522 Sino-Iranica 



ninth and the tenth century, the word penetrated from the Arabic into 

 Syriac. 1 In Armenian it is kahribd and kahribar. The same word 

 migrated westward: Spanish carabe, Portuguese carabe or charabe, 

 Italian carabe, French carabt; Byzantine Kepa(3t; Cumanian ckarabar. 

 Under the Ming, amber is listed as a product of Herat, Khotan, and 

 Samarkand. 2 A peculiar variety styled "gold amber" {kin p*o ^ IS) 

 is assigned to Arabia (T'ien-fah). 3 



The question arises, From what sources did the Persians derive their 

 amber? G. Jacob, 4 from a study of Arabic sources, has reached the 

 conclusion that the Arabs obtained amber from the Baltic. The great 

 importance of Baltic amber in the history of trade is well known, but, 

 in my estimation, has been somewhat exaggerated by the specialists, 

 whereas the fact is easily overlooked that amber is found in many parts 

 of the world. I do not deny that a great deal of amber secured by the 

 Arabs may be credited to the Baltic sources of supply, but I fail to see 

 that this theory (for it is no more) follows directly from the data of 

 Arabic writers. These refer merely to the countries of the Rus and Bul- 

 gar as the places of provenience, but who will guarantee that the amber 

 of the Russians hailed exclusively from the Baltic? We know surely 

 enough that amber occurs in southern Russia and in Rumania. Again, 

 Ibn al-Baitar knows nothing about Rus and Bulgar in this connection, 

 but, with reference to al-Jafiki, speaks of two kinds of amber, one 

 coming from Greece and the Orient, the other being found on the littoral 

 and underground in the western portion of Spain. 5 Pliny informs us 

 that, according to Philemon, amber is a fossil substance, and that 

 it is found in Scythia in two localities, one white and of waxen color, 

 styled electrum; while in the other place it is red, and is called suali- 

 ternicum. 6 This Scythian or South-Russian amber may have been traded 

 by the Iranian Scythians to Iran. In order to settle definitely the 

 question of the provenience of ancient Persian and Arabic amber, it 

 would be necessary, first of all, to obtain a certain number of authentic, 

 ancient Persian and Arabic ambers, and to subject them to a chemical 

 analysis. We know also that several ancient amber supplies were 



1 Cf. E. Seidel, Mechithar, p. 146; and G. Jacob, ZDMG, Vol. XLIII, 1889, 

 p. 359- 



2 Ta Min i t'un H, Ch. 89, pp. 23, 24 b, 25 (ed. of 1461). 



3 Ibid., Ch. 91, p. 20. 



4 L. c, and Arabische Handelsartikel, p. 63. 



5 Leclerc, Traits des simples, Vol. Ill, p. 209. 



6 Philemon fossile esse et in Scythia erui duobus locis, candidum atque cerei 

 colons quod vocaretur electrum, in alio fulvum quod appellaretur sualiternicum 

 (xxxvn, 11, § 33). 



