The Wadnan (or Wathnan) stallion Abu Khamseh (Khamseh x Parsa by Hashem) was one of Europe’s most important endurance horses. The first photo was taken in his prime, the second as was completing a 200 km ride, and the third by Christelle Seranne in old age.
Atlass is by Adjar out of Aram. Photo through Jens Sannek. Not sure who took the picture. A foundation mare of the Iranian lines that came to Europe, although she did not come to Europe herself.
On their journey back from Hail to Bagdad in early 1870, Lady Anne and Wilfrid Blunt met the Al Kathir tribe, which she refers to in the plural as “Ketherin”, with their leader Mutlakh, and nearly purchased a handsome Wadnan Khursan horse from them. The Al Kathir are part of the larger Bani Lam tribe. The edition by Archer and Fleming of Lady Anne’s Journals and Correspondence is so truncated here that it’s not immediately obvious that Mutlakh’s tribe is the Kethirin. This becomes plain once they are in Persia, when they make the connections to other Bani Lam there. Her Journal entry for February 17, 1879 is upbeat, and in my opinion, one of the nicest sections of her J&C, complete with scenes from Bedouin hospitality and description of horses and nature: “We have spent an interesting day. As agreed we and Mohamed and Mutlakh went to the latter’s camp […]. Shatti said the owner of a horse would bring it to show us from these tents and presently two people on a delul came leading a bay colt with three white feet (two fore and near hind) and star — a beautiful little horse he looked as far…
From her Journals and Correspondence (J&C, edited by Archer and Flemning), comes an account of the travels of Lady Anne and Wilfrid Blunt among the Bani Lam of Lower Mesopotamia and Khuzestan. It took place during their 1879 journey through al-Amarah in Lower Mesopotamia through Khuzestan/Arabistan by way of Dezful and Shustar all the way to the port of Bushehr on the Persian Gulf. My comments follow. J&C, Bagdad, March 18th, 1879: […] a messenger had brought a letter from Mr. Wertman to the Bani Lam Sheykh Mizban.. […] J&C, somewhere in Khuzestan/Arabestan, March 28th, 1879: We had great luck not to be met or found yesterday or in the night by any of the ghazus between the camps of Mizban and Akul or rather Musa. […] The Bani Lam cannot however be very particular about their breeds for Beneyeh asked Wilfrid for the use of the grey horse for a little bay mare of his which he called Wadneh Hursan [sic] — Wadnan is one of the breeds now existing with the Bani Lam now called Ketirin [Al Kathir, in the plural], our Nejd friends, and the beautiful little bay horse we saw belonging to one of Mutakh’s men…
By Khamseh out of Parsa by Hashem out of Palmira by Jallad. 75 percent Iranian lines, 25 percent Egyptina lines. Photos taken in 2021 at 26 years old.
Wilton posted these two photos of Jezabel a few years ago. I believe that he got them from a German magazine. The first one features an older Jezabel with her last foal Juno by an Egyptian horse of show bloodlines. The second shows her with the Hamdani Simri stallion Inta (Ibn Insiatur x Sabah).
The stallion Karoun, a Jilfan Jarjari from the strain of the Bani Malek tribe of Khuzestan born ca. 1942, is the main sireline progenitor for Iranian Arabian horses. Genetic Y-DNA studies have found this sire line to fall under the most common Arabian male haplogroup (Ao-aA1a). Below is a table from Kate McLachlan’s recent Khamsat article featuring male progenitors of the Karoun sire line: Ardeshir, Insiatur, Jassem, and the unnamed Wadnan Khursan stallion who may or may not be Karoun’s paternal grandfather. In turn, he traces back to a Wadnan Khursan stallion from the Hardan tribe. The Encyclopedia Iranica had the following to say on this small tribe: BANĪ ḤARDĀN, a Shiʿite Arab tribe of Howayza (Ḥawīza) district in Ḵūzestān. Small in number (they were estimated at 2,500 persons early in the century, and at 500 families, i.e., roughly the same number, in the 1930s), their range is comparatively extensive: north of Ahvāz, west of Ahvāz to Howayza, between the Kārūn and the Karḵa rivers, and inland from the left bank of the Āb-e Gargar. Their main centers are Kūt Nahr Hāšem, Dūb-e Ḥardān, and Čārṭāq. Formerly predominantly nomadic (Lorimer, II, p. 120, noted only 100 persons settled), they have progressively…
Jens Sannek continues to gratify me with photos of desert Arabian imports to Europe and their progeny. This photo came to him from the late Austrian breeder Anton Tucek. It shows Anton’s 1991 bay stallion Jezar, by the Bahraini stallion Sarhan out of the black Iranian mare Jezabel. He had obtained Sarhan (Maanaghi Saghir x Sitah) from Danah Al Khalifah. I am particularly interested in this Iranian/Bahraini cross, which I am looking forward to try this spring.
Jens Sannek also shared with me this beautiful picture of Jezabel (Arras x Atlass by Adjar), a 1976 black Wadnah Khursan of the Mir strain, bred by the Asil Stud of Khuzestan. Jezabel was also imported to Austria in 1979, along with Jallad and several other young mares and stallions.
Jens Sannek shared with me this wonderful picture of the Iranian Arabian stallion Jallad (Arras x Atlassi by Sepid x Aram), a Wadnan Khursan of the Mir strain. Jallad was from the foundation stock of the Asil Stud of Khuzestan (ASK) and was imported from Iran to Austria by Gustl Eutermoser and Ulrike Marcik in 1979. He spent the later years of his life with Bibi Degn in Germany and in The Netherlands. Jens is unsure of who took the picture, so if anyone happens to know please come forward. Look at the fine skin, the abundant forelocks, the prominent facial bones, and the fine muzzle ending with elongated (not square) nostrils, all hallmarks of authenticity.
You may be wondering about the reason for the series of recent blog entries on the Iranian Arabian horses. That’s because of Jasminah, a 2017 Wadhnat al-Khursan mare from the breeding program of the late Ulrike Marcik in Spain. Wilton had already written about Jasminah on this blog, a few years back. Jasminah traces twice (including in the tf) to Jezabel, perhaps the most beautiful Iranian mare to come to Europe.
Quoting from her article on the Asil Horse of Khuzestan (full article here on the WAHO website), a good starting point for information on this topic: Of the tribes mentioned by Layard in the first quotation, branches of the Al Khamees, Al Kathir and the Bani Lam are existent today in Khuzestan. The Bani Lam and the Al Kathir are known for the foundation of certain strains, the former for the Saglawi Djadrani, and Nesman (branch of the Koheilan), the latter for the Hamdani Semri, Saglawi Djadran, Wadne and a Wadne branch known as the Zaghieh. The Kaab, under whose name General Tweedie recognizes the Arab of Iran, are a large tribe divided into sub-tribes. Those best known for certain strains are the Jassemi for the Hetli (a Koheilan derivative) and the Sofferieh (a Saglawi sub-strain); the Mojadami known for a branch of the Hamdani, the Sobeili and Beaiyreh (Wadne Koheili). There are the Bani Khalid famous for Soffeirieh and Djelfe (Julfa to Layard); the Seyyids of Hosseini with the Maanghieh (Maneghi); the Seyyids of Tefagh with the Koheilan Adjuz, the Nesman and the Djelfe; and the Ziareh are best known for their Saglawis. However, the strain whose stallion is…
Yesterday Jens Sannek shared with me a pair of pictures of the absolutely stunning Iranian Asil stallion Barout Lami, a 2017 Wadnan Khursan. This stallion oozes true Arabian type. Compare with Eldar HD, the Hamdani Simri stallion of Davenport bloodlines, at Michael Bowling’s.
Hussain from Iran sent me these pictures of the Arabian stallion Geysar Shah (Nasim x Fadak), a Wadnan Khursan of the strain of Hajj Shahab.
Photo from Amirhossein Ghasemi. The stallion is Ghare (Tarokh x Nastaran by Haddad), a Wadnan Khursan. He has one distant line to Majid Bakhtiar’s stallion Ajdar, also a Wadnan Khersan of the Mir marbat. Ajdar’s photo is below.
Arabesque Azieze is at the center of the biggest “what if” story I have recently been involved in. Scroll down this website to see a picture of him (I do respect copyrights, sometimes). This Asil stallion was born in Australia in 1978 and was later sold to New Zealand. He was by the Asil stallion Hansan (El Hilal x Hamamaa), a stallion of Egyptian bloodlines. Nothing to write home about.. yet. The real story concerns Azieze’s dam, Orilla, a 1960 chestnut mare. Orilla was by the legendary Oran (Riffal x Astrella), and out of the mare Rabiha, by Rheoboam out of Nuhra. Oran, a Ubayyan Sharraq of the marbat of Ibn ‘Alyan traced to the famed Blunt desert import Queen of Sheba, and was bred by Lady Yule at Hanstead Stud. Oran was the last Asil stallion used at Crabbet Park by Lady Wentworth. Rheoboam was born at Musgrave Clark’s Courthouse Stud from old Blunt bloodlines… wait, there is more: Nuhra was a bay Asil mare (picture below) imported from Bahrain to England in 1938 by the Earl of Athlone, the brother of Queen Mary of England. Nuhra was a Wadhnat Khursan by strain, and her sire was a Kuhaylan…