6 Ways The ‘Black Superhero’ Influenced Hollywood and The World

Antar ibn shaddad

Was the King Arthur Story Influence By a Black Arabian Knight?

There is little, if any, hardcore evidence that the legendary hero King Arthur lived, however; there is evidence that more than 1,500 years ago, there lived in Saudi Arabia, an Afro-Arabic warrior-poet named Antar or Antarah ibn Shaddad. Described as having jet-black skin, Antar was a well-known romantic who was extremely courageous in battle. History has dubbed him the “father of knighthood … [and] chivalry” and “the king of heroes.”

The Historia Brittonum, a ninth-century historical compilation attributed to a Welsh cleric called Nennius, contains the first datable mention of King Arthur. When the Moors crossed the Straits of Gibraltar and conquered the Iberian Peninsula in the eighth century, the Moorish knights heavily influenced the warriors of Europe.

They would likely have brought the famous stories of Antar’s adventures with them to Europe. Could this have influenced the King Arthur stories that would later become popular in Europe during the rule of the Moors (711-1492) and the source of many Hollywood films about the hero?

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