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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.