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Ibn al
Labbanah: Poem (d1113) (Andalusia)
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Taken from: Classical Arabic Literature: A Library of Arabic Literature Anthology by Geert Jan van Gelder
Note: this text is important as it shows that early on the word Zanj was already in use in Spain.
Now that a speckled snake has crept
Over the brazilwood
So that it can’t be kissed,
And he has empowered
With his magic,
To kill heroes,
With the Nabataeans (1),
An army of Zanj
(1) Nabataeans: the Arabian borderland that stretched from the Euphrates to the Red Sea.