MovieChat Forums > Omar Khayyam (1957) Discussion > Rubaiyat/Omar Khayyam.

Rubaiyat/Omar Khayyam.

posted 22 years ago by [email protected]
4 replies | jump to latest

This movie is a complete fiction - nothing is known about Omar Khayyam's life. In fact, it is not even known with certainty whether or not he composed the verses he used in the movie (or rather, the actor playing him used). Also, the producers seem to have forgotten a little about Arabian history:

1. The assassin sect was called the "Thuggee," not the "Assassins."

2. The rulers of Persia at this time were what is now called "Moogol," that is, they were part Mongol, part African, and part Arabic.

3. It is not known what went into the "Greek fire."

4. It is unlikely the Romans could have invaded so far into Persia.

5. After the Sultan's death, the Queens would shave off their hair, put on the white robes of a penitent, and leave the Sultan's house forever; alternatively, they could choose to die with the Sultan through the rite of suttee - they would be placed on the burning pyre along with their husband's body. (As seen in Jules Verne's famous novel, some women were forced into an act of suttee against their will.)

6. The Thuggees killed both men, women and children.

7. Omar composed his calendar with the aid of seven other scholars, and it was the sultan's desire that he do so, to do away with the old calendar.

[–] malamal 19 years ago

1.The Assasins were a sect completely different to Thugees who were a sect from India who worshipped an idol, the dark godess Kali

2.wrong again the term Moogol which is spelt and pronounced Moghul were the descendants of indeed Mongols,settled in Afghanistan who later through Timur the lame and Babar conquered India.

5.This practice of Sutee is a hindu tradition and again is from India not Arabiya
once the Muslims conquerd most of India they set about abolishing this cruel tradition, also the vain British when they conquered India claim to have put a stop to the last remnants of it.

You sir are prime example of the ignorant masquerading as knowledgable on these matters. It is clear you are either very ill informed or purposely trying to mislead other ignorant souls.

[–] AFernandez58 19 years ago

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. The movie certainly is heavily fictionalized historical drama but you don't know much.

The Assasins (Arabic - Hashishiyeen - users of Hashish) did indeed exist and Alamut in Persia was their headquarters. They were a Shi'a splinter group.

Persia and much of the middle east was ruled at the time by the Seljuk Turks, who ruled when Omar was alive. And they ranged as far west as Turkey (Anatolia) where the Romans were indeed there.

Most important of all - Omar was not an Arab but a Persian (an Iranian) who wrote in Farsi.

[–] vandreferreiramonteiro 17 years ago

The last post revelead a big truth (or putting it better, a big mistake from the part of the creater of this board): the Seljuk, and not the Mongols, were the rulers of Persia/Iran, and when these last ones invaded Iran the turks had already been expeled from the country by the Abassids (that ruled the country before the turkish arrival, but where led to reign only over Soutwestern Irak due to the ocupation) and the Khwarezimians (from Uzbekistan, who conquered most central Asia and took most of the Seljuk empire cake) leving them with nearly modern Turkey.

[–] Pouya-Khani 13 years ago

All of these takes place in Persia not Arabia and Suttee is an Indian trdition!