“Kunz al-Durar wa-Jami’ al-Ghurar anz al-Durar wa-Jami al-Ghurar” (The Treasure of Pearls and the Collection of Shining Objects) is a major nine-volume universal history written by the 14th-century Mamluk historian Abū Bakr ibn ‘Abd Allāh ibn Aybak al-Dawādārī. It is considered one of the most important surviving historical sources for understanding Islamic history and the Mamluk Sultanate. While al-Dawādārī worked on the final draft of the text between 1331 and 1335 CE, the Kuhaylah mention falls under the events of the year 1320. Below is the account of the event where the mention occurs in Arabic, then in an English (with the help of AI), then my comments on the text: ذكر [حوادث] سنة عشرين وسبع ماية ومماّ يحكى من جملة سعادة مولانا السلطان أن بلغ المسامع الشريفة فى هذه السنة أنّ ببلاد البحرين حصانا أشقر قليل المثل فى وقته، فأرسل مولانا السلطان فى طلبه، وعاد الخاطر الشريف متعلقّا به، لكثرة ما وصف له من صفات ذلك الحصان المذكور. ثم اّتصّل بالمسامع الشريفة أنّ الفرس المذكور وصل إلى الشأم المحروس. فأرسل البريد فى طلبه ورسم ألا يّشتريه أحدمن العربان ولا من غيرهم. وعاد مولانا السلطان كثير التطلعّ إلى أخباره والحثّ على حضوره فلماّ وصل البريد المتوجّه فى طلب الفرس إلى…
By AAS Nelyo out of Barakah Al Arab, her second foal. Easy, uneventful delivery. After keeping watch that night, Sue went to take a shower, came back and there he was out and up.
So happy that this royal Najdi line to *Nufoud, which ten years ago was down to a couple mares only (Belle herself and AB Dafinaah, a cousin at Monica Respet’s) is now fairly safe with a second branch developing at Moira Walker’s. Moira’s colt Landrace Belisarius (by Jamr) and her filly Landrace Bellara (by Pulcher Ibn Reshan) are growing nicely and turning into what their lineage predicted they would.
Some time in 2023-24, the concept of “quiet luxury” gained traction in fashion circles online and offline. It’s always been there, in close circles, but it’s now out in the mainstream. My built-in web AI defines quiet luxury as “an understated fashion movement that prioritizes high-quality materials, timeless design, and discreet elegance.” It tells me that it’s also called the “old money aesthetic” and that it’s the opposite of loud, ostentatious, in your face, brand and logo-heavy fashion. (It’s also how I have always dressed without knowing, but that’s not my point here). This evening it hit me that I had been advocating for a similar movement as applied to Arabian horses for close to two decades now. I am going to name it “Quiet Nobility”, and trademark it. It’s also about high quality “materials” (i.e., bloodlines, genotype), timeless “design” (i.e., conformation, phenotype), and discreet “elegance” (i.e., style), but in the breeding of Arabian horses. No extreme, flashy looks and movements. Nothing “too much”. Rather, a quiet, soothing, pleasing look in mares, and a confident, virile, debonnaire, slightly disdainful look in stallions. I think this is where the breed will be going in the future. It also happens to be…
Some thirty years ago, an aprocryphal story spread in Arabian horses circles about a purported conversation between a senior Western official and a Saudi prince (their names are not the point of the story). It goes that the Western official pleaded for the Prince to register his large herd of Arabian horses — two hundred of them. The prince retorted: “who are you to register our horses? we (I guess meaning Arabs) should be the ones to register your horses, not you registering ours”. I don’t know if the story is true, as I only heard it third hand.
“Nowadays breeding of the Arabian in the Middle East has concentrated on race horses for the Beirut and Cairo race tracks. However this breeding has been tainted by the intrusion of English Thoroughbred blood in the Arabian horses of Iraq. The Iraqi Arabian is bigger and runs faster — but he has lost the look of the desert bred pure Arabian — that pristine beauty and lead toughness of the desert horse is disappearing alas too fast.” When living in Lebanon before the year 2000, I have seen, owned, and bred from some of these Iraqi horses. They are beautiful horses but they are not Arabians. A few years ago, some high profile Iraqi breeders have engaged ina full-blown communication effort aimed at claiming asil status for these Iraqi “Arabians”. I call it “asil-washing”. Progress in DNA analysis (Y-DNA, mtDNA and autosomal) will uncover these bogus claims.
I am not sure who colorized this well-known photo of *Haleb, taken by Arthur Moore during Davenport’s trip to Arabia in 1906, but they did a good job (except perhaps for too many blue gowns). The quality of *Haleb shows well. I am reminded of his descendant Mayassah.