is the place now known as az-Zihed, a name which recalls Zihjawṭ. According to Jâḳût, Muʻǧam (Wüstenfeld), Vol. 1, p. 425, al-Ajm is said to be a black hill in the territory of the Beni ʻAbs in the valley of ar-Rumma’ and therefore several hundred kilometers from the frontiers of Syria and the Ǧuḏâm. Where al-Hamdâni simply inserts extracts from the ancient poets, it is very difficult to determine the situation of the different localities, because he often connects places which in reality are situated at a great distance from each other.
Al-Bekri, Muʻǧam (Wüstenfeld), p. 295, states that Ḥesma’ is a place in the Ǧuḏâm territory where the remains of water from the Flood have been preserved. He quotes the poet ʻAntara, who urges the Fezâra encamping in Ḥesma’ to pay heed to the smoke ascending as a warning sign from the volcano of al-ʻAlanda before their camp. Al-Bekri recallsthat smoke was perpetually ascending from the hill of al-ʻAlanda.—
This active volcano could not have been very far from the camping place of the ʻUḏra tribe and must therefore be located in the southeastern part of the volcanic territory of Lajla. Why water from the Flood should have been preserved precisely in the region of Ḥesma’ is not clear, for the water of the numerous wells there is in no way different from the water of the neighboring territories.
Al-Maḳrîzi (Sulûk [Quatremère’s transl.], Vol. 1, pp. 61 f.) writes that in July of the year 1256 A. D. there was a great volcanic eruption to the east of al-Medîna in the district of the Šaza valley opposite Mount Ohod. The stream of lava was four parasangs long, four miles broad, and one and one half cubits thick. The flames could be seen as far as the environs of Boṣra’ in the Ḥawrân.
Al-Aḥḳâf, where the clan of ʻÂd dwelt, is identified by al-Bekri, op. cit., p. 76, with a mountain range in Syria or with isolated rocks in Ḥesma’.—The name Aḥḳâf (Ḥaḳâf) has been preserved to the southwest of al-Bedʻ (Madian).
Jâḳût, op. cit., Vol. 2, pp. 267 f., calls Ḥesma’ a region in the Syrian desert two nights distant from Wâdi al-Ḳura’. From Tebûk one can see the hills of Ḥesma’ in the west and Šarawra in the east. Ḥesma’ is said to be an extensive rough area near Ajla, containing bad water and belonging to the Ǧuḏâm. According to Ibn as-Sikkît as quoted by Jâḳût, the Ǧuḏâm own the mountain range and the area between the borders of the Tîh beni Isrâʻîl near Ajla and the territory of the Beni ʻUḏra in Ḥarra Nuhejl, the name of their district being Ḥesma’. In the wells of Ḥesma’, it is said, water has been preserved from the Flood and that is why the water of these wells is so bad. In the tradition concerning the escape of the poet al-Mutanabbi from Egypt, Ḥesma’ is described as region with good pastures, fine palm trees of the lîn species, and innumerable isolated rocks, the sides of which are so steep that those who try to catch a glimpse of their summits almost dislocate their necks. The summits of some of these rocks are invisible and inaccessible. As the poet an-Nâbiṛa had already stated, Ḥesma’ is perpetually swathed in clouds of dust. Only those who have seen it can really form an idea of what it is like, for in the whole world there is no other region which resembles it. Among the mountains of Ḥesma’ should be mentioned the huge and lofty Mount Iram, on which, according to the surmise of the nomads, grapevines and pine trees grow. According to the tradition of