The aspiring warrior. Malik Abdullah's reign part 1(1089-1097)
Chapter 7
Malik Hiba died on 10 September 1089 of his faulty eye. He was not buried by Islamic customs, instead his body was flung off the cliff of a desert wadi(Low hill) as he had wished. He flew like a bird for one last time on the earth. All his well-wishers wished that he would fly in Allah's gardens for eternity.
Immediately, Badra got to work. The Malik Abdullah V, her eldest son was only 9 years old. Like his father, his merry boyhood had been flung into the ugly world of men and their intrigues. There was no shortage of those. It is written in the Abdullah Maliknama(Written by an author called Tawariz of whom we have no information) that just hours after Hiba's death, a band of assiliants tried to attack Abdullah even as he lay in mourning. Fortunately, Badra had them caught. The men were castrated and sold away in slavery as an example. That same night, she had the Khutba read in his name. He was crowned as chief of the Banu Khattab by dawn.
A modern day painting of the Malikaa Badra drawn by a historian from German Mittelafrika.
Then, Badra got to work. Within days of Abdullah's coronation, all of his minor enemies were either bought off or killed. Soon, peace reigned strong atleast in the central oasises of Zawila and Murzuk. According to the Maliknama, this noble woman wanted her son to have a carefree childhood away from the dangers of day to day power.
She succeeded in doing so, however, she could not stop the intrigues among her own son. Abdullah's friend Karim, despite being younger towered over him. He was much more stronger than the young Malik and he regularly beat up the comparatively timid Malik Abdullah in wrestling matches. For a long time, the Malik ignored it for companionship. But one particular day, tired of the constant torment, the Malik vowed to take up his martiality seriously. Still only 11 years old, the Malik started on his path to become a maniacal warrior.
He started eating more, wrestling more, training more. He also learned the arts of sword fighting and archery. Badra appointed a team of the most trusted and best warriors in the tribe to further his training. They also taught him the intrigues and ways of the battlefield. The Malik became a highly proficient and brilliant warrior and leader by the time the regency ended in 1096. But in the process, he had lost his childhood despite his mother's efforts.
After this, the Maliknama jumps straight to an event that occurred shortly after the end of the regency. On his mother's advice, the Malik Abdullah decided to travel to his farway province of Daura. But as he neared it, he decided to rest with his bodyguards at an uninhabited oasis in the desert. At dawn, he suddenly noticed dozens of men fighting with their swords drawn. He alerted his soldiers and drew his own. He noticed that those men outnumbered his band. So he decided to covertly spy on their activities. On further observation, he concluded that it was not fighting, but dueling that he was seeing. Seeing Dueling, the Malik could not control his emotions, still just a boy of 16 and quite brash, he appeared head on in the dueler's camp and declared "I am Malik Abdullah of the Banu Khattab, I wish to join you too". According to the Maliknama, a sudden silence fell around. Both the duelers and the Malik's bodyguards looked at each other silently, swords drawn. Finally, one of the senior duellers came forward.
He spoke in a fatherly voice "Young boy, inside this camp, there is no Malik and no slave. We duel to show our manliness and power. If you want to join us, then you join us by showing your guts, not your position" said the old man.
"Ok then, tell me, what should I do to join?" asked the Malik.
The old man did not speak, he simply waived his hand at one of the warriors in the camp. The Maliknama says that the warrior came from the Hausa state of Gobir. The Malik understood immediately. A ferocious duel took place. The Malik fought using his sword while the warrior, towering over the Malik used a curved wooden blade. The duel lasted for more than an hour. Sadly at the end, the Malik was pinned down and despite his saying otherwise, the old man ordered the warrior to stop and declared the warrior as the victor. The dejected Malik left the camp and continued travelling to Daura.
In Daura, the Malik ordered the release of the chieftess who had been under house arrest since his father's annexation of the settlement. It would prove to be a big mistake later on.
He also waived a few taxes as instructed by his mother to improve their relations with the local population. In the end, he left as a respected ruler rather than a visiting conquerer.
On the way back, he suddenly saw a few horsemen riding towards him. For a moment the Malik became alert, however to his astonishment, they were some of the duelers that he had seen in the old man's camp. They bowed before him and presented him a strong curved sword. With it was a letter. The exact contents of the letter are not described, but the Maliknama describes the scene as momentous. The Malik was delighted at being declared a worthy warrior by the band of duelers despite having lost the duel. He had been declared their equal if not overlord.
When he returned, he decided to sacrifice his ceremonial robes in favour of leading a warrior's life. He also gave up on cutting his beard and kept his hair in long locks. He also started giving fair justice without looking at people's rank. The Maliknama praises him highly for the same. He also approved new plans to dig up extra wells at the drought hit oasis of Fachi which saw fruit. Within mere months, the oasis was flooded with light rains and most of the water was saved up due to the wells. Everyone praised the Malik for that. It was as if prosperity and fame were raining down on him. This happened in 1097.
Meanwhile, the noble Badra finally decided to retire and live a quiet life hoping to never enter politics again.
That same year, the Malik also decided to further his fame as a warrior chief by holding a great festival at Murzuk.
Male beauty contests were a salient part of the Berber tribal festivals.
But some males preferred to show their rougher side in duels instead.
Camel racing. Camels were the lifeline of the Sahara and proud owners aimed to improve their family's prestige by trying to breed the fastest camels.
And of course, there were the woman, enjoying, silently in their own groups.
All the chief's(and chieftesses) including the ones of Bilma and Daura were called to the festival and welcomed. They came. Sadly for the Malik, their intentions were questionable......
Malik Hiba died on 10 September 1089 of his faulty eye. He was not buried by Islamic customs, instead his body was flung off the cliff of a desert wadi(Low hill) as he had wished. He flew like a bird for one last time on the earth. All his well-wishers wished that he would fly in Allah's gardens for eternity.
Immediately, Badra got to work. The Malik Abdullah V, her eldest son was only 9 years old. Like his father, his merry boyhood had been flung into the ugly world of men and their intrigues. There was no shortage of those. It is written in the Abdullah Maliknama(Written by an author called Tawariz of whom we have no information) that just hours after Hiba's death, a band of assiliants tried to attack Abdullah even as he lay in mourning. Fortunately, Badra had them caught. The men were castrated and sold away in slavery as an example. That same night, she had the Khutba read in his name. He was crowned as chief of the Banu Khattab by dawn.
A modern day painting of the Malikaa Badra drawn by a historian from German Mittelafrika.
Then, Badra got to work. Within days of Abdullah's coronation, all of his minor enemies were either bought off or killed. Soon, peace reigned strong atleast in the central oasises of Zawila and Murzuk. According to the Maliknama, this noble woman wanted her son to have a carefree childhood away from the dangers of day to day power.
She succeeded in doing so, however, she could not stop the intrigues among her own son. Abdullah's friend Karim, despite being younger towered over him. He was much more stronger than the young Malik and he regularly beat up the comparatively timid Malik Abdullah in wrestling matches. For a long time, the Malik ignored it for companionship. But one particular day, tired of the constant torment, the Malik vowed to take up his martiality seriously. Still only 11 years old, the Malik started on his path to become a maniacal warrior.
He started eating more, wrestling more, training more. He also learned the arts of sword fighting and archery. Badra appointed a team of the most trusted and best warriors in the tribe to further his training. They also taught him the intrigues and ways of the battlefield. The Malik became a highly proficient and brilliant warrior and leader by the time the regency ended in 1096. But in the process, he had lost his childhood despite his mother's efforts.
After this, the Maliknama jumps straight to an event that occurred shortly after the end of the regency. On his mother's advice, the Malik Abdullah decided to travel to his farway province of Daura. But as he neared it, he decided to rest with his bodyguards at an uninhabited oasis in the desert. At dawn, he suddenly noticed dozens of men fighting with their swords drawn. He alerted his soldiers and drew his own. He noticed that those men outnumbered his band. So he decided to covertly spy on their activities. On further observation, he concluded that it was not fighting, but dueling that he was seeing. Seeing Dueling, the Malik could not control his emotions, still just a boy of 16 and quite brash, he appeared head on in the dueler's camp and declared "I am Malik Abdullah of the Banu Khattab, I wish to join you too". According to the Maliknama, a sudden silence fell around. Both the duelers and the Malik's bodyguards looked at each other silently, swords drawn. Finally, one of the senior duellers came forward.
He spoke in a fatherly voice "Young boy, inside this camp, there is no Malik and no slave. We duel to show our manliness and power. If you want to join us, then you join us by showing your guts, not your position" said the old man.
"Ok then, tell me, what should I do to join?" asked the Malik.
The old man did not speak, he simply waived his hand at one of the warriors in the camp. The Maliknama says that the warrior came from the Hausa state of Gobir. The Malik understood immediately. A ferocious duel took place. The Malik fought using his sword while the warrior, towering over the Malik used a curved wooden blade. The duel lasted for more than an hour. Sadly at the end, the Malik was pinned down and despite his saying otherwise, the old man ordered the warrior to stop and declared the warrior as the victor. The dejected Malik left the camp and continued travelling to Daura.
In Daura, the Malik ordered the release of the chieftess who had been under house arrest since his father's annexation of the settlement. It would prove to be a big mistake later on.
He also waived a few taxes as instructed by his mother to improve their relations with the local population. In the end, he left as a respected ruler rather than a visiting conquerer.
On the way back, he suddenly saw a few horsemen riding towards him. For a moment the Malik became alert, however to his astonishment, they were some of the duelers that he had seen in the old man's camp. They bowed before him and presented him a strong curved sword. With it was a letter. The exact contents of the letter are not described, but the Maliknama describes the scene as momentous. The Malik was delighted at being declared a worthy warrior by the band of duelers despite having lost the duel. He had been declared their equal if not overlord.
When he returned, he decided to sacrifice his ceremonial robes in favour of leading a warrior's life. He also gave up on cutting his beard and kept his hair in long locks. He also started giving fair justice without looking at people's rank. The Maliknama praises him highly for the same. He also approved new plans to dig up extra wells at the drought hit oasis of Fachi which saw fruit. Within mere months, the oasis was flooded with light rains and most of the water was saved up due to the wells. Everyone praised the Malik for that. It was as if prosperity and fame were raining down on him. This happened in 1097.
Meanwhile, the noble Badra finally decided to retire and live a quiet life hoping to never enter politics again.
That same year, the Malik also decided to further his fame as a warrior chief by holding a great festival at Murzuk.
Male beauty contests were a salient part of the Berber tribal festivals.
But some males preferred to show their rougher side in duels instead.
Camel racing. Camels were the lifeline of the Sahara and proud owners aimed to improve their family's prestige by trying to breed the fastest camels.
And of course, there were the woman, enjoying, silently in their own groups.
All the chief's(and chieftesses) including the ones of Bilma and Daura were called to the festival and welcomed. They came. Sadly for the Malik, their intentions were questionable......
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