{{Short description|9th-century merchant and writer}} {{Infobox writer | name = Sulayman al-Tajir | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = Siraf, modern-day Iran | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Merchant, Traveler, Writer | language = Persian | nationality = Persian | period = 9th century | genre = Travel literature | notableworks = Account of his voyages to India and China | influences = | influenced = | signature = | website = }}
'''Sulaymān al-Tājir''' ({{langx|ar|سليمان التاجر||Solomon the Merchant}}) was a 9th-century [[Muslim]] [[merchant]], traveler and writer initially from [[Bandar Siraf|Siraf]] in modern-day [[Iran]]. He traveled to [[India]] and [[China]] and wrote an account of his voyages around AD 850, often associated with a related travelogue by [[Abu Zayd al-Sirafi]].<ref>Cf. the bilingual [https://nyupress.org/9781479830596/accounts-of-china-and-india/ Accounts of China and India], ed. by [[Tim Mackintosh-Smith]], [[New York University Press|NYU Press]], 2017.</ref> He is mostly known for his travel to [[Guangzhou]], [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] China, and marveled at the excellent quality of [[porcelain]] there in 851.
==Historical Accounts== Little is known about Sulaiman other than the fact that he was a merchant, confirmed by his second name ([[nickname]]) ''al-Tajir'' ("the merchant").<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hermes|first=N.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FU1rAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT58|title=The [European] Other in Medieval Arabic Literature and Culture: Ninth–Twelfth Century AD|date=2012-04-09|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-137-08165-0|language=en}}</ref> He visited India during the time of the [[Pala Empire]], and referred to a kingdom named 'Ruhma' and attested to their military power. He has also described [[Mihira Bhoja]]. According to Sulaiman, Mihira Bhoja was a bitter enemy of "the Muslims" and maintained a large army and had a fine cavalry.<ref name="RSC_207">{{cite book | title =History of Ancient India: Earliest Times to 1000 A. D. | author = Radhey Shyam Chaurasia | publisher =Atlantic Publishers & Distributors | year =2002 | page =207 |isbn=978-81-269-0027-5| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=cWmsQQ2smXIC&pg=PA207 | quote=He was undoubtedly one of the outstanding political figures of India in ninth century and ranks with Dhruva and Dharmapala as a great general and empire builder.}}</ref>
During his stay in the city of [[Guangzhou]] he noted that the Chinese used fingerprint records to maintain the identities of newly arrived foreigners, charged extortionate rates for imported goods and that the route to China by sea was dangerous due to piracy and frequent rain. He mentions that the local [[Muslim]] populace of Guangzhou had their own [[Mosque]] and [[bazaar]]s. He mentioned that the Muslim community had its own [[Imam]] and Judge (appointed by [[Emperor Xuānzong of Tang]]).<ref name="ftsc">{{cite book |last1=Khamouch |first1=Mohammed |editor1-last=Ball |editor1-first=Lamaan |others=Sub-editor: Rumeana Jahangir; Production: Aasiya Alla |title=Jewel of Chinese Muslim's Heritage |date=June 2005 |publisher=Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation (FSTC Limited) |location=Victoria Park, Manchester, United Kingdom |pages=11–12 |url=http://www.muslimheritage.com/uploads/China%201.pdf |access-date=29 August 2021 |id=4090}}[https://www.fstc.org.uk/ - The FTSC official website]</ref> He also observed the manufacturing of [[porcelain]], the [[granary]] system of Guangzhou, tea consumption and how its municipal administration functioned.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Atlas of Islamic History|last1=Sluglett|first1=Peter|last2=Currie|first2=Andrew|publisher=Routledge|year=2014|isbn=978-1-138-82130-9|location=New York|pages=81}}</ref>
After arriving home from China with goods he landed at [[Basra]] and then traveled to [[Baghdad]].
== See also == * [[Sino-Arab relations]] * [[The Maritime Silk Road (film)|''The Maritime Silk Road'' (film)]], a 2011 Iranian film based on his journey
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Islamic geography}} {{Notable foreigners who visited China}} {{Notable foreigners who visited Sri Lanka}}
{{authority control}} [[Category:Iranian writers]] [[Category:9th-century merchants]] [[Category:9th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate]] [[Category:9th-century Arabic-language writers]] [[Category:Explorers of South Asia]] [[Category:People from Bushehr province]]