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know about the provenance of the word. In the event, it is not a Greek
word. Ibn Durayd writes about urjuwan that it is the Arabic equivalent of
the Persian word. The colour (of the flower) is deep red, and it is also called the airmiz. In an exaggerated description of the colour of a piece of cloth, it is said that it is arghawani or bahramani. The Persians call it the gid-i-arghuwan from which the Arab word derives. This blossom effloresces from a plant which does not grow profusely, the flowers are minuscule, red and wine-coloured. They are odourless and appear very graceful. Whether it has an Arabic or .Persian cognomen, the people of Arabia mention it quite frequently. Thus 'Amr bin Kulthum says: As if their clothes were dyed in urjuwan or urjuwan was coated upon
them.
Urjuwanian colour is specific to the Caesars, and it was prohibited for the common people in ancient times to wear clothes of this colour, who were led to believe that it contained the blood of the snail. The people of Sur learned about it having seen the snout of a dog
which had fed upon this littoral animal and through which the colour of its snout had undergone a change. Ban Yanal Thanawi, in the account which he presented to the
Samanian kings, had mentioned that the costume of the chief of the Qata"is was arghuwanian and so specific to him that none else was entitled to put it on. Galen writes about the kermes 40 that it was caught from the sea
when fresh and cool. This statement of Galen resembles the claim put forward by the Surians. We now return to our original discussion from which we had digressed for attaining greater understanding. Among the blemishes of the
ruby which Al-Kindi has mentioned is the inner stain which, if too conspicuous and deep, cannot be removed. The other is the khalt-i-hijarah (admixture of stones) which is called hurmulliyat. Hurmal (harmal or wild rue) is white. In Persian it is called kunjdah. Another blemish is that of rim, i.e., a kind of dross that is like earth. Still another is that of a perforation which detracts from its clarity and transparency. This appears in the form of a crack which results from the collision of a vitreous object with something and the crack is so wide that water may pass through it. It is physical as well as temporary. Variegation in colour, e.g., greater in one part and less in the other, is counted as a defect. Cloudiness also deducts from the value of the stone. A pearl-like stain may be present on the stone on any part. This blemish is known as asin. If not deep, it would disappear on rubbing the stone. There is no other way in which to do away with this defect, as it is rather deep. According to Al-Kindi, the word ma'din is from 'adan, meaning to
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