Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms, Vol. 12

The Rise of the Arabs and the Conquest of the West

As the legends say, his words were cryptic and subversive. This likely refers to the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, which early Chinese historians often viewed through a lens of "mysterious" or "deceptive" rhetoric because they differed so greatly from traditional Chinese or Buddhist thought. He gathered a following of outcasts and fugitives at the Henghe River original: 恒曷水 (Henghe Shui); likely referring to the borders of the Sassanid Persian Empire or the Oxus River region, where they raided merchant caravans. Securing the western frontiers, he declared himself king. He relocated a Black Stone original: 黑石 (Heishi); a clear reference to the Black Stone of the Kaaba in Mecca and treated it as a sacred treasure. When the Persians sent an army to suppress him, the Persian forces were utterly defeated and forced to retreat.

From this victory, the Arabs grew in power until they finally destroyed the Persian Empire and defeated Byzantium original: 拂菻 (Fulin); the Eastern Roman Empire. It was only then that they came to possess granaries filled with millet and wheat. They turned their sights southward, invading the Brahmin lands original: 婆羅門 (Poluomen); Northern India and annexing various kingdoms.

Their elite troops eventually numbered four hundred thousand. The kingdoms of Samarkand original: 康 (Kang) and Tashkent original: 石 (Shi) both submitted to them as vassals. Their territory spanned ten thousand li a Chinese unit of distance; ten thousand li symbolizes a vast, imperial scale, reaching the Turgesh original: 突騎斯 (Tuqishi); a Turkic confederation in Central Asia to the east and the sea to the southwest.

The Land of Berbera

Within the southwestern sea lies the tribe of Berbera original: 撥拔力 (Bobali); referring to the Somali coast of East Africa. They are an independent people who serve no master. Their land produces none of the five grains; instead, they eat meat. They have a custom of piercing the veins of their cattle to mix the blood with milk for drinking. They wear no woven clothes, covering their bodies with sheepskins.

The women of Berbera are noted for being both wise and beautiful. The land is rich in ivory and ambergris original: 阿末香 (Amoxiang); a precious substance found in the sea, used for perfume and medicine. When Persian merchants wish to trade in their markets, they must form caravans of several thousand men. They must perform a ritual of "biting and cutting" an ancient blood oath to seal their vows before trade can begin.

The Berbera army utilizes weapons made of ivory and horn, along with bows, arrows, and spears. They once boasted two hundred thousand soldiers, but they were eventually defeated by the Arabs.

In the second year of the Yonghui reign 651 AD, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, the King of the Arabs sent his first official envoy to the Tang court to present tribute.