An 18th century Islamic world map with south on top (added as illustration only)

 

Japheth ben Ali ha-Levi: Tafsir Esther (Commentary on Esther)(10th)

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Taken from: Michael G. Wechsler; The Arabic translation and commentary of Yefet ben Eli the Karaite on the book of
Esther by Japheth ben Ali ha-Levi.

 

And it came to pass in the days of Argashir, or, it is said, of Zoroaster, that is, Ardashir (1) who reigned from India unto the land
of al-Zanj , in all of which were one hundred and twenty seven cities.

 

….of Darius the son of Ahasuerus (2), of the seed of Media. (The mudawwin)(3) therefore informs us that this one was not that one, since this one was not a king and this one was a king. He also informs us that his kingdom was from India unto Kush (4)….

 

…..according to all that Mordecai (5) commanded, to the Jews, as well as to the governors, the vice-regents, and the chiefs,
of the cities which were from India to Abyssinia….. 

 

Note: The original word for the African states mentioned was 3 times the same in Hebrew but translated first as Zanj, then as
Kush and last as Abyssinia.

(1) Ardashir: Ardeshir-ibn-Babek: Ardashir I (l. c. 180-241 CE, r. 224-240 CE) was the founder of the Persian Sassanian Empire, which lasted from 226 A.C to 652 A.C. He was the son of prince Babak. Mentioned by:

-Japheth ben Ali ha-Levi (10th): Ardashir who reigned from India unto the land of al-Zanj.

-Al-Dimashqi (1325): Ardeshir-ibn-Babek divided the Earth into four parts, one belonging to the Turks, the other to the Arabs, the third to the Persians, the fourth to the Negroes.

- Nuwayri (1333); Dara the elder, son of Ardashir,(50) married the daughter of the king of Zinj.

- Maqrizi (1441): Ardechir ben Tabek says that the Earth consists of four parts, one of which belongs to the Turks, the other to the Arabs, the third to Persia, and the last to the Negroes.

(2) "Ahasuerus" is given as the name of a king, the husband of Esther, in the Book of Esther. He is said to have ruled "from India even unto Nubia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces" – that is, over the Achaemenid Empire.

(3) a collector of poems into a book (diwan)

(4) Kush: kingdom in Sudan on the Nile.

(5) Mordecai is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is described as being the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin.