&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;'Existing alongside the Ottoman harem -and with an equally tenuous relation to the truth-. few images of the ancient Middle East have evoked such erotic fascination in the minds of Western writers than the mythological Banu Jamal of the Arabian peninsula. Like the Greek Amazons, the Banu Jamal stood outside the rigid gender roles of antiquity with their unique physical characteristics, providing a semi-acceptable outlet for the explorational of gender identity in the arts. They have oft been immortalised in sculpture throughout the centuries, though always with a far greater focus on titillation than adherence to fact, such that discerning the historical reality of their existence (if they existed at all) has proven very difficult.<br /><br /> Let us start then with the fiction. The Banu Jamal are spoken of in many tales, including the One Thousand and One Nights, as a Bedouin tribe that lived deep in the central deserts of Arabia, inhabiting areas of such dryness and desolation that no other humans could survive. They owed their survival to their physical quirk - in emulation of the two-humped Bactrian camel, they stored their food in large fatty "humps" upon their chest, sufficient to allow them to survive long periods in the harsher extremes of their climate. A nomadic people, the Banu Jamal moved from oasis to oasis, travelling vast distances without the need to drink.<br /><br /> Their fictional depictions were not always flattering. At best, they served the roles of harmless tricksters. The tales state that these "humps" of theirs much resembled breasts, even amongst the menfolk (indeed, especially among the menfolk), though were somewhat denser and firmer, and capable of far greater variations in size depending on how well and how recently the individual had fed. A Banu Jamal man, having slaked his great thirst at a watering hole, could swell to such prodigious size as to make his fellow tribeswomen "resemble boys by comparison", the sources say. Another well-fed merchant required "four stout men to carry his chest about, such that all could gaze upon his wealth" and at night slept perched atop the vastness of his chest like a mattress.<br /><br /> It is clear that these humps were a source of great pride among the men of Banu Jamal, conveying fitness, status, even determining the right to rule. Competitions were often held where young men would glut themselves for days prior to venturing out into the desert, the winner being the one who could survive on the nourishment of his breasts alone before returning to their people. Fond of ambush tactics, they could lie in wait on their fronts for weeks without ever stirring to drink a drop of water or eat a scrap of food, as comfortably as a sultan upon a pair of pillows.<br /><br /> Thankfully such absurd feats of physical endurance can easily be disregarded as fairytale by any upstanding historian. As for their "humps", it is not inconceivable that a preponderance towards gynecomastia could develop within the niche, insular genetics of an isolated tribe. What is harder to understand is the persistent and lavish praise heaped on the physical beauty of the Banu Jamal by writers and poets at the time. Many captured men were forced into service as concubines in the courts of their captors, and slave raiding was commonplace.<br /><br /> The Roman historian, Diodorus of Sicily, writes in Book II of his Bibliotheca Historica that "the King of Arabia sells his people gladly, and a traveller in Medina might furnish himself with 'camel-men' for a handful of denarius, including matching pairs of brothers, uncles and nephews, fathers and sons, or whole families should he desire it. They are supple and hairless and so pleasant in appearance that there is no need to make eunuchs of them and they can, with sufficient persuasion, be made to dance, while, unlike female slaves, may be trained as capable guards or administrators, though one should be wary not to have them guard the women of the household, as one would not leave a wolf to guard a sheep. Ensure they are well fed and the weight of their swelling teats will hinder their escape better than any shackles. Force feed them if necessary."<br /><br /> Faced with this rapacious slave-taking, the Banu Jamal became fierce fighters. They would carry a second knife into battle, reserved for themselves, never allowing themselves to be taken alive in battle for fear of a dishonor considered worse than death. Blood feuds between the Jamal and other tribes became commonplace, as they sought to avenge slain or abducted kinsmen, which further depleted their numbers.'