Sulaiman al-Tajir

Sulaymān al-Tājir (Arabic: سليمان التاجر, lit. 'Solomon the Merchant') was a 9th-century Muslim merchant, traveler and writer initially from Siraf in modern-day Iran. He traveled to India and China and wrote an account of his voyages around AD 850, often associated with a related travelogue by Abu Zayd al-Sirafi.

Quotes

Abbasid Caliphate, c. 850

Caliphate fragmented, c. 892

• The inhabitants of India and China agree that there are four great or principal kings in the world. They place the king of the Arabs (Khalif of Baghdád) at the head of these, for it is admitted without dispute that he is the greatest of kings. First in wealth, and in the splendour of his Court; but above all, as chief of that sublime religion which nothing excels. The king of China reckons himself next after the king of the Arabs. After him comes the king of the Greeks, and lastly the Balhará, prince of the men who have their ears pierced.
  The Balhará is the most eminent of the princes of India, and the Indians acknowledge his superiority. Every prince in India is master in his own state, but all pay homage to the supremacy of the Balhará. The representatives sent by the Balhará to other princes are received with most profound respect in order to show him honour. He gives regular pay to his troops, as the practice is among the Arabs. He has many horses and elephants, and immense wealth. The coins which pass in his country are the Tátariya dirhams, each of which weighs a dirham and a half of the coinage of the king. They are dated from the year in which the dynasty acquired the throne. They do not, like the Arabs, use the Hijra of the prophet, but date their eras from the beginning of their kings' reigns; and their kings live long, frequently reigning for fifty years. The inhabitants of the Balhará's country say that if their kings reign and live for a long time, it is solely in consequence of the favour shown to the Arabs. In fact, among all the kings there is no one to be found who is so partial to the Arabs as the Balhará; and his subjects follow his example.
  Balhará is the title borne by all the kings of this dynasty. It is similar to the Cosroes (of the Persians), and is not a proper name. The kingdom of the Balhará commences on the sea side, at the country of Komkam [Konkan], on the tongue of land which stretches to China. The Balhará has around him several kings with whom he is at war, but whom he greatly excels. Among them is the king of Jurz. This king maintains numerous forces, and no other Indian prince has so fine a cavalry. He is unfriendly to the Arabs, still he acknowledges that the king of the Arabs is the greatest of kings. Among the princes of India there is no greater foe of the Muhammadan faith than he. His territories form a tongue of land. He has great riches, and his camels and horses are numerous. Exchanges are carried on in his states with silver (and gold) in dust, and there are said to be mines (of these metals) in the country. There is no country in India more safe from robbers.
  By the side of this kingdom lies that of Táfak, which is but a small state. The women are white, and the most beautiful in India. The king lives at peace with his neighbours, because his soldiers are so few. He esteems the Arabs as highly as the Balhará does.
  These three states border on a kingdom called Ruhmi, which is at war with that of Jurz. The king is not held in very high estimation. He is at war with the Balhará as he is with the king of Jurz. His troops are more numerous than those of the Balhara, the king of Jurz, or the king of Táfak. It is said that when he goes out to battle he is followed by about 50,000 elephants. He takes the field only in winter, because elephants cannot endure thirst, and can only go out in the cold season. It is stated that there are from ten to fifteen thousand men in his army who are employed in fulling and washing cloths. There is a stuff made in his country which is not to be found. elsewhere; so fine and delicate is this material that a dress made of it may be passed through a signet-ring. It is made of cotton, and we have seen a piece of it. Trade is carried on by means of kauris, which are the current money of the country. They have gold and silver in the country, aloes, and the stuff called samara, of which madabs are made. The striped bushán or karkaddan is found in this country. It is an animal which has a single horn in the middle of its forehead, and in this horn there is a figure like unto that of a man. * * * * *
  After this kingdom there is another situated in the interior of the country, away from the sea. It is called Káshbín. The people are white, and pierce their ears. They are handsome, and dwell in the wilds and mountains. Afterwards comes a sea, on the shores of which there is a kingdom called Kíranj. Its king is poor and proud. He collects large quantities of amber, and is equally well provided with elephants' teeth. They eat pepper green in this country because it is scarce.
  * * * *
  When the king of Sarandíb dies, his corpse is carried on a low carriage very near the ground, with the head so attached to the back of the vehicle that the occiput touches the ground, and the hair drags in the dust. A woman follows with a broom, who sweeps the dust on to the face of the corpse, and cries out, "O men, behold! This man yesterday was your king; he reigned over you and you obeyed his orders. See now to what he is brought; he has bid farewell to the world, and the angel of death has carried off his soul. Do not allow yourselves to be led astray by the pleasures of this life," and such like words. The ceremony lasts for three days, after which the body is burnt with sandal, camphor and saffron, and the ashes scattered to the winds. All the Indians burn their dead. Sarandíb is the last of the islands dependent on India. Sometimes when the corpse of a king is burnt, his wives cast themselves upon the pile and burn with it; but it is for them to choose whether they will do do so or not.
  In India there are persons who, in accordance with their profession, wander in the woods and mountains, and rarely communicate with the rest of mankind. Sometimes they have nothing to eat but herbs and the fruits of the forest. * * * * * Some of them go about naked. Others stand naked with the face turned to the sun, having nothing on but a panther's skin. In my travels I saw a man in the position I have described; sixteen years afterwards I returned to that country and found him in the same posture. What astonished me was that he was not melted by the heat of the sun.
  In all these kingdoms the nobility is considered to form but one family. Power resides in it alone. The princes name their own Successors. It is the same with learned men and physicians. They form a distinct caste, and the profession never goes out of the caste.
  The princes of India do not recognise the supremacy of any one sovereign. Each one is his own master. Still the Balhará has the title of "king of kings."
  The Chinese are men of pleasure; but the Indians condemn pleasure, and abstain from it. They do not take wine, nor do they take vinegar which is made of wine. This does not arise from religious scruples, but from their disdain of it. They say "The prince who drinks wine is no true king." The Indians are surrounded by enemies, who war against them, and they say "How can a man who inebriates himself conduct the business of a kingdom?"
  The Indians sometimes go to war for conquest, but the occasions are rare. I have never seen the people of one country submit to the authority of another, except in the case of that country which comes next to the country of pepper. When a king subdues a neighbouring state, he places over it a man belonging to the family of the fallen prince, who carries on the government in the name of the conqueror. The inhabitants would not suffer it to be otherwise.
  The principles of the religion of China were derived from India. The Chinese say that the Indians brought buddhas into the country, and that they have been the real masters in matters of religion. In both countries they believe in the metempsychosis, but there are some differences upon matters of detail.
  The troops of the kings of India are numerous, but they do not receive pay. The king assembles them only in case of a religious war. They then come out, and maintain themselves without receiving anything from the king.
  • Observations on the Countries of India and China, and their Sovereigns. Extracts reported in H. M. Elliot and John Dowson, The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians (1871), vol. i, pp. 3–7

External links

• Encyclopedic article on Sulaiman al-Tajir on Wikipedia