Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 8,994
A Very Special Gift...!
In the year 798 the ruler of the Abassid Empire Caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd ...
... receives a delegation in his capital, Baghdad, which his Frankish ruling colleague Charles I (later called Charlemagne) sent to him from distant Europe ...:
The diplomatic visit is extremely successful, and when the Franks say goodbye again, the caliph promises to send Emperor Karl a special gift as an expression of his appreciation.
"In Brief" lasts more than three years, only in the spring of 801 does a small delegation set off with the promised gift from Baghdad. She is accompanied by a Jewish merchant named Isaak, whom Charles I hired as an interpreter and who stayed at the court of Hārūn al-Rashīd to accompany the bearers of the gift.
In those days you travel leisurely - and step onto European soil in October 801 in the Italian port of La Spezia. From there you travel on to Vercelli, not far from Lake Maggiore, where the winter season starts, as the Alpine passes are no longer passable at this time.
In the spring of 802 the delegation left Vercelli - and reached Aachen on July 20, 802, where the Emperor ...
... stays (since there was no real capital in his empire) in his favorite Palatinate ...:
In the map above, the travel route of the merchant Isaac with the delegation of the caliph is shown as a purple dashed line! In Aachen the gift is ceremoniously handed over to the ruler:
It is an Indian elephant named "Abul Abbas", who is said to have been trained personally by Hārūn al-Raschīd ...:
The fact that "Abul Abbas" is said to have been a particularly rare white elephant has probably been added in later legends. It is shown in gray on all contemporary images that we know of.
However, it is guaranteed that Emperor Karl was extremely impressed by the gift and that "Abbul Abbas" traveled with him for eight years (he moved from Pfalt to Palatinate, ruled from there and then moved on) for eight years, as "living proof his power "...
... as we can read in the Frankish imperial history (Annales regni Francorum) ...:
There we also read that "Abul Abbas" got sick in 810 after crossing the Rhine and near Lippeham (on the banks of the Rhine, opposite the city of Xanten) ...
... died suddenly - probably from pneumonia, as one now suspects.
Poor animal - he probably liked the climate in India better!
What else is there to say about "Abul Abbas":
First of all, he was the first elephant north of the Alps to be named and documented!
Second: His remains were probably found in the middle of the 18th century, at least there are reports that elephant bones were found in a field near the mouth of the Lippe; it was believed that this could only have been the elephant of Emperor Charles.
The thighbones found apparently ended up in a private art and rarities cabinet. They are considered lost.
And third: the adventure writer Karl May knew the story! The name of the unfortunate elephant seems to have inspired him when choosing a name for his character Hajji Halef Omar.
In the year 798 the ruler of the Abassid Empire Caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd ...
... receives a delegation in his capital, Baghdad, which his Frankish ruling colleague Charles I (later called Charlemagne) sent to him from distant Europe ...:
The diplomatic visit is extremely successful, and when the Franks say goodbye again, the caliph promises to send Emperor Karl a special gift as an expression of his appreciation.
"In Brief" lasts more than three years, only in the spring of 801 does a small delegation set off with the promised gift from Baghdad. She is accompanied by a Jewish merchant named Isaak, whom Charles I hired as an interpreter and who stayed at the court of Hārūn al-Rashīd to accompany the bearers of the gift.
In those days you travel leisurely - and step onto European soil in October 801 in the Italian port of La Spezia. From there you travel on to Vercelli, not far from Lake Maggiore, where the winter season starts, as the Alpine passes are no longer passable at this time.
In the spring of 802 the delegation left Vercelli - and reached Aachen on July 20, 802, where the Emperor ...
... stays (since there was no real capital in his empire) in his favorite Palatinate ...:
In the map above, the travel route of the merchant Isaac with the delegation of the caliph is shown as a purple dashed line! In Aachen the gift is ceremoniously handed over to the ruler:
It is an Indian elephant named "Abul Abbas", who is said to have been trained personally by Hārūn al-Raschīd ...:
The fact that "Abul Abbas" is said to have been a particularly rare white elephant has probably been added in later legends. It is shown in gray on all contemporary images that we know of.
However, it is guaranteed that Emperor Karl was extremely impressed by the gift and that "Abbul Abbas" traveled with him for eight years (he moved from Pfalt to Palatinate, ruled from there and then moved on) for eight years, as "living proof his power "...
... as we can read in the Frankish imperial history (Annales regni Francorum) ...:
There we also read that "Abul Abbas" got sick in 810 after crossing the Rhine and near Lippeham (on the banks of the Rhine, opposite the city of Xanten) ...
... died suddenly - probably from pneumonia, as one now suspects.
Poor animal - he probably liked the climate in India better!
What else is there to say about "Abul Abbas":
First of all, he was the first elephant north of the Alps to be named and documented!
Second: His remains were probably found in the middle of the 18th century, at least there are reports that elephant bones were found in a field near the mouth of the Lippe; it was believed that this could only have been the elephant of Emperor Charles.
The thighbones found apparently ended up in a private art and rarities cabinet. They are considered lost.
And third: the adventure writer Karl May knew the story! The name of the unfortunate elephant seems to have inspired him when choosing a name for his character Hajji Halef Omar.
