G. E. Leachman, “Njayman”

Check out the Wikipedia page of Captain G.E. Leachman, the British explorer, army officer, political officer and above all, spy. Photo below, disguised as a Bedouin. The Bedouins, who feared him, called him Njayman. His murder in 1920 in Abu Ghraib by Dari al-Mahmud, Shaykh of the Shammar Zawba’, is a famous episode in Bedouin lore. It sparked the Arab revolt in Iraq. The article says Dari’s son Khamis shot him in the back over a disagreement over a local robbery. Bedouin lore perpetuates a different explanation: Njayman insulted Dari and Khamis killed Leachman with his sword in revenge. The episode is worth a book. I am not surprised Saddam Hussein financed a movie based on it.

Modern descendants of Dari’s horses of the Saqlawi Jadran strain, and to a lesser extent, the Dahman Amer strain, are famous in the North Arabian desert, and a regular fixture on this blog.

One Reply to “G. E. Leachman, “Njayman””

  1. Thank you Edouard, Truth be known…Wow. How would any of us had known, if not for you putting this here. Beyond that, the strains you mention-“the fixture of this blog”, again, Thanks for all you do.

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