Probably a commentary or glossary, with words in an unidentified language, probably Persian.Condition: torn, holes, badly rubbed, stainedLayout: 17 lines
Title from f. 1r.According to colophon (f. 60v), copy completed in Tabrīz in Rajab 551 AH [August 1156 AD] in the hand of Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyá ibn Aḥmad al-Ardabīlī.Written in two columns, from 16 to 18 lines per page, in black ink. Each column framed within double golden or grey now faded lines.There is numerous aniconic headpieces in colors and gold and 16 miniatures.On inside back cover: "Purchased for Philip Hofer in Tehran as an example of 12th century illumination and presented as such to the Harvard College Library. Subsequently doubts arose as to its authenticity and it was submitted to experts for examination."Persian poems.MS Typ 1016. Houghton Library, Harvard University.In Persian.Electronic reproduction. Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard College Library Digital Imaging Group, 2008. (Open Collections Program at Harvard University. Islamic Heritage Project).
Summary of the branches of knowledge, including the Qurʼān, ḥadīth, and history of Islam; grammar, rhetoric, and logic; medicine, anatomy, and pharmacology; gems and talismans; agriculture and veterinary science; geometry, geodesy, weight, arithmetic, and algebra; music; astronomy, astrology, and magic; theology, ethics, and political science. Marginal notes in a later hand. Pages missing at beginning and end.
Letter from Joseph b. Ezra and Abraham b. Muʿṭī to Ḥalfon b. Nathaniel concerning business matters. He uses Persian phrases and mentions places such as Almeria and Fez. In the hand of Joseph b. Ezra.Condition: torn, holes, slightly rubbedLayout: 11 lines + marginalia (recto); 3 lines (verso)
Letter from Joseph b. Ezra and Abraham b. Muʿṭī to Ḥalfon b. Nathaniel concerning business matters, and using Persian phrases. In the hand of Joseph b. Ezra. 12th century.Condition: holes, rubbedLayout: 29 lines + marginalia (recto); 4 lines (verso)
A richly illuminated and almost complete copy of the Shahnamah with less than a page missing of its prose introduction, probably copied in the 16th/17th Century C.E. The drop-shaped Golkonda seal on the first page appears to be that of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, Sultan of Golkunda, 1565-1612 Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, Sultan of Golkunda, 1565-1612 with the date 1012 [1603/4 C.E.] and a later inscription dated 1091 [1610/11 C.E.]. There is no indication of when the manuscript was completed and no mention of its place of production. The ex libris on the first page is signed by Chas Wilkins, librarian of the East India Company with the date 15th August 1806, which indicates the manuscript's provenance. The double page frontispiece depicting Sulayman enthroned and Bilqis enthroned is followed by a luxuriously executed double page illumination in gold and polychrome [2v, 3r], which ornates the beginning of the introduction and also includes an ex libris of a royal library. The following eleven miniatures found in the text suggest an unusual choice of scenes and depict in order of their appearance: Kayumars enthroned, Guruy executing Siyavusha, Kay Khusrau appointing Tus to lead an expedition to Turan, Kamus fighting Giv and Tus, a full scale battle between the armies of Iran and Turan, Rustam rescuing Bizhan from the pit, Luhrasp enthroned, Isfandiyar's second labour: fighting the lions, Rustam killing Shaghad before dying and Bahram Gur killing a dragon in India. The manuscript is bound in multi-coloured leather with gilded medallions and ornations on the front and back cover and on the flap. This item was included in the Library’s 600th anniversary exhibition Lines of Thought: Discoveries that changed the world .Layout: The text of the poem is written in 4 columns, 25 linesBinding: A multicoloured leather binding with gilded medallions and ornations. The spine was a later addition during a restoration in the 19th Century. The binding was restored in 1999-2002, when the codex underwent a throrough restoration and conservation in Cambridge University Library's Conservation Department by Kristine Rose and Deborah Farndell.
The so-called 'Cambridge Tafsir' is the oldest extant copy of a Persian Qur'ānic commentary, written in 628 A.H. / 1231 C.E., as stated in the colophon. The first volume has not survived and this manuscript contains only the second part of the work, beginning with the Surah Maryam. The manuscript belonged to the Dutch Orientalist Thomas Erpenius Erpenius, Thomas, 1584-1624 .Layout: 21 lines to the pageScript: Muḥammad ibn Abī al-Fatḥ al-Faqīḥ al-Gharīb Muḥammad ibn Abī al-Fatḥ al-Faqīḥ al-Gharīb محمد بن ابي الفتح الفقيه الغريب
Hz. Ali'nin doğumunu, Hz. Muhammed'in evinde büyümesini, Hz. Muhammed ile katıldığı savaşları ve Peygamber'in ölümünden sonraki kahramanlıkları ile ölümünü Farsça nesirle anlatan bu kitabı Safevi şahı II. Abbas'ın (h. 1641-1666) isteği üzerine Muhammed Fasih 1057 / 1647-1648 yılında yazmıştır (y. 2b). Yazar, eserinin mukaddimesinde bu kitabı yazdığı sırada yaşının 45 olduğunu ve 23 yıldır sarayın hizmetinde çalıştığını anlatır. Kitabın tarihi ve yapıldığı yer eserde belirtilmemiştir. 1a yaprağındaki 1252 / 1836 tarihi, kitabın 1836'dan önceki bir tarihte hazırlandığını gösterir. Deri cildinin dış kapaklarının ve 1b-2a sayfasının tezhip tasarımı, motif dağarcığı, altının ve lacivert rengin matlığı 18. yüzyılda İran'da hazırlanmış kitaplarla karşılaştırıldığında, bu eserin de aynı dönemde Isfahan veya Şiraz'da hazırlanmış olabileceği düşünülür. Kitabın tasvirlerinin de cildi ve tezhibi gibi Kaçar dönemi (1779-1924) öncesinde İran'da aynı nakkaşhaneden çıktığı söylenebilir.Binding: Kitabın kestane rengi deri miklepsiz cildinin dış kapakları şemselidir, şemse içleri bulutlar, dallar ve çiçeklerle kalıpla bezenmiştir. Şemsenin iki salbeğinin içine kalıpla bir bukete oturmuş kuş yapılmıştır. Şemse ve salbek zemini altınlanmıştır. Vişneçürüğü rengi deriden iç kapakların ortasına içi iri hatayiler, saz yaprakları, ince dallarla dolu, kenarları dilimli oval bir şemse yerleştirilmiştir; şemsenin üst ve alt iki ucunda birer hatayi, onların da ucunda içi hatayili birer salbek vardır. Fırçayla yapılan bu bezemeler altınla boyanmıştır. Cilt muhtemelen özgündür.Illuminations: Eser üç yönden dar ve geniş pervazlarla çevrili, incecik dallar üzerinde sıralanan iri hatayiler, küçük çiçeklerle dolgulu, dikey dikdörtgen tasarımlı unvan tezhibiyle başlar (y. 1b). Bu sayfa ile karşısındaki yaprağın satır araları altınlıdır, sayfa kenarları iri saz yaprakları ve hatayilerle halkâr bezemelidir (y. 1b-2a). Altınlı iri saz yaprakları ile altın, kırmızı ve lacivert iri hatayiler kitabın son satırlarının alt kısmında kalan geniş alanda da yer alır (y. 250a).Illustrations: Yazmadaki 20 resim Hz. Ali'nin savaşlarını betimler. Bazılarında Hz. Muhammed, Ali'nin mücadelesini seyrederken resmedilmiştir. Hz. Muhammed'in ve Hz. Ali'nin yüzleri peçelidir; Peygamber'in, bazen de Hz. Ali'nin başı etrafında hale vardır. Bazı figürlerin yanına, üzerine isimleri yazılmıştır. Yaprak 28a, 43b, 136b'de olduğu gibi cepheden ya da yandan çizilen yüzlerde kimlik farklılıklar kuvvetlice belirtilmiştir. Bazı tasvirlerde olayın geçtiği manzara derinliklidir, ağaçlar gölgeli boyanarak boyut kazanmıştır (y. 37b). Resimlerin üslup özellikleri incelendiğinde, biri diğerine göre daha naif çalışan iki ayrı sanatçının elinden çıktıkları anlaşılmaktadır.Measurements: 30,9 x 19,2 cm; 16 yaprak, sayfada 17 satır, 20 tasvirScript: Talik
Tinta negra y roja.Incipit: [بسملة]Copista: تهمل, que vivía en la calle کوچه کهاسی رام (Khasiram?)Colofón (Fol. 201v):تمت تمام شد کار من نظام شد این تاریخ ظفر نامه که تمر نامه// میکویند من تصنیف هاتفی بهر نقل از کتاب لاله کلدار سنکه جیو/ بر داشتم و بتاریخ بیست و نهم/ ماه صفر سنه ١٢٢٥ هجری مطابق سنه ۴/ جلوس اکبر شاه صاحبقران ثانی بنظامت (؟)/ سهن(؟) صاحب ... انکریران(؟)/ عالیشان بخط بنده درکاه/ تهمل(؟) ساکن کوچه کهاسی رام/ بروز پبجشنبه بوقت/ دوپهر تحریر یافتCaracterísticas especiales: Encabezamientos en tinta roja. Los siguientes folios en otro papel de color amarillo: 24r a 70v; 150r a 159v; 161r a 162v; 164r a 173v; 176r a 177v.Ilustración: No.Ilustraciones: No.Tipo de cuaderno: Cuadernos de 4 y 5 bifolios.Deterioros generales: Ocasionales manchas de humedad que no afectan al texto. Mancha en fol. 153r.H. en blanco: 204r. Numerosas lagunas en el texto, probablemente debidas a ser copia de un texto defectuoso.H. dañadas, mutiladas, sueltas: Sueltas: fols. 15 a 17 y 22 a 23.H. faltan o añadidas: NoFoliación: Sin foliación original. Se ha foliado a lápiz en el margen superior izquierdo del recto.Reclamos: En el verso de todos los folios.Sign. cuad.: No.Pautado: No se aprecia. Distancia interlineal: 1,2 cm.Filigrana: No se aprecia.Anotaciones: Anotaciones marginales en fols. 80r, 82r, 85v, 94v, 102r, 117r, 122r, 138r y 156v, a menudo cortadas por la encuadernación. Tachaduras en los fols. 132v, 133v y 203v. Guarda final con anotación “Ms. Persian Hatifi” y escudo del General Wyndham. Etiqueta pegada en hoja de guarda y en cubierta con número 55 tachado.Signatura antigua: RESC/1022Poema épico describiendo la vida y proezas militares de Timur, dedicado al sultán Husayn Bayqara (muerto en 1506). El poema imita el estilo del Iskandar Nāma de Nizāmī. Consejos para los gobernantes, tomando a Dios y al profeta como modelo. Libro de la Victoria.Encuadernado en piel marrón sobre cartón con medallón central.
Concise handbook of medicine by Abū al-Ḥasan Saʿīd ibn Hibat Allāh ibn al-Ḥusayn (أبو الحسن سعيد بن هبة الله بن الحسين; d. 1101), personal physician to the Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadī (المقتدي, reg. 1056-1094) to whom this work is dedicated (f. 4v, line 7). The title of the text is often abbreviated to
Kitāb al-mughnī fī al-ṭibb(كتاب المغني في الطبّ).The text is arranged by illness, and each one is assigned to a table. Each table takes up a page, and all pages of the text except for 4v, 5r and 104r contain tables. the tables are divided into four cells containing information about (1) the illness (مرض); (2) its cause (سبب); (3) its symptoms (عرض); and (4) the regimen (تدبير) recommended for its cure, often including a prescription (صفة).Folios 1r-3v contain medical notes in Persian and Arabic.The completion date in the colophon of this manuscript is barely legible (f. 104r, lines 9-10), but appears to read Jumādá I 307/September-October 919. This can hardly be the true transcription date since the author was not born until 436 AH/AD 1101. The reading of the date in this colophon has been the subject of controversy, and two Persian notes below the colophon discuss the date. The first reads the date in the colophon as 309 AH/AD 921-22 and notes that this does not conincide with the regnal dates of caliph al-Muqtadī; the second correctly dates the end of al-Muqtadī's reign to 487 AH/AD 1094. The two printed catalogues in which this manuscript appears read the date in the colophon as 534 AH/AD 1139, just 38 years after the death of the author.Begins (f. 4v, lines 2-3):[...] الخبير أبو الحسن سعيد بن هبة الله بن الحسن الفيلسوف إنّ أولى ما نطق به اللسان وثبت برهانه في الجنان (؟)[...] الأزمان التي أوجد المخلوقات بقدرته وفضل الإنسان على جميعها بحكمته وجعله عالمًا متوسطًا ...End and colophon (f. 104) are mutilated and mostly illegible.Codex; ff. i+104+iMaterial: PaperDimensions: 225 x 170 mm leaf [200 x 145 mm written]Foliation: British Museum foliation in pencil; eastyern Arabic foliation in black inkRuling: No ruling visible; average of 20 lines per page; vertical spacing 10 lines per 10 cmScript:
NaskhInk: Black ink, with rubricated headings and overlinings in redBinding: British Museum bindingCondition: Badly water damaged; many leaves mutilated and repaired especially towards front and back of volumeMarginalia: Infrequent, by more than one handSeals: Ff. 4r, 104v
Fihrist: Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate WorldContents note: Folio 1a contains the second leaf of a dedication which reads . . . "بن محمد بن يعقوب مسكويه آداب الفرس والعجم والعرب والروم لخزانة مولانا الإمام السيد المظفر المنصور أبي نصر محمد بن أحمد أطال الله بقاءه وأدام سلطانه وكبت أعداءه".Record origin: "Manuscript description based on the Bodleian Library's public card index of Arabic manuscripts with additional enhancements by the OCIMCO project team."
Fihrist: Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate WorldContents note: "This copy is the author's autograph."Hand: Naskh.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.
Fihrist: Union Catalogue of Manuscripts from the Islamicate WorldHand: 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