NAMIAN: An ayyar in Amir Hamza’s service
NAMRUD: Nimrod. The title of King Suriyus, who is said to have cast Prophet Ibrahim into a fire. In the dastan he is mentioned as a god of the fire worshippers.
NAQABDAR: Literally, “the veiled one”
NAQABDAR NARANJI-POSH: Veiled rider who comes to assist Amir Hamza’s armies in times of need
NARANJ PERI: A peri of Qaf who appears as the Naqabdar Naranji-Posh
NARIMAN: Famous hero of Persia
NASAI: Son of the king of Farang
NASNAAS OF SULEIMAN: Beast that resembles human beings and can speak the Arabic language. It is said that the beast has only one leg, one eye, one arm, and one ear, and hops when walking.
NAUSHERVAN: Emperor of Persia; son of Qubad Kamran and father of Mehr-Nigar
NIHAL: Princess Mehr-Nigar’s childhood attendant
NIM-TAN: An imaginary being that has half a face, one eye, one arm, and one foot. There are male and female nim-tans: The male has the right hand, foot, and so forth and the female the left. When united, the male and female resemble one human figure; when separated, they run with amazing speed on their single feet and are considered very dangerous.
NIM-TAN KHAVARI: Father of Qeemaz Shah Khavari
NOMAN: Son of King Munzir; shah of Yemen
NOOR BANO: Sister of Bahman and daughter of Salasal Shah
NUH: Prophet Noah
PAIK AYYAR: An ayyar in Emperor Naushervan’s service
PALANG-SAR DEV: A dev of Qaf and a minion of Sufaid Dev
PERI: A female fairy
PERIZAD: A male peri. The term perizad is also used to describe any creature born of a peri.
PIRAN MAGHREBI: Sher Shah Qirwani’s commander in chief
PIR BHUCHRI (OR MIR BHUCHRI): Saint venerated by the transvestites
PIR FARKHARI: Companion of Amir Hamza
PIR JALILAN: Name of a saint, or a place named after this saint. No other information is available.
PIR-UL-WALI: Title of the Indian saint Khvaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishti (1142–1238 C.E.), in whose name food offerings are made
PLATO: Greek philosopher (427–347 B.C.E.)
POTIPHAR: Ruler of Egypt to whom Yusuf (Joseph) was sold in slavery
PUR-HINDI: Indian prince
PYTHAGORAS: Greek philosopher (569–475 B.C.E.)
QAILUM: Sassanid warrior in Emperor Naushervan’s service
QAIS: Hero of the romance Laila and Majnun; the lover of Laila. His patronymic was Majnun, “the frenzied one.”
QAIS QEEMAZ KHAVARI: Son of Qeemaz Shah Khavari
SHAH: Warrior who advances on Mecca and is defeated by Ajal bin Abdul Muttalib
QAMAR CHEHRA PERI: Amir Hamza’s peri wife; mother of Qamza-Zad
QAMZA-ZAD: Son of Amir Hamza by Qamar Chehra Peri
QAMAR DEOBAND: Commander in Emperor Naushervan’s service
QAMAR FIL-GARDAN: Sassanid warrior in Emperor Naushervan’s service
QAROON: King Croesus of Lydia (reigned 560–547 B.C.E.), whose name connotes wealth
QAROON AKKA: Son of Furhad-Akka
QASIM KHAVARI: Son of Alam Shah Roomi
QATRAN MAGHREBI: An ayyar in Sher Shah Qirwani’s service
QAUS: A shepherd
QEEMAZ SHAH KHAVARI: Ruler of the city of Khavar
QUBAD: Woodcutter to whom Emperor Qubad gives away Dil-Aaram
QUBAD: Son of Amir Hamza by Mehr-Nigar
QUBAD AADI: Warrior of the Aadi tribe
QUBAD KAMRAN: Emperor of Persia and father of Naushervan
QUFUL NESTANI: Ruler of the fort of Nestan
QULABA CHINI: Son of the emperor of China; brother of Mehr-Angez
QUNDUZ SAR-SHABAN: Owner of a garden who becomes Amir Hamza’s companion
QURAISHA: Daughter of Amir Hamza by Aasman Peri
RA’AD DEV: Two-headed dev Amir Hamza encounters in Qaf
RA’AD SHATIR DEV: Nephew of Ifrit Dev and lord of the castles of Siyah Boom and Sufaid Boom
RABIA PLAS POSH: Daughter of King Fatah Nosh, the sovereign of Kharsana
RAE-BEL: Wet nurse whose name is invoked by cowards
RAHDAR DEV: First dev of Qaf killed by Amir Hamza
RAHMAN: Father of Vizier Haman
RAM: A Hindu god
RASHID JINN: King of the lands of Abyaz Min Muzafat, a dominion of Qaf
RASHIDA PERI: Daughter of Rashid Jinn
RAUF JINN: Minister of Junaid Shah Sabz-Posh Jinn
REHAN PERI: Daughter of Junaid Shah Sabz-Posh Jinn
REL GAOLANGI: Son of Gaolangi
RIZWAN: According to Islamic legend, the porter of Heaven
RIZWAN PERIZAD: One of the attendants of Aasman Peri
RUKH: Giant bird that is the enemy of King Tulu Gao-Pa
RUSTAM: Legendary Persian warrior and son of Zal
RUSTAM-E PEEL-TAN: See Alam Shah Roomi
SA’AD BIN AMAR HAMZA: Son of Amar Hamza and grandson of Amir Hamza
SA’AD SHAMI: Alias used by Amir Hamza
SA’AD TAUQI: Warrior in Amir Hamza’s service
SA’AD YEMENI: Amir Hamza’s companion
SA’AD ZARRIN-TARKASH: Nephew of Emperor Naushervan
SA’AD ZULMATI: Amar Ayyar disguised as a bearded forty-yard-tall giant
SAADAN SHAH: King of Ceylon; father of Landhoor
SAALIM: A holy man and descendent of Prophet Nuh
SAAM: Ruler of Antakia
SABIR: Son of Shahpal Hindi and brother of Sabur
SABIR NAMADPOSH AYYAR: An ayyar in Emperor Naushervan’s service
SABIT SHAH: One of two masters of the castle of Rahtas Gadh; see Tahmuras Shah
SABUR: Son of Shahpal Hindi and brother of Sabir
SAEED BAZARGAN: Khvaja Abdur Rahman Jinn in disguise; the master of a ship Amir sees being loaded in Qaf
SAHIB-E HAL ATA: According to dastan scholar Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, this is from the phrase “sahib-e hal ata” and is a name signifying Ali bin Abu Talib. Chapter 76 of the Quran, the Dahr, or Insan, begins with this phrase. It means “has there not passed, or been.?” Verse 8 of this chapter speaks of people who go hungry themselves while feeding others. Some interpreters of the Quran say that this verse refers to Ali bin Abu Talib, and it is therefore presumed that the whole chapter is about Ali bin Abu Talib in some way. Since the chapter starts with “hal ata,” Ali bin Abu Talib is occasionally described as the sahib, or the tajdar of “hal ata.”
SAHIBQIRAN: Title for the Lord of the Auspicious Planetary Conjunction; given to those born under the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus. These planets were thought to be benevolent, and their conjunction was considered most fortunate. This epithet is also applied to a monarch who has ruled for forty years. In this book, the title is used exclusively for Amir Hamza.
SALASAL PERIZAD: Companion of Emperor Shahpal bin Shahrukh of Qaf, and messenger of Aasman Peri
SALASAL SHAH: Master of the fort of Salasal Hisar
SALEEM KOHI: Father of Susan Peri
SALEH: Prophet sent to the tribe of Samud. Some associate him with the biblical Shelah.
SALIM SHAIRAN: Queen of the land of Zulmat in Qaf
SAM BIN NARIMAN: Legendary Persian warrior; father of Zal and grandfather of Rustam
SAMAN SEEMA PERI: One of Amir Hamza’s peri wives from Qaf
SAMANDAR KHAN: An expert in pyrotechnics; brother of Zaad Khan
SAMANDUN HAZAR-DAST DEV: A dev whom Amir Hamza fights in Qaf
SAMAWA AYYAR: An ayyar in Emperor Naushervan’s service
SAMERI: Magician who was the contemporary of Prophet Musa. According to Islamic legend, he conjured a calf that had the power of speech.
SAMOOM AADI: Warrior of the Aadi tribe
SAMRAT GAO-SAR: King of the gao-sars; his daughter, Arvana, marries Hamza
SANG ANDAZ KHUNKHVAR NESTAN: King of Nestan, 190-yard-tall giant
SAQAR GHAR BANO: Mother of Bakhtak
SAQRA-E BARAHMAN: Chief of Sufaid Dev’s minions
SAR-BAR
AHNA TAPISHI: Commander in Emperor Naushervan’s service; brother of Dewana Tapishi
SARHANG MISRI: Chief of the ayyars of the king of Egypt
SARKASH HINDI: Ruler of Sindh; brother of Koh Bakht Hindi
SARKOB TURK: Warrior in Amir Hamza’s service
SARYAL BIN SALASAL: Forty-yard-tall giant; the king of Qaza-va-Qadar
SAUDAI QALANDAR: Alias used by Amar Ayyar
SAYYAD: An ayyar in the service of Sabit Shah
SEHBA JADU: Chief sorceress of the Tilism-e Anjabal where Rashida Peri and Arshivan are imprisoned
SEH-CHASHMI DEV: Creator of the Tilism-e Anjabal
SHABAN TAIFI: Son of Qunduz Sar-Shaban, titled Hamza-e Sani, “the Latter-day Hamza,” by Amir Hamza
SHABRANG: Horse of Shaddad Abu-Amar Habashi
SHADDAD: Cruel monarch who arrogated divine power to himself. He was the founder of the legendary Gardens of Irum. Reviled in the Quran (89:6–8).
SHADDAD ABU-AMAR HABASHI: King of Ethiopia
SHAHPAL: Brother of King Saadan Shah of Ceylon; Jaipur’s father and Landhoor’s uncle. Not to be confused with Shahpal Hindi.
SHAHPAL BIN KARBAL BIN TAVEEL ZULMATI: An alias used by Amar Ayyar
SHAHPAL BIN SHAHRUKH: A jinn; emperor of Qaf and father of Aasman Peri
SHAHPAL HINDI: Father of Sabir and Sabur; not to be confused with King Shahpal, who is Landhoor’s uncle
SHAMIM: Vizier of Sabit Shah
SHAMSHEER-ZAN: Executioner in the court of Shaddad Abu-Amar Habashi
SHANKAVAH: Nubian who tyrannizes Faridun Shah’s lands and is killed by Landhoor
SHARARA JADU: Mother of Ra’ad, the two-headed dev
SHATIR: Commander in the service of Prince Hurmuz
SHER SHAH QIRWANI: Sovereign of Qirwan
SHERMAR: Sherwani warrior in the service of Amir Hamza
SHIDAI QALANDAR: Alias used by Amar Ayyar
SHIRIN: Heroine of the romance Shirin and Farhad; Farhad’s beloved
SHIRIN: Ruler of the city of women
SHIS: Prophet Seth
SHIS YEMENI: Amir Hamza’s commander and camp guard
MIAN SHORA: Musician associated with the court of Asaf-ul-Dawla in Avadh who developed and refined the tappa style of singing
SHUAIB: Ruler of Mando
SIKANDER: Name often used for both Alexander of Macedon and the prince Sikander Zulqarnain (Alexander the Bicornous)
SIKANDER ZULQARNAIN: See Sikander
SIKANDER ZULMATI: Emperor of Zulmat
SIMURGH: Giant bird whom Hamza befriends in Qaf
SIMURGH’S FEMALE: Holy guardian of the women of the city of Shirin
SINA AADI: Warrior of the Aadi tribe
SIRAJ: Commander who attacks Landhoor’s lands
SIYAH QITAS: Horse of Prophet Ishaq (Isaac); given to Amir Hamza by Angel Jibrail
SIYAH SHER: Shepherd who looks after Hamza when he is wounded in battle
SIYAVUSH (OR SIYAVUSH BIN BUZURJMEHR): Buzurjmehr’s son
SOHRAB: Legendary Persian warrior; son of Rustam
SOHRAB: Brother of Darab, keeper of the fortress of Kurgistan
SUFAID DEV: Commander of Samandoon Hazar-Dast Dev
SUHAIL: A goldsmith
SUHAIL YEMENI: Commander of the king of Yemen who becomes Amir Hamza’s companion
SULEIMAN: King Solomon. According to the Islamic tradition, he had power over men, jinns, and beasts.
SULTAN BAKHT MAGHREBI: Prince of Maghreb
SULTAN BIN ZAL SHAMAMA JADU: Fictitious name adopted by one of Naqabdar Naranji-Posh’s ayyars in imitating the king of Turkistan
SUSAN PERI (OR SUSAN JADU): Daughter of Saleem Kohi and guardian of Maloona Jadu’s tilism
TAAN-SEN: Court musician of the Mughal emperor Akbar
TAHMURAS DEOBAND: King of Persia. According to legend, he enslaved a demon and made him his mount. He was therefore titled deoband, “the demon rider.”
TAHMURAS SHAH: One of two masters of the castle of Rahtas Gadh. See Sabit Shah
TAIFUS BIN MAYUS BIN SARBUS BIN TAQ BIN TAMTARAQ BAZARGAN: An alias used by Amar Ayyar when disguised as a merchant
TARAR KHOOBAN: Attendant of Princess Mehr-Nigar; Muqbil Vafadar’s beloved
TASMA-PA: A race of beings that have leathery thongs for legs
TASSAVURAN: A king; father of Zar-Angez
TAUQ BIN HEYRAN: Robber and bandit who renounces banditry and becomes Amir Hamza’s companion
TAUQ-E ZARRIN: Son of Amir Hamza by Naranj Peri
TAUS BAKHTARI: One of the rulers of the lands of Bakhtar
TAZ TURK: Champion warrior in Amir Hamza’s service
TOMIAN: An ayyar in Amir Hamza’s service
TULU GAO-PA: King of the gao-pas
UMAYYA ZAMIRI: A cameleer; father of Amar Ayyar
WAILUM: Sassanid warrior in Emperor Naushervan’s service
WAMIQ: Hero of the romance Wamiq and Azra; lover of Azra
WAQ: Talking tree whose fruit is shaped like human heads
YALAN: Commander in the service of Fatah Nosh
YAQUB: Jacob
YEZID: The second caliph of the Umayyad dynasty; ruled from C.E. 680–683. Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Husain and his family were put to death at Karbala on Yezid’s orders. An archetypal villain.
YUSUF: Joseph
ZAAD KHAN: An expert in pyrotechnics; brother of Samandar Khan
ZAFAR: An ayyar in the service of Amir Hamza
ZAIGHAM: Commander for Malik Shuaib
ZAL: Persian hero who was the father of Rustam and the son of Sam
ZAR-ANGEZ: Daughter of King Tassavuran; wife of Emperor Naushervan
ZARAQ JADU: A dev who encounters Amir in Tilism-e Shehristan-e Zarrin
ZARDHASHT JADU: Sorcerer and author of a book on magic
ZEHRA MISRI: Daughter of the king of Egypt
ZHOPIN FAULAD-TAN: Warrior in Emperor Naushervan’s service
ZHOPIN KAUS (OR ZHOPIN ZABULI): Warrior in Emperor Naushervan’s service
ZHOPIN ZABULI: See Zhopin Kaus
ZULAIKHA: Potiphar’s wife
ZURA ZARAH-POSH: Commander in Emperor Naushervan’s service
SELECTED SOURCES
ENGLISH
Burton, Sir Richard Francis. The Book of the Sword. (New York: Dover, 1987).
Egerton of Tatton, Lord. Indian and Oriental Armour (London: Arms and Armour Press, Lionel Leventhal Ltd., 1968).
Fallon, S. W. English-Urdu Dictionary (Rpt., Lahore: Urdu Science Board, 1993).
Faridany-Akhavan, Zahra. “The Problems of the Mughal Manuscript of the Hamza-Nama 1562–77: A Reconstruction.” Ph.D. dissertation, Harvard University, 1989.
Hosain, Shaikh Sajjad. The Amir Hamza: An Oriental Novel. Part I (Calcutta: Sarat Chandra Bysack & Co, 1892).
Khoneli, Mose. Amir Darejian—A Cycle of Medieval Georgian Tales Traditionally Ascribed to Mose Khoneli. Translated by R. G. Stevenson (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1958).
Lyons, M. C. The Arabian Epic: Heroic and Oral Story-Telling. Vols. I–III (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005).
Pant, G. N. Indian Arms and Armour, Vol. I, Pre- and Protohistoric Weapons and Archery (New Delhi: Department of Arms and Armour, National Museum, Army Educational Stores, 1978). Vol. II, Swords and Daggers, 1980.
Platts, John T. A Dictionary of Urdu, Classical Hindi and English (Rpt., Lahore: Sang-e Meel, 1994).
Pritchett, Frances W. The Romance Tradition in Urdu: Adventures from the Dastan of Amir Hamzah (New York: Columbia University Press, 1991).
Seyller, John. The Adventures of Hamza: Painting and Story-Telling in Mughal India (Washington, D.C., and London: Freer Gallery of Art; Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, in association with Azimuth Editions, 2002).
Steingass, F. A Comprehensive Persian-English Dictionary (New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, in association with Iran University Press, 1995).
al-Thalibi, Abu Mansur Abd al-Malik bin Muhammad bin Ismail. Lataif al-Ma’arif (The Book of Curious
and Entertaining Information). Translated and with introduction and notes by Clifford Edmund Bosworth (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1968).
Walker, Warren S., ed. A Turkish Folktale: The Art of Behçet Mahir (New York and London: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1996).
URDU
Bilgrami, Abdullah Husain. Dastan-e Amir Hamza Sahibqiran (Lucknow, India: Naval Kishore Press, 1871).
Dehlvi, Syed Ahmed. Farhang-e Asifya, Vols. I–II (Rpt., Lahore, Pakistan: Urdu Science Board, 1995).
Faruqi, Shamsur Rahman. Sahiri, Shahi, Sahibqirani: Dastan-e Amir Hamza ka Mutalaa. Vol. I, Nazari Mubahis (New Delhi: National Council for the Promotion of Urdu Language, 1999). Vol. II, Amali Mubahis (New Delhi: National Council for the Promotion of Urdu Language, 2006). Vol. III, Jahan-e Hamza (New Delhi: National Council for the Promotion of Urdu Language, 2006).
Jah, Syed Muhammad Husain. Tilism-e Hoshruba. Vols. I–IV (Lucknow, India: Naval Kishore Press, 1883–90; rpt., Lahore, Pakistan: Sang-e Meel Publications, n.d.). Vol. V, Part I (Lucknow, India: Husaini Press, 1890; rpt., Patna, India: Khuda Bakhsh Library, 2000).
Jain, Gyan Chand. Urdu ki Nasri Dastanen (Lucknow, India: Uttar Pradesh Urdu Academy, 1987).
Kakorvi, Noor-ul Hasan Nayyar. Noor-ul Lughat. Vols. I–II (Rpt., Lahore, Pakistan: Sang-e Meel Publications, 1983).
Lakhnavi, Mirza Aman Ali Khan Bahadur Ghalib. Tarjuma-e Dastan-e Sahibqiran Giti-sitan Aal-e Paighambar-e Aakhiruz Zaman Amir Hamza bin Abdul-Muttalib bin Hashim bin Abdul Munaf (Calcutta: Hakim Sahib Press, 1855).
Majeed, Khvaja Abdul. Jama-ul Lughat. Vols. I–II (Rpt., Lahore, Pakistan: Urdu Science Board, 1999).
Qamar, Ahmad Husain. Tilism-e Hoshruba. Vols. V–VII (Lucknow, India: Naval Kishore Press, 1890–93; rpt., Lahore, Pakistan: Sang-e Meel Publications, n.d.).
PERSIAN
Hamdani, Haji Qissa-Khvan. Zubdatur Rumuz (MS, c. 1613–14; Khuda Bakhsh Library, Patna).
Kitab-e Rumuz-e Hamza (Tehran: A.H. 1274–76 [1857–59]; British Museum Library).
Mirza Muhammad Khan ‘malik-ul kuttab.’ Kitab-e Dastan-e Amir Hamza Sahibqiran (Bombay: Matba-e Sapehr-e Matla, A.H. 1327 [1909]).
Shiar, Jafar, ed. Qissa-e Hamza. 2 vols. (Tehran: University of Tehran Press, A.H. 1347 [1968–69]).
GERMAN
Egger, Gerhart. Der Hamza Roman: Eine Mughal-Handschrift Asunder Zeit Akbar des Großen (Vienna: Österreich Museum für angewandte Kunst, 1969).
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