Karoun, 1942 Jilfan Jarjari of the Bani Malek tribe

Jens Sannek shared with me this rare photo, which purports to show the Iranian foundation stallion Karoun, a Jilfan Jarjari by strain, tracking to the horses of the Bani Malik tribe. He’s had it for 30-35 years, but does not know its source. Hopefully a reader can point to its origin.

Mary Gharaghozlu wrote the following story about Karoun in the section on Jilfan (Djelfan) in her studbook for the Asil Stud of Khuzestan:

The other Djelfan of the Jarjari line was the stallion, Karoun, which although now dead, is of the utmost importance in the A.S.K. stud book and pedigree. This stallion first became famous during the period when its owner Haji Hassoun Moravene of Khuzestan was involved in contraband activities across the border. On several occasions when he was pursued by mounted police the horse took his rider to safety through sheer speed and endurance. This attracted the interest of Col. Rokni, who as well as being a border patrol official in that area, was also a lover of horses, and he eventually bought the horse and called him Karoun. He entered him in races at Abadan and Ahwaz and won them with great ease.
This then attracted the attention of Col. Shaki, one of Iran’s top racing riders and enthusiasts. Col. Rokni gave Karoun to Col. Shaki who brought him to Tehran where he proceeded to win races against the Turkoman (the famous race-horse of Persia).
Since Karoun was an Asil, this in turn attracted the attention of Majid Bakhtiar, one of the last breeders of Asils in Iran. Being friends with Col. Shaki, Majid obtained Karoun from him and took him back to Khuzestan, his original home, where he set him up as stud in his stable in Agili.
Karoun had originally belonged to Haji Hassoun, son of Sangur Moravene. Both Karoun and his mother were born with this family but the grandmother was given by the Bani Malek to a priest from whom Sangur Moravene bought him. The Bani Malek live between Khorramshahr and Ahwaz and are one of the original owners of the Djelfan Jarjari.

Here is more on the Bani Malek from Enc. Iranica, under the broader entry of their parent tribe the Bani Tamim.

BANĪ TAMĪM, an Arab tribe of western Ḵūzestān, both settled and nomadic, raising sheep and camels. Their range lies between Howayza and Ahvāz, where they are also known as the Banī Mālek (Persia, pp. 378, 380; Field, pp. 198-99). Their numbers were estimated at 10,000 persons before World War I, when they also extended south on the Kārūn as far as Qājārīya (Lorimer, Gazetteer II, pp. 123, 1858), and in the 1940s at 2,200 families (Oppenheim, IV, p. 25). They are Shiʿite, and organized in sixteen sections.

You can see the location of Bani Malek in the map location, under the name of Bani Tamim, between Ahwaz (the crossroad in the center) and Huwayzah (to the west of that), north of the Karun river.