The Ports and Portals of the Zelaznids Read online

  [7] French chemist Louis Nicholas Vauquelin discovered this element in 1797.

  [8] As someone who had traveled through several regions of the Ottoman Empire, Huda would have been aware of the habits of the Christian population.

  [9] Ancient sites along the Nile.

  [10] China.

  [11] The kursh (qurush) was the standard silver coin of the Ottoman Empire for centuries; Huda refers to the fact that much of the Gobi Desert consists of rock, rather than sand.

  [12] Swedish explorer Lorenz Lange, in the employ Peter the Great, explored eastern Russia and China (1717-1719), publishing his journal in the 1720s. See Friedrich Christian Weber, The Present State of Russia, Volume 2: Journal of Laurence Lange’s Travels to China (W. Taylor, 1723).

  [13] The Xiongnu or Hsiung-nu ruled a vast region stretching from southern Siberia to areas south of Mongolia, from 209 BCE to 460 CE.

  [14] In some arid regions, people put pebbles in their mouths to stimulate the saliva glands.

  [15] ‘Strange bull.’

  [16] The Himalyas.

  [17] This refers to the Taklamakan Desert, which lies northwest of the Tibetan Plateau. ‘Takla Makan’ literally means “place from which no one returns.”

  [18] Argan, on the Tarim River.

  [19] The Tarim River is unusual in that it is part of an endorheic basin, in which the water is self-contained, feeding into no other river or ocean system. As such, the Tarim River is widest near its source in the Himalayas and narrows as it winds around the western and northern edge of the Taklamakan, losing water through seepage and evaporation.

  [20] Hasalbag, which sits on the Tarim River at the foot of the Himalayas.

  [21] This story seems to be a reference to Heliocles, who ruled the Indo-Bactrian kingdom (northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India) until his death in 130 BCE. The provinces mentioned here devolved into civil war in the years following the king’s death. If Huda’s story is at all true, it suggests that the descendants of Alexander’s army ranged further than historians currently believe.

  [22] The Han Dynasty ruled China (202 BCE – 220 CE).

  [23] They were following a branch of the Tarim, which means that this gorge might have been the Shaksgam River. That would make the peak in question K2, the highest spot on Earth after Everest. If true, then Zelaznu’s journey represents the first known sighting of K2, which was not formally surveyed until 1856.

  [24] Approximately 20 C.E.

  [25] Huda has his facts slightly confused here. The Mongols extended their empire into the western Tarim River basin in 1258 under the command of Kublai, who was at that time one of two generals fighting on behalf of his brother, Möngke. Kublai did not become khan until 1260. The author’s hostility likely stems from the atrocities committed throughout the Near East by the Mongols, namely the destruction of Baghdad in February 1258.

  [26] Qutughai translates loosely as ‘coming from holiness or dignity.’

  [27] Again, this likely refers to the destruction of Baghdad in 1258. Baghdad was, until that time, the capital of the Islamic, thus intensely monotheistic, Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258).

  [28] Mongol God of the Sky.

  [29] Mongol creator deities.

  [30] According to the Mongols, Ot was both the Goddess of Marriage and the Queen of Fire.

  [31] Morin khuur – a type of fiddle native to Mongolia.

  [32] Kashmir.

  [33] The Himalayas are a formidable barrier to weather. This is why the Tarim Basin is largely desert, with snow much more prevalent on the southern and western slopes than on the north and east. Thus from late spring to early autumn it would not be unusual to find fairly little snow in the mountains near Salabad.

  [34] Today the city of Feyzabad is part of the northern Hindu Kush region of northeastern Afghanistan.

  [35] The Ilkanate, tenuously under the control of Kublai Khan and his successors, reached north and west to the vicinity of Kabul, an area which was alternately controlled by the Mongols and various warlords up until the rise of Timur-lung (Tamerlane), ca.1370.

  [36] Muhammad (610-632). Yemen came under his control around 630.

  [37] Jabal an Nabi Shu’ayb (the mountain of Shu’ayb) is the tallest peak in Yemen and stands close the city of Sanaá. Shu’ayb or Shoaib (ca.1550 BCE) was a prophet of Islam mentioned in the Qur’an, said to be the great-grandson of Abraham.

  [38] Huda is slightly mistaken here. The events being described would have occurred in the 500s CE and were related by Abdul Hazred in the mid to late 1200s, yet the Portuguese did not introduce the caravel until the 1400s, when it became the preferred vessel for long-distance sea travel.

  [39] Modern sources usually refer to Abd-al-Hazred as Abdul Alhazred (695-738). Arabic naming standards suggest that Huda’s spelling is likely the correct one.

  [40] The Umayyad Caliphate (661-750) ruled the Muslim empire from their capital, Damascus.

  [41] The Roba El Khaliyeh or ‘Empty Space’ is the name by which ancient Arabs referred to the southern portion of the Arabian Desert. In modern sources it is sometimes also called the ‘Dahna’ or ‘crimson’ desert.

  [42] This lost city and its pillars are mentioned (as Irem, Iram, or Irâm) in several sources, including: the Qur’an, Arabian Nights, and Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat. Subsequent archaeological evidence has linked Irem to the ancient city of Ubar. See Nicholas Clapp, The Road to Ubar: Finding the Atlantis of the Sands (Houghton Mifflin, 1999).

  [43] This is the Necronomicon, which has been variously banned, burned, and lost through the centuries. Abd-al-Hazred composed this infamous work in Damascus around the year 730.

  [44] Although suppressed upon publication, the al-Azif was translated into Greek in 950 by Theodorus Philetas of Constantinople. It was Philetas who gave it the name by which it became widely known: the Necronomicon or “Concerning the Dead.” Under this title, Olaus Wormius translated the work into Latin in 1228. The Greek and Arabic versions have since been lost. Today, the only known copies are in Latin: one copy of a 15th century edition is housed at the British Museum; and four copies of a 17th century edition are kept at the Widener Library at Harvard, the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, the University of Buenos Aires, and at Miskatonic University.

  [45] There are conflicting reports of Abd-al-Hazred’s death. Most colorful is the story related by 13th century biographer Ebn (Ibn) Khallikan, who claimed: “Alhazred was seized by an invisible monster in broad daylight and devoured horribly before a large number of fright-frozen witnesses.” Quoted in H.P. Lovecraft, History of the Necronomicon, (1938).

  [46] Huda seems to forget the Zelaznids who vanished near Sanaá, Yemen. It is possible that he is only including those Zelaznids who still resided in this world.

  [47] As mentioned in the Preface, Ikraam Huda’s father traveled throughout the empire in the administration of his duties. According to the scant biographical data offered by the preface of Earlie Days in the Light (1816), the poet accompanied his father on these travels.

  [48] Baba (“Father”) Hamparsum was the affectionate name by which the Armenian people referred to composer Hampartsoum Limondjian (1768-1839). He was a favorite of Selim III, having tutored the sultan in music.

  [49] Hamparsum collected the Turkish folk songs of the Sufi Dervishes, particularly those of the Mevlevi order.

  [50] The founder of Sufism was Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi (1207-1273), more commonly known as Rumi.

  [51] Rumi’s lifespan corresponds roughly to the time during which the Zelaznids made their way across the Khorasan district. However, the mystic lived there during his youth, while his father was serving as a regional official. By the time the Zelaznids left Sang-e, Rumi was quite elderly and living in Konya (central Turkey), placing him well out of their path. Even so, the fact that this story places the Zelaznids close to where they later settled is suggestive. It is possible that someone else’s encounter only later came to be associated with Rumi.

  [52] Huda may be referring to Rumi�
�s supposed meeting with a people the poet suggests could be the Zelaznids. Again, while there may have been Zelaznids in the area in question, it is highly unlikely that the founder of Sufism encountered them directly.

  [53] The Quizilbash were the armed forces of the Safavids in Persia.

  [54] Shaybani is one name for Abu al’Fath Muhammad (c.1451-1510), an Uzbeki descendant of Genghis Khan who drove the Timurids out of northern Afghanistan.

  [55] Presumably, Huda means that the Zelaznids settled in early spring to plant crops, then uprooted themselves and moved west after harvest each year.

  [56] Constantinople was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire before it became the center of the Byzantine Empire. As such, many in the Middle East referred to the Byzantines as the Rúm (Romans). Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453 and was renamed Istanbul.

  [57] The Battle of Chaldiran (1514).

  [58] Shāh Ismā'il Abu'l-Mozaffar bin Sheikh Haydar bin Sheikh Junayd Safawī (1487-1524), Shia leader and founder of the Safavid Dynasty in Iran.

  [59] The Janissaries, Ottoman infantry formed from the personal guard of the sultan, were the elite troops of the empire from the 14th century until they were abolished in 1826.

  [60] After the battle, Selim I ordered the execution of tens of thousands of Quizilbash. Although the Safavid dynasty would survive into the 19th century, the Ottomans captured Tabriz and much of eastern Iran in the months following the battle.

  [61] Although no nation had yet mastered the use of the submarine, the British, French, and even the American colonists, had built and used underwater ships for military purposes, largely without success.

  [62] The Tigris and Euphrates.

  [63] “Sag-giga” is the name the Sumerians gave themselves; it means ‘black-headed people.’

  [64] The Sumerians, who emerged in Sumer in the late 5000s BCE, may have been the first organized civilization but they were not the earliest culture. That distinction belongs to the Ubaid or Eridu peoples of southern Iraq.

  [65] Huda’s theory that the Sumerians came from another ‘port’, while ridiculous, may have some basis in fact. Early accounts describe the Sumerians as unusually dark-skinned, while Berossus (Babyloniaca, ca. 290-278 BCE) specifically referred to them as "black-faced foreigners”. In light of this, it is possible that the Sumerians migrated there, perhaps from the central coast of Africa.

  [66] This is likely a reference to the writings of Abdul Alhazred, particularly in the al-Aziz.

  [67] Bilgames, or Gilgamesh, was the fifth king of Uruk (ca.2700 BCE) who is said to have built that city’s great walls. He became the inspiration for the Epic of Gilgamesh, which portrays the king as part god. See Epic of Gilgamesh, Benjamin R. Foster, trans. (W.W. Norton & Co., 2001).

  [68] The ancient Egyptians developed the earliest glasslike substance, known as faience.

  [69] Most historians actually believe that the pyramids were built (with the assistance of ramps and pulleys) by free farmers rather than slaves. However, recent scans of the pyramids using electron microscopy have revealed structural anomalies more consistent with concrete than quarried stone. Though it has not been proven, the concrete theory would explain how the Egyptians managed such precise construction with the tools at hand. If true, then the Egyptians were at least 2000 years ahead of the Romans in the use of concrete. For more on this study, see M.W. Barsoum, A. Ganguly, and G. Hug, “Microstructural Evidence of Reconstituted Limestone Blocks in the Great Pyramids of Egypt”, Journal of the American Ceramic Society, Vol.89, Issue 12, 3788-3796.

  [70] Crete.

  [71] Minos. According to recently-deciphered ancient tablets written in Linear A, this mythical founder of the Minoans was called ‘mwi-nu ro-ja’ (Minos the King). However, as Linear A has not been fully translated in Huda’s time, it is unclear how he came across this variation of the king’s name.

  [72] Legends state that Minos was the son of Europa and Zeus. According to the myth, Zeus took the form of a white bull, kidnapped Europa, and took her to Crete where he made her the first queen of that island. While this tale conforms little to historical fact, it is worth noting that Minoan society was matriarchal in many respects.

  [73] Myths also mention a subterranean labyrinth, reputedly guarded by the man-bull or Minotaur. This legend appears to have greatly influenced the Zelaznids, Huda, or both.

  [74] This describes the great palace of Knossus, which would have been built sometime later, even presuming the actual existence of Minos. Of note were the palace’s elaborate mosaics, grain storage facilities, and indoor plumbing (dating to approximately 1500 BCE).

  [75] The ancient Greek Monists (Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Heraclitus, and Parmenides) were pre-Socratic natural philosophers who believed that the universe was made up of a single element (water, earth, air, or fire). Their work influenced Democritus, who originated atomic theory in the 5th Century BCE.

  [76] Alexander the Great (d.323 BCE). Huda is probably referring to Alexandria in Egypt, though it is worth noting that Alexander founded at least 50 cities named for him; some sources even put the number closer to 70.

  [77] Likely a reference to Aristotle, who spent some time as tutor to Alexander.

  [78] Olympias came from a respected Greek family which claimed to be descended from the legendary, probably mythical, Achilles. While Alexander’s mother, a devotee of the Dionysian Cult, was certainly a mystic, the Zelaznid theory looks like pure speculation.

  [79] In truth, no one knows what became of Alexander’s corpse, although excavations are constantly underway to discover his tomb. Frequent references to the tomb in later primary accounts suggest that his remains were brought to Alexandria, possibly by Ptolemy, the general who inherited control of Egypt and founded the Ptolemaic Dynasty (305 BCE – 30 BCE).

  [80] Eratosthenes invented the armillary sphere for studying the cosmos and calculated the circumference of the Earth.

  [81] Euclid (fl.300 BCE) established important principles of geometry.

  [82] Archimedes (c.287-c.212 BCE) is credited with numerous inventions and theories.

  [83] Ptolemy XIII (62-47 BCE) and Ptolemy XIV (60-44 BCE) were younger brothers of Cleopatra VII (69 BCE – 30 BCE).

  [84] Cleopatra had been co-ruler with their father and then co-ruler/wife for each of her brothers in turn. Her efforts to rule without the input of Ptolemy XIII led him to send her into exile, a banishment that did not end until Julius Caesar arrived on the heels of Pompey in 48 BCE.

  [85] Ptolemy XIII.

  [86] There is debate over how and when the Library of Alexandria was destroyed. It is likely that the structure did not fall all at once, but in stages over a long period of time. The first fire took place during Caesar’s operations in Egypt (48 BCE), but historians disagree over whether the fire was intentional or caused by accident when flames spread from ships that were burning in the harbor.

  [87] Ptolemy XIII.

  [88] Ptolemy XIV.

  [89] Caesar was assassinated March 15, 44 BCE.

  [90] When Rome, the western capital, collapsed in the 5th century, it was technically not the end of the Roman Empire. The eastern capital, Constantinople, became the default center of Roman culture and continued to hold that position for roughly one thousand years as the capital of what became known as the Byzantine Empire.

  [91] Although Rome was sacked several times, Huda is likely referring to the attack on the city by the Visigoths, under the leadership of Alaric, in the year 410.

  [92] Byzantine Emperor, Justinian I (r.527-565).

  [93] Muhammad (ca.570-632).

  [94] Albion is the earliest known name for England, but the Romans generally referred to it as Britannia. Successful invasions by the Germanic Angle and Saxon tribes resulted in the island being called England (Angle-land), after the largest of the invading tribes.

  [95] Strangely enough, England’s climate at the time of the Romans was more like that in the south of France. Many wealthy Romans built the equivalent of vacati
on homes there to take advantage of the pleasant weather.

  [96] Ǽlle, ruler of Sussex (r.477-514).

  [97] Pevensey Castle (ca. 491).

  [98] Arcturus is the third brightest star in the night sky, the brightest star in the constellation of Boötes (the Bear).

  [99] There are numerous versions of the story of King Arthur. Though Huda places his Arthur in the proper timeframe, most scholars reject the concept of an historical Arthur.

  [100] This is a curious passage, as Huda is the first person we know of who has drawn a familial connection between these individuals. Myrddin Wyllt reputedly went mad during a battle in 573, after which he lived in the forest and developed a gift for prophecy. Taliesin (ca.534-599) was a legendary wizard and bard, later tied to the tales of King Arthur. No contemporary sources mention Emlyn. It is possible that the story of ‘Merlin’ was drawn from the lives of these three individuals.

  [101] There remains debate over where, when, and even if the Battle of Mount Badon (Mons Badonicus) took place.

  [102] Even if we assume that the Battle of Mount Badon was an actual event, Huda is mistaken about his dates. Gildas, the English cleric and historian, was born in 516, two years after the death of Ǽlle (Ǽlah). See The Works of Nennius and Gildas (James Bohn, 1861).

  [103] Cissa claimed lordship over the Saxons upon the death of his father, Ǽlle.

  [104] Possible sources for the legends of Guinevere and Mordred.

  [105] The earliest sources date the Battle of Camlann (Cad Camlan) to 537. See The Works of Nennius and Gildas.

  [106] Possibly Abdur Rahman bin Awf (d.652), who advised the first three caliphs after the death of Muhammad, the so-called Rashidun “Rightly-Guided” Caliphs: Abu Bakr (632-634), Umar (634-644), and Uthman (644-656).

  [107] Refers to the Aztecs or the Mayans, possibly both.

  [108] Jeanne d’Arc (c.1412-1431).

  [109] For a similar theory, see George Eaton, “Maid of Mars: Speculations on the Origins of Joan of Arc’s Military Knowledge”, unpublished manuscript (2007).

  [110] Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519).