Istituto Per L'oriente C. A. Nallino Is Collaborating With JSTOR To Digitize, Preserve and Extend Access To Oriente Moderno

HISTORICAL ELEMENTS IN THE "SĪRATʿANTAR"
Author(s): DRISS CHERKAOUI

Source: Oriente Moderno, Nuova serie, Anno 22 (83), Nr. 2, Studies on Arabic Epics (2003), pp.
407-424
Published by: Istituto per l'Oriente C. A. Nallino
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DRISS CHERKAOUI
(William and Mary College, Williamsburg, Virginia)
HISTORICAL ELEMENTS INTHE SIRAT CANTAR
Introduction
1801,when Von Hammer firstdiscovered themanuscript of the Sirat cAn

In tar,he believed it to be an historical textdue to the largenumber of historical
elements in it.He believed that although itwas not necessarily rigorous as to
was a faithfulpicture of the lifeand times of
chronology and scholarly detail, it
the earlyArabs. This beliefwas due in largepart to the fact that the anonymous
narrator1of the sirah clearly states in the introduction thathe is transmittingin
formation from thewell-known philologist al-AsmacI, (approx. 740-830 AD).
He also claims to have heard his story from other scholars,whom he names.
There is a clear intention to anchor theSirat cAntar in reality.
A superficial reading of the Sirat cAntar, however, raises questions about
some of its "facts" and a careful reading leaves no doubt that although thereare
many historical elements, the story isfirstand foremostawork of literaturerather
than of history.This was the conclusion Hamilton reached in the early 1800s.
Since then, scholars have tended to dismiss the historical aspect of the Sirat
cAntar.My purpose here isnot to judge the "truth"of itshistorical elements, but
to explain how the sirah uses them for itsown literaryends. I will discuss why
thenarratorgoes to such pains to convince us the story is true. Iwill also explain
how he incorporateshistorical elements into the narrative.
Setting theSirat cAntarprimarily in the realworld distinguishes it from siyar
such as theSirat Sayf^nAHamzah al-Bahlawan, which provide theirheroeswith
all manner ofmagical instruments to help them overcome theirobstacles. The
Sirat cAntar emphasizes itsbiographical aspect and excludesmost magic, ogres,
djinns etc.The hero of the Sirat cAntarhas only his sword, his physical strength
and his cleverness to serve him.With these attributes,he rises from the lowest
social rankof slave to thehighest, thatof freeman, poet and warrior. His success
naturally attracts the interestof the reader,who can readilyunderstand how dif
ficult such a feat is, and how extraordinary a man the hero was. A real hero is
more easily identifiedwith than a fictitious character,which may help explain
one of the "uses" of the story. It is believed that in the early days of Islam, the
storyof cAntarwas told to soldiers before theywent into battle to incite similar
1 - For a discussion of the sirah's origins in oral tradition and its entry into the realm of writ
ten literature, see Peter Heath, The Thirsty Sword, p. 3-64. The storyteller and audience of the
sirah in the oral tradition have become, for the written version, the narrator and reader. In this
article, the latter termswill be used.
408 Historical Elements In The Sira t cAntar
heroism on theirpart.2A storybelieved to be real ismore inspiringbecause its

heroic action can be imitated.
This articlediscusses how historical elements give the story in the sirah depth
and believability.The narrator adapts historical elements to support themain
theme of the story,the heroism of cAntar.He selects and presents them in such
a way as to be as
entertaining as possible, capturing and holding his readers' at
tention by emphasizing components they can identifywith. I consider an ele
ment in theSirat cAntar to be historical if it is also found among the
writings of
classical Arab scholars.3These elements include geographical names, names of
tribes,events of all kinds, references to political systems and to patterns of be
havior. I will referencespecific classical scholars as I discuss each historical ele
ment. We shall see that the historical elements bend to the needs of the literary
genre and that the narrator of the sirah uses themwith great freedom, adding to
or
changing them as the needs of the storydictate. The process could be com
pared to that of a modern writer of historical novels. However, the narrator of
theSirat cAntar ismore free in his use of historical elements thanmost modern
historical novelists.He embellishes the facts and the historical elements become
an
integralpart of the narrative.His main concern is not the transmissionof fac
tual history; the cohesiveness of the story takes precedence. The narrator creates
his own story,with its own outcome, while at the same timemaking it appear
"real".
Some of themost importanthistorical elements in theSirat cAntar arewars

and battles. These events in the sirah can be compared to the same events de
scribed by classicalArab scholars.Two important examples from the Sirat cAn
tar are discussed below. The first, thewar ofDu Qar, is between theArabs and
3
thePersian Empire. The second,Ddhis wa l-Gabra*, pits twoArab tribesagainst
one another.
The Arab-Persian war ofDu. Qar
The war ofDii Qar is themost important conflict between theArabs and the
Persians cited in the Sirat cAntar4and it is the first theArabs win
against their
powerful neighbor.5According to classical scholars, war
this broke out between
2 - See Butrus al-Bustam (1235-1300/1819-1883), Udabd3 al-cArab, vol. 2, p. 303.

-
3 Such as AbQ Garir al-Tabarl (d. 310/923); Abu Hasan CA1I al-MascQdI (d. 346/957-958);
Abu Muhammad fAbd AUah Ibn Qutaybah
(d. 276/889); al-Hasan ibn Rasiq Abu cAli al
Qayrawanl (390-463/1000-1071); Abu Tammam Hablb Ibn Aws (172-231/788-845) anno
tated by Yahya ibn cAli ibnMuhammad al-TibrlzI (421-502/1030-1109); Abu 31-Farag al
Isfahanl (d. 356/967); Ahmad ibnMuhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Maydanl (d. 518/
1124); Abu Muhammad cAbd al-Malik ibn Hisam (d. approx. 218/833); Ahmad ibn cAbd
Rabbih al-Andalusi (246-328/860-940); and cIzz al-DIn ibn al-Atir (d. 630/1232-1233).
4 - Vol.
4, p. 571 through vol. 5, p. 194.
-
5 The war is cited in al-hadit al-nabawi: "hada awwalu yawmin intasafat fihi ;>l-cArabumin
wa nusirat
al-cAgam, calayhim bi". See al-MascudI, Murugal-dahaby vol. 1, p. 278.
Driss Cherkaoui
409
theArab tribeBakr and thePersian Empire.6 Its name comes from the
region of
the battle.The key elements of the historical version are those given byAbu Ga
rir al-Tabari7 who says that after theArab king al-Mundir died, an Arab scribe
named cAdI ibn Zayd who worked for the Persian king supported theArab al
Nucman's political aspirations.When al-Nucman became king, he killed cAdI.
The dead scribe's son, Zayd ibn cAdI, became the new scribe to the Persian
king, Kisra Abirwlz. This Kisra was searching for an idealwoman as described
by al-Mundir al-Akbar.8 In the hopes of causing a conflict between the Persian
king and al-Nucman, and thus to revenge his father'sdeath, Zayd tellsKisra
Abirwlz that such a creature exists al-Nucman's women. The Persian
among
king dispatches Zayd to ask al-Nucman to send him one of these lovelybeings.
The lattersends back a negative response:
amdft caynialsawddi wa farisa md tablugunahdgatakum
"with somany beautifulgirls inyour realm,
don't you have one who pleases you? "9
The emissaryZayd translatesthe answer in such a way as tomake itan insult,giv

ing theword caynas "cow": "with somany cows inyour realmdon't you have one
thatpleases you?" A diplomatic incident occurs and al-Nucman, worried, leaves
his capital al-Hirah to take refugeamong other tribes. Wherever he goes, he is
asked tomove on because people are afraid of the Persians. At lastHani3 ibn
Mascud promises to protect him, but also tellshim he should go seeKisra to re
solve theproblem. IfKisra accepts his overture,he will stillbe king of theArabs; if
he kills him, death would be preferable to his present state of humiliation. Al
Nucman agrees and leaveshis familyand most of his arms and armorwith Hani3
and sets off for the Persian capital, al-Mada3in. Al-Nucman is not well-received;
Kisra has him arrestedand flung into prisonwhere he dies shortlythereafter dur
an
ing epidemic.Note thathis death precedes the startof thewar.
According to al-Tabari, this iswhen thewar ofDu Qdr begins between the
Arabs and the Persian forces.Kisra Abirwlz wants theweapons that al-Nucman
had leftwith Hani3. The latter refuses to relinquish them and Kisra sends an
army for them.Hani3 and his tribe, theBanu Bakr, win thewar.
In the Strut cAntarythewar of Du Qdr is introduced in a more colorful
6 - The version of thewar as given in the sirah ismuch longer than that found in the historical
sources: al-Tabari (Ta'rih al-umam wa 3l-muluk, vol. 2, from p. 193) treats it at the greatest
it in ten
length, in twenty pages, while Abu 51-Farag al-Isfahanl (see al-Agani, vol. 2) deals with
Dii Qar a al-amtdl, vol. 4, p. 6). Ibn
pages. Al-Maydani gives paragraph (Magmac Qutabyah
also provides a paragraph of information {al-Mac arifi p. 603). Al-Qall makes an indirect refer
ence toDu Qar (in al-Amali, vol. 2, p. 171).
- Ta'rih al-umam wa
7 3l-muluk, vol. 2, from p. 193. The same events are given, with minor
variance, by al-Isfahani, and an abbreviated version is provided by al-MascudI.
8 - The woman should be physically perfect and of impeccable reputation. For the details of
this perfection, see al-Tabari citation of al-Mundir al-Akbar in his Ta3rih, vol. 2, p. 202-204.
The same list of ideal female characteristics is also found in al-Agani, vol. 2, p. 123-124.
9 - Al-Tabari, Ta'rih al-umam wa Jl-mulitk, vol. 2, p. 202-204.
410 Historical Elements In The Si'ra t cantar
manner: King al-Nucman dreams he is attacked by a huge elephant spittingfire.

A young horseman appears, sword in hand, and says, "Don't be afraid, you are
safe."This horseman isHani3 ibnMascud. Al-Nucman has thedream for seven
consecutive nights and goes toMecca to consult the seer Sittih, also known as al
Kahin.10 Sittihwarns him of an imminent attack by a foreignpower.
The Persian kingKisra Anusirwan dies and his son Hidawand succeeds him.
A certainZayd ibn cAdi,who hates al-Nucman because he had killed his father,
is a member of the royal court. Zayd describes al-Nucman's women toHida
wand, quoting a poem by al-Nabigah al-Dubyam (early seventh century).11
Hidawand sends Zayd to ask al-Nucman forhis daughter al-Rabab inmarriage.
The Arab king refuses:
law anna Hidawand li hudmulka abi... ma ddlika... wa

yaqulu facaltu
la can ardiha.12
garrabtuha
"Even ifHidawand gave me his father'skingdom... I would not do
it...I will not her from her native land."
separate [my daughter]
Zayd transmitsthe response toHidawand, who swears:

wa al-nar, la3aslubanna 3l-Nucmdn, wa ahuda Jbnatahu wa
haqqi
uhtahu
wa-zawgatahu}^
"In thename of thefire14I swear Iwill crucifyal-Nucman and Iwill
take his his sister and his wife."
daughter,
Hidawand then sends an army against al-Nucman, who has already leftal-HI
rah.The army overtakes him and engages him in battle. Al-Nucman is at the
to
point of losingwhen, as his dream had foretold,Hani3 ibnMascud arrives
help him. The Arabs win the battle. Hidawand then sends a second army under
the command of his son Sirsan. The Arabs again win and Hani3 IbnMascud
kills Sirsan. Then Hani3 ibnMascud iswounded and takenprisoner.Hidawand
sends him to al-Nucman to propose a truce.The Arab king goes to the Persian
capital, al-Mada3in, where he is immediately taken prisoner and is killed by an
elephant in a public spectacle.
The war goes on. Hidawand himself leads the third army that marches
c
against theArabs. He takesmany captives, including An tar and cAblah, and
sends them all to al-Mada3in. The war endswhen Hani3 ibnMascud killsHida
wand andQubad becomes king of Persia.
The following charts compare themain events of thewar as described by al
Tabari and the sirah.
10 - to al-MascQdi, Sittlh is a historical

According figure.
11 - This poem describes the great beauty of al-Nucman's wife. Slrat cAntar, vol. 4, p. 572.
12 -Ibid., vol. 4, p. 575.

-
13 Ibidem.
14 - The Persians of the time were fire-worshippers.
Dmss Cherkaoui
411
_AL-Tabar!_
1 The Persian kings had an ideal of feminine
beauty and Zayd ibn cAdi
tellsKisra Abirwiz that suchwomen exist in al-Nucman's
family;
Kisra Abirwlz asks theArab king to send him some of these
women_
2 Al-Nucman
refuses_
3 The Persian messenger, Zayd ibn cAdI, changes al-Nucman's answer to
an
insult_
4 Al-Nucman leaves al-HIrah. Wherever he goes, fear of the Persians
causes the tribes to rejecthim until he arrivesatHani3 ibnMascQd's.
5 Hani3 ibnMascud takes al-Nucman in but advises him to to
apologize
Kisra
Abirwlz_
6 Al-Nucman leaveshiswomen and armswith Hani3 and goes to seeKisra
at his
court_
7 Kisra Abirwiz has al-Nucman thrown into prison where he dies during
an
epidemic_
8 Kisra Abirwlz demands that Hani3 turn over al-Nucman's
arms_
9 Hani3 refuses;Kisra sends an army, thewar ofDu Qdr begins_
10 Hani3 and theBanu Bakr win thewar
The SiratcAntar
1 Zayd ibn cAdi describes the beauty of al-Nucman's women to thePer
sian kingHidawand
Hidawand asks to marry al-Rabab, al-Nucman's
daughter_
2 Al-Nucman refuses
The Persian messenger, Zayd ibn cAdI, gives al-Nucman's answer an
insulting tone _
Al-Nucman leaves al-HIrah
5 army attacks al-Nucman, beginning thewar ofDu Qdr

Hidawand's
6 Al-Nucman wins with thehelp ofHani3 ibnMascud
7 Hidawand sends a second army under his son Sirsan, who is killed by
Hani3
8 Hidawand pretends to accept defeat and invites al-Nucman to al

Mada3in
9 Hidawand has al-Nucman arrested and killed in public by an elephant

10 Hidawand leads a thirdarmy against theArabs
11 cAblah and cAntarare taken prisoner and sent to al-Mada3in
12 Hani3 ibnMascud killsHidawand and theArabs win thewar
The narrator uses a historical character, al-Nucman, to in an histori

participate
cal event, thewar ofDu Qdr, although the historical sources agree that thewar
took place after al-Nucman's death. The sirah situates it in the king's lifetime
and has him play an important role in it. In addition, the sirab's version ismuch
longer and has a more literarybent, with the introduction of the deadly ele
structureprepares
phant15 in the dream that opens the account. This circular
the readerfor the eventual outcome. The use of dreams and their interpretations
to foretell the future is a common literarydevice in the siyar.The historical
characterHani3 ibnMascud, who also appears in the dream, ispresented as one
of the heroes of thewar, although according to al-Tabari he plays a less impor
tant role and is cowardly:
lammd dand min Bakr, lahum Hani3': yd nufsara

fa Jl-gamcu qdla
Bakr, innahu Id tdqata lakum bi-gunudiKisrd wa man mac ahum min
3
al-cArab, fa-' rkabu
l-faldt.16
"When thegroup approached Bakr,Hani3 said:O warriorsof Bakr,
never win Kisra and the Arabs with him, let's run
you'll against
away!"
There are other discrepancies concerning Hani3 as well. The sirah says this is
Hani3 ibnMascud, while the historical sources say that theman in question is
Hani3 ibnQubaysah.17 Perhaps the narrator chose Hani3 ibnMascud because
his name was better known. If so, this is an example of the sirah's preference for
easily recognizable names. In any case, the narrator bends history to his own
ends, by emphasizing the dramatic elephant, by changing the chronology to in
clude al-Nucman in thewar ofDii Qdr, by exaggerating the heroism of Hani3
ibnMascud. He furtheradds to his story's aura of credibilityby including the
historical character Sittih and the poetry of al-Nabigah, historical additions
which serve his of entertainment.
purpose
The sirahdiffersfrom the historical sources on how thewar began. Al-Tabari
says thewar was caused by Kisra's desire forweapons leftwith Hani3 which the
latter refused to The sirah mentions these weapons but accords
relinquish.18
them no particular importance.The sirah says thewar began when the Persian
Hidawand's army attacked al-Nucman after he refused to send him women. De
spite the risk in refusingHidawand's request, al-Nucman's principles forbade his
- The
15 elephant in the Sirat cAntar is found in the historical version presented by Ibn al
Kalbi (al-Agdni, vol. 2, p. 127) who states that Kisra threw al-Nucman to the
elephants to kill
him. Al-Tabari and al-Isfahani both say that Kisra al-Nucman and then sent him
imprisoned
to
Haniqln where he died during an epidemic. It is easy to understand the narrators choice: it
is far nobler to be killed by an elephant than an
by epidemic, and the audience will appreciate
the action involved.
3
16 - Al-Tabari, Ta3rih al-umam wa l-muluk, vol. 2, p. 208.
-
17 Al-Tabari is emphatic : "Hani3 ibn Mascud had died before this affair [the war of Du
Qdr], and the man involved was Hani5 ibn Qubaysah ibn Hani3 ibn Mas'Gd." (Ta3rih al
3
umam wa l-muluk, vol. 2, p. 206). Al-Isfahani confirms that itwas Hani3 Ibn Qubaysah who
helped al-Nufman and he warns that some people think itwas Hani3 ibnMascud: "fa-3aqbala
al-Nucmdn hand nazala bi-Di Qdr... Hani3 ibn wa
fa-laqiya Qubaysah qila bal Hani3 ibn
Mas( tid"
{al-Agdni, vol. 2, p. 125).
18 - The ancient Arabs set great store a
by man's word; al-Nuc man's death did not freeHani3
from the of his to watch over the women and weapons. A similar
obligations promise king's
story is found on p. 318, al-Mustatraf min kull fann mustaraf by Sihab al-Din al-lbslhi (790
850/1388-1446).
Dmss Cherkaoui
413
sending his daughter tomarry a non-Arab. The narratorhighlights aspects of the

historic element (al-Nucman's refusal) in away thatflattersthe character.
We must not forget cAntar's role in thiswar, for he too was an historical
character.The straithas cAntarparticipate in thewar ofDu Qar although his
torical sources do not mention this.He is taken prisoner and he and cAblah are
sent to al-Mada3in. Like al-Nucman, he is thrown to the elephants, but he sur
vives and plays an important role at the end of thewar. Obviously, the narrator
cannot let the hero die halfway
through his story,but the fight against the ele
phant also provides entertainment while remindingus of cAntars abilities.
Despite the differences in detail, thewar of Du Qar remains recognizable
from the historians' versions to the sirah's. But as we have seen, the narrator
gives his story and its structurepriority over the view of history presented by
scholars.As we shall see below, he also adapts historical elements to his narrative
3
needs inhis account of thewar ofDahis wa l-Gabra*.
The tribalwar ofDahis wa ^l-Gabra3
The classical scholars give long accounts of tribalwars among the pre-Islamic
Arabs, themost important of which were thewar of al-Basus and thewar of
J
Dahis wa l-Gabra3. Only the latterfigures at length in the Sirat cAntar.The
words Dahis and al~GabrdJ are the names of the two horses thatwere the cause
of the conflictbetween the cAbs and Fazarah tribes.
J
The war ofDahis wa l-Gabra3 is a group of battles19 found in the scholarly
sources. classical Arab writers, themost strikingdiscussion of the
Among the J
war is in al-Kamil covers the history of theworld from
ft l-taJrih.20This book
itsbeginning until the year 628/1230-1231 and gives an eighteen-page account
of thewar ofDahis waJ l-Gabra3. This version isvery close to the one we find in
the Sirat cAntar. Both the narrator in the Sirat cAntar21and Ibn al-Atir22go
back to the birth of the horse Dahis to begin the storyof thewar, as does the
classical scholarAhmad ibn Ibrahim al-Maydani.
The table below gives themain facts as presented in each version:
Ibn al-AtIr Al-Maydani Sirat cAntar
Dahis'sire Al-Sibt Al-cUqab

The stallion's Unayf of the Hawt ibnGabir of Karim of the Banu
owner Banu Dabbah theBanu Riyah Riyah._
Dahis'dam Galwah Hawwah
The mares A man of the Qarwas ibn cAwfof Mukrim of theBanu

owner Banu Yarbuc the Banu Yarbuc Riyah (a branchof the
BanuYarbuc)
19 - Yawm al~Murayqib, Yawm Di Hasd, Yawm al-Yacmuriyyah, Yawm al-Habd3ah, Yawm al
Fdruq, Yawm Qatan.

20 - "The Complete History" by Ibn al-Atir. For information about other historians who
mentioned thiswar in less detail, see p. 103, Cherkaoui, Le Roman de (Antar.
- <
21 Sirat Antar, vol. 3, p. 123-124.
22 - Ibn al-Atir, al-Kdmilft3 l-ta> rih, vol. 1, p. 567.
414 Historical Elements In The Sirat cantar
How Dahis was The mare's The stallion is taken The stallion is taken
conceived owner "borrows" out by twoof the out

by his owner's
the stallion for a owner's encoun
daughters daughter and
night and encounters the ters the mare
The result Unayf is un Hawt is unhappy Karim is unhappy
happy Qarwas giveshim Mukrim giveshim

Dahis + 2 camels Dahis and themare
Hawt returns them Hawwah
Notice the resemblance between al-Maydani's version and thatof the sirah. the
name ofDahis' sire is similar, the owners of the stallion are theBanu
Riyah, the
name ofDahis' dam is similar,her owners are theBanu Yarbuc, and there is the
of one or two of the stallion's owner. The narrator seems to
presence daughters
have simply used the historical elements as ready-made additions to his story,
seeing no need to significantlychange them.
When war broke out, Dahis no longer belonged to theYarbuc; he had be
come thepropertyofQays of the Banu cAbs. Ibn al-Atir
gives us two versions23
ofQays' acquisition of the horse. In the firstversion,Qays saw the two horses
Dahis and al-Gabra3 during a raid against the Banu Yarbuc and he ransomed
some prisoners to acquire them. In the second version, he
bought them. The
Sirat cAntar says thatQays tried to buy Dahis but his owner refused.
According
to the sirah,Qays took a thousand horsemen and attacked the owner's tribe, the
Banu Riyah. He then traded all the booty he had taken to acquire thehorse. The
common element between the sirah and the classical scholars is thatQays ac
quired Dahis. Compared to the birth of Dahis, the narrator has been much
more selective in the informationhe
integrates into his tale; he is not limited to
the scholarlyversion and feels free to arrive at his goal (Qays owns Dahis)
by
whatever means he wishes, including a completely differentnarration.The thou
sand-man attack provides an action-packed episode. The theme of
exchanging
booty for a beautiful horse appears elsewhere in the sirah, cAntar acquires his
horse in much the same way.
The horse race that started thewar receivesmuch attention from both the
classical scholars and the narrator of the sirah.They all agree it took
place be
tween theBanu cAbs and theBanu Fazarah and that cAntar
participated in it.24
Here, we find the narrator "plugging in" an historical elementwith no impor
tantmodifications to it. It suits the purpose of his narrative and he uses itas is.
We find references to the episode of
cheating during the horse race in the
historicalmaterial: Ibn al-Atir, al-Tibrizi and Ibn
Qutaybah all agree that the
Fazarah cheated towin by having someone strike the horse in the lead.There is
some discrepancy as to the names of the horses involved and as towhether there
were two or four horses but the basic element of an
opposition between Qays'
25-Ibid., vol. l,p. 567-568.
24 - Ibn al-Atir, vol. 1, p. 452; al-Tibrizi, Sarh, vol. 1, p. 162-163.

al-Kdmilfi'l-ta'rih,
Dms Cherkaoui
415
horses and those ofHudayfah is consistent, as is the fact that the lattercheated
in order towin. Two sources25 simply saywar broke out, a third says thatQays
attacked the Fazarah and killed cAwf Ibn Badr.26 Two other sources27 say that
Hudayfah continued his bad behavior in seeking payment of the bet. It is this
lastversion that ismost consistentwith the one in theSirat cAntar.The narrator
of the Sirat cAntaruses elements found in all the versions, but adds a great deal
of informationnot found elsewhere. He says the racewas between Dahis be
longing toQays and al-Gabra3 belonging toHudayfah and even names the rid
ers.We do not find the names of these riders in the historical sources. The
names, "loser" and "winner", us for the race's outcome.
Maglub, Sabiq, prepare
Once again, the narratoruses a literarydevice to prepare us fora laterpart of his
story.
The narratoralso introducesSaybub into the race:he will run,on foot,next to
the two horses. This is to remind us of the rapidityof Saybub, cAntar'shalf
brotherand right-handman. In addition, Saybub will witness Hudayfah's treach
ery, and it is this treachery thatwill cause thewar. Although scholarly sources
confirmSaybub's existence, there is no historical evidence of participation in the
race. However, it serves the narrator very well both to make the point of
Saybub's extraordinaryqualities and to provide some livelyentertainment in the

narrative as Saybub races along beside the horses. The person Saybub saw cheat
ingwas the slaveHabis, also absent from the historical sources.The narratorhas
chosen a name thatwill highlightwhat he wants to convey: the slave's name in
Arabic means "the one who blocks or obstructs".
In the sirah,as in theversions given by Ibn al-Atlr and Ibn cAbdRabbih, the
opposing tribesgo back to their camps with Qays thewinner. But Hudayfah
sends his son Sadyah28 to collect on the bet and Qays kills him.When Huday
fah learnsof thismurder, he goes towar with the cAbs, startingthewar ofDahis
wa H-Gabra3. cAntar leads the cAbs in battle. In the sirah, he is a hero of this
war and a much role in it than he does in sources.
plays larger scholarly
3
The war ofDahis wa l-Gabra3 lasts foryears.At one point in the sirah, the
Fazarah, in the face of serious losses, call for a halt to the fighting.The cAbs ac
cept on condition that they receive 150 men to keep as hostages. Classical schol
ars mention these hostages, but as being less numerous and it is the cAbs tribe
who furnishes them.According to Ibn al-Atlr, therewere only two hostages29
and according to Ibn cAbd Rabbih therewere eight.30Once again, the narra
tor's version ismore dramatic and isflatteringto thehero's tribe.
-
25 Al-TibrizT, Sarh, vol. 1, p. 163; Ibn Hisam, al-Sirah al-nabawiyyah, vol. 1, p. 287.
26 - Ibn Qutaybah, al-Macdrift p. 606.

- Ibn
27 al-Atir, al-KdmilftJ l-ta3 rib, vol. 1, p. 570; Ibn cAbd Rabbih, al-<Iqd al-ftarid, vol. 5,
p. 151.
28 - The narrator says Sadyah has the nickname Abu Qurafah; neither of these names figure
in the historic texts.
- >
29 Ibn al-Atir, al-Kdmil ft Ua> rib, vol. 1, p. 567.
- Ibn cAbd
30 Rabbih, al-cIqd al-ftarid, vol. 5, p. 155.
416 Historical Elements In The Sirat cantar
Yawm al-Habtfah is the last battle of thewar where we find a parallel be

tween the Sirat cAntar and the classical scholarly sources, and it is during this
battle that the Fazarah chieftain,Hudayfah, is killed. The siratis version of this
battle is not fundamentallydifferentfrom the scholars' but includes copious de
account.
scriptionsof thefighting,which lengthen the
We have seen that the narratorof theSirat cAntarcombines the events cited
even theircontent.He
by the classical sources and freelychanges theirorder and
adds events thatmay or may not be completely fictitious, and liberally embel
lishesknown facts.Throughout, it is clear thathe has considerable knowledge of
theArabs' history,but he always gives priority to his narrative ifhe must choose
between itand factsas defined by the classical scholars.
As we shall soon see, the siratis use of historical characters follows the same
pattern.
Historical characters in theSirat cAntar
The narrator freely incorporateshistorical figures into his storywhen it suits his
He mixes fictional characters and historical characters to create a rich
purpose.
world of personalities. From a purely narrativepoint of view, these characters are
as as
indistinguishable.There is,however, an advantage to using historical well
imaginary characters.They make his story seem more real. For example, when
the narratorwants to send the hero to far-offcountrieswhen there is no histori
cal evidence he went, he introduces the names of real historical figures, such as
Kisra in Persia, orNegus inAbyssinia, or Caesar in Byzantium. This use of his
torical characters furtheranchors the sirah in realityand integratesthe hero into
the siratis version of history.
From themoment a historical name is introduced, the narrator is preparing
us for the actionswhich follow and creating anticipation based on existingknowl
of these characters. These historical characters are known but the narrator
edge
gives additional details about their personalities, and introduces new stories
about them.The readerwaits impatiently to learnwhat will happen next. The
contrast between the known and the unknown holds our attention. Sometimes
the narratordoes not have tomake up an entire characterwhen he borrows one
from history: the real person may come with his personality and exploits,with
his good and bad qualities. But just as often, he uses only the name of an his
torical character and constructs a suitable personality for him, one thatwill
strengthenhis storyand entertainhis reader.Or he may use some of the charac
ter'sknown qualities and add other information to these,developing a character
within the sirah farmore completely than the character is portrayed by classical
scholars.
In the sirah, some historical characters appear in historical events inwhich
theywere not involved.We have already seen the example of al-Nucman in the
war ofDii Qar. Another
example is a conflict that arose between theArab king
al-Mundir and the Persian king Kisra, both historical figures.Their relationshad
been very good, and al-Mundir often visited the Persian a
king. One time, Per
sian general who hated theArabs influencedKisra to humiliate al-Mundir in
Dmss Cherkaoui 417
frontof his followers.Kisra told his servants that the next time theArab king
visited, they should serve dates without theirpits to the Persians but with their
pits to theArabs. The next time al-Mundir visited, he imitated the Persians eat
ing theirentiredates. The Persians found thishilarious.31Al-Mundir was deeply
offended and when he returned home, ordered his soldiers to attack Persian
merchant convoys.The Persian merchants complained toKisra, who demanded
restitution.Al-Mundir answered that he had lost too much face and thatKisra
should send the generals who laughed at him for theArabs to punish. Instead,
Kisra sent an army of 20,000 warriors.With cAntar,shelp,32 theArabs won the
battle.This episode is similar to the followinghistoric event.
Al-Tabarl recounts that theArab al-Harit33met the Persian kingQubad ibn
Fayruz to discuss politics. During themeeting, Qubad offeredal-Harit a platter
of dates. A second platterwas placed in frontofQubad, but thesedates had had
their pits removed.Al-Harit began to eat his dates, spitting out the pits, and
Qubad asked why he didn't eat thewhole date. Al-Harit was insulted and an
swered that inhis country only female camels and sheep ate dateswith theirpits.
Upon his return to Arabia, al-Harit ordered his men to cross the Euphrates
River and attack the people there.Qubad was a Manichean and forbidden to
shed blood. When theArabs attacked, the Persians lost respect for their king
who did not defend them.Qubad tried to negotiate, but the situation deterio
rated intowar. In the endQubad was killed. cAntardoes not appear in thishis
torical account.
The theme of the dates and the resultingconflict isvery similar in these two
accounts. It appears the narrator used the names of more characters. In
popular
both versions, the king laughs at his guest. In both versions, the nature of this
mockery is the same, a trick thatmakes the guest appear foolish. This brings
about a conflict between theArabs and the Persians. In both versions, this con
flictbegins with small scale aggressions and then develops into a largerwar. In
both versions, theArab leader calls on outside help towin thewar and in both
versions the Persian leader is killed. The stratis version differsfrom al-Tabari's:
it includes cAntar,has al-Mundir speak in verse, and provides us with more de
tails about the historical characters.
This abundance of detail is particularly noticeable in all that concerns the
hero of theSirat cAntar.The narrator has added a great deal towhat we find in
the classical scholarly sourceswhich tellus that cAntarwas born a slave and later
became a freeman and a greatwarrior known for his courage, and that he par
D
ticipated in thewar of Dahis wa l-Gabra3. Certain sources give his father as
Saddad, while others say thiswas his grandfather.Some sources credithis poetry
as as al-Mucal
being among the prestigious pre-Islamic group of poems known
laqat?^ The classical scholars tellof his death but
not of his children.The narra
31 -Sirat cAntar, vol. 1, p. 340.
32- Ibid., vol. 1, p. 355.

- His
33 whole name is al-Harit ibn cAmr ibn Hugr ibn cAdI al-Kindi.
34 - See Cherkaoui, "Les Mu'allaqat", p. 21-29.
418 Historical Elements In The Si'ra t cantar
torof theSirat cAntar incorporates these sketchyhistorical elements into an epic

about cAntarthat is over 5,000 pages long and fullof heroic exploits.To go into
detail about all the additions concerning thehero is beyond the scope of this ar
ticle.
Other characters in the sirah also have roots in history.One of the hero's
enemies, al-Harit ibn Zalim, is among these. The narrator him as a fierce
presents
enemywithout scruples and gives two examples to support this: the storyof the
murder of a young man in the desert afterhaving been spared by thisman and
a son of the
having enjoyed his hospitality; and the storyof themurder of baby
king al-Nucman. In the scholarly sources,we findnegative referencesto al-Harit
ibn Zalim, but without details. In al-cUmdah, al-Hasan ibnRaslq qualifies al
Harit35 as "al-fatik". Fatik means "assassin, murderer, killer".36 The same word
is used by IbnHazm al-Andalusi37 to describe al-Harit ibnZalim. Neither writer

gives a reason forusing the term.
We have no way of knowing whether the sto
ries in the Sirat cAntar about al-Harit are true or not, but to the
they add story's
entertainment value and dramatize the character's The sirah paints
personality.
cAntar as larger than life and his enemies such as al-Harit ibn Zalim with the
same broad, strokes.
exaggerated
Another historical person to appear in theSirat cAntar isHatim TayyP, who
appears in the fourthvolume: "Hatim is so generous and so hospitable that he
has no equal".38 Al-Nucman brags to the Persian Kisra that even as a child
Hatim invited all the children of the tribe to eat in his tent.Later, when he re
ceived a visit from three poets, he killed a female camel for each one and as
thanks for their poems of praise, gave them his entire flock of one thousand
camels. Kisra wants of such so he sends a message to Hatim
proof generosity,
asking forhis camels. Hatim, who only owns one female camel at this time, calls
all themembers of his tribe togetherand asks them to loan him theircamels to
give toKisra. In thisway, he manages to send Kisra five thousand camels. The
Persian king, delighted with such generosity, returns the five thousand camels,
adding five thousand others, all bearing gifts.39
The narratorof theSirat cAntar also referstoHatim's generosity at the time
of his marriage.40He was among four suitorshoping tomarryMariyyah bint al
Dahhak. The woman wanted to marry the most man, so she
young generous
tested them several times, was the most so she chose
gatim consistently generous,
him forher husband.
In the sirah,Hatim and cAntar are
good friends.There is no historical evi
dence of this friendship,nor ofHatim's relationshipwith Kisra, but the schol
sources the stratis claims of Hatim's Various sources re
arly support generosity.
-
35 Ibn RasTq al-Qayrawanl, al-cUmdah, vol. 2, p. 192.
- H.
36 Wehr, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, Wiesbaden, Otto Harrassowitz, 1979.
- Ibn Hazm
37 al-AndalusT (384-456/994-1064), Gamharat ansab al-cArab, p. 254.
- Sirat
38 (Antar, vol. 4, p. 369.
39- Ibid., vol. 4, p. 373-385.
40- Ibid., vol. 4, p. 392-406.
Driss Cherkaoui
419
fer to him as a a honest man, a horseman,

pre-Islamic poet, generous, good loyal
and loved by his contemporaries.41The sources also mention the poets' visit.42
Even the poets' names are identical.Only the number of camels differs:Abu
CA1Ial-Qali43 says that therewere thirty-ninecamels per poet. As is often the
case, the narrator
gives larger figures.
As forHatim's marriage, al-Qali only mentions two other suitors and gives
thewoman's name as "Bint cAfzar"while "Mawiyyah" (and not "Mariyyah") is
the name of another ofHatim's wives. In addition, in al-Qali's version, she only
tests the suitors' one time.44 The narrator's common of
generosity practice giv
ing largernumbers than the classical scholars is again in evidence: rather than
several dozen camels, the narrator of thousands; rather than one test of
speaks
he describes several.
generosity,
Another example of an historic person in the sirah is cAmir ibn al-Tufayl.
This man becomes cAblah's second husband after the hero's death in the final
volume of the sirah, but we firstmeet him in the third volume during a raid
against the cAbs.During this raid, he is captured by thehero, and later the two
men become friends. It is cAntar himselfwho, dying, asks him towatch over
cAblah. The marriage is not a happy one and cAmir kills cAblah and all her
family.Then he has to fight cUnaytirah, cAntar'swarrior daughter. She spares
his life and at the end of the sirah, cAmir joins Zayd ibn Rabicah in a plot
against the ProphetMuhammad. The twomen go toMecca together to assassi
nate the Prophet. In the siratis version, the angel Gabriel intervenesand an act
ofGod kills cAmir.
We find this same cAmir in classical scholarly sources.45None of themmen
tion his relationshipwith cAntar,nor do they confirm his marriage to cAblah.
There are similarities in the versions given by the classical scholars and that of
the sirah as to the storyconcerning cAmir and theProphet. In al-Hamasah^ we
find cAmirand Arbad47 going toMecca to assassinate theProphetMuhammad.
Muhammad that and cAmir answers that he
proposes they become Moslem,
will do so only ifhe receives half of the city ofMedina's harvest, and is named
Muhammad's successor. Muhammad refuses this offer and cAmir threatens war.
41 - Abu Tammam, al-Hamdsah, vol. 2, p. 28-29. Abu CA1I al-Qall (288-356/900-966), al

Amdli, vol 2, p. 154-155. Abu 51-Farag al-Isfahanl, al-Agdni, vol. 1, p. 85.
42 - Abu 51-Farag al-Isfahani, al-Agdni, vol. 1, p. 85 and vol. 2, p. 155.
- Abu cAli
43 al-Qall, al-Amdli, vol. 2, p. 157.
44 -Ibid., vol. 2,p. 154-157.
-
45 Abu Tammam, al-Hamdsah, vol. 1, p. 42-43; Ibn Hisam, al-Sirah al-nabawiyyah, vol. 4,
p. 213-214. Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi (Gamharat ansdb al-cArab, vol. 1, p. 284) says that he is a
member of the tribe Banu Kilab ibn Rabic ibn cAmir ibn Sacsacah, but gives no other infor
mation about him. See also the more recent scholar al-Alusi (d. 1856/1924), Bulug al-arab,
vol. 2, p. 129.
46 - Abu Tammam, al-Hamdsah, vol. 1, p. 42-43.

-
47 The brother of Labid, a famous pre-Islamic poet cited in al-Sirah al-nabawiyyah, vol. 4,
p. 215-219.
Muhammad asks fordivine assistance and cAmirbecomes ill. 8

The elements which are present in both the classical scholarly sources and
the sirah are similar,but as usual, the sirah adds incidents and provides farmore
details (the friendshipwith the hero, themarriage to cAblah, the battle with
cUnaytirah) than are found in the scholarlywritings. The narrator has woven
the historical elements intohis own creation, the narrative structureof the sirah.
What the narrator adds serves the purposes of his narrative. cAmir,sname was
historically known, as was his involvementwith Muhammad, but the narrator
c
exaggerates Amir's faults.To finish the sirah and make the transitionfrom the
pre-Islamic to the Islamic era, it is useful to end cAblah's life.A real villain, such
as someone who had plotted against theProphetMuhammad, would be capable
of such an act. And cAmir's battle against cUnaytirah reminds us of theArabs'
best qualities; cUnaytirahhas the same courage, tolerance and generosity as her
father,for she lets cAmir livewhen she could easily have killed him. The narra
tor'sgoal in thiscase isprobably to tell a story that it ispossible to emulate.
My lastexample of a person thenarratorborrows from history isBistam. This
character firstappears in volume one of the sirah?? when he asks for cAblah's
hand inmarriage. Her father agrees, on the condition that the suitor present
him with cAntar'shead. The narrator then gives us several of this knight's ex
ploits to show his strength and courage, thus indirectly calling attention to
c
An tar's.Bistam battles thehero,who takeshim prisoner, but later theybecome
friends.Much later,50Bistam will be killed by al-Hilqan of the Banu Ramis.51
Between these two episodes, he does not appear in the story.There is no evi
dence in the historical sources for his friendshipwith cAntar.The historical ref
erences to Bistam constitute a listof battles inwhich he participated: Yawm al
lyyad?1 al-GabitP Qasawah^ Yawm Zubalah^ Yawm al-Saqiqah.^ Itwould
48 - The same story is

given by Ibn Hisam in al-Sirah al-nabawiyyah, except for a few details
concerning the plot against the Prophet. Ibn Hisam adds the detail that Arbad was killed by
same story as Ibn Hisam.
lightening. Al-AlusI gives the
- Sirat
49 cAntar, vol. 1, p. 644.
50 -Ibid., vol. 7, p. 388.
-
51 The historian tells us Bistam was killed by cAsim ibn Halifah ibnMaqil; Gamharat ansdb
al-'Arab, p. 206.
- Ibn
52 al-Atlr, al-Kdmil, vol. 1, p. 373. Ibn cAbd Rabbih, al-(Iqd al-farid, vol 3, p. 337.
Yawm al-Iyydd was an important battle between the Banu Yarbuc and the Banu Bakr; the lat
ter lost.
Al-Iyyad is a region between al-Kufah and Fayd. This battle is also known by other
names: Yawm al-c Uzdld, Yawm
al-Ifafah, Yawm al-Mulayhah, Yawm al-Acsal
- Ibn
53 al-Atlr, al-Kdmil, vol. 1, p. 365 and al-cIqd al-farid, vol. 3, p. 338. This battle be
tween the Banu
Sayban and the Banu Yarbuc also has other names: Yawm al-Tacdlib, Yawm
Sahrd3 Falag. The Banu Sayban win.
- Ibn was another battle between the Banu Yar
54 al-Atlr, al-Kdmil, vol. 1, p. 364. Qasawah
buc and the Banu Sayban, according toMucgam al-bulddn by Yaqut al-Hamawi, vol. 7, p. 92.
- Ibn
55 al-Atir, al-Kdmil, vol. 1, p. 366. This was a battle between the Banu Sayban and the
Banu Tamlm.
- Ibn
56 al-Atlr, al-Kdmil, vol. 1, p. 376; al-(Iqd al-farid, vol. 3, p. 342.
Driss Cherkaoui 421
seem that the narrator of the Sirat cAntarmade up an entire personality for
Bistam, and fabricateda relationshipbetween him and cAntar.
Conclusion
The narratorof theSirat cAntar freely incorporateshistorical events and charac

ters into his narrative, changing and adapting them to theworld of literature
and fiction, theworld of the siyar.He embellishes facts and constructs a lively
and elaborate story around small amounts of historical information.He is not
constrained by chronological order. He arranges events according to the need of
the story rather than respecting the historians' chronology. Historical elements
serve the narrativeof the sirah and are, eitherdirectlyor indirectly,related to the
hero as well. Historical characters, for instance, are always placed in relationship
to the hero cAntar,even ifhistorical evidence does not support this. It is inter
esting to note theway thehistorical characters almost invariablybecome friends
with the hero in the sirah.This usually happens after cAntarhas taken theman
an historical
prisoner and then released him. The hero cannot very easily kill
characterwho is known to have died otherwise, so a fictitious friendship is the
most viable narrative alternative,as well as adding to cAntar'shistorical credibil
meet one another, even
ity. In addition, historical characters in the sirah often
when thehistorians do not confirm this.
Other than the obligatory relationshipwith the hero, we find two major
formulas for the use of historical characters. In the firstcase, the narrator uses
the character's name, and attributes actions to the character that have no
only
basis in historybut that serve the needs of the siratis narrative structure. In the
second case, he uses the historical character and some of his actions. He then
adds other actions to advance the story.When the narratorgives a nearly identi
cal account to thatof the historians, there is still a difference.The narrator's ver
sion ismore literaryand is adapted to the styleof the sirah.
The narrator chooses events or that are concrete and inspiring.
personalities
As Peter Heath57 out, "... the popular view of history... as
points represented
In the sirah, individu
by the Sirat cAntar is generally optimistic in itsoutlook.
als... are who make and, across time, come to per
figures history by reaching
The narrator's hope that the
sonify their audiences' faith in its perfectibility."
readerwill imitate the heroic and admirable qualities of the ancientArabs is an
are to be imitated, theymust be
important featureof the sirah. If these qualities
believable. It is for this reason that the narrator goes to such lengths to anchor
the story in the realworld.
It is clear that the narratorwas familiarwith themajor historical persons and
events of thepre-Islamic era.My intentionhas not been to demonstrate that the
Sirat cAntar is an historical text,but rather to show how itmakes use of and in
can be found in classical Arab scholarly
corporates historical elements which
These elements are used tomake the hero and his storymore real; to
writing.
show the hero in a favorable light in his participation in historical events or in
- The Thirsty Sword, p. 164.

57 Heath,
his relationships to historical characters; to add depth and believability to the

story; tomake it easier for the reader to identifytheArabs' best qualities and to
emulate them; and to create narrative anticipation based on existing familiarity
with characters or events. The coherence maintained as real and fictitious ele
ments weave as each episode
together throughout this extremely longwork and
evolves logically and smoothly from those that precede it is strong evidence of
the narrator's art.The importance of thework lies not inwhatever historical
factsmight be gleaned from it,but in its literaryaspectwhich gives a sense of the
people and time and inspiresus even today.
Driss Cherkaoui 423
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HISTORICAL ELEMENTS IN THE "SĪRATʿANTAR"

Author(s): DRISS CHERKAOUI

HISTORICAL ELEMENTS INTHE SIRAT CANTAR

1801,when Von Hammer firstdiscovered themanuscript of the Sirat cAn

heroism on theirpart.2A storybelieved to be real ismore inspiringbecause its

Some of themost importanthistorical elements in theSirat cAntar arewars

The Arab-Persian war ofDu. Qar

2 - See Butrus al-Bustam (1235-1300/1819-1883), Udabd3 al-cArab, vol. 2, p. 303.

The emissaryZayd translatesthe answer in such a way as tomake itan insult,giv

9 - Al-Tabari, Ta'rih al-umam wa Jl-mulitk, vol. 2, p. 202-204.

manner: King al-Nucman dreams he is attacked by a huge elephant spittingfire.

law anna Hidawand li hudmulka abi... ma ddlika... wa

Zayd transmitsthe response toHidawand, who swears:

10 - to al-MascQdi, Sittlh is a historical

12 -Ibid., vol. 4, p. 575.

14 - The Persians of the time were fire-worshippers.

5 army attacks al-Nucman, beginning thewar ofDu Qdr

8 Hidawand pretends to accept defeat and invites al-Nucman to al

9 Hidawand has al-Nucman arrested and killed in public by an elephant

The narrator uses a historical character, al-Nucman, to in an histori

lammd dand min Bakr, lahum Hani3': yd nufsara

spite the risk in refusingHidawand's request, al-Nucman's principles forbade his

sending his daughter tomarry a non-Arab. The narratorhighlights aspects of the

The tribalwar ofDahis wa ^l-Gabra3

Ibn al-AtIr Al-Maydani Sirat cAntar

Dahis'sire Al-Sibt Al-cUqab

The mares A man of the Qarwas ibn cAwfof Mukrim of theBanu

19 - Yawm al~Murayqib, Yawm Di Hasd, Yawm al-Yacmuriyyah, Yawm al-Habd3ah, Yawm al

Fdruq, Yawm Qatan.

22 - Ibn al-Atir, al-Kdmilft3 l-ta> rih, vol. 1, p. 567.

conceived owner "borrows" out by twoof the out

The result Unayf is un Hawt is unhappy Karim is unhappy

happy Qarwas giveshim Mukrim giveshim

25-Ibid., vol. l,p. 567-568.

24 - Ibn al-Atir, vol. 1, p. 452; al-Tibrizi, Sarh, vol. 1, p. 162-163.

Saybub's extraordinaryqualities and to provide some livelyentertainment in the

26 - Ibn Qutaybah, al-Macdrift p. 606.

Yawm al-Habtfah is the last battle of thewar where we find a parallel be

Historical characters in theSirat cAntar

31 -Sirat cAntar, vol. 1, p. 340.

32- Ibid., vol. 1, p. 355.

34 - See Cherkaoui, "Les Mu'allaqat", p. 21-29.

torof theSirat cAntar incorporates these sketchyhistorical elements into an epic

is used by IbnHazm al-Andalusi37 to describe al-Harit ibnZalim. Neither writer

fer to him as a a honest man, a horseman,

41 - Abu Tammam, al-Hamdsah, vol. 2, p. 28-29. Abu CA1I al-Qall (288-356/900-966), al

46 - Abu Tammam, al-Hamdsah, vol. 1, p. 42-43.

Muhammad asks fordivine assistance and cAmirbecomes ill. 8

48 - The same story is

The narratorof theSirat cAntar freely incorporateshistorical events and charac

- The Thirsty Sword, p. 164.

his relationships to historical characters; to add depth and believability to the

Sirat cAntar Beirut, al-Maktabah al-Taqafiyyah, 1979, 8 vol.

al-AndalusI, Gamharat ansab al-cArab, Beirut, Dar al-Kutub al

Boh as, Georges, Le Roman de Ba'ibars, Paris, Sindbad, 1985.

al-Bustanl, Butrus Udaba3 al-cArabfiD l-acsural-c abbasiyyah,Beirut, Dar

Canova, Giovanni "Une analyse de l'alteritedans la traditionepique

Cherkaoui, Driss "LesMucallaqat dans leRoman de cAntar\Maknasat,

Cherkaoui, Driss Le Roman de cAntar,perspectivelitteraireet historique,

Gaillard, Marina Le livrede Samak al-cAyyar; StructureetIdeologicdu

d'Etudes Iraniennes de 1'Universitede la Sorbonne

Greimas, Semantique Structural, Paris, Larousse, 1966.

Heath, Peter The ThirstySword; Sirat cAntarand theArabic Popular