The Hamzanama

It feels like I've just spent as much time in the land of Indo-Persian mythology as poor Hamza spent wandering through the magical land of Qaf killing demons and siring half-human children.

It did get a bit tiring at times -- being based on a disparate oral tradition, there are multiple variations on the same stories - with each new giant a little bit bigger and each new monster a little bit meaner.

At it's core, is the contrast between the gullible but unstoppable mighty Hamza and his loyal companion, the clever, vicious, and equally undefeatable Amar the Ayyar.

Even though the Prophet does not appear until the few final pages, Hanza has spent the previous 800  converting warriors and kings to the one-true-faith --- by defeating them in battle and then making them an offer they cannot refuse.  If you needed any further documentation of Islam as a warlike creed, these popular stories would provide it.  In addition to declaring their new found faith, the defeated or rescued kings would also often offer Hamza their daughters in marriage -- so Hamza ended up with dozens of wives and super-hero sons (though I don't recall that he had more than one daughter).


One thing that's memorable is just how nasty his companion, Amar, could be.  As a child he poisons his teachers - as an adult he lies, cheats, steals, kills, poisons, and likes to play humiliating tricks on his enemies after he has sneeked into their tent and drugged them senseless.  For example, he might strip a father and son, and then place the one into the other's lap so that they will awake to discover themselves having anal sex.  A large section of the book involves him protecting Hamz's beautiful fiance while Hanza is gone -- and he does this by repeatedly entering a foritified city in disguise -- gaining the trust of the rulers -- and then killing them and moving into the castle with his followers.  He's about as repulsive as a man can be -- his loyalty to Hamza and Islam being his only positive features.

Also memorable are some of the women - they can be quite powerful and headstrong - most notably Hama's wife in Qaf, Aasman Peri, the daughter of a king saved by Hamza.  She doesn't want Hamza to ever leave her, so she threatens death to whomever tries to help him escape.  One might also note that the only woman whom Hamza ever fights is the only warrior who can defeat him, as she does in the final chapter, using a poison spear and then beheading him.

When he isn't killing men, Hamza is usually partying or honeymooning with one of his many wives.  He does like women - though he had to drown one who demanded too much attention.

Another extreme character is the Emperor of the Seven Climes who is saved by Hamza early in the epic, but tries to kill him ever after.  His resources seem to be as unlimited as his treachery, stupidity, and futility. They exemplify the antagonistic relationship between king and super-hero  (like Arthur and Lancelot) .