minaret of Jām 47 The name and elaborate titles
first–third centuries) who ruled over the region
of sulṭān Ghiyāth al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Sām
which comprises what is now Tajikistan, Afghani-
are given on the three lower epigraphic bands of
stan, Pakistan and northern India,55 as well as by
the minaret of Jām 48 Another important Ghurid
the Armenians of a province near Lake Sevan 56
document for assessing the evolving titulature of
According to the genealogy of the Sām dynasty
the sulṭān is a four-volume leather-bound lavishly
of Ghūr, the fourth caliph ʿAlī brought about the
illuminated Qurʾān dated 584/1188–9, now pre-
conversion of the family to Islam in the first cen-
served in the Iran Bastan Museum in Tehran The
tury of the Islamic era, granting them the ruler-
sulṭān’s extensive range of official and celebra-
ship of Ghūr 57
tory titles is recorded in the colophon,49 combin-
The knot that joins the two dragons is the so-
ing epithets used earlier by both the Saljuqs and
cal ed “knot of Solomon,” which was known in the
the Ghaznawids 50 Even by the inflated standards
Central Asian region from at least the first centu-
of the time they are ostentatious, providing an
ries ad through to the Islamic period This knot
insight into this sulṭān’s self-representation and
succeeded the ancient so-called Herakles/Hercu-
imperial aspirations a decade before the Ghurid
les knot, the most famous knot used in ancient
conquest of India 51
times, considered to have apotropaic and magical
The choice of the dragon and the lion, both
qualities, which was often depicted in the form of
emblems of might and royalty, as symbols to rep-
both ophidian and quadruped dragons,58 and is
resent Ghiyāth al-Dīn’s rulership, under which the
a compelling example of continuity of meaning
Ghurid empire reached its apogee, is significant
in spite of formal change The symbolism of the
Even though he was greatly concerned with ortho-
Herakles knot stil had currency in late seventh- or
doxy52 a metrical version of the genealogy of the
early eighth-century Sogdia Moulded in the form
family, composed by Fakhr al-Dīn Mubarākshāh
of a pair of upright dragons that are linked by
Marwarrūdhi, which was completed during the
means of a large Herakles knot, the motif appears
reign of Ghiyāth al-Dīn, traces the family back
in a non-Buddhist context in the monumental
to the hominoid serpent of the ancient Iranian
sculptural decoration on the plastered mud-brick
epic past, Azhi Dahāka As is well-known, a pair
architecture of the portico of Temple II in the
of serpents are said to have sprouted from the
ancient city of Panjikent in Sogdiana (Zarafashān,
latter’s shoulders After Farīdūn (arabicised from
north of the Hiṣār range) (fig 170)
Afrīdūn) overthrew the thousand-year reign of
Like the Hercules knot, the knot of Solomon
Ẓaḥḥāk/Dahāk, his descendants were presumed
is a well-known apotropaic sign 59 It is com-
to have settled in Ghūr 53 The Ghurid descent
monly associated with the magical seal of Solo-
from Dahāk seems to have enjoyed a favourable
mon (khātam Sulaymān) 60 and attributed to the
reputation This descent was shared by Rustam,
magician-king Solomon of post-biblical Jewish
one of the greatest warriors of Iranian legends,54
tradition61 who controls the winds, animals, and
by the Kushāṇas of the yuezhi confederacy ( c
spirits The biblical King Sulaymān is named
47 A pair of nielloed gold pendants, now in the al-Sabāh
Ghurids; Bosworth, “Ghūrids,” EI² II, 1099a Cf Shahbazi,
Collection, also inscribed with the name of the Ghurid
1993, p 159
sulṭān, “Muḥammad ibn Sām” was found in the same village
54 See p 8, n 46
Kuwait, al-Sabāh Collection, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah,
55 See p 8, n 47
Kuwait National Museum, inv no LNS 1890 J
56 See p 8, n 51
48 The name and titles of the sulṭān Ghiyāth al-Dunya wa
57 See p 8, n 48
’l-Dīn Abu ’l-Fatḥ Muḥammad ibn Sām are given by Maricq
58 See Belenizkii, 1980, fig 92
and Wiet, 1959, p 27, no 3; Pinder-Wilson, 2001, p 168 and
59 The importance accorded to such plaited knots
n 47
is underlined by their ubiquitous use in monumental
49 Iran Bastan Museum, Tehran, Ms 3507, fol 198a Cf
epigraphic friezes on architecture, an early example being
Flood, 2005, pp 267–9, fig 1
the tomb tower Rādkān West in the Alburz Mountains in
50 Idem, p 268
Māzandarān finished in 411/1021 See Blair, 1992, pp 85–7,
51 Cf idem, pp 267–9
figs 48–52
52 Ghiyāth al-Dīn was closely affiliated with the
60 Melikian-Chirvani, 1977, pp 367–406 The “Seal of
Karrā miyya sect that was dominant among the population of
Solomon” was portrayed as a five-pointed star or pentagram,
Ghūr and instrumental in persecuting the Ismāʿīlis, but later
interchangeably used with a six-pointed star or hexagram Cf
he shifted allegiance to the Shāfiʿī school of law, while his
Doutté, 1909, p 154; Dawkins, 1944, pp 145–50; Ittig, 1982,
brother, Muʿizz al-Dīn, became a Ḥanafī; idem, pp 270, 281
p 86; Moulierac, 1987, p 88; Shani, 1999, p 254 and n 11
and n 66, p 287
61 Cf Henninger, 2004, pp 20, 25 Evidence of Solomon’s
53 Quoted by Abū ʿAmr al-Jūzjānī, the historian of the
influence on the magical traditions of the Graeco-Roman
the knotted dragon motif
165
seventeen times in the Qurʾān (especially sūra
(a motif also associated with the magical khātam
38, 30–9) 62 The khātam Sulaymān is thought to
Sulaymān) as well as another unprovenanced
have been the symbol inscribed on the seal ring of
example from a private collection 72
Sulaymān, “which endowed his owner with power
A moulded band with eight almond-shaped
over both terrestrial and supernatural beings ”63
medal ions enclosing pairs of knotted dragons cir-
Melikian-Chirvani, moreover, has drawn atten-
cumscribes a pyriform flask of unglazed earthen-
tion to the possibility that the presence of the
ware, thought to come from Iran or Mesopotamia,
motif, which is “typical of the Eastern Iranian
which is datable to the same period, now in the
repertoire [on metalwork] seldom used in the
Musée national de la céramique, Sèvres 73 Here the
West,”64 indicates an esoteric intention 65
winged dragons are pictured addorsed The heads,
The motif of the knotted dragons, rendered
jaws agape, are twisted back so that their out-
in virtually the same manner as on the Ghurid
stretched tongues meet at the centre while their
matrix, is pictured on a “sphero-conical” unglazed
forelegs are turned outwards and the bodies are
earthenware vessel found in the region of the
linked by means of a quadripartite knot
Golden Horde (Juchi Ulus), datable to the late
Like most of the “sphero-conical” vessels, the
twelfth or early thirteenth century, now pre-
body of the flask is made of dense almost stone-
served in the State Historical Museum in Moscow
ware-like high-temperature fired earthenware,
(fig 171) The dragons are more stylised, how-
which makes the vessel watertight The specific-
ever, and have lost their horns and forelegs, so
ity of the paste and the esoteric connotation of the
that only their necks are shown to cross over A
motifs evoke alchemical procedures which were
great quantity of these “sphero-conical” vessels
practised by great physicians such as Abū Bakr
have been found throughout the Islamic world,
Muḥammad ibn Zakariyyāʾ al-Rāzī (the Rhazes
and while the vessels probably served numerous
of the Latin Middle Ages) from Rayy in Iran ( c.
different purposes,66 the prevalent view is that they
250/854–313/925 or 323/935), whose interest lay
contained liquids such as beverages,67 mercury
particularly in practical chemistry,74 and suggest
or perfume,68 while some may have been used
the use of the flask in a laboratory context 75
for chemical or alchemical operations 69 Several
In the symbolism of medieval Islamic alchemy,
“sphero-conical” vessels with the same motif have
it seems the paired dragons connected with the
been found, such as a bottle fragment from Dwīn
use of a quadripartite knot represented a funda-
in Ararat province, the former Armenian capital
mental polarity on which the cosmic rhythm is
until the Arab conquest when it became the seat
based, the solve et coagula of the alchemical pro-
of the governor,70 an example from Iran, now in
cess: the sulphur and mercury of alchemy 76 This
the collection of Michael Rogers, London,71 with
complex theory was developed in the writings
stamped decoration and a large six-pointed star
of the Jābirian Corpus, Muḥammad ibn Umayl
period, revealing the extensive influence of Jewish magic,
67 On the use of the vessels as beer gourds, containing
is found in the use of his name in several incantations
fuqāʿ or fuqqāʿ, see Ghouchani and Adle, 1992, pp 72–92
in magical papyri and the specific reference to the use of
68 Ettinghausen, 1965, pp 218–29
his seal in the following appeal: “I adjure you by the seal
69 Rogers, 1969, pp 147–58; Moulierac, 1987, pp 86, 88
which Solomon placed on the tongue of Jeremiah, and he
70 The History Museum of Armenia, inv no 1682–8,
spoke ” Preisendanz, 1973, p 102 (Pap IV, 3039–041) Cf
height 12 cm, diameter 9 cm Dzhanpoladyan, 1958, p 206,
Perdrizet, 1903, p 58; Aune, “Exorcism,” ISBE, vol 2, 1939,
fig 5 Cf Ettinghausen, 1965, p 228, fig 15 (drawing);
repr 1994, p 243
Rogers, 1969, p 153, n 12 (drawing p 154, fig 3); Moulierac,
62 Sulaymān is acquainted with the speech of birds and
1987, p 87 and n 28
animals ( sūra 27, 16–9), he can control the wind as well as
71 Rogers, 1969, p 152, pls 1 and 2; Moulierac, 1987,
the demons and jinn s who taught magic to humans ( sūra s 21,
p 87; Savage-Smith, 1997, pp 324–5, type 6, drawing below
81–2; 34, 12; 34, 12–3; and 38, 36–40)
(“private collection, London”)
63 Ittig, 1992, p 86; Shani, 1999, p 254 and n 10
72 Ettinghausen, 1965, p 224, pl L A (photograph)
64 Melikian-Chirvani, 1982, p 178
73 Sèvres, Musée national de la céramique, inv no MNC
65 Idem, 1977, pp 367–406
19589; see À l’ombre d’Avicenne, 1996, p 143, cat no 56
66 On the possible usage of these vessels, see Etting -
(detail)
hausen, 1965, pp 218–29; Rogers, 1969, pp 147–58 A com-
74 Anawati, “Arabic Alchemy,” EHAS, 1996, vol 3, p 868
prehensive list of functions based on the vessels’ forms is given
75 Moulierac, 1987, p 86 Flasks of comparable shape are
by Savage-Smith, 1997, pp 324–33 The contents of “sphero-
featured on fol 15 and fol 17 of the Pseudo-Galen treatise
conical” vessels excavated at Nīshāpūr were tested and were
Kitāb al-diryāq (“Book of Antidotes”), dated 595/1198–9,
thought to “hold volatile liquids, water and oil without seep-
now in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Ms Arabe 2964 Cf
age ” See Hauser and Wilkinson, 1942, p 89; Wilkinson,
eadem, p 84
1973, pp XXXII–XXXIII
76 Eadem, p 88
166