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Azerbaijan in the "Book of All Kingdoms" (late 14th century)

The "Book of All Kingdoms"
"Bacu" (Baku)
"Caraol"

See also:

Azerbaijan

The "Book of All Kingdoms"

The "Book of All Kingdoms" [f0fXX], of 1350, tells the voyages of an anonymous Castilian friar and is illustrated with 113 flag images, referred to (though seldom described) in the text.

António Martins, 3 November 2007

The Hakluyt Society edition (1912) [f0f12] of the "Book" notes that there are three to four texts, which were designated as "R" [f0fXXr], "N" [f0fXXn] and "S" [f0fXXs]. "R" is the more modern and has 41 leaves; "N" has 67 leaves, but incomplete and appears to be from the latter 15th century, while the "S" codex is the most complete and in the national library in Madrid. The Society notes that there are differences in the codices. The Hakluyt Society version is translated from the edition produced in 1877 by Don Marcos Jimeñez de la Espada [f0f77], who appears to have used the "S" codex and gave each codex its designation.

Phil Nelson, 19 November 2007

"Bacu" (Baku)

Flag of "Bacu" (Baku) - Image by Eugene Ipavec, 12 December 2009

The 109th flag mentioned and illustrated in the "Book of All Kingdoms" is attributed to "Bacu" (Baku).
The 2005 Spanish illustrated transcription of the "Book" [f0f05] shows a white flag with a red emblem, made of a red crescent pointing to the hoist offset to the fly and a device consisting of a vertical bar ending in a ring on the top and in the base a an arm of a cross patty, with a shorter such element attached to its hoist side lacking the ring; the flag is shown in the ogival default shape of this source. This design appears five times in the "Book" (91st, 104th, 107th, 109th and 110th flags in the Spanish transcription), being the most duplicated flag in the "Book".
The anonymous author of the "Book" describes the flag thusly: E las señales del Emperador de Sara son un pendón blanco con una señal bermeja tal (The device of the Emperor of Sara is a white flag with a red sign - translation as provided in the Hakluyt Society edition (1912) [f0f12] of the "Book").

António Martins, 26 December 2007

"Caraol"

Flag of "Caraol" - Image by Eugene Ipavec, 9 January 2010

The 104th flag mentioned and illustrated in the "Book of All Kingdoms" is attributed to "Caraol", an unidentified place. Considering the itinerary, it must be some coastal town in current Azerbaijan.
The 2005 Spanish illustrated transcription of the "Book" [f0f05] shows a yellow flag with a large red square on the middle; the flag is shown in the ogival default shape of this source. This design appears three times more in the "Book" (92nd, 93rd and 108th flags in the Spanish transcription), all related to the Persian Empire.
The anonymous author of the "Book" describes the flag thusly: E el rey dende ha por señales un pendón amarillo con cuadra bermeja tal (And the king thereof has for device a yellow pendon with red square like this - the Hakluyt Society edition (1912) [f0f12] of the "Book" does not include this sentence).

António Martins, 26 December 2007