Anonymous miscellany in prose and poetry dealing with spring, education, medical matters, trades, military matters and finally a lengthy section in praise of an unnamed individual. This manuscript is an anthology of works in prose by the Persian poet Tughra-yi Mashhadi (died before 1667-68). Risālah-ʼi Firdawsīya (The paradisal epistle) is the name of the first item in the anthology. It is both an evocation of the beauties of Kashmir and a panegyric to the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan (1592-1666). Nothing is known of Tughra's childhood and youth, other than that he probably was born in Mashad (although Tabriz also has been proposed as his native town). Tughra moved to India and the court of Jahangir (reigned 1605-27) towards the end of the latter's reign. During the reign of Jahangir's successor, Shah Jahan, Tughra joined the court of one of Shah Jahan's sons, Murad Bakhsh, and accompanied him on the Mughal campaign in Balkh (1646). Although unsuccessful, this campaign is nonetheless commemorated by the poet as a victory in his panegyric to Murad Bakhsh, Mir'āt al-futūḥ (Mirror of victories), which appears near the end of the present collection. Tughra subsequently settled in Kashmir, where he died. He is buried in Srinagar in a plot adjacent to that of Kalim Hamadani, one of the foremost Persian poets of the 17th century. Tughra composed verse in all the popular forms of Persian poetry, but he is most famous for his prose works known as risālahs (epistles) which include Risālah-ʼi Firdawsīya and Mir'āt al-futūḥ. More than 30 of these risālahs have survived in numerous anthologies, serving as a testament to the high esteem in which Tughra was held by succeeding generations as a prose stylist. World Digital Library.
Alchemical or medical recipe containing both organic and metal substances, followed by a short history of the Umayyid caliphate in Damascus. Both texts are written in the same hand. On recto there are also 2 lines from the end of an Arabic legal document.Condition: Slightly tornLayout: 31 lines
Recipe instructions, mentioning stones and metals such as beryl, borax and diamond, and three pounds of mercury.Condition: torn, holes, rubbedLayout: 14 lines (recto); 3 lines (verso)
Leaf from an astrological work, dealing with the connection between the position of the stars in the sky and the development of epidemic and epizootic diseases, the rise of the Nile, the consequent floods and the successful growth of the crops.Condition: Torn, goles, rubbedLayout: 20 lines
Astrological-medical work, discussing the effects of the signs of the zodiac on the human body.Condition: torn, holes, stained, stained, rubbed, fadedLayout: 16 lines
Astrological prognostications concerning illnesses, health and happy events.Condition: Torn, holes, badly rubbed and fadedLayout: 4-9 lines in 2 columns
Leaf from an astrological treatise describing the different reciprocal positions of the Sun, Moon, planets and constellations, and their effects on bodies and their health.Condition: Slightly rubbedLayout: 25-27 lines
Astrological predictions connected with the different houses of the moon, listing the possible diseases caused by astral conditions and favourable moments for beginning new activities and procreating. Storax is recommended as a remedy against cough.Condition: Torn, tiny holes, slightly rubbedLayout: 17 lines (recto); 19 lines (verso)
Page from an astrological work describing the influence of the different months (here called by their Syriac names) on the incidence of diseases, deaths and natural disasters.Condition: Torn, holes, slightly rubbedLayout: 18 lines (recto); 19 lines (verso)