By Prof. Solehah Yaacob
Sungai Batu 788 BC: The Great Kingdom of Kedah Tua
Few researchers are interested to pursue this extensively.
I actually wonder if many Malays have heard of this sword and have gone to discover precious findings. My hunch is there is a passing interest gleaned from a handful of Facebook or Blog postings. Hopefully, this will change. In the meantime, I shall attempt to provide an insight and highlight the challenges ahead.
Qala`i originated from the word قلعى (ق ل ع ى ) and was discovered in an Assyria inscription dated 1300 BC under the reign of Ashurbanipal 1.
A peek into ancient inscriptions :
The system did not contain any vowel alphabet, only consonants (E.F.L. Beeston) and the Pw-r-s-ty for Philistines (Wainwright, 1961).
The Qala`i sword is pronounced as قلعى without the vowel sound.
Biblical Studies pronounced it as “Calah” based on European pronunciation, not as in the manner of Semitic sound.
Ironically, the Biblical Studies assumed that Calah (later called Nimrod) was situated in Mesopotamia by means of literary evidence. They did not base this on archaeology discovery.
A sword of Prophet Muhammad kept at the Topkapi Museum, Istanbul.
The landmark discovery of Sungai Batu was established by Datuk Dr Prof Mokhtar Saidin (Malaysian Archeologist) in 2007.
We have also discerned that in the ancient Arab world, the region identified as Calah referred to the East Hind, which means Kedah in Malaysia (S.Q.Fatimi).
We believe the word Qalai for Qalai sword) سيف قلعى ( originated from the word Q L ( ق ل ع ) in Assyrian inscription based on Qalai sword evidence.
Al Kindi (ca. 184 H/800 AD) book رسالة الكندي في عمل السيوف (Kindis Treatise On Swords and Their Kinds) divided the type of steel swords into three; ancient (Atiq), modern (Muhdath) and finally "neither ancient nor modern"; as-Soyaqalah and al-Matuqah ( ليست بعتيقة ولا محدثة فتنقسم إلى قسمين الصياقلة والمتوقة).
Ancient swords are divided into three categories; Yemeni(the most excellent), Qala`i (the second level) and Indian (the third level); all are called Faqirun( Al Kindi, chapter 2).
Otherwise, Al Biruni (ca. 362 H/973 AD) in his book الجماهر في معرفة الجواهر ( The masses know the gems ) seems prepared to believe that Qalai sword originated from Calah/Kedah, Malaysia as mentioned: ومن الشابرقان سيوف الروم والروس والصقالبة وربما قيل له قَلَعَ بنصب اللام وبجزمها فيقال - تسمع للقلع طنينا ولغيره ونسب إليه نوع من السيوف فسميت قلعية وظنها قوم منسوبة إلى موضع (موضع العمل) كالهندية واليمانية والمشرفية، فقالوا: أنها تحمل من كله كما يحمل منها الرصاص وينسب إليها القلعى Among the Shabarqan are the swords of the Romans, the Russians, and the Saqalaba )Slave swords)It is sometimes called Qalai, pronounced with ‘a’ on the ‘I’ and without a vowel. Thus it is said: You hear a ring from the Qalai, but a harsh tone from anything else. A type of sword is ascribed to it, hence called Qalai. Some people believe that their name derives from a place, as is the case with India, the Yemeni and the Mashrafi swords, and they say that they were brought from Calah, just as tin was brought from there, and so the Qala`i swords are related to this place.
Then, he mentioned the poem by al-Husayn ibn al Hamam al Murri:
تراوح بالصخر الأصم رؤسهم إذا القلع الرومي منها تثلّما
We bring heavy rocks upon their heads while they blunt the Byzantine Qala`i swords.
The illusion here is to Sharbuqan, since Byzantine swords are made from nothing else, as stressed by Al Ajjaj:
إني إذا الموت كمع أضربهم بذي القلع
When death embraces I strike them with Qala`i swords
In conclusion, the use of Qala`i swords by the Byzantine, Viking dynasty and Slav, as mentioned by al Biruni and a few Arab poets, synergises the new research angle on Alam Melayu.
Note: Prof Solehah Yaacob of the Arabic Department Language and Literature,
International Islamic University Malaysia, would soon begin to publicly present her arguments that this was a Qala’i sword. This brand is said to have originated from Kedah Tua. In 2007, Prof Mokhtar Saidin’s team at Universiti Sains Malaysia, made an important discovery that Sungai Batu in Kedah was indeed an important hub for the iron industry for a sustained period. Prof Mokhtar, contacted by ApaKhabar , said the iron industry of Sungai Batu commenced from the 8th Century BCE (Before Common Era) to the 13th Century CE. Prof Solehah acknowledged that this long preceded Prophet Muhammad’s era. This is Prof Solehah’s first-ever article on this subject.
Credit to https://apakhabartv.com/
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