Anqa (), also spelled '' 'Anqa' '', or ''Anka'', or ''Anqa Mughrib'' or ''Anqa al-Mughrib'' (), is a golden mysterious or fabulous female bird in

Arabian mythology In pre-Islamic Arabia, the dominant religious practice was that of Arab polytheism, which was based on the veneration of various deities and spirits, such as the god Hubal and the goddesses al-Lāt, al-‘Uzzā, and Manāt. Worship was ...

. She is said to fly far away and only appear once in ages. However, it is also said that she can be found at "the place of the setting of the sun".

Etymology and notes

The word ''ʿanqāʾ'' is the feminine form of ''ʾaʿnaq'' () meaning "long-necked" and also "long and thick in the neck". This probably implies that the bird resembles a

heron Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...

or crane (or other long-necked birds) or simply has a large strong neck like an

eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...

(or other raptors) with which she was identified by some. The word ''muḡrib'' has a number of meanings signifying "strange, foreign", "distant, remote", "west, sunset", "desolated, unknown" and "white, dawn" and expresses the enigma as well as unreality associated with the creature. ''ʿAnqāʾ'', however, is also related to ''ʿanāq'' ( "misfortune, hard affair") and was, along with ''ʿanqāʾ muḡrib'' used to mean a calamity. It was so because the bird was said to be originally created with all perfections but became a plague or scourge and was killed.

Characteristics

Chester Beatty T 414 fol 66r Safwan and the Anqa

The anqa was described as "very beautiful and colorful with a long neck, human face, four pairs of wings, and some resemblance with every living being" and a "whiteness" in its neck.

Zakariya al-Qazwini Zakariyya' al-Qazwini ( , ), also known as Qazvini (), (born in Qazvin, Iran, and died 1283), was a Cosmography, cosmographer and Geography in medieval Islam, geographer. He belonged to a family of jurists originally descended from Anas bin Mal ...

in this cosmological book '' Aja'ib al-Makhluqat'' "The Wonders of Creation" comments about the anqa as "the kin of birds that lived alone on Mount Qaf" and "a wise bird with experience gained throughout many ages and gives admonitions and moral advice". Qazwini also says that the bird lives for 1700 years, mating at 500 years of age and that the chick, after the egg breaks, stays inside and only comes out after 125 years. It is said that Anqa eats nothing except elephants and large fish.

Identification

The anqa is frequently identified (to the point of becoming synonymous) with the

simurgh The simurgh (; ; also spelled ''senmurv, simorgh, simorg'', ''simurg'', ''simoorg, simorq'' or ''simourv'') is a benevolent bird in Persian mythology and Persian literature, literature. It bears some similarities with mythological birds from di ...

Persian mythology Iranian mythology, or Persian mythology in western term (), is the body of the myths originally told by ancient Persians and other Iranian peoples and a genre of ancient Persian folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the worl ...

along with the

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

and Byzantine eagles and the Turkic Konrul, also called ''semrük'', due to the sphere of influence of

Islamic art Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslims, Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across ...

following the fall of the

Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the larg ...

. It is also almost always glossed as a phoenix. In Turkish, the other name for the Konrul as well as a phoenix is "the emerald anqa". In modern arabic Anqa is identified as a phoenix or griffin.

Bibliography

* ''Wafayat al-aʼyan'' by

Ibn Khallikan Aḥmad bin Muḥammad bin Ibrāhīm bin Abū Bakr ibn Khallikān (; 22 September 1211 – 30 October 1282), better known as Ibn Khallikān, was a renowned Islamic historian of Kurdish origin who compiled the celebrated biographical encyclopedi ...

biography number 349 * ''Lisān al-ʿArab'' by

Ibn Manzur Muhammad ibn Mukarram ibn Alī ibn Ahmad ibn Manzūr al-Ansārī al-Ifrīqī al-Misrī al-Khazrajī () also known as Ibn Manẓūr () (June–July 1233 – December 1311/January 1312) was an Arab lexicographer of the Arabic language and author of ...

part 10 page 276 * ''The Wonder of Creation'' by

* ''

Kitab al-'Ayn ''Kitāb al-ʿAyn'' () is the first Arabic language dictionary and one of the earliest known dictionaries of any language. It was compiled in the eighth century by al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi. The letter '' ayn'' () of the dictionary's title ...

'' by

Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi Abu ‘Abd ar-Raḥmān al-Khalīl ibn Aḥmad ibn ‘Amr ibn Tammām al-Farāhīdī al-Azdī al-Yaḥmadī (; 718 – 786 CE), known as al-Farāhīdī, or al-Khalīl, was an Arab philologist, lexicographer and leading grammarian of Basra in ...

Notes

References