"female caliph". Putnam discussed Davidson's 1910 theory based on the Greek word kalli (meaning beautiful) but discounted it as exceedingly unlikely, a conclusion that Dora Beale Polk agreed with in 1995, calling the theory "far-fetched". Putnam also wrote that The Song of Roland held a passing mention of a place called Califerne, perhaps named thus because it was the caliph's domain, a place of infidel rebellion. Chapman elaborated on this connection in 1921: "There can be no question but that a learned man like Ordóñez de Montalvo was familiar with the Chanson de Roland ...This derivation of the word 'California' can perhaps never be proved, but it is too plausible—and it may be added too interesting—to be overlooked." Polk characterized this theory as "imaginative speculation", adding that another scholar offered the "interestingly plausible" suggestion that Roland's Califerne is a corruption of the Persian Kar-i-farn, a mythological "mountain of Paradise" where griffins lived. In 1923, Prosper Boissonnade, Dean of Literature at the University of Poitiers, wrote that a fortified capital city in 11th century Algeria was built and defended by the Beni-Iferne tribe of Berber people. This city was called Kalaa-Iferne or Kal-Iferne by the Arabs, and was certainly known at the time in Spain; today it is the ruins known as Beni Hammad Fort. Boissonnade said the Arab name of this fortress city likely inspired Roland and later Rodríguez de Montalvo, such that Kal-Iferne became first Califerne and then California. John William Templeton describes how Hernán Cortés' expedition in search of California had Africans as a third of his crew, including his second-in-command, Juan Garrido. Templeton says that Calafia is exemplary of a genre of literature from the 14th to the 16th centuries that featured black women as powerful, wealthy and beautiful. Historian Jack Forbes wrote that the Spanish were quite experienced in being ruled by Africans given the Moorish occupation from 710 to 1490. Legends of an island of women warriors Rodríguez de Montalvo's description of Calafia, her people and her country was based upon many centuries of stories of Amazons, groups of woman warriors who fought like men. As well, the story of an island paradise filled with gold and pearls was a recurring theme that Rodríguez de Montalvo was familiar with. In seeking new land, Spanish explorers were often led onward after hearing about a land of gold, or a land ruled by women. California historian Lynn