Chapter II: of the Province of Nedsjed “The Bedouins inhabit a great part of the province. The remainder is mountainous, full of cities and villages, and parcelled out among so many petty sovereigns, that almost every little town has its own Schiech (i.e., Shaykh). Formerly, when the power of the Sherriffes was at its height, many of these Schiech, who were situate in the vicinity of Hedsjas, were obliged to pay tribute to the Sherriffe of Mecca. At present, they pay nothing”. Source: TRAVELS THROUGH ARABIA,AND OTHER COUNTRIES IN THE EAST, PERFORMED BY M. NIEBUHR, NOW A CAPTAIN OF ENGINEERS IN THE SERVICE OF THE KING OF DENMARK. TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY ROBERT HERON WITH NOTES BY THE TRANSLATOR; AND ILLUSTRATED WITH ENGRAVINGS AND MAPS. IN TWO VOLUMES. EDIMBURGH, 1792.
Kate McLachlan has identified Carsten Niebhur’s Description de l’Arabie (a contemporary French translation of the German original) as the source for the first list of Arabian horse strains in Western literature. The account can be safely dated to 1765-1766, when Niebhur was crossing Mesopotamia, Syria and Anatolia on his way back from India to Constantinople: “On sait, que les Arabes font grand cas de leurs chevaux; on pourrait dire, qu’il les divisent en deux espèces. Ils nomment l’une Kadischi, c. à. d. chevaux de race inconnue, lesquels ne font pas plus estimés en Arabie que les chevaux ordinaires ne le sont en Europe ; ils servent à porter les fardeaux & à tous les autres ouvrages. La seconde espèce s’appelle Kochlâni ou Koheyle, c. a. d. chevaux dont on a écrit la généalogie depuis deux mille ans. On veut qu’originairement ils soient venus du haras de Salomon-, aussi sont-ils très chers […]. Les Kôchlâni sont principalement élevés par les Bédouins entre Bâsra, Merdin & la Syrie, ou les grands Seigneurs ne veulent point monter d’autres chevaux. Toute cette race se divise encore en plusieurs familles. On trouve près de Mosùl les familles Dsjùlfa, Mânaki, Dehâlemîe , Seklaui, Sâade, Hamdâni &…