Earliest written mention of the Kuhaylah: 1320-21 CE
“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 سبخة السوادة وجد الفرس المطلوب بها، وهو مع جماعة من العرب قادمين به إلى مولانا السلطان، ومعه حجرة أخرى تقاربه فى صفاته وقربّ الله البعيد على طلب هذا الملك السعيد، ووصل إلى مولانا السلطان بعد مدّة ستةّ أيّام من سماع خبره وكان اسم صاحبه برجس بن سلطان العامرىّ من عرب البحرين وكان وصول الفرس المذكور يوم الخميس سادس ربيع الآخر. وقد قال فى ذلك جلال الدين الصفدىّ البريدىّ أبياتا فالمستحسن منها
يا مليك الأرض التى أصبحت … نعمته بين الورى جاريه
إنّ الحصان الأشقر الصيحمى … أتى يمشى فى خدمته جاريه
يجرى إلى الخدمة مستبشرا … والحجرة أيضا معه جاريه
وفى غد قد أقبلت حجرة … تدعى الكحيلية لا الجاريه
وستةّ هن خوات لها … الكلّ ستات بلا جاريه
Accounts of the events of the year 720 Hijri [correspondig to 1320-21 CE]
Among the accounts of the auspicious fortune of Our Master the Sultan, it is told that it reached His Sublime Hearing this year that there was, in the lands of Bahrain, a chestnut horse unparalleled in his time. Our Master the Sultan therefore sent for him, the Royal Mind having become preoccupied with the matter, owing to the many exceptional qualities described to him regarding the aforementioned horse. Subsequently, it reached His Sublime Hearing that the aforementioned horse had arrived in the protected land of the Levant. Thereupon, he dispatched the postal courier to fetch him, decreeing that no one, whether from the Bedouins or anyone else, should purchase him. Our Master the Sultan remained in eager anticipation of news regarding him, constantly urging for his arrival. Thus, when the courier tasked with bringing the horse reached the salt flats of al-Suwada [on the way from Sinai to Gaza], he found the sought-after horse there. He was in the company of a group of Bedouins who were bringing him to Our Master the Sultan, accompanied by another mare that closely matched his qualities. And God brought near that which was distant in fulfillment of the quest of this fortunate Sovereign, so that the horse reached Our Master the Sultan within a mere six days from the time he first heard news of him. The name of his owner was Barjis ibn Sultan al-‘Amiri, from the Bedouins of Bahrain. The arrival of the aforementioned horse took place on Thursday, the sixth of Rabi’ al-Akhar. Regarding this event, Jalal al-Din al-Safadi al-Baridi composed several verses of poetry, the most commendable of which are:
“O Sovereign of the Earth, whose boundless grace… remains ever flowing among mankind,
Lo, the radiant chestnut, a steed of noble race… has arrived, hastening to enter your service.
Joyfully he runs to serve your royal place… and the mare alongside him comes running too.
And tomorrow, another mare shall show her face… called al-Kuhayliyyah, no ordinary handmaid.
Six more are her sisters, matching her pace… all noble mistresses, none born to serve.”
My notes:
- The “lands of Bahrain” correspond to East Arabia today, between historicals Iraq and Oman, a much larger area than the current Kindgom of Bahrain.
- There is no mention of the strain of the stallion, only his color (chestnut) and the breeder (a Bedouin from East Arabia, from bani ‘Amer tribe)
- We know nothing about the mare that came with him, except that she was nearly equal to him, and brought to the Sultan by Bedouins from the “land of the Levant” (al-Shaam in Arabic), which correspond to today’s Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel/Palestine.
- The mare called al-Kuhayliyah is not the same mare that came with the stallion, but appears to be a mare that was already in Sultan’s stables in Cairo.
- This is the same Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad that bought horses from Isa ibn Muhanna Aal Fadl and paid tremedous sums for a single mare, al-Karshah. It’s also the Sultan the famous hippology book Kamil al-Sina’atayn was named for — the “Naceri”.
- Al-Kuhayliyyah is not quite the same as al-Kuhaylah, but is extremely close. It could even be a chancery typo for al-Kuhaylah. We unfortunately don’t know anything about this mare other than her name.
- The poet al-Safadi used a classical poetic device called جناس (Jinas – Wordplay/Puns), where he masterfully repeated variations of the words “جارية” and “ست” with different meanings in almost every line. It is not easy to translate the poem literally.