water, vegetables and herbs enough for a 40-day journey?! We will depart tomorrow at dawn?!” – said al-Farukh, throwing heavy and massive sacks in the dust before al-Majnun. Al-Majnun bowed in respect. His master unexpectedly disappeared in swarms of dust saying – “you will find me in my tent?!” – exactly in the same sudden way as he had popped up.
“I listen to you and obey?! Oh, great astrologer of the Caliph”, said al-Majnun, addressing the place where just a few seconds ago the voice of his master was heard.
Having humped the heavy bags on his back, al-Majnun walked slowly along the road towards the town. The ancient road was hedged by solid masses of shady acacia trees. The hot Saharan sun passing through the thick tree branches cut through the clouds of dust raised by herds of sheep and camel caravans of local traders and strongly reminding of the biblical metaphor that says that “with a pillar of cloud by day, and with a pillar of fire by night, to illuminate the way they should go” the weary strangers went.
“It is necessary to get a move on?!” – al-Majnun thought out loud, lumping along the dusty road with his peaked sandals creased at the top.
“The master has never been more serious?! Last time he promised to transform me into a toad for that small nuance… what I had done in the local market… absolutely nothing… I just seduced the daughter of a local date’s seller. And now if I’m not dilatory enough in running his errands, he will surely fulfil the promise” – reflected al-Majnun, dragging the heavy load.
On having approached the town gates, his attention was attracted to a procession of Caliph Abdallah’s mounted worriers, who looked very busy indeed. They were promptly moving ahead through the crowd of merchants, travelers and townspeople.
“Listen?! Listen?! Those who have ears will hear?!” – yelled the first rider in the black turban decorated with gold, Sovereign of true believer, The Commander of the Faithful, the merciful Caliph Abdallah (May Great Allah strengthen him with the support and surround him with His grace and merciful deeds) starts a military campaign in Maghreb lands, to proselytize the unfaithful?! (May Allah Almighty help him in his merciful attempts and save him for his tender heart?!)
“For those who heard this proclamation?!” – continued the rider with the black turban, “The merciful Caliph Abdallah orders you to bring a tenth part of your income, in acknowledgement and approval of acts of his merciful hands?! Those who refuse to bring a scanty payment, will face the inevitable death?!” The last phrases of the rider vanished in a deafening roar of the Caliph’s musicians’ pipes. The Caliph’s warriors discourteously wrested money, jewelry and valuable goods from the hands of the scared merchants, travelers and citizens. Goods and treasury were piled into the creaking carts, and moved away together with hastily herded cattle, horses and camels.
Having learned that al-Majnun was the servant of the great al-Farouk ibn Saud, the Caliph’s warriors didn’t take any payment from him and let him through to the town unchallenged.
Passing along familiar streets, smothered in greenery of the acacias, date palm trees twined up with wild grapes, al-Majnun turned to the mosque on the street leading to the market.
Meanwhile, in Caliph Abdullah ibn Yasin’s palace.
A tall gaunt man in his 50s, his wrinkled brown face looked dry and scaly. A droopy moustache and a bushy black beard gave his appearance a hue of a determined character. His high blue turban was adorned with gold and sapphires; the black brocade garment was richly decorated with gold threads.
Caliph Abdullah was the ruler of the tribes and peoples of the vast territory, which stretched from Spain to the borders of the Kingdom of Ghana. Concentrated, he was deliberating on something, listening to his military leader Yahya ibn Omar. Overseeing the assembled subordinates through the dark, with eyes bright and quick as robin’s, he occasionally made some consequential comments. The military leader was really a shorty one, with long arms and big round head embosomed in a dappled red beard through which one could distinguish a chubby face of a middle-aged man of very martial appearance.
He slowly outlined the plan of the upcoming campaign, trying as much as possible to explain everything in detail.
The Aoudaghost palace belonged to one of the leaders of the black tribes Soninke[6], powerful Empire of Ghana, just two years ago and was richly decorated with gold and precious stones.
The Palace walls abounded with painted and gilded frescoes and surahs from the Koran. The precious stones used in Arab mosaics boggled the imagination.
A little garden with golden fountain in the middle, surrounded by palm trees and plants, full of beautiful birds, melodiously twittering amid the tree branches and plant leaf’s, filling up the throne-room with a soothing romantic atmosphere, looked like the “Garden of Eden” or a marvelous oasis in the desert.
The golden groundwork of the fountain was carved with elephants, giraffes and camels. It gently threw out its waters with a pleasant murmur scattering the splashes in thousands of diamond sprays playing in the sun, accidentally or on purpose attracting the birds to take a bath. All that background created an undescribable atmosphere of Eastern luxury, tranquility and coolness.
At the Caliph’s palace. The War Campaign Council
“Oh, great Commander of the faithful?!” – the military leader Yahya ibn Omar[7] continued his speech, “by the grace of Allah Almighty and Merciful, we cannot immediately move to the great Maghreb city of Sijilmasa[8], without reinforcing our army with our allies’ horsemen warriors. From Aoudaghost the Caliph’s army will move out to the city of Timbuktu[9].
When we reach Timbuktu, the city ruler Moussa ibn Khalid will graciously give us 10 thousand foot warriors and 5 thousand mounted warriors from the tribe of the Messufa[10], for our military campaign. Having replenished water and food supplies in Timbuktu, we proceed to the town of Atar[11], and from Atar, we’ll smack down our blades on the heads of the Maghreb infidels“, the military leader explained the details of the plan to the Caliph.
“Your plan is undoubtedly successful, Yahya ibn Omar, but what will the Great al-Farouk ibn Saud say whom the gracious and merciful God has entrusted the gift to recognize his will by signs and stars”, said the Caliph, addressing the tall greyish man with straight delicate face features. The man of indefinite age, though surely older than fifty, with a black turban, embroidered with seven-pointed golden stars and crescents, looked very calm. His blue satin robe on his shoulders was richly decorated with gold ornaments.
“Oh, the Great Commander of the Faithful?! The plan of Yahya ibn Omar is truly perfect…” – he paused for a moment, taking a glance at the audience.
“But the stars say that the campaign is doomed to endless battles against the superior forces of the infidels?!” – answered al-Farouk ibn Saud, and the glance of his intelligent, piercing black eyes expressed genuine concern.
“So, you are predicting defeat?” – asked the Caliph losing his patience and rising from his throne.
“Oh, Grand Commander of the Faithful?! I cannot predict anything, I’ve got a little ability to reveal the secret of Allah’s Almighty and Merciful will that He sends in signs and stars”, said al-Farouk, bowing in reverence.
“I had completely different intentions?! I was going to lead the campaign and reach the Maghreb city of Fes, where as I know, by the Will of God the merciful, my teacher and mentor Abu-Imran-Moussa has recently arrived”, said Caliph, thoughtfully looking into the water splashes of the fountain that sparkled in the rays of the hot desert sun.
“Oh, great Caliph?!” – continued al-Farouk, reverently bowing to the Lord.
“I understand how important it is for You to see Your great teacher and mentor Abu-Imran-Moussa. However, the signs of Allah the Almighty and Merciful that I have read indicate that for You, oh great and wise ruler of the Faithful, it is vitally important to stay with the part of the forces in the city”, said al-Farouk, bowing reverently.
“You are a brave man, al-Farouk?! By methods known only to you, in a very inexplicable way, you’ve managed to read the Will of Allah the Highest and Merciful in the signs and stars”, thoughtfully pronounced Caliph Abdullah, addressing the great astrologer.
“I will follow the Will of Allah the Highest and will remain in the city, and the army will be led by the honorable commander Yahya ibn Omar”, the Caliph announced his decision, bringing the War Council to a close.
“We Listen to You and obey?! Oh, Great Commander of true believers?!” – answered the attendees, realizing that the final decision was taken and the discussion of the War was over.
1
Al-Majnun (مجنون) – in Arabic – the crank, a little touched.
2
Berbers – people who lived in the Libyan Sahara, which way back when Greeks named Berbers, that is “barbarians”, pulled through from the Roman legionaries and had to go deep into the desert to conduct their free nomadic life full of depravations. Berber tribes – Zenato, Sanhadja and Godalla, have appeared at the Atlantic coast of the Sahara in II century. In oases, they dug wells, planted date palm trees and sowed sorgo. And today, those Saharawi who are engaged in agriculture conduct the genealogy from these tribes.
3
Mithqal – a monetary unit in the form of a gold coin, commonly used at that time. According to far-fetched survived documentary records, for one gold mithqal, it was possible to buy 10 sheep. Whereas, a trained woman slave in the city of Timbuktu cost 25 mithqals. (The city located rather near to Aoudaghost, in the north of the central part of Mali, a bit less than at 13 km to the north from the river Niger). Nowadays it is the capital of the self-proclaimed Islamic state Azawad.
4
The Gold dinar – a monetary unit. The gold dinar of that time was a very weighty piece of metal, 4.729 grams of pure gold…
5
The mud – an ancient measurement unit for volume of weight, used in Aoudaghost at that time. One mud equaled to 1,5 liters of liquid or 2 kg of grain.
6
The Soninke (also called Sarakole, Seraculeh, or Serahuli) are a Mandé people who descend from the Bafour and closely related to the Imraguen from Mauritania. They speak the Soninke language, the Mandé language. They were the founders of the ancient empire of Ghana c. 750–1240 CE. Subgroups of Soninke include the Maraka and Wangara. After contact with Muslim Almoravid traders from the north around 1056 CE Soninke nobles of neighboring Takrur were among the first ethnic groups from Sub-Saharan West Africa to embrace Islam. When the Ghana empire dispersed, the resulting diaspora brought Soninkes to Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau.
7
It is worth noting, however, that at the time of events, the moravids military leader Yahya ibn Omar had managed to create a numerous and well-rehearsed army. Their main force was infantry, armed with javelins in the front ranks and pikes behind, formed into a phalanx and supported by camelmen and horsemen on the flanks.
8
Sijilmasa (also Sijilmassa, Sidjilmasa and Sigilmassa) was a medieval Moroccan city and trade entrepôt at the northern edge of the Sahara Desert in Morocco. The ruins of the town lie five miles along the River Ziz in the Tafilalt oasis, near the town of Rissani. The town’s history was marked by several successive invasions by Berber dynasties. Up until the 14th century, as the northern terminus for the western trans-Sahara trade route, it was one of the most important trade centers in the Maghreb during the Middle Ages.
9
Timbuktu – (tɪmbʌkˈtuː); French: Tombouctou [tɔ̃bukˈtu]; Koyra Chiini: Tumbutu), formerly also spelled Timbuctoo and Timbuktoo, is a city in the West African nation of Mali situated 20 km (ca. 12 mi) north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali. It had a population of 54,453 in the 2009 census. Starting out as a seasonal settlement, Timbuktu became a big and prosperous settlement in the early 12th century. From the 11th century and onward, Timbuktu became an important port where goods from West Africa and North Africa were traded. After a shift in trading routes, Timbuktu flourished from the trade in salt, gold, ivory, and slaves. In its Golden Age, the town’s numerous Islamic scholars and extensive trading network made possible an important book trade: together with the campuses of the Sankore Madrasah, an Islamic university, this made Timbuktu a scholarly center in Africa. Several notable historic writers, such as Shabeni and Leo Africanus, described Timbuktu. These stories, not without reason, fueled speculation in Europe where the city’s reputation shifted from being extremely rich to being mysterious. It became part of the Mali Empire early in the 14th century.
10
Messufa – black nomadic people and desert dwellers.
11
Atar (Arabic: أطار, Berber for mountain) is a town in northwestern Mauritania, the capital of the Adrar Province and the main settlement on the Adrar Plateau. It is home to an airport, a museum and a historic mosque, remained from 1674. As of year 2000 it had a population of 24,021.
