The Samiri and Taj-al Din at Dhofar
Posted by Labels: Dhofar, Malabar Pre 15th Century, Malabar traditions, Malabar Various, Taj Al DinContinuing with the Cheraman Perumal myths…
The Keralolpathi, the Zainuddin Makkhdum’s call for a jihad
against the accursed Franks, the Fath ul mubiyn, they all mention of a King
from the Hind who traveled to Mecca and died on the way back, at Dhofar. We
talked earlier about the Cheraman Perumal legends, the Perumal and the pickle
and so on, but with additional information at hand, I would like to revisit the
topic and also cover the interconnected story of the al-Samiri and Taj-al din
tomb’s at Dhofar in Oman.
In an area called Dhofar is buried a person, a king actually who has been venerated over centuries by the locals there. His name is purported to be Abdul Rahiman Samiri. An inscription explained that this person reached Dhofar in 212 and died there in 216 (821-831 AD). Now comes the question, who could this gent be? He has been connected to the Cheraman Perumal who converted and went to Mecca and also one of the earlier Zamorins of Calicut. We do know that the Samuthiripad or Samoothiri, a term which morphed to Samorin or Zamorin dates to the 13th century. During the 821 period or even later to 814 as Logan implies, we had a Eranadu Utyavar, not a Zamorin. But legends mention that this was a king from Malabar. Let’s try to investigate a bit to try and find out if we can get to the bottom of this myth.