8/10/2019 Pecheneg

1/6

The chapter of the Jayhani-tradition on the Pechenegs

Istvn Zimonyi

Al-Jayhanis geographical compendium has been lost, it can be reconstructed from Arabic, Persian

and Turic !ors" The follo!ing authors !rote their boos in Arabic# Ibn $usta !ho composed his!or in the %&th century' the Andalusian al-(ari of the %%th century, the court physician of the)al*uid +ali )hah %&.-%&/.0 and his descendants i"e" al-+ar!a1i' and Abu-l-2ida !ho livedin )yria bet!een %.3 and %33%" The latter copied the boo of al-(ari" The Persian version of theJayhani-tradition is represented in the Hudud al-cAlam, !hose author is unno!n and it !ascomposed in /4. and the !or of 5ardi1i !ritten in %&6." The latter has preserved the mostdetailed description of the 7ungarians"

The reconstruction of the original passage is based on the te8ts of al-+ar!a1i, Ibn $usta and5ardi1i" It can be supplemented by the parallel description of al-(ari in the first half of the7ungarian chapter and the slightly rephrased version of the Hudud al-cAlam" Al-+ar!a1is

compendium !as popular, because it !as translated into Persian in the %3th century by cAufi" It!as copied in the %6th century by )hurallah and the latter !as put to Turish" The late Turishauthors used this version as their source"

9uring the study I used the latest critical editions of the parallel te8ts of the Jayhani-tradition, and moreover I too the manuscripts into consideration apart from the !ors of al-(ari,Abu-l-2ida, +uhammad :atib and 7a*i 7alifa"

The paralel te8ts of the Pecheneg chapter#

8/10/2019 Pecheneg

2/6

Al-+ar!a1;

=>?@ BCD?@ EF@GH GKLM NOQR SGF QUVWK?@

HGM XQY[ NBQ\H ]VW^ _O@ `GHGM XQY[

U XH ^ @ F jGVW?@ Qk W =^ VH `q?@ Qk NBQYU H@

H@ K?Dw?@ =^ jBx?@ Qk XH Mx?@ =^ Bq?@ Qk XH Oz?@ =^ jBx?@

x{ QUVWK?@ QUVWK?@ xM

|@@B S=}@ ~R@ |[@ V j@ NB[ QUVWK?@

k@ ]G\H MB VQ^ Q? BqH H SM@ NBq} NBQ\H Oz?@ QUVWK?@ XQ^\L}@ |H=?@ U@G>?^ kGCDM

." The Pechenegs are a !andering people, follo!ing the rainfall and pasturage"

3" Their territory e8tends a distance of thirty days in either direction,

" And they are bordered on all sides by many peoples' to the north are the :ipchas, to the south-

!est the :ha1ars, to the east the 5hu11, amd to the !est the )lavs" These peoples all raid thePechenegs, !ho lie!ise raid them"

6" The Pechengs are !ealthy, having beasts, flocs, household property, gold, silver, !eapons,ensigns, and lances"

" (et!een the Pechenegs and the :ha1ars there is a distance of ten days, the country being steppesand forest" There is no beaten trac bet!een the t!o territories, and they travel over the distance0

by means of the stars, landmars or at random" +inorsy /., 3.-330

8/10/2019 Pecheneg

3/6

8/10/2019 Pecheneg

4/6

%" As for the country of the Pechenegs, the road to it starts out from 5rgench" Thence itgoes to the mountains of !ara1m, and from these mountains it goes on to thePecheneg country" The ae of !ara1m appears along this route as it sirts along the)outh-est of that lae" nce the route passes on from there it arrives at a dry desert land"

This it traverses for nine days, coming to a !ell every day or every t!o days" nedescends into these !ells by means of a rope in order to bring up, and give !ater to thebeasts" hen it is the tenth day the road arrives at various springs and then a river" 7erethere is a game of every variety of fo!l and deer as !eell as a small uantity of grass" It isa si8teen- day *ourney through this fair country and !hen it is the seventeenth day onearrives at the tents of the Pechenegs

3" The length of the country of the Pechenegs is a thirty-days *ourney"

" n every side a different people borders on them# on the northern side is the land ofthe :ipchas, on the south-!estern side are the :ha1ars, on the eastern side is thecountry of the 5u11, and on the !estern side are the )alabs" The Pechenegs incite all

these peoples to raid one another, and so they go marauding for the Pecheneg and taingcaptives and sell these"

6" These Pechenegs are possessors of great !ealth, for they are possessors of abundanthorses and sheep" They have many gold and silver vessels" They have many !eapons" Theyhace silver belts" They have flags and pennants !hich they raise in battle, as !ell as buglesmade from the horns of o8en !hich they sound in battle

" The roads of the Pechenegs country are very desolate and disagreeable" hoever !ants togo out from there into any neighboring country must purchase horses, !hile they cannot goout in any !ay e8cept on the bacs of camels, o!ing to the odiousness or uncertainty0and abandoned state of the roads" The merchants !ho go there easily go astray of the

roads, because all ofthat countrys roads are through !ooded lands" These roads aremade out from bearings indicated by the stars" +artine1 %/4., %6%-%6.0

8/10/2019 Pecheneg

5/6

(ehet t-tevr;h

B?OM@ BR M^ `G\zM >M@ @ M wLH SGF G^ B?O QUVW^ M QKF WVQL?@

@ K} jG?@ L \ @ QV j@G^@ kR k jGM @O M U VF B

B?OM@ HF@ jO@ k SB V?@ z^ M ^ QF ^ QV @BU ^ k kO@

` B? Q k O?GM kGU @ MB} C\ ^ MB} G BL>H ]BkG^

`H H GF G^ O j=D O M O ^ Q k H @ O WKF XQ H VKk

q SGF G^ OkM ^ QF ^ @BU ^ ^ B{OF V >H k

O B? } K

Altnc ableye (eceneiyn derler" (u avm dahi muttasl yln on ii ay yosul ve bayle seferederler ve her anda im 1iyde brn yaup cnib-i smndan abvb-i ganmet ve ihsn feth olupibd allh 1erine nmet-i b-ern ve ganmet-i b-iys ve b-pyn bah oluna l-cerem andavarp imet ederler" e bunlarn memleetleri tavlan ve ar1an ve bastan ve ar1an gnlyoldr" hiyeleri iml canibinden 1emn-i :pa dr ama nhiye-i garblar vilyet-i 7a1ar ve)albdr" (u avmn ml ve nmet ve minet ve udretleri b-hadd ve b-ern ve b-iys ve b-

pyn ve bu avm-i haem shib-i tabl alemlerdir

The si8th tribe is called Pechene" This tribe also moves continually !ith his poor and reach peopleduring the %. months of the year" herever abundent rain falls from the heaven, the doors ofabundence and benevolence are opened, and immense benefiction and endless and infiniteabundence are granted to the servants of 5od, conseuently they go there and stay there" Theircountry is three days in length and in !ide" Their region is terminated by the land of the :ipchasto the north, but the land of the $us and )lavs lies to the !estern fringes of the country" The!ealth and benefiction and po!er and might of this people are boundless, immense, endless andinfinite" It is a nomadic people and they have drums and flags"

B?OM@ BR M^ `G\zM >M@ @ M wLH SGF G^ B?O QUVW^ M QKF WVQL?@

@ K} jG?@ L \ @ QV j@G^@ kR k jGM @O M U VF B

B?OM@ HF@ jO@ k SB V?@ z^ M ^ QF ^ QV @BU ^ k kO@

O?GM kGU @ MB} C\^ MB} G BL>H ]BkG^

8/10/2019 Pecheneg

6/6

O j=D O M O ^ Qk H@ O WKF XQH VKk ` B? Qk

B{OF V>H k `H HGF G^ G^ OkM ^ QF ^ @BU ^ ^

O B? } K q SGF

(ahat ut-tavr;h

O^ OQ\^ O^ U B G XQH O VVU BR LRGQ qM@ k@ QULz^ q QKF

XQH ` GR @ qM@ Qk O R O \@O O R qM@ XQH kO Wk@OQ\^ k `H @BkqM@ R@ j=D O M qM@ ^B Qk R@ WF^ } K =R R@"""

The si8th tribe is the Pechene" They move continually !ithin their territory" herever abundentrain falls they go there" Their country is three days in length and in !ide" Their region is terminated

by the land of the :ipchas to the north, the land of the $us and )lavs lies to the !est of thecountry" They have abundent !ealth and benefiction" They have !eapons, drums and flags"

7a**i :halifa

BkGF OO@ B?BM OF BH G{@ M@ O@BF BM BM BkG^ OQR QKF XULz^ B^O K?D =^ ^B ~F B B^ O BGU

ne of their tribes is also the Pechene" They do not settle do!n in a place i"e" move continually0they move in a territory up to thirty days *ourney" They are nomads" The )teppe of the :ipchas isone of their border, the land of the :ha1ar and )lavs lies to the !est"