On the origins of the desert-bred stallion Dynamite II, imported from Egypt to Tunisia in 1928
The following on the desert-bred stallion Dynamite II is an excerpt from a typed text in my archives, “Les Chevaux de Pur Sang Arabe de Sidi Thabet — Tunisie 1931”. The text looks like it was copied from an anonymous 1931 book the details for which are available online, here.
The text cites Dynamite II as one of three Arabian stallions brought from Egypt for the Tunisian stud of Sidi Thabet in 1928. The other two are Nasr and Ibn Fayda. Nasr and Dynamite II were purchased, and Ibn Fayda was gifted by Prince Kemal El Dine Hussein. On Dynamite II:
Etalon Dynamite II. de la lignée Hamdani et de la famille simrie, né en 1920, bai, 1,50 m. File de la jument Rayarra [sic] appartenant a l’Emir Hadissi. On ne vendait jamais les produits de cette jument renommée dans toute l’Arabie. Mais ce poulain avait été enlevé dans une razzia opérée par une tribu ennemie qui s’empressa de vendre les chevaux de prise, par crainte de représailles. Le poulain a pu ainsi être acheté a l’âge de trois ans, par un riche banquier libanais, M. Elie Bey Sursock, qui le paya 500 L.E. [Livres Egyptiennes] et le mit aussitôt a l’entrainement. Dynamite II a gagné quatre courses importantes en 1925, deux autres en 1926, et il est arrivé huit fois second en deux ans ayant rapporté a son propriétaire 776 L.E. soit plus de 100,000 francs. Malheureusement, il a été arrêté dans sa brillante carrière de course par un accident au tendon. Ce cheval est devenu un très bon étalon.
Some reactions:
1/ The L.E. currency confirms that the horse was raced in Egypt and bought there by the Tunisians.
2/ It is likely that the horse’s strain in Hamdani Simri. Tunisian records have him by a Hamdani Simri out of Tayyara, but that’s because Tunisians horse people at the time did not know that the strain was transmitted through the dam, not through the sire.
3/ The dam is spelled Rayarra here, and Tarraya in another place.
4/ I wonder who that Emir Hadissi was. Hadithah is a city in Iraq on the Euphrates.
Is it possible that Emir Hadissi is Haditha Al-Khraisha of the Bani Sakhr?
Did he have the title of Emir? ie, not Shaykh, but a notch above.
I don’t know, I’ve asked Google to consider opening a book from 1927 which mentions him.
it would make a lot of sense. Hadithah al-Khreisha as the leader of the Northern Bani Sakhr was a big guy at the time. And they did have Hamdani Simri (e.g., *Galfia)
Success with the book! It’s by William Seabrook. There’s a story about Hadithah in it told to him by “Mitkhal Pasha el Fayiz, hereditary sheik of sheiks and overlord of the allied Beni Sakhr Bedouin tribes”.
In Chapter 5:
“And as we rode, he told me briefly the history of Haditha Pasha, sheik of the El Khour. He had inherited wealth and the leadership of a powerful tribe, but his possessions and the number of his warriors had dwindled, because of his extraordinary generosity, which had become famous throughout the desert.”
The story about Haditha’s mare:
“Haditha had a white mare which he loved. A neighboring sheik named Goren, on friendly but not intimate terms with Haditha, admired the mare and was very anxious to buy it. He offered Haditha three hundred gold pounds, and when he found that Haditha would not sell the mare at any price, he offered in exchange one of his daughters noted for her beauty. Haditha refused to part with the mare. Goren then called on him formally and said: ‘As we are not enemies, honor and the desert law compel me to warn you that I am going to any lengths to get your mare even if I have to steal it.’ Haditha replied: ‘I am warned.’
“Goren bided his time in long patience. When more than a year had passed — this event occurred in 1920, according to Mitkhal — Goren learned that Haditha was planning to ride into Damascus to make arrangements about the sale of some camels …
“Presently Haditha, cantering along on his white mare, overtook Goren [who had disguised himself], and as he came abreast, Goren sank into the road almost under the mare’s feet. Haditha, observing the bloody bandage and the exhaustion, failed to recognize Goren because of the beard, the henna and dirt on his face, and the kafieh which partly covered it; he halted and dismounted to help the wayfarer in distress.
“Goren moaned that he was on his way to Damascus and had become exhausted because of his wound. Haditha did the thing that any Bedouin sheik might do, under the circumstances; he lifted Goren to the back of his mare, held him in the saddle, and set out toward Damascus, himself on foot, letting the beggar ride. Goren kept silent for more than a half hour, giving his strength time to return; then he said: ‘Noble sheik, your gun is heavy on your shoulders; do, therefore, hang it here on the pommel. ” It was a hot day and a long road, and Haditha, suspecting nothing, acquiesced. Two or three minutes later Goren dug his heels violently into the mare, and in three bounds was out of Haditha’s reach. He then wheeled the horse, unslung the rifle, and returned to where Haditha stood.
“‘Oh ! Haditha, I gave you honorable warning.’
“Haditha recognized Goren and replied, greatly chagrined: ‘O Goren, you did give warning!’
“As Goren turned to ride away triumphantly, Haditha suddenly shouted. Goren wheeled again and returned to him. Haditha said: ‘I have reflected. The mare is yours, and I will promise not to seek its return either by violence or guile, if you will promise what I ask of you.’
“‘I promise,’ replied Goren.
“It is the custom among Bedouin sheiks to demand a promise and to acquiesce in it without saying what the bargain is — depending on each other’s honor. Haditha said : ‘You will promise on the name of the Prophet, and I will promise likewise, that we will tell no living soul the manner in which you obtained my mare.’
“‘I promise, O sheik ! But why?’ replied Goren.
“‘Because,’ said Haditha, ‘if this tale spread from mouth to mouth in our desert, no rider would ever dare to stop and give aid to a wounded man or a beggar again, and this would be a shame greater than the loss of a thousand white mares.’ Goren reflected, got down from the horse’s back, put the bridle in the hands of Haditha, and said : ‘I cannot steal, even after honorable warning, from such a man.'”
Seabrook mentions only “sheik” and “Pasha” as titles for Hadithah.
Mithqal Al-Fayez he calls “Pasha” and “sheik of sheiks”. Seabrook reserves “Amir” as a title for ‘Abdallah I of Jordan, and for Amin Arslan.
Nice story. “Emir Hadassi” must be him.
RHOUFI get 4 times DYNAMITE II