The “Heikali Arab” horse lineage from Libya, ca. 1328 CE
This post continues the series on the Nasiri book. In an earlier post, I had referred to the ten groups of horses featured in one of the sections: that from Hijaz, Najd, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Libya, North Africa, etc. They were generally classified by region, and called ansaab, which translates as “lineages”. I speculated about whether these lineages were “Arab”, since we now know that the Nasiri book featured at least one mention of “asil Arab” horses in 1333 CE.
Another book written at the about the same time as the Nasiri book provides a clue. It is a book about horses, called “Kitaab al-Aqwal al-Kaafiyah wa-al-usul al-Shaafiyah fi al-Khayl“. It was written by the Rasulid king of Yemen, Ali ibn Dawud ibn Yusuf ibn Rasul, who reigned between 1322 and 1363 CE, his capital at the splendid Yemeni city of Ta’izz. Passages about a horse plague indicate the book was written some time after 1327-1328 CE.
No English translation exists as far as I know. An Arabic edition from 1987 was published by the University of Qatar. I just ordered it. Meanwhile, we will have to make do with excerpts from a French translation by N. Perron, published in the Nasiri book edition from 1859. Here is the relevant excerpt:
La race est au dessous de l’espèce. Ainsi l’homme fait une race dans l’espèce animale; de même, chaque sorte d’animal. Il vous importe de connaitre les races chevalines et ce qui les concerne […]. Quand vous aurez appris ce qu’était tel cheval, vous saurez dire: il était fils de tel fils de tel dans telle lignée ou race. Il y a donc en fait de races:
1) Les toraifi ou race toraifi ou toraifide. Le toraifi est, dit-on, celui qui a, a l’encolure, sous la crinière, dans les crins, une longue ligne tracée que l’on nomme la poignée de lance et ou des ronds sont comme ombiliqués.
2) Le heikali, race arabe dans le Barka. Ce cheval est puissant de volume (heikal), a les membres épais, les sabots très développés. Il a quatre reins.
3) Le khorasani […].
4) Le hedjazi […].
5) L’a’wadji ou descendant d’A’wadj […].
6) Le bikai ou campagnard, ou cheval des campagnes, est de corps massif, arrondi, et ne convient point aux Grands et aux princes, a cause de sa conformation.
7) Le hindi ou indien […]
8) Le roumi […] a rarement quelque caractère de noblesse.
9) Le bahri ou marin. On raconte que les chevaux sortirent de la mer et donnèrent une descendance. On a dit que les chevaux du Bahrein, province de l’Arabie sur le Golfe Persique, étaient issus de Katif vers la même province. […]
10) Le tatari ou tatar est le cheval des gens de cortège et des pages ou serviteurs des cours. Rarement le cheval tatar a du caractère de noblesse.
Il est a remarquer que les tribus de l’Arabie, plus que toutes les autres populations, possédaient et dressaient les chevaux, car presque sans cesse les Arabes étaient en incursions les uns contre les autres. Plusieurs élevaient le cheval comme moyen de pouvoir approcher et se faire bien venir des rois dont ils avaient ou pensaient avoir besoin de capter la faveur ou la bienveillance. Parmi les Arabes on se donnait aussi des chevaux en présent. Car il y avait l’envie de se faire un relief d’honneur, de réputation, de position sociale, de piquer les désirs; et l’amateur alors ouvrait une main facile aux dépenses pour arriver a avoir les produits de nobles familles chevalines, et par suite a avoir le bonheur de s’en glorifier au milieu des possesseurs des plus beaux coursiers. De la tant d’illustrations chevalines.
The excerpt warrants detailed analysis. I will go back to it several times. For now, I wanted to highlight “Heikali, race arabe dans le Barka” or “heikali, an arab lineage in Cyrenaica/Eastern Libya”. The Nasiri book describes Barca/Cyrenaican/Libyan lineages as “coarse” or “rough” (khishin). In the book of Ali ibn Rasul, the mention of four kidneys notwthistanding (I will need to check the translation once I get the Arabic edition), this Heikali lineage from Barka/Barca/Barqa/Cyrenaica is described in similar terms.
Also note the reference to the Trayfi strain, which makes it one of the oldest attested strains, back to 1338 CE.
Yes, I saw the Trayfi and was very excited, as it is a strain mentioned in older European works as well, and baffled me at first.
There are some Greek and Roman descriptions of the horses of Cyrenaica and Libya. The Greek historian Herodotus, describing the Libyans (who lived west of Egypt all the way through to Morocco), mentions their skill with four-horse chariots (4.170, 183, 189), and ancient rock art from the Fezzan region of modern Libya shows pairs of horses being driven in chariots, as well as mounted warriors. The Garamantes, who lived around the Wadi al-Ajal, made the Sahara bloom to such an extent that they could raise large numbers of horses – the Roman geographer Strabo says that one hundred thousand colts were foaled every year (17.3); make of that number what you will!
The horses of the Numidians during the Roman period were said to be small, docile and swift; Strabo mentions that they would even follow people around like dogs (17.3.7). He also notes that they had unusually long necks.
Aelian (Anim. 3.2) describes the Libyan horses as follows:
“Concerning the Libyan horse I have heard such things from the Libyans. They are the swiftest of horses, and feel little or no fatigue. They are finely built and not in good flesh, but at least are adapted to endure the negligence of their masters. Indeed their masters do not pay attention to them, neither rubbing them down nor letting them roll after working, nor cleaning their hooves, nor combing their tails, nor braiding their manes, nor bathing them after work, but as soon as they have reached the end of their planned road, dismounting they release them to graze.”
There are surviving mosaics as well of racehorses from the Roman period. I’m quite fond of one from Sousse, Tunisia, showing four horses (named! Pupillus, Amator, Cupido and Aura) with handlers. The usual caveats apply re drawing conclusions about phenotype etc from artwork. Also, by this point, Libya was used to refer to the region around Barca, and Tunisia was called Africa by the Romans, so probably not the best mosaic to cite, but I like it.
Anyway, there’s a whip-through of some of the Greek and Roman evidence for the horses of the region, even if the extent to which the horses of the ancient world were similar to the horses of the 14th century is up for debate!
“Le bahri ou marin. On raconte que les chevaux sortirent de la mer et donnèrent une descendance. On a dit que les chevaux du Bahrein, province de l’Arabie sur le Golfe Persique, étaient issus de Katif vers la même province.”
This one is really interesting too ^^
I guess Katif = Qatif = Al-Khatt
Which is one of the major harbor trading horses towards India since the 12th century. And where a horse figurine (ca. 6th to 3rd cent. A.D.) has been found. Quoting “The Horse in Arabia and the Arabian Horse: Origins, Myths and Realities by Jérémie Schiettecatte and Abbès Zouache” which i strongly recommend by the way 😀
The mythology around horses from the sea/white horses/winged horses is very consistant when digging into material from the past either. There is very often references to the air (wind/wings), the idea of natural boundaries (sea/mountains) and cults related to white animals which I find extremely interesting.