Abstract: Leaf from the Manāfiʻ al-ḥayawān, with a miniature depicting two crows, one of which stands on a rock, and a fruiting tree in the background.Ms. leaf.Title from heading.Physical description: 13 lines per page; written in medium naskh in black on tan Arabic paper. Text framed in double red lines. Rubrication and catchwords. Heading in large, dark blue Kufic script. Lower outer corner repaired. On verso is a miniature measuring 110 x 96 mm.Origin: According to Moghadam, the leaf is from the late 13th century; likely from Iran.
Binding: Lacquered boards with floral decoration.Fihrist: Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate WorldDecoration: Carpet page, decorative borders, miniatures.Dimensions: 10 × 5⅝ in.Hand: Very distinct Nastaʻlīq.Record origin: Manuscript description based on: Beeston, A. F. L. (Alfred Felix Landon); Ethé, Hermann, 1844-1917; Sachau, Eduard, 1845-1930; Catalogue of the Persian, Turkish, Hindûstânî, and Pushtû manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, Oxford; at the Clarendon Press 1889-1953.
Compendium of short texts, extracts and notes on scientific and philosophical subjects, compiled by Aḥmad ibn Sulaymān Ghūjārātī (أحمد بن سليمان غوجاراتي; d. 1681), and completed in Dhū al-ḥijjah 1134/September-October 1722 (see note on f. 5r).The manuscript was later owned by the compiler's grandson, Muḥammad Riḍā ibn Ghulām Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Sulaymān (محمد رضا ابن غلام محمد بن أحمد بن سليمان), at Surat, who added ten lines of verse on 18 Ramaḍān 1141/17 April 1729 (see f. 250v, lines 11-14).Amongst the more lengthy and readily indentifiable contents are the following:(1) Extract from Quṭb al-Dīn al-Shīrāzī (قطب الدين الشيرازي),
Kitāb Nuzhat al-qulūb(كتاب نزهة القلوب) [Arabic] (f. 1v);(2) Extract from
Rabī‘ al-abrār(ربيع الأبرار) by al-Zamakhsharī (الزمخشري) [Arabic] (ff. 2r-2v);(3) Method for
istikhārah(استخارة) prayer [Persian] (f. 3v);(4) Collection of extracts, notes and riddles on various subjects [Persian and Arabic] (ff. 5v-19r);(5) Notes on the following text and other subjects [Persian and Arabic] (ff. 23v-25v);(6) al-Bīrūnī (البيروني),
Maqālah fī rāshīkāt al-hind(مقالة في راشيكات الهند) (ff. 26r-35v);(7) Abū Ja‘far al-Khāzin (أبو جعفرالخازن),
Burhān ākhar ‘alá al-shakl al-sābi‘ min kitāb Banī Mūsá(برهان آخر على الشكل السابع من كتاب بني موسى) [Arabic] (ff. 36r-39r);(8) Extracts from
Kitāb ṣanf fī fann al-rājī wa-laṭā’ifihi(كتاب صنف في فن الراجي ولطائفه),
Ta’rīkh Makkah(تأريخ مكّة) by Quṭb al-Khafī (قطب الخفي), and
Musurgia universalis(كتاب في الموسيقى; Rome: 1650) by Athanasius Kircher (أتهانازيوس كيرﭼروس الفرنكي) [Arabic and Persian] (ff. 39v-45b);(9) Extract from a treatise on trigonometry [Arabic] (ff. 46v-49r);(10) Banū Mūsá (بنو موسى),
al-Shakl al-sādis ‘ashr min Kitāb ma‘rifat misāḥat al-ashkāl al-basīṭah wa-al-kurīyah(الشكل السادس عشر من كتاب معرفة مساحة الأشكال البسيطة والكرية) [Arabic] (ff. 50r-52v);(11) Extracts on various geometrical subjects including a passage from the
De sphaera et cylindro(Περὶ σφαίρας καὶ κυλίνδρου; كتاب الكرة والأسطوانة) by Archimedes (أرشميدس), methods for determining the direction of the qiblah at Akbārābād and Burhānpūr, and an extract entitled
al-Risālah lil-kurah al-mutaḥarikah bi-ḥarikah dā’imah(الرسالة للكرة [!] المتحركة بحركة دائمة; perhaps
De sphaera quae movertur[Περὶ κινουμένης σφαίρας; كتاب الكرة المتحركة] by Autolycus of Pitane [Αὐτόλυκος ὁ Πιταναῖος; أوطولوقس]) [Arabic and Persian] (ff. 53r-57v);(12) Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī (نصير الدين الطوسي),
Fī bayān annahu lā yumkin an yajtama‘ min ‘adadayn murabba‘ayn fardayn‘adad murabba‘(في بيان أنه لا يمكن أن يجتمع من عددين مربعين فردين عدد مربع) [Arabic] (f. 58r);(13) Two riddles by Bahā’ al-Dīn al-‘Āmilī (بهاء الدين العاملي) [Arabic] (ff. 76v-81r);(14) Bahā’ al-Dīn al-‘Āmilī (بهاء الدين العاملي)
Tashrīḥ al-aflāk[Arabic] (ff. 113v-123r);(15) Ḥusayn ibn Ibrāhīm al-Tankābanī (حسين بن إبراهيم التنكاباني),
Risālah fī ithbāt ḥudūth al-‘ālam(رسالة في إثبات حدوث العالم) [Arabic] (ff. 125r-128r);(16) Yazīd ibn Mu‘āwīyah (يزيد ابن معاوية),
Qaṣīdah mīmīyah(قصيدة ميمية) [Arabic] (ff. 131r-131v and 146r);(17) Extract from the Fifth Treatise (رسالة) of the Ikhwān al-Ṣafā’ (إخوان الصفاء) on music [Arabic] (ff. 140v-142v);(18) Archimedes (أرشميدس),
Kitāb fī qismat shakl samāhu bil-sīṭumāshīyūn(كتاب في قسمة شكل سماه بالسيطماشيون) [Arabic] (ff. 143r-145r);(19) Treatise on
tawḥīd(توحيد) by Muḥammad Afḍal al-Dīn (محمد أفضل الدين) [defective at end; Arabic] (ff. 184r-191r);(20) Qusṭā ibn Lūqā (قسطا بن لوقا),
Maqālah fī al-burhān ‘alá ḥisāb al-khaṭā’ayn[Arabic] (مقالة في البرهان على حساب الخطائين) (ff. 191r-194r);(21) Extract from the
al-Muḥallá(المحلّى) by Ibn Ḥazm (ابن حزم) [Arabic] (ff. 225r-228v);(22) Extract from a work by Bahā’ al-Dīn al-‘Āmilī (بهاء الدين العاملي) concerning density [Arabic] (f. 233r);(23) A qaṣīdah by Khālid ibn Ṣawān Fayyāḍ (خالد بن صفوان فياض) known as
al-‘Arūs(العروس) [Arabic] (ff. 234r-241r);(24) Bahā’ al-Dīn al-‘Āmilī (بهاء الدين العاملي), the conclusion (خاتمة) from the
Khulāṣat al-ḥisāb(خلاصة الحساب) [Arabic] (ff. 249r-250r);(25) Ten lines of verse by Muḥammad Riḍā ibn Ghulām Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Sulaymān (محمد رضا ابن غلام محمد بن أحمد بن سليمان) [Arabic] (f. 250v).Codex; ff. ii+250+iMaterial: PaperDimensions: 195 x 130 mm leaf [135 x 85 mm written]Foliation: Eastern Arabic foliation in black ink; India Office foliation in Western Arabic numerals stamped in black inkRuling:
Misṭarah; average of 17 lines per page; vertical spacing 13 lines per 10 cmScript:
Naskh; the scribe is Aḥmad ibn Sulaymān Ghūjārātī (أحمد بن سليمان غوجاراتي)Ink: Black ink, with rubricated headings and occasional overlinings in redBinding: British Museum binding with leather from previous cover pasted to front and back of current bindingCondition: Very minor worm damageMarginalia: Numerous by hand of compiler
Fihrist: Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate WorldDecoration: Unwan.Dimensions: 10¾ × 6½ in.Hand: Nastaʻlīq.Record origin: Manuscript description based on: Beeston, A. F. L. (Alfred Felix Landon); Ethé, Hermann, 1844-1917; Sachau, Eduard, 1845-1930; Catalogue of the Persian, Turkish, Hindûstânî, and Pushtû manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, Oxford; at the Clarendon Press 1889-1953.
Notable contents include:Commentary on Naṣīr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṭūsī's (نصير الدين محمد بن محمد الطوسي; d. 1274) edition of Euclid's (Εὐκλείδης; أقليدس; fl. 300 BC)
Elements(الأصول) (ff. 86v-88r);Text by Naṣīr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṭūsī's (نصير الدين محمد بن محمد الطوسي; d. 1274) (ff.88v-89v);Commentary on Ptolemy's (بطلميوس, Claudius Ptolemaeus; c 90-c 168)
Almagest(كتاب المجسطي) (f. 90r);A text on determining the
qiblah(في معرفة سمت القبلة) by Abū al-Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Bīrūnī (أبو الريحان محمد بن أحمد البيروني, ca 973-1048) (ff. 91v-92r);A text on determining the
qiblah(في معرفة سمت القبلة) by Naṣīr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṭūsī's (نصير الدين محمد بن محمد الطوسي; d. 1274) (f. 92v);A text on catoptrics, with elaborate diagrams (ff. 94r-95r);Commentry on Euclid (Εὐκλείδης; أقليدس; fl. 300 BC) (ff. 95v-96r);Figure comprising all the figures in Euclid's (Εὐκλείδης; أقليدس; fl. 300 BC)
Elements(الأصول), Book One (ff. 97v-98r);Extract from Qāḍīzāde al-Rūmī's (قاضي زاده الرومي; d. after 1440) commentary on Maḥmūd al-Jaghmīnī's (محمود الجغميني; fl. first half of 13th century)
al-Mulakhkhaṣ fī ‘ilm al-hay’ah al-basīṭah(98v-99r);Extract from al-Qūshjī (القوشجي; d. 1474) (1092v-103r);Extract from Kamāl al-Dīn al-Fārisī's (كمال الدين حسن الفارسي; d. 1319)
Tanqīḥ manāẓir Ibn al-Haytham(تنقيح مناظر ابن الهيثم; ff114v-115).Ff. 86v-117r
Contents: 1. leaves 1b-52b: Nahr al-faṣāḥah. Treatise on correct diction in Persian.Contents: 2. leaves 53b-128b: Chār sharbat. Treatise on Persian prosody and composition; incomplete at end.Ms. codex.Description based on Martinovitch catalog.Origin: 19 Dhū al-Qaʻdah 1219 H 19 February 1805 (leaf 52b).
Second part of a collection of Naṣīr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṭūsī's (نصير الدين محمد بن محمد الطوسي; d. 1274) editions (تحارير) of the so-called 'intermediate [books] (متوسطات)', Arabic versions of ancient Greek mathematical and astronomical texts and Arabic responses to them which were meant to be read after Euclid's
Elementsand in preparation for Ptolemy's
Almagest. The first part of this collection is found in manuscript IO Islamic 1249.The script, ornamentation and binding of the volume indicate that it is part of a set comprising also manuscripts IO Islamic 924 and IO Islamic 1249. Since the latter was transcribed in 1198/1784, probably for Warren Hastings, Governor-General of Bengal from 1772 to 1785 (see front paper ii recto), the collation notes in this manuscript dated to the months of Jumādá I and Sha‘bān without indication of the year probably refer to 1198 (March-April and June-July 1784).A descriptive title in Persian is found on front paper ii recto, and tables of contents in Persian and English are given on front paper iii recto.Contents:(1) Autolycus (أوطولوقس),
De sphaera quae movetur(تحرير كتاب الكرة المتحركة; ff. 1v-10r);(2) Theodosius (ثاوذوسيوس),
De habitationibus(تحرير كتاب المساكن; ff. 11v-21r);(3) Theodosius (ثاوذوسيوس),
De diebus et noctibus(كتاب في الأيام والليالي; ff. 23v-51r);(4) Aristarchus (أرسطرخس),
De magnitudinibus et distantiis solis et lunae(في جرمي النيرين وبعديهما; ff. 52v-69r);(5) Euclid (أقليدس),
Elements, Book 1 (مقالهٔ اولى از كتاب اقليدس; ff. 71v-95r)(6) Euclid (أقليدس),
De levi et ponderoso(في الثقل والخفة وقياس الأجرام بعضها إلى بعض; ff. 98v-101r).Codex; ff. vi+101+ivMaterial: PaperDimensions: 209 x 120 mm leaf [130 x 58 mm written]Foliation: British Museum foliation in pencilRuling:
Misṭarah; 12 lines per page; vertical spacing 9 lines per 10 cmScript:
Nasta‘līqInk: Black ink, with rubricated headings and overlinings in redDecoration: Every opening and every page has a border in gold, black and red ink; the first opening (ff. 1v-2r) is extensively illuminated in gold, red, green and blueBinding: Hybrid binding with European and Islamic-style features; gilt tooled; leather doublureCondition: Excellent condition; book block re-sewn, boards reattached and spine replacedMarginalia: Very few and all appear to be by copyistSeals: Ff. 1r and 101v
Abstract: Two texts on astrology and astronomy by Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī.Binding note: Limp dark brown leather with blind-stamped fillets; water damaged.Contents: "1. fol. 3a-53a: Sharḥ-i S̲amarah-i Baṭlamyūs. Persian translation of and commentary on an Arabic version of Ptolemy's CentiloquiumContents: a collection of a hundred aphorisms on astrology. With original Arabic text; missing first page."Contents: "2. fol. 54a-130a: Risālah-i Muʻīnīyah dar ʻilm-i hayʾat. Manual of astronomy dedicated to Muʻīn al-Dīn Abū al-ShamsContents: son of the author's patron Nāṣir al-Dīn ʻAbd al-Raḥīm ibn Abī Manṣūr (governor of Quhistan). Missing first page; with numerous diagrams."Ms. composite codex.Title of first text from fol. 1a, by a later hand; title of second text from fol. 54a.On front cover: Label reading "284" in Arabic script.Ms. erroneously foliated beginning on first flyleaf. Record follows erroneous foliation.Physical description: 15-16 lines per page; written in casual nastaʻliq by two different hands in black on glazed, laid Arabic paper. Rubrication and catchwords. Some damp staining; edges somewhat ragged.Origin: First text completed Ramaḍān 935 H May-June 1529 by Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Ḥasanī (fol. 53a). Second text completed on Wednesday, 7 Rabīʻ II 681 H 15 July 1282 (fol. 130a).
Fihrist: Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate WorldContents: Dāstān-i Pīltan va-Pīlkan (ff. 4b-69a). Dāstān-i Fīrūz Shāh (ff. 69b-84a). Dāstān-i Rashk-i Khusravānī (ff. 84b-114a). Dāstān-i Dukhtar-i saʻlūk-i Pādishāh-i Zangbār (ff. 114b-171a).Decoration: 10 miniatures. Decorative borders etc.Dimensions: 12⅛ × 7½ in.Hand: Clear and distinct Nastaʻlīq.Record origin: Manuscript description based on: Beeston, A. F. L. (Alfred Felix Landon); Ethé, Hermann, 1844-1917.; Sachau, Eduard, 1845-1930; Catalogue of the Persian, Turkish, Hindûstânî, and Pushtû manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, Oxford; at the Clarendon Press 1889-1953.
Binding: Gilt envelope binding.Fihrist: Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate WorldDecoration: Unwan. 3 miniatures.Hand: Clear Nastaʻlīq.Record origin: Manuscript description based on: Beeston, A. F. L. (Alfred Felix Landon); Ethé, Hermann, 1844-1917.; Sachau, Eduard, 1845-1930; Catalogue of the Persian, Turkish, Hindûstânî, and Pushtû manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, Oxford; at the Clarendon Press 1889-1953.
Copy dated 26, Shaʻbān, 1025 / September 8, 1616. Scribe's name is not mentioned, but hand is identical to the second volume of this work, also in this collection, (Isl. Ms. 668) in which the scribe's name is mentioned in the colophon: Yūsuf [ibn] Yaʻqūb.ʻUnwān in gold, blue, and red; black-ruled gold margins. Text written in nastaʻlīq shekasteh script in black with rubrications. Hand is identical ato that in Vol. 2.Simple leather bound codex; decaying rapidly. Leather is disintegrating and folios are crumbling and falling away from the binding.Ḥabīb-i siyar was usually copied in three volumes. This collection contains only Volumes 1 and 2, (Isl. Ms. 667 and Isl Ms. 668, respectively.) Contents of these two volumes correspond to those of British Museum Cat. Per Mss. for Volumes 1 and 2 of this work. This is manuscript is Volume 1. (For Volume 2, see Ḥabīb-i siyar, jild al-thānī: Isl. Ms. 668).This is the first of three volumes which comprise Khvandemīr's well known and important general history, completed in 929/1523, which spans the creation of the world up to the death of Shah Ismāʻīl Safavī I. The work includes particularly detailed information about Herat under Sultan Husayn Bayqara, the last Timurid ruler in Herat, as well as Shah Ismāʻīl and Bābur's life. This work has been published in both Persian and English editions.
Copy dated 8 Rabīʻ al-Awwal, 1026 / March 16, 1617. Scribe's name is mentioned in the colophon: Yūsuf [ibn] Yaʻqūb.ʻUnwān in gold, blue, green, and red; black-ruled gold margins. Text written in nastaʻlīq shekasteh script in black with rubrications. Hand is identical to that in Vol. 1. Last few pages contain notes in a different hand, in nastaʻlīq script.Simple leather bound codex with some tooling on upper and lower covers as well as envelop flaps; decaying rapidly. Leather is disintegrating and folios are crumbling and falling away from the binding.Ḥabīb-i siyar was usually copied in three volumes. This collection contains only Volumes 1 and 2, (Isl. Ms. 667 and Isl Ms. 668, respectively.) Contents of these two volumes correspond to those of British Museum Cat. Per Mss. for Volumes 1 and 2 of this work. This is manuscript is Volume 2. (For Volume 1, see Ḥabīb-i siyar, jild al-awwal: Isl. Ms. 667).This is the second of three volumes which comprise Khvandemīr's well known and important general history, completed in 929/1523, which spans the creation of the world up to the death of Shah Ismāʻīl Safavī I. The work includes particularly detailed information about Herat under Sultan Husayn Bayqara, the last Timurid ruler in Herat, as well as Shah Ismāʻīl and Bābur's life. This work has been published in both Persian and English editions.