PUBLIC RECITATIONS OF ROMANCES—_continued_.
Next in point of number to the Shó’ara, among the public reciters of
romances, are those who are particularly and solely distinguished by the
appellation of “Mohadditeen,” or Story-tellers (in the singular,
“Mohaddit”). There are said to be about thirty of them in Cairo. The
exclusive subject of their narrations is a work called “The Life of
Ez-Záhir” (“Seeret Ez-Záhir,” or “Es-Seereh ez-Záhireeyeh”[497]). They
recite without book.
The Seeret Ez-Záhir is a romance founded on the history of the famous
Sultán Ez-Záhir Beybars, and many of his contemporaries. This prince
acceded to the throne of Egypt in the last month of the year of the
Flight 658, and died in the first month of the year 676; and
consequently reigned a little more than seventeen years, according to
the lunar reckoning, commencing A.D. 1260, and ending in 1277. Complete
copies of the Seeret Ez-Záhir have become so scarce that I have only
heard of one existing in Egypt, which I have purchased: it consists of
six quarto volumes; but is nominally divided into ten; and is made up of
volumes of several different copies. The author and his age are unknown.
The work is written in the most vulgar style of modern Egyptian Arabic;
but as it was intended for the vulgar, it is likely that copyists may
have altered and modernized the language. The oldest volumes of my copy
of it were written a few years more or less than a century ago. To
introduce my reader to some slight acquaintance with this work, I shall
insert a translation of a few pages at the commencement of the second
volume; but, by way of introduction, I must say something of the
contents of the first volume.
A person named ’Alee Ibn-El-Warrákah, being commissioned to procure
memlooks from foreign countries, by El-Melik Es-Sáleh (a famous Sultán
of Egypt, and a celebrated welee), is related to have purchased
seventy-five memlooks in Syria; and to have added to them, immediately
after, the principal hero of this romance, a youth named Mahmood
(afterwards called Beybars), a captive son of Sháh Jakmak (or Gakmak)
King of Khuwárezm. ’Alee was soon after obliged to give Mahmood to one
of his creditors at Damascus, in lieu of a debt; and this person
presented him to his wife, to wait upon her son, a deformed idiot; but
he remained not long in this situation: the sister of his new master,
paying a visit to his wife, her sister-in-law, found her about to beat
the young memlook, for having neglected the idiot, and suffered him to
fall from a bench: struck with the youth’s countenance, as strongly
resembling a son whom she had lost, and pitying his condition, she
purchased him of her brother, adopted him, gave him the name of Beybars,
which was that of her deceased son, and made him master of her whole
property, which was very great. This lady was called the sitt Fát’meh
Bint-El-Akwásee (daughter of the bow-maker). Beybars showed himself
worthy of her generosity; exhibiting many proofs of a noble disposition,
and signalizing himself by numerous extraordinary achievements, which
attracted general admiration, but rendered him obnoxious to the jealousy
and enmity of the Básha of Syria, ’Eesa En-Násiree, who contrived many
plots to ensnare him, and to put him to death. After a time,
Negm-ed-Deen, a Wezeer of Es-Sáleh, and husband of a sister of the sitt
Fát’meh, came on an embassy to Damascus, and to visit his sister-in-law.
On his return to Egypt, Beybars accompanied him thither; and there he
was promoted to offices of high dignity by Es-Sáleh, and became a
particular favourite of the chief Wezeer, Sháheen El-Afram. The events
which immediately followed the death of Es-Sáleh are thus related.
“After the death of El-Melik Es-Sáleh Eiyoob, the Wezeer Eybek called
together an assembly in his house, and brought thither the Emeer
Kala-oon and his partisans: and the Wezeer Eybek said to the Emeer
Kala-oon, ‘To-morrow we will go up to the deewán with our troops, and
either I will be Sultán or thou shalt be.’ The Emeer Kala-oon answered,
‘So let it be:’ and they agreed to do this. In like manner, the Wezeer
Sháheen El-Afram also assembled the Emeer Eydemr El-Bahluwán and his
troops, and all the friends and adherents of the Emeer Beybars, and said
to them, ‘To-morrow, arm yourselves, and go up to the deewán; for it is
our desire to make the Emeer Beybars Sultán; since El-Melik Es-Sáleh
Eiyoob wrote for him a patent appointing him to the sovereignty;’ and
they answered, ‘On the head and the eye.’ So they passed the night, and
rose in the morning, and went up to the deewán; and there went thither
also the Wezeer Eybek Et-Turkamánee, with his troops, and the Emeer
Kala-oon El-Elfee, with his troops, and the Emeer ’Aláy-ed-Deen (or
’Alá-ed-Deen) El-Beyseree, with his troops, all of them armed. The Emeer
Beybars likewise went up to the deewán, with his troops; and the deewán
was crowded with soldiers. Then said the Wezeer Sháheen, ‘Rise, O
Beybars; sit upon the throne, and become Sultán; for thou hast a patent
appointing thee to the sovereignty.’ The Emeer Beybars answered, ‘I have
no desire for the sovereignty: here is present the Wezeer Eybek, and
here is Kala-oon: make one of them Sultán.’ But the Wezeer Sháheen said,
‘It cannot be: no one shall reign but thou.’ Beybars replied, ‘By thy
head, I will not reign.’ ‘As he pleases,’ said the Wezeer Eybek.—‘Is the
sovereignty to be conferred by force?’—‘As he pleases.’ The Wezeer
Sháheen said, ‘And is the throne to remain unoccupied, with no one to
act as Sultán?’ The Wezeer Eybek answered, ‘Here are _we_ present; and
here is the Emeer Kala-oon: whosoever will reign, let him reign.’ The
Emeer ’Ezzed-Deen El-Hillee said, ‘O Wezeer Sháheen, the son of El-Melik
Es-Sáleh is living.’ The Emeer Beybars asked, ‘Es-Sáleh has left a son?’
The Kurds[498] answered, ‘Yes; and his name is ’Eesa: he is at
El-Karak.’ ‘And why,’ said the Wezeer Sháheen, ‘were ye silent
respecting him?’ They replied, ‘We were silent for no other reason than
this, that he drinks wine.’ ‘Does he drink wine?’ said the Wezeer
Sháheen. The Kurds answered, ‘Yes.’ The Emeer Beybars said, ‘May our
Lord bring him to repentance!’ ‘Then,’ said the soldiers, ‘we must go to
the city of El-Karak, and bring him thence, and make him Sultán.’ The
Wezeer Sháheen said to them, ‘Take the Emeer Beybars with you:’ but
Eybek and Kala-oon answered, ‘We will go before him, and wait for him
there until he come.’ The Emeer Beybars said, ‘So let it be.’
“Upon this, the Wezeer Eybek and Kala-oon and ’Aláy-ed-Deen El-Beyseree,
and their troops, went down from the deewán and arranged their affairs,
and on the following day caused their tents to be brought out, with
their provisions, and pitched outside the ’A’dileeyeh.[499] Now the
Wezeer Sháheen knew that the troops wished to create a dissension
between the king (El-Melik) ’Eesa and Beybars. So the Wezeer Sháheen
went down from the deewán, and took the Emeer Beybars with him, and went
to his house, and said to him, ‘What hast thou perceived in the
departing of the troops before thee?’ He answered, ‘Those persons detest
me; for they are bearers of hatred; but I extol the perfection of Him
who is all-knowing with respect to secret things.’ The Wezeer said to
him, ‘My son, it is their desire to go before thee that they may create
a dissension between thee and El-Melik ’Eesa.’ The Emeer Beybars said,
‘There is no power nor strength but in God, the High, the Great!’ The
Wezeer said to him, ‘O Beybars, it is my wish to send ’Osmán
Ibn-El-Hebla[500] and Mohammad Ibn-Kámil, the Dromedarist, before the
troops; and whatever may happen, they will inform us of it.’ Beybars
answered, ‘So let it be.’ Accordingly, he sent them; and said to them,
‘Go before the troops to the castle of El-Karak, and whatever may happen
between them and El-Melik ’Eesa inform us of it.’ They answered, ‘It is
our duty,’ and they departed. Then said the Wezeer Sháheen, ‘O Beybars,
as to thee, do thou journey to Esh-Shám,[501] and stay in the house of
thy (adoptive) mother, the sitt Fát’meh Bint-El-Akwásee; and do not go
out of the house until I shall have sent to thee ’Osmán.’ He answered,
‘It is right.’ So the Emeer Beybars rose, and went to his house, and
passed the night, and got up in the morning, and set out on his journey
to Esh-Shám, and took up his abode in the house of his mother, the sitt
Fát’meh Bint-El-Akwásee. We shall have to speak of him again presently.
“As to ’Osmán Ibn-El-Hebla and Mohammad Ibn-Kámil, the Dromedarist, they
journeyed until they entered the castle of El-Karak, and inquired for
the residence of El-Melik ’Eesa, the son of El-Melik Es-Sáleh Eiyoob.
Some persons conducted them to the house; and they entered; and the
attendants there asked them what was their business. They informed them
that they were from Masr, and that they wished to have an interview with
El-Melik ’Eesa, the son of El-Melik Es-Sáleh Eiyoob. The attendants went
and told the kikhya, who came and spoke to them; and they acquainted him
with their errand: so he went and told El-Melik ’Eesa, saying, ‘Two men
are come to thee from Masr, and wish to have an interview with thee: the
one is named ’Osmán; and the other, Mohammad Ibn-Kámil, the
Dromedarist.’ The King said, ‘Go, call ’Osmán.’ The kikhya returned, and
took him, and brought him to El-Melik ’Eesa; and ’Osmán looked towards
the King, and saw him sitting tippling; and before him was a
candelabrum, and a handsome memlook was serving him with wine; and he
was sitting by a fountain surrounded by trees. Osmán said, ‘Mayst thou
be in the keeping of God, O King ’Eesa!’ The King answered, ‘Ho!
welcome, O ’Osmán! Come, sit down and drink.’ ’Osmán exclaimed, ‘I beg
forgiveness of God! I am a repentant.’ The King said, ‘Obey me, and
oppose me not.’ Then ’Osmán sat down; and the King said to him, ‘Why,
the door of repentance is open.’ And ’Osmán drank until he became
intoxicated.
“Now Eybek and Kala-oon and ’Aláy-ed-Deen and their troops journeyed
until they beheld the city of El-Karak, and pitched their tents, and
entered the city, and inquired for the house of El-Melik ’Eesa. The
people conducted them to the house, and they entered; and the attendants
asked them what was their object: they answered, that they were the
troops of Masr, and wished to have an interview with El-Melik ’Eesa. The
attendants went and told the kikhya, who came, and received them, and
conducted them to the hall of audience, where they sat down, while he
went and informed El-Melik ’Eesa, saying to him, ‘Come and speak to the
troops of Masr who have come to thee.’ The King rose, and went to the
troops, and accosted them; and they rose, and kissed his hand, and sat
down again. El-Melik ’Eesa then said to them, ‘For what purpose have ye
come?’ They answered, ‘We have come to make thee Sultán in Masr.’ He
said, ‘My father, El-Melik Es-Sáleh, is he not Sultán?’ They replied,
‘The mercy of God, whose name be exalted, be on him! Thy father has died
a victim of injustice: may our Lord avenge him on him who killed him!’
He asked, ‘Who killed him?’ They answered, ‘One whose name is Beybars
killed him.’ ‘And where is Beybars?’ said he. They replied, ‘He is not
yet come: we came before him.’ ‘Even so,’ said he. They then sat with
him, aspersing Beybars in his absence: and they passed the night there;
and, rising on the following morning, said to El-Melik ’Eesa, ‘It is our
wish to go out, and remain in the camp; for Sháheen, the Wezeer of thy
father, is coming, with the Emeer Beybars; and if they see us with thee,
they will accuse us of bringing to thee the information respecting
Beybars.’ He answered, ‘Good:’ so they went forth to the camp, and
remained there.
“The Wezeer Sháheen approached with his troops, and encamped, and saw
the other troops in their camp; but he would not ask them any questions,
and so entered the city, and went to El-Melik ’Eesa, who said to him,
‘Art thou Beybars, who poisoned my father?’ He answered, ‘I am the
Wezeer Sháheen, the Wezeer of thy father.’ The King said, ‘And where is
Beybars, who poisoned my father?’ The Wezeer replied, ‘Thy father
departed by a natural death to await the mercy of his Lord: and who told
thee that Beybars poisoned thy father?’ The King answered, ‘The troops
told me.’ ‘Beybars,’ said the Wezeer, ‘is in Esh-Shám: go thither, and
charge him in the deewán with having poisoned thy father, and bring
proof against him.’ So the Wezeer perceived that the troops had been
plotting.
“The Wezeer Sháheen then went, with his troops, outside the camp; and
Mohammad Ibn-Kámil the Dromedarist came to him, and kissed his hand. The
Wezeer asked him respecting ’Osmán. He answered, ‘I have no tidings of
him.’ Meanwhile, El-Melik ’Eesa went to ’Osmán, and said to him, ‘The
Wezeer is come with his troops, and they are outside the camp.’ So
’Osmán rose, and, reeling as he went, approached the tents; and the
Wezeer Sháheen saw him, and perceived that he was drunk, and called to
him. ’Osmán came. The Wezeer smelt him, seized him, and inflicted upon
him the ‘hadd’;[502] and said to him, ‘Didst thou not vow to relinquish
the drinking of wine?’ ’Osmán answered, ’El-Melik ’Eesa, whom ye are
going to make Sultán, invited me.’ The Wezeer said, ‘I purpose writing a
letter for you to take and give to the Emeer Beybars.’ ’Osmán replied,
‘Good.’ So the Wezeer wrote the letter, and ’Osmán took it and departed,
and entered Esh-Shám, and went to the house of the sitt Fát’meh, and
gave it to his master, who read it, and found it to contain as
follows.—‘After salutations—from his excellency the Grand Wezeer, the
Wezeer Sháheen El-Afram, to his honour the Emeer Beybars. Know that the
troops have aspersed thee, and created dissensions between thee and
El-Melik ’Eesa; and accused thee of having poisoned his father, El-Melik
Es-Sáleh Eiyoob. Now, on the arrival of this paper, take care of
thyself, and go not out of the house, unless I shall have sent to thee.
And the conclusion of the letter is, that ’Osmán got drunk in the castle
of El-Karak.’—Beybars was vexed with ’Osmán, and said to him, ‘Come
hither and receive a present:’ and he stretched forth his hand, and laid
hold of him. ’Osmán said, ‘What ails thee?’ Beybars exclaimed, ‘Did I
not make thee vow to relinquish the drinking of wine?′ ‘Has he told
thee?’ asked ’Osmán. ‘I will give thee a treat,’ said Beybars: and he
took him, and threw him down, and inflicted upon him the ‘hadd.’ ‘How is
it,’ said ’Osmán, ‘that the king whom you are going to make Sultán I
found drinking wine?’ Beybars answered, ‘If one has transgressed, must
thou transgress?’ ‘And is this,’ asked ’Osmán, ‘the hadd ordained by
God?’ Beybars answered, ‘Yes.’ ‘Then,’ said ’Osmán, ‘the hadd which
Aboo-Farmeh[503] inflicted upon me is a loan, and a debt which must be
repaid him.’ Beybars then said, ‘The troops have created a dissension
between me and El-Melik ’Eesa; and have accused me of poisoning his
father, El-Melik Es-Sáleh.’ ‘I beg the forgiveness of God,’ said ’Osmán.
‘Those fellows detest thee; but no harm will come to us from them.’
Beybars said, ‘O ’Osmán, call together the sáïses,[504] and arm them,
and let them remain in the lane of the cotton-weavers,[505] and not
suffer any troops to enter.’ ’Osmán answered, ‘On the head and the eye:’
and he assembled the sáïses, and armed them, and made them stand in two
rows: then he took a seat, and sat in the court of the house. The Emeer
Beybars also armed all his troops, and placed them in the court of the
house.
“As to El-Melik ’Eesa, he mounted his horse, and departed with the
troops, and journeyed until he entered Esh-Shám; when he went in
procession to the deewán, and sat upon the throne, and inquired of the
King[506] of Syria respecting Beybars. The King of Syria answered, ‘He
is in the lane of the cotton-weavers, in the house of his mother.’
El-Melik ’Eesa said, ‘O Sháheen, who will go and bring him?’ The Wezeer
answered, ‘Send to him the Emeer ’Aláy-ed-Deen El-Beyseree.’ So he sent
him. The Emeer descended, and went to the lane of the cotton-weavers.
’Osmán saw him, and cried out to him, ‘Dost thou remember, thou son of a
vile woman, the chicken which thou atest?’[507] He then struck him with
a mace: the Emeer fell from his horse; and ’Osmán gave him a
bastinading. He returned, and informed the king; and the King ’Eesa said
again, ‘O Sháheen, who will go and bring Beybars?’ The Wezeer answered,
‘Send to him the Wezeer Eybek.’ The King said, ‘Rise, O Wezeer Eybek,
and go, call Beybars:’ but Eybek said, ‘No one can bring him, excepting
the Wezeer.’ Then said El-Melik ’Eesa, ‘Rise, O Wezeer Sháheen, and
bring Beybars.’ The Wezeer answered, ‘On the head and the eye; but,
before I bring him, tell me, wilt thou deal with him according to law,
or by arbitrary power?’ The King said, ‘By law.’ Then said the Wezeer
Sháheen, ‘So let it be: and I spake not thus from any other motive than
because I fear for thyself and the troops, lest blood be shed: for
Beybars is very stubborn, and has many troops; and I fear for the army;
for he is himself equal to the whole host: therefore, bring accusation
against him, and prove by law that he poisoned thy father.’ The King
said, ‘So let it be.’
“Then the Wezeer Sháheen descended from the deewán, and went to the lane
of the cotton-weavers. ’Osmán saw him, and said, ‘Thou hast fallen into
the snare, O Aboo-Farmeh! the time of payment is come; and the debt must
be returned to the creditor. Dost thou know how to give me a
bastinading?’ The Wezeer said, ‘My dream which I saw has proved true.’
‘What was thy dream?’ asked ’Osmán. ‘I dreamed,’ said the Wezeer, ‘last
night, that I was travelling, and some Arabs attacked me, and surrounded
me, and I was straitened by them; and I saw thy master, the Emeer
Beybars, upon a mount; and I called out to him, Come to me, O Emeer
Beybars! and he knew me.’ The Wezeer Sháheen calling out thus, the Emeer
Beybars heard him, and came down running, with his sword in hand; and
found ’Osmán and the sáïses surrounding the Wezeer. He exclaimed,
‘’Osmán!’ and ’Osmán said, ‘He gave me a bastinading in the city of
El-Karak; and I want to return it.’ The Emeer Beybars sharply
reprimanded him. ‘And so,’ said ’Osmán to the Wezeer, ‘thou hast found a
way of escape.’ The Wezeer Sháheen then said, ‘O Emeer Beybars, El-Melik
’Eesa hath sent me to thee: he intends to prefer an accusation against
thee in the deewán of Esh-Shám, charging thee with having poisoned his
father. Now, do thou arm all thy soldiers, and come to the deewán, and
fear not; but say that which shall clear thee.’ Beybars answered, ‘So
let it be.’ He then armed all his soldiers, and went up to the deewán,
and kissed the hand of El-Melik ’Eesa; who said to him, ‘Art thou the
Emeer Beybars, who poisoned my father?’ Beybars answered, ‘Prove against
me that I poisoned thy father, and bring the charge before the judge,
and adduce evidence: the Kádee is here.’ The King said, ‘I have evidence
against thee.’ Beybars said, ‘Let us see.’ ‘Here,’ said the King, ‘are
the Wezeer Eybek and Kala-oon and ’Aláy-ed-Deen.’ The Emeer Beybars
asked them, ‘Do ye bear witness against me that I poisoned El-Melik
Es-Sáleh?’ They answered, ‘Never: we neither saw it, nor do we know
anything of the matter.’ The Kádee said, ‘Hast thou any witnesses beside
those?’ The King replied, ‘None: no one informed me but they.’ The Kádee
said, ‘O King, those men are hypocrites, and detest the Emeer Beybars.’
El-Melik ’Eesa thereupon became reconciled with the Emeer Beybars, and
said to his attendants, ‘Bring a kaftán.’ They brought one. He said to
them, ‘Invest with it the Emeer Beybars;’ and added, ‘I appoint thee, O
Beybars, commander-in-chief of the army.’ But Beybars said, ‘I have no
desire for the dignity, and will put on no kaftáns.’ The King asked,
‘Why, Sir?’ Beybars answered, ‘Because I have been told that thou
drinkest wine.’ The King said, ‘I repent.’ ’So let it be,’ said Beybars:
and the King vowed repentance to Beybars: and the Emeer Beybars said, ‘I
make a condition with thee, O King, that if thou drink wine, I inflict
upon thee the “hadd;”’ and the King replied, ‘It is right.’ Upon this
the King invested the Emeer Beybars with a kaftán; and a feast was made;
and guns were fired; and festivities were celebrated: and they remained
in Esh-Shám three days.
“El-Melik ’Eesa then gave orders for departure; and performed the first
day’s journey. On the second day they came to a valley, celebrated as a
halting-place of the Prophet, the Director in the way to heaven: in it
were trees, and brooks, and birds which sang the praises of the King,
the Mighty, the Pardoner. El-Melik ’Eesa said, ‘Pitch the tents here: we
will here pass the night.’ So they pitched the tents. And the day
departed with its brightness, and the night came with its darkness: but
the Everlasting remaineth unchanged: the stars shone; and God, the
Living, the Self-subsisting, looked upon the creation. It was the period
of the full moon; and the King felt a longing to drink wine by the side
of the brook and greensward: so he called to Abu-l-Kheyr, who came to
him, and kissed his hand. The King said to him, ’Abu-l-Kheyr, I have a
longing to drink wine.’ The servant answered, ‘Hast thou not vowed
repentance to the Emeer Beybars?’ The King said, ‘The door of repentance
is open; so do thou obey me:’ and he gave him ten pieces of gold. The
servant then went to a convent; and brought him thence a large bottle:
and the King said to him, ‘If thou see the Emeer Beybars coming, call
out _hay!_ and as long as thou dost not see him, call _clover!_’ The
servant answered, ‘Right:’ and he filled a cup, and handed it to the
King. Now, ’Osmán was by the tents: and he came before the pavilion of
El-Melik ’Eesa; and saw him sitting drinking wine: so he went, and told
his master, the Emeer Beybars. Beybars came. Abu-l-Kheyr saw him coming
from a tent, and called out to the King, ‘_Hay! hay!_’ The King
immediately threw the cup into the brook; Abu-l-Kheyr removed the
bottle; and the King set himself to praying: and when he had pronounced
the salutation [which terminates the prayers], he turned his eyes, and
saw the Emeer Beybars, and said to him, ‘Wherefore art thou come at this
hour? Go, sleep: it is late.’ Beybars answered, ‘I have come to ask thee
whether we shall continue our journey now, or to-morrow morning.’ The
King said, ‘To-morrow morning.’ And the Emeer Beybars returned, vexed
with ’Osmán; and said to him, ‘O ’Osmán, didst thou not tell me that the
King was sitting drinking wine? Now I have been, and found him praying.
Dost thou utter a falsehood against the Sultán?’ ’Osmán answered, ‘Like
as he has smoothed it over, do thou also: no matter.’ Beybars was
silent.
“They passed the night there; and on the following morning El Melik
’Eesa gave orders for departure. They journeyed towards Masr; and when
they had arrived at the ’A′dileeyeh, and pitched their tents, the Emeer
Beybars said, ‘O our lord the Sultán, we have now arrived at Masr.’ The
King answered, ‘I desire, O Beybars, to visit the tomb of the Imám
[Esh-Sháfe’ee].’ Beybars said, ‘The thing is right, O our lord the
Sultán: to-morrow I will conduct thee to visit the Imám.’ They remained
that night at the ’A’dileeyeh; and on the following morning the Sultán
rode in procession to visit the Imám, and returned in procession, and
visited the tomb of his father, El-Melik Es-Sáleh Eiyoob; and then went
in state to the Citadel: and the ’Ulama went up thither, and inaugurated
him as sovereign, and conducted him into the armoury; and he drew out
from thence a sword, upon which was inscribed ‘El-Melik
El-Mo’azzam:’[508] wherefore they named him ‘’Eesa El-Mo’azzam.’ They
coined the money with his name, and prayed for him on the pulpits of the
mosques; and he invested with kaftáns the soldiers and the Emeer
Beybars, the commander-in-chief. The Sultán then wrote a patent,
conferring the sovereignty, after himself, upon the Emeer Beybars, to be
King and Sultán. So the Emeer Beybars had two patents conferring upon
him the sovereignty; the patent of El-Melik Es-Sáleh Eiyoob, and the
patent of El-Melik ’Eesa El-Mo’azzam. Eybek and Kala-oon and
’Aláy-ed-Deen and their partisans, who hated Beybars, were grieved at
this; but his friends rejoiced. The troops descended from the deewán,
and went to their houses; and in like manner the Emeer Beybars descended
in procession, and went to his house by the Kanátir es-Sibáa.
“Now the queen Shegeret-ed-Durr sent to El-Melik ’Eesa El-Mo’azzam. He
went to her palace. She kissed his hand; and he said to her, ‘Who art
thou?’ She answered, ‘The wife of thy father, El-Melik Es-Sáleh.’ ‘And
what is thy name?’ said he. She replied, ‘The Queen Fátimeh
Shegeret-ed-Durr.’ He exclaimed, ‘Oh! welcome! pray for me then.’ She
said, ‘God bring thee to repentance!’ She then gave him a charge
respecting the Emeer Beybars; saying, ‘Thy father loved him above all
the chiefs, and entered into a covenant with him before God; and I,
also, made a covenant with him before God.’ He answered, ‘O Queen, by
thy life, I have written for him a patent conferring upon him the
sovereignty after me.’ She said, ‘And thy father, also, wrote for him a
patent, conferring upon him the sovereignty.’ The King then said to her,
‘Those chiefs created a dissension between me and him; and asserted that
he poisoned my father.’ She said, ‘I beg God’s forgiveness! They hate
him.’ After this the Queen remained chatting with him a short time; and
he went to his saloon, and passed the night, and rose.
“On the following day he held a court; and the hall was filled with
troops. And he winked to Abu-l-Kheyr, and said, ‘Give me to drink.’ Now
he had said to him the day before, ‘To-morrow, when I hold my court, and
say to thee, Give me to drink, bring me a water-bottle full of wine.’ So
when El-Melik ’Eesa sat upon the throne, and the court, filled with
troops, resembled a garden, the troops resembling the branches of
plants, he felt a longing to drink wine, and said to Abu-l-Kheyr, ‘Give
me to drink;’ and winked to him; and he brought to him the water-bottle;
and he drank, and returned it. Then he sat a little longer, and said
again, ‘Give me to drink, O Abu-l-Kheyr;’ and the servant brought the
bottle; and he drank, and gave it back. He sat a little longer; and
again he said, ‘Give me to drink.’ Kala-oon said, ‘O ’Aláy-ed-Deen, it
seems that the Sultán has breakfasted upon kawárë’.’[509] Upon this the
Wezeer Sháheen asked him, ‘What hast thou eaten?’ The King answered, ‘My
stomach is heated and flatulent.’ The Wezeer, however, perceived the
smell of wine; and was vexed. The court then broke up; and the troops
descended. The Wezeer Sháheen also descended, and took with him the
Emeer Beybars to his house, and said to him, ‘May God take retribution
from thee, O Beybars.’ Beybars said, ‘Why?’ The Wezeer answered,
‘Because thou didst not accept the sovereignty.’ ‘But for what reason
sayest thou this?’ asked Beybars. The Wezeer said, ‘The Sultán to-day
drank wine, while sitting upon the throne, three times. When the Vicar
of God, in administering the law, intoxicates himself, his decisions are
null, and he has not any right to give them.’ Beybars replied, ‘I made a
condition with him, that if he drank wine, I should inflict upon him the
“hadd”; and wrote a document to that effect in Esh-Shám.’ ‘To-morrow,’
said the Wezeer, ‘when he holds his court, observe him; and take the
water-bottle, and see what is in it. I perceived his smell.’ Beybars
answered, ‘It is right:’ and he arose, and went to his house sorrowful.
And he passed the night, and rose, and went to the court, and found it
filled with troops; and he kissed the hand of the Sultán, and sat in his
place. Presently the Sultán said, ‘Give me to drink, O Abu-l-Kheyr:’ and
the servant brought the water-bottle; and the Sultán drank. Beybars took
hold of the water-bottle; and said, ‘Give me to drink.’ The servant
answered, ‘This is medicinal water.’ ‘No harm,’ said Beybars: ‘I have a
desire for it.’ ‘It is rose-water,’ said the servant. Beybars said,
‘Good:’ and he took the bottle; and said, ‘Bring a basin.’ A basin was
brought; and he poured into it the contents of the bottle before the
troops; and they saw that it was wine. Then said the Emeer Beybars to
the Sultán, ‘Is it allowed thee by God to be His Vicar, and to
intoxicate thyself? Did I not make thee vow to relinquish the drinking
of wine, and say to thee, If thou drink it I will inflict upon thee the
“hadd;” and did I not write a document to that effect in Esh-Shám?’ The
Sultán answered, ‘It is a habit decreed against me, O Beybars.’ Beybars
exclaimed, ‘God is witness, O ye troops!’ and he took the Sultán, and
beat him; and he was unconscious, by reason of the wine that he had
drunk; and he loosed him, and departed from him, and went to his house.”
The second volume proceeds to relate the troubles which befell Beybars
in consequence of his incurring the displeasure of El-Melik ’Eesa by the
conduct just described; his restoration to the favour of that prince;
and his adventures during the reigns of the subsequent Sultáns, Khaleel
El-Ashraf, Es-Sáleh the youth, Eybek (his great and inveterate enemy),
and El-Mudaffar; and then, his own accession to the sovereignty. The
succeeding volumes contain narratives of his wars in Syria and other
countries; detailing various romantic achievements, and the exploits of
the “Fedáweeyeh,” or “Fedáwees,” of his time. The term Fedáwee, which is
now vulgarly understood to signify any warrior of extraordinary courage
and ability, literally and properly means a person who gives, or is
ready to give, his life as a ransom for his companions, or for their
cause; and is here applied to a class of warriors who owned no
allegiance to any sovereign unless to a chief of their own choice; the
same class who are called, in our histories of the Crusades,
“Assassins:” which appellation the very learned orientalist De Sacy has,
I think, rightly pronounced to be a corruption of “Hashshásheen,” a name
derived from their making frequent use of the intoxicating hemp, called
“hasheesh.” The romance of Ez-Záhir affords confirmation of the
etymology given by De Sacy; but suggests a different explanation of it:
the Fedáweeyeh being almost always described in this work as making use
of “beng” (a term applied to hemp, and also to henbane, which, in the
present day, is often mixed with hasheesh) to make a formidable enemy or
rival their prisoner, by disguising themselves, inviting him to eat,
putting the drug into his food or drink, and thus causing him speedily
to fall into a deep sleep, so that they were able to bind him at their
leisure, and convey him whither they would.[510] The chief of these
warriors is “Sheehah,” called “Sultán el-Kiláa wa-l-Hosoon” (or “Sultán
of the Castles and Fortresses”), who is described as almost constantly
engaged, and generally with success, in endeavouring to reduce all the
Fedáwees to allegiance to himself and to Beybars. From his adroitness in
disguises and plots, his Proteus-like character, his name has become a
common appellation of persons of a similar description. Another of the
more remarkable characters in this romance is “Guwán”(or John), a
European Christian, who, having deeply studied Muslim law, succeeds in
obtaining, and retains for a few years, the office of Kádee of the
Egyptian metropolis; and is perpetually plotting against Beybars,
Sheehah, and other Muslim chiefs.
Much of the entertainment derived from recitations of this work depends
upon the talents of the Mohaddit; who often greatly improves the stories
by his action, and by witty introductions of his own invention.
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Footnote 497:
Hence the Mohadditeen are sometimes called “Záhireeyeh.”
Footnote 498:
Es-Sáleh was of the house of Eiyoob, a family of Kurds.
Footnote 499:
“The ’A’dileeyeh” is the name of a mosque founded by El-Melik
El-’A’dil Toomán Bey, in the year of the Flight 906 (A.D. 1501),
outside the wall of Cairo, near the great gate called Báb en-Nasr. The
same name is also given to the neighbourhood of that mosque.
Footnote 500:
’Osmán (vulgarly called ’Otmán and ’Etmán) Ibn-El-Hebla was a rogue
whom Beybars took into his service as groom, and compelled to vow
repentance at the shrine of the seyyideh Nefeeseh (great-granddaughter
of the Imám Hasan), and, soon after, made his mukaddam, or chief of
his servants.
Footnote 501:
Damascus.
Footnote 502:
Eighty stripes, the punishment ordained for drunkenness.
Footnote 503:
’Osmán, for the sake of a rude joke, changes the name of the Wezeer
Sháheen (El-Afram) into an appellation too coarse to be here
translated.
Footnote 504:
Grooms, also employed as running footmen.
Footnote 505:
A lane from which the house was entered.
Footnote 506:
Sometimes called in this work “Básha” of Syria.
Footnote 507:
This is an allusion to ’Aláy-ed-Deen’s having eaten a dish that had
been prepared for Beybars, when the latter had just entered the
service of the Sultán Es-Sáleh.
Footnote 508:
The Magnified King.
Footnote 509:
A dish of lamb’s feet, cooked with garlic and vinegar, etc.
Footnote 510:
Since the above was written, I have found that El-Idreesee applies the
term “Hasheesheeyeh,” which is exactly synonymous with “Hashshásheen,”
to the “Assassins:” this, therefore, decides the question.
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