ʻAjāʼib al-makhlūqāt

Title:

ʻAjāʼib al-makhlūqāt

Alternative title:

The cosmography of Qazwini

Creator:

Qazwīnī, Zakarīyā ibn Muḥammad, ca. 1203-1283

Date:

974 AH / 1566 CE

Description:

A richly illuminated 16th Century [CE] copy of the Persian version of Qazwini's ʻAjāʼib al-makhlūqāt wa-gharāʼib al-mawjūdāt, "The marvels of creation and the oddities of existence", commonly known as "The cosmography of Qazwini".. The text is structured according to a hierarchical cosmological order, with the celestial spheres, incorporating the fixed stars, the 12 signs of the Zodiac, stellar constellations and the surrounding spheres, which make up the observable celestial phenomena, followed by the invisible phenomena, the "Guardians of the Kingdom of God" and other angels, and the division of time and calendars. In the second section of the work the elemental division of the sublunar sphere is classified into the four elements fire, wind, water and earth. The seas, oceans and islands including their inhabitants, are governed by Water, while Earth contains the mountains, wells, rivers, minerals, plants and the animal kingdom, including human beings and their cultures. Numerous illustrations of commonly known mammals, birds, insects and reptiles can be found, along with strange beings, which conclude the text.Layout: 17 lines to the pageAdditions: A description of the manuscript on 243r in Latin signed by Saloman Negri Saloman Negri

Language:

Persian
Arabic

Type (Narrower):

Manuscripts

Type (Broader):

Text

Medium:

Paper

Extent:

Leaf: (height: 35 cm, width: 24 cm)
Written: (height: 23 cm, width: 13.3 cm)

Publisher:

Cambridge University Library

Rights:

Images made available for download are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License (CC BY-NC 3.0)
This metadata is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

Identifier:

MS Nn.3.74

Format:

Codex

Is part of:

Oriental Manuscrupts: Islamic Manuscripts Collection

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