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This article is about the Roc, a mythical bird. For other meanings, see Roc (disambiguation).

A roc destroys Sinbad the Sailor's ship

A roc or rukh (from Persian رخ rokh) is a an enormous mythical bird of prey, often white, reputed to have been able to carry off and eat elephants.^[1] Roc destroying Sindbads ship from The Book of Knowledge, The Grolier Society, 1911 This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Roc destroying Sindbads ship from The Book of Knowledge, The Grolier Society, 1911 This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Sinbad the Sailor (also spelled Sindbad, from Persian سندباد, Sand-baad) is the name of a legendary story of Persian origin about a sailor born in the city of Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate who has numerous fantastic adventures during his voyages throughout the seas east of Africa and south of... Persian (local name: FārsÄ« or PārsÄ« ) is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and by minorities in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, India, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... Orders Accipitriformes     Cathartidae     Pandionidae     Accipitridae     Sagittariidae Falconiformes     Falconidae A bird of prey or raptor is a bird that hunts its food, especially one that preys on mammals or other birds. ... Genera and Species Loxodonta Loxodonta cyclotis Loxodonta africana Elephas Elephas maximus Elephas antiquus † Elephas beyeri † Elephas celebensis † Elephas cypriotes † Elephas ekorensis † Elephas falconeri † Elephas iolensis † Elephas planifrons † Elephas platycephalus † Elephas recki † Stegodon † Mammuthus † Elephantidae (the elephants) is a family of pachyderm, and the only remaining family in the order Proboscidea...

Origin

It is possible that the origin of the myth of the Roc lies in extrapolations of the witnessed power of the eagle that could carry away a newborn lamb; references to the roc are found as early as the 8th century from Middle-Eastern authors, but in 1863 Bianconi suggested the roc was a raptor (Hawkins and Goodman, 2003: 1031). Much later, a giant subfossil eagle was actually implicated (Goodman, 1994). // For the Derek Sherinian album, see Mythology (Derek Sherinian album). ... (7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. ... Subfossil is attributed to bones or whole skeletons (and, in general all materials having living parts that can become fossil) whose fossilization process is not complete, either for lack of time or because the condition in which bones were buried were non optimal for fossilization. ...

It is also possible that the myth originated from exaggerated accounts of another subfossil, the enormous Aepyornis elephant bird of Madagascar, an extinct three-meter tall flightless bird. One theory is that the existence of rocs was postulated from the sight of an ostrich, which because of its flightlessness and unusual appearance, was mistaken for the chick of a presumably much larger species. There are reported sightings of the Aepyornis at least in folklore memory as Étienne de Flacourt wrote in 1658 and its egg, live or subfossilised, was known as early as 1420 (Fra Mauro map); we have Marco Polo's account of the rukh in 1298; whilst Chou Ch'ű-fei in 1178 told of a large island off Africa with birds large enough to use their quills as water reservoirs (Pearson and Godden 2002: 121). Fronds of the raffia palm may have brought to the Great Khan under the guise of roc's feathers ^[2]; a stump of a roc's quill was said to have been brought to Spain by a merchant from the China seas (Abu Hamid of Spain, in Damiri, see below^{[citation needed]}). Species Aepyornis hildebrandti Aepyornis medius Aepyornis maximus Aepyornis is an extinct genus of flightless bird. ... Flightless birds evolved from flying ancestors; there are about forty species in existence today. ... Binomial name Struthio camelus Linnaeus, 1758 The present-day distribution of ostriches. ... Species Aepyornis hildebrandti Aepyornis medius Aepyornis maximus Aepyornis is an extinct genus of flightless bird. ... The Fra Mauro map (1459) in Venice (inverted, South is normally at the top). ... Marco Polo (September 15, 1254 – January 8, 1324) was a Venetian trader and explorer who, together with his father Niccolò and his uncle Maffeo, was one of the first Westerners to travel the Silk Road to China (which was then called Cathay) and visited the Great Khan of the Mongol... Species About 25-30 species, including: Raphia australis Raphia farinifera Raphia hookeri Raphia regalis Raphia taedigera Raphia vinifera The Raffia palm (Raphia) is a genus of tropical palms, native to tropical regions of Africa, Madagascar, Central America and South America. ... KHAGAN, alternatively spelled Chagan, Qaqan etc, is a title of royal or imperial rank in Mongolian and Turkic languages. ...

A more fanciful theory^{[citation needed]} suggests that the roc was inspired by a bird-like form seen within the sun's corona during some total solar eclipses. Eclipsologists Elmer G. Suhr and Robin Edgar have identified this gigantic coronal "Bird of the Sun" as the source of inspiration for the mythical phoenix bird and most if not all other mythical birds that are closely associated with the sun. This total solar eclipse theory is supported by the fact that the roc is described as being white (the color of the sun's corona) and is described in the 'Arabian Nights' as, "A bird of enormous size, bulky body [possibly the darkened moon] and wide wings [possibly the corona's equatorial streamers], flying in the air; and it was this that concealed the body of the sun and veiled it from the sun [a total solar eclipse]" The phoenix from the Aberdeen Bestiary. ...

Roc in literary tradition

The legend of the roc, popularized in the West in the travels of Marco Polo and later in the 1001 Nights' tales, of Abd al-Rahman and Sindbad the Sailor, was widespread in the East. Through the sixteenth century the existence of the roc was accepted by Europeans. In 1604 Michael Drayton envisaged the rocs being taken aboard the Ark: The term Western World or the West can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ... Marco Polo (September 15, 1254 – January 8, 1324) was a Venetian trader and explorer who, together with his father Niccolò and his uncle Maffeo, was one of the first Westerners to travel the Silk Road to China (which was then called Cathay) and visited the Great Khan of the Mongol... (Redirected from 1001 Nights) The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (كتاب ألف ليلة و ليلة in Arabic or هزار و یک شب in Persian), also known as The book of a Thousand... Abdul Rahman (Arabic عبد الرحمن) is a very common Arabic name. ... Sindbad the Sailor (also spelled Sinbad, from Persian سندباد—As-Sindibad, 三保 SānbÇŽo, from Chinese ) is the name of a legendary sailor who has numerous fantastic adventures during his voyages throughout the seas east of Africa and south of Asia. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... Michael Drayton (1563- December 23, 1631) was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era. ... This article is about the vessel described in the Hebrew scriptures. ...

All feathered things yet ever knowne to men,

From the huge Rucke, unto the little Wren;

From Forrest, Fields, from Rivers and from Pons,

All that have webs, or cloven-footed ones;

To the Grand Arke, together friendly came,

Whose severall species were too long to name.

Comparable mythic birds

The roc is hardly different from the Middle-Eastern `anqa "عنقاء" (see phoenix); it is also identified with the Persian simurgh, the bird which figures in Firdausi's epic as the foster-father of the hero Zal, father of Rustam. The phoenix from the Aberdeen Bestiary. ... Sassanid silk twill textile of a Simorgh in a beaded surround, 6-7th c. ... فردوسی Ferdowsi Ferdowsi Ferdowsi Tousi (فردوسی طوسی in Persian) (more commonly transliterated Firdausi) (935–1020) is considered to be one of the greatest Persian poets to have ever lived. ... Rostam (رستم Rostæm in Persian) is a mythical warrior of ancient Persia, son of Zal and Rudabe. ...

Going farther back into Persian antiquity, there is an immortal bird, amrzs, or (in the Minoi-khiradh) slnamurv, which shakes the ripe fruit from the mythical tree that bears the seed of all useful things. Sinmartt and simurgh seem to be the same word. In Indian legend the garuda on which Vishnu rides is the king of birds (Benfey, Panchatantra, 98). In the Pahlavi translation of the Indian story as represented by the Syrian Kalilag and Damnag (ed. Gustav Bickell, 1876), the simurgh takes the place of the garuda, while Ibn al-Molaffa (Calila et Dimna, ed. De Sacy, p. 126) speaks instead of the `anl~a. The later Syriac, curiously enough, has behemoth -- apparently the behemoth of Job-- transformed into a bird. The Ziz of Jewish tradition and the Thunderbird of Native American tradition are also giant birds. Garuda according to Ida Made Tlaga, an 19th century Balinese artist. ... Vishnu (IAST , Devanagari , with honorific Shri Vishnu; , ), (also frequently referred to as Narayana) is the most popularly worshipped form of God in Hinduism [1]. Within the Vaishnava tradition he is viewed as the Ultimate Reality or Supreme God (similarly to Shiva within Shaivism). ... Theodor Benfey (January 28, 1809 - June 26, 1881), German philologist was the son of a Jewish trader at Nörten, near Göttingen. ... The Panchatantra [1] (also spelled Pañcatantra, Sanskrit पञ्चतन्त्र Five Chapters) or Kelileh va Dimneh or Anvar-i-Suhayli [2][3] or The Lights of Canopus (in Persian)[4] or Kalilag and Damnag (in Syriac)[5] or Kalila and Dimna (also Kalilah and Dimnah, Arabic كليلة و دمنة Kalila wa Dimna)[6] or The... Kelileh va Demneh manuscript copy dated 1429, from Herat, depicts the Jackal trying to lead the lion astray. ... Gustav Bickell ((7 July 1838–15 January 1906) was a German orientalist. ... (Syriac: Kalilag and Damnag, Arabic: Kalila wa Dimna), is the name of the translation into Syriac of the Sanskrit Panchatantra literary work of fables originating in India. ... Antoine Isaac, baron Silvestre de Sacy (September 21, 1758 - February 21, 1838), was a French orientalist. ... Behemoth and Leviathan, an engraving by William Blake For other uses, see Behemoth (disambiguation). ... Job (Hebrew אִיּוֹב, Arabic: أيوب, Standard Hebrew Iyyov, Tiberian Hebrew ʾIyyôḇ), was the protagonist of the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible. ... The ziz is a giant bird in mythology, said to be large enough to be able to block out the sun with its wingspan; perhaps somewhat similar to a roc. ... Depiction of a Thunderbird on a Totem Pole The Thunderbird is a mythical creature common to Native American religion. ...

The kanivatu is a likewise giant bird from Fiji.

The peng from China is also a giant bird. Peng (Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is the Romanization of the Chinese character for a mythological bird. ...

Notes and references

1. ^ There is no connection with the Rook chess piece, which is from the Persian rukh, or Sanskrit rath, both meaning "chariot", thus corresponding to the Asian chess variants.
2. ^ Yule's Marco Polo, bk. iii. ch. 33, and Academy, 1884, No. 620.

For a collection of legends about the roc, see Edward Lane's Arabian Nights, chap; xx. notes 22, 62, and Sir H. Yule, as above. Also see Samuel Bochart, Hierozoicon, vi.14; Damfri, I. 414, ii. 177 seq.; Kazwini, i. ~I9 seq.; Ibn Batuta, iv. 305 seq.; Spiegel, Eran. Altertumsk. ii. 118. Staunton chess pieces, left to right: pawn, rook, knight, bishop, queen, and king. ... In chess, each player has one of two equivalent sets of pieces of different colors. ... Sanskrit ( , ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Hittite chariot (drawing of an Egyptian relief) Approximate historical map of the spread of the chariot, 2000 –500 BC. A chariot is a two-wheeled, horse-drawn vehicle. ... Chess is an abstract strategy board game for two players that is played both recreationally and competitively. ... Sir Henry Yule (May 1, 1820 - December 30, 1880), was a British Orientalist. ... Marco Polo (September 15, 1254 – January 8, 1324) was a Venetian trader and explorer who, together with his father Niccolò and his uncle Maffeo, was one of the first Westerners to travel the Silk Road to China (which was then called Cathay) and visited the Great Khan of the Mongol... A legend (Latin, legenda, things to be read) is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude. ... Samuel Bochart (30 May 1599 - 16 May 1667) was a French scholar born in Rouen. ... Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta (February 24, 1304 - 1377) was a Moroccan Berber traveller and explorer. ...

• Goodman, Steven M. (1994). Description of a new species of subfossil eagle from Madagascar: Stephanoaetus (Aves: Falconiformes) from the deposits of Amphasambazimba. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 107: 421-428.
• Flacourt E. de. (1658). Histoire de la grande île de Madagascar. Paris.
• Hawkins, A.F.A. and Goodman, S. M. (2003). P. 1019-1044 in Goodman, S.M. and Benstead, J.P. (eds). The Natural History of Madagascar. University of Chicago Press.
• Pearson, Mike Parker and Godden, K. (2002). In search of the Red Slave: Shipwreck and Captivity in Madagascar. Sutton Publishing, Stroud, Gloucestershire.

See also

• Simurgh
• Fra Mauro map

Sassanid silk twill textile of a Simorgh in a beaded surround, 6-7th c. ... The Fra Mauro map (1459) in Venice (inverted, South is normally at the top). ...

External links

• Sir Richard F. Burton's notes on the Rukh
• The Roc
• 'Pedigree of the Phoenix' - How Total Solar Eclipses Inspired The Ancient Winged Sun Disk Sybol, The Mythical Phoenix Bird, And A Flock Of Other Mythical Birds Of The Sun