I must admit that i am a really big fan of HBO's Game of Thrones series. The author of the fantasy series (which i have never read as i am not a big fan of literary fantasy) upon which the HBO series is based admits that the plot line is based some what on the history of Medieval England (Tudor England I think). And a number of blogs and articles related to the series keep highlighting this similarity. The most obvious similarity is the fantasy world created by Tolkein in his Ring fantasies. In any event the series gives the impression of an imagination which sprouts from a very European source.
However a more than cursory glance at the geoplolitics of this fantasy drama reveals how much this seemingly European World is based on a history not quite pristinely European. The constant reference to the Narrow seas which separate the Nomadic, Barbaric and horse riding warriors known as the Dothraki, reminds one of the Narrow sea separating 'barbaric Africa' from Spain; and similarly the Dothraki although admitted by the authour as inspired by the nomadic culture of the Mongols and certain Native American Tribes are nonetheless reminiscent of ofcouse the 'Barbaric' moors---The Almorhavid and Almohades, among others who preceded them.
Even the hapless fate of the Targaryen family is reminescent of the Umayyads (the first Caliphate) massacred by the Abassids. Here is Stanley Poole describing the survival of Abd al Rahman, the half Berber prince in The Story of The Moors in Spain:
....they were hunted down in all parts of the world and slain without mercy. Abd-er- Rahman fled like the rest, but with better fortune, for he reached the banks of the Euphrates in safety. One day, as he sat in his tent watching his little boy playing outside, the child ran to him in affright, and, going out to discover the cause, Abd-er- Rahman saw the village in confusion, and the black standards of the Abbasides on the horizon. Hastily seizing up his child, the young prince rushed out of the village, and reached the river. Here the enemy almost came up with them, and called out that they need have no fear, for no injury would be done to them. A young brother, who had accompanied him, and who was exhausted with swimming, turned back, and his head was immediately severed from his body; but Abd-er-Rahman held on till he reached the other side, bearing his child, and followed by his servant Bedr. Once more on firm earth, they journeyed night and day till they came to Africa, where the rest of his family joined them, and the sole survivor of the Omeyyad princes had leisure to think of his future. ¡* He was but twenty years of age, and full of hope and ambition. His mental powers were considerable, and to these he added the advantages of a noble stature and great physical energy and courage
Although the noble qualities listed by the end of extract belong to the Lady Targaryen as oppossd to her brother, the similarities are apparent. Abd al Rahman goes on to cross the narrow seas and conquer Spain, using his his royal blood as legitimacy; the Tagaryens whose entire royal line has been massacred save the two, plan on doing the same.
And ofcourse there is the Ecoculture of these seven Kingdoms--The most convincincing evidence. The North is portrayed as backward, unelightended , poverty stricken and winter-bound, whereas the south is the land of warmth and sun, and culture and wealth. This again is a reflection of the contrast between Andalusia Spain, conqured and civilized by the ironically 'Barbaric Moors' and the rest of medieval Europe. Here is Stanley poole again:
Art, literature, and science prospered,
as they then prospered nowhere else in Europe.
Students flocked from France and Germany and
England to drink from the fountain of learning which
flowed only in the cities of the Moors. The surgeons
and doctors of Andalusia were in the van of science :
women were encouraged to devote themselves to
serious study, and the lady doctor was not unknown
among the people of Cordova. Mathematics,
astronomy and botany, history, philosophy and juris-
prudence were to be mastered in Spain, and Spain
alone. The practical work of the field, the scientific
methods of irrigation, the arts of fortification and
shipbuilding, the highest and most elaborate products
of the loom, the graver and the hammer, the potter's
wheel and the mason's trowel, were brought to per-
fection by the Spanish Moors.
But one tires of tring to find African culture and history in the subtext or subconscious of very outwardly European shows. In this series for instance there is hardly any black person in the darn show. The few blacks are all in the background and surprise surprise are the barbarian women of the Dothraki, who eat the heart of horses raw, whose language has no word for thank you. When are we going to see a historic TV drama based on an African history and culture unashamed to show its 'black' face. A show like Shaka starring the inimitable Henry Cele!
However a more than cursory glance at the geoplolitics of this fantasy drama reveals how much this seemingly European World is based on a history not quite pristinely European. The constant reference to the Narrow seas which separate the Nomadic, Barbaric and horse riding warriors known as the Dothraki, reminds one of the Narrow sea separating 'barbaric Africa' from Spain; and similarly the Dothraki although admitted by the authour as inspired by the nomadic culture of the Mongols and certain Native American Tribes are nonetheless reminiscent of ofcouse the 'Barbaric' moors---The Almorhavid and Almohades, among others who preceded them.
Even the hapless fate of the Targaryen family is reminescent of the Umayyads (the first Caliphate) massacred by the Abassids. Here is Stanley Poole describing the survival of Abd al Rahman, the half Berber prince in The Story of The Moors in Spain:
....they were hunted down in all parts of the world and slain without mercy. Abd-er- Rahman fled like the rest, but with better fortune, for he reached the banks of the Euphrates in safety. One day, as he sat in his tent watching his little boy playing outside, the child ran to him in affright, and, going out to discover the cause, Abd-er- Rahman saw the village in confusion, and the black standards of the Abbasides on the horizon. Hastily seizing up his child, the young prince rushed out of the village, and reached the river. Here the enemy almost came up with them, and called out that they need have no fear, for no injury would be done to them. A young brother, who had accompanied him, and who was exhausted with swimming, turned back, and his head was immediately severed from his body; but Abd-er-Rahman held on till he reached the other side, bearing his child, and followed by his servant Bedr. Once more on firm earth, they journeyed night and day till they came to Africa, where the rest of his family joined them, and the sole survivor of the Omeyyad princes had leisure to think of his future. ¡* He was but twenty years of age, and full of hope and ambition. His mental powers were considerable, and to these he added the advantages of a noble stature and great physical energy and courage
Although the noble qualities listed by the end of extract belong to the Lady Targaryen as oppossd to her brother, the similarities are apparent. Abd al Rahman goes on to cross the narrow seas and conquer Spain, using his his royal blood as legitimacy; the Tagaryens whose entire royal line has been massacred save the two, plan on doing the same.
And ofcourse there is the Ecoculture of these seven Kingdoms--The most convincincing evidence. The North is portrayed as backward, unelightended , poverty stricken and winter-bound, whereas the south is the land of warmth and sun, and culture and wealth. This again is a reflection of the contrast between Andalusia Spain, conqured and civilized by the ironically 'Barbaric Moors' and the rest of medieval Europe. Here is Stanley poole again:
Art, literature, and science prospered,
as they then prospered nowhere else in Europe.
Students flocked from France and Germany and
England to drink from the fountain of learning which
flowed only in the cities of the Moors. The surgeons
and doctors of Andalusia were in the van of science :
women were encouraged to devote themselves to
serious study, and the lady doctor was not unknown
among the people of Cordova. Mathematics,
astronomy and botany, history, philosophy and juris-
prudence were to be mastered in Spain, and Spain
alone. The practical work of the field, the scientific
methods of irrigation, the arts of fortification and
shipbuilding, the highest and most elaborate products
of the loom, the graver and the hammer, the potter's
wheel and the mason's trowel, were brought to per-
fection by the Spanish Moors.
But one tires of tring to find African culture and history in the subtext or subconscious of very outwardly European shows. In this series for instance there is hardly any black person in the darn show. The few blacks are all in the background and surprise surprise are the barbarian women of the Dothraki, who eat the heart of horses raw, whose language has no word for thank you. When are we going to see a historic TV drama based on an African history and culture unashamed to show its 'black' face. A show like Shaka starring the inimitable Henry Cele!
