Finding Aid for the Garemani Family collection of Persian and Arabic manuscripts and books, ca. 1514-1899

Series 1: Books. 1873-1911.

Box 1, Folder 1

To the high and mighty sovereign, the Shah of Persia ... [Hertford, England: Stephen Austin and Sons, Printers, 1873]. 1873.

Correspondent: Anglo-Jewish Association.

Physical Description: 1 item.

Physical Description: Bound in red morocco, with gilt edges.

Scope and Content Note

Petition to the Shah of Persia by the Anglo Jewish Association, requesting "an equal measure of justice to all ... subjects" on behalf of the Jews of Persia.

Box 1, Folder 2

[Tehran]: Dar kārkhāna-I ustād Ḥāj ῾Abd al-Raḥīm ṣurat al-ṭibā pazīruft, 1335 [1911]. 1911.

Correspondent: Munsha ῾āt-I Miṣbāh. Kitāb-I munsha ῾āt-I Miṣbāh.

Physical Description: 1 item.

Scope and Content Note

Letter-writing manual, in Persian. Quarter blue cloth, brown marbled wrappers over boards. Inscribed in Persian on front endpapers: "This book belongs to Mahdī Ma᾿rashī." With the stamp of the Ministery of Cultural Affairs.

Box 1, Folder 3

The bronze statue, or, The virgin's kiss = Būshe-yi ῾aẕōṟā ([Tehran]: Dār al-Ṭibāa-I Fārūs, 1326 [1908]). 1908.

Correspondent: Reynolds, George W. M. (George William MacArthur).

Physical Description: 1 item.

Scope and Content Note

Rare Persian translation of Reynold's, The bronze statue.

Series 2: Manuscripts. ca. 1514-1899.

Box 1, Folder 4

Ms. No: 1

Risālah dar fann-i ṭibb (Treatise in the art of medicine). 1804.

Author: ῾Alī al-Riḍā ibn Mūsá, d. 818 or 19.

Physical Description: 64 leaves : paper ; 164 x 103 mm. bound to 164 x 107 mm.

Scope and Content Note

Interlinear Persian translation of a treatise on medicine by the eighth Shiite Imam ῾Alī al-Riḍā ibn Mūsá. It is also known as Risālah al-dhahabīyah, or "The golden." The translator's name is Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Mashhadī (possibly also the scribe). The content covers a variety of diseases and the cures, and develops a theory of physiognomy. The body is compared to a kingdom whose king is the soul, and the agents of the king are the limbs and the veins. The home of the king is the heart; and his treasury, the intestine and the stomach. The text recommends good food and drink to maintain health and cure ailments. The manuscript also discusses the four humors, general hygiene, and recommendations for sleep and brushing teeth. The manuscript concludes with a summary of the stages of life (the final stage beginning at age forty), and rules for bathing, bowel movements, traveling, and copulation.

Layout: Average of 16 lines of text per page.

Script: Naskh.

Binding: Stiff red leather, with brown leather spine.

Additional descriptive data: Arabic terms and phrases in blue, Persian text in black; marginalia in several hands.

Text in Arabic and Persian.

Box 1, Folder 5

Ms. No: 2

Ātishkadah Fire altar. 1804-1805.

Author: [Bāfqī, Muḥammad Mufīd ibn Maḥmūd, 17th cent.]

Scribe: Amān Allāh ibn Muḥammad Taqī [Zanganah?] Naẓīr.

Physical Description: 66 leaves : paper ; 175 x 105 mm. bound to 178 x 111 mm.

Origin: Qājār Iran.

Scope and Content Note

Āẕar Baygdilī's anthology of several hundred Persian poets from all regions of Iran and present-day Afganistan. This version is contemporary with the third-oldest manuscript used by Ḥasan Sādāt Nāṣirī in his 1958-1962 partial critical edition.

Contents:

ff. 1b-5b: Opening and table of contents.
ff. 5b-179b: First censer: older poets.
ff. 5b-14a: First flame: poetry of kings.
ff. 14a-151b: First ember: the poets of Iran.
ff. 14a-28b: First flare: Azerbayjan.
ff. 28b-77b: Second flare: Khurasan.
ff. 77b-85b: Third flare: Caspian region.
ff. 85b-132b: Fourth flare: the two Iraqs.
ff. 85b-86a: First ray: Persian poetry of Arab Iraq.
ff. 86a-132b: Second ray: Persian poetry of Persian Iraq.
ff. 132b-151b: Fifth flare: Fars.
ff. 151b-175a: Second Ember: the poets of Turan.
ff. 175a-177b: Third Ember: the poets of India (Deccan, Delhi, and Kashmir).
ff. 177b-179b: Light: the poetesses.
ff. 179b-239a: Second censer: contemporary poets.
ff. 179b-215a: First beam: contemporaries of the author.
ff. 215a-239a: Second beam: the author.

Layout: 25 lines of text per page.

Script: Nasta᾿ līq.

Binding: Black leather blind stamped binding.

Additional descriptive data: Text in black ink with headings in red. Occasional staining. Notes in pencil and ink, in several hands, on pastedowns and endpapers.

Text in Persian.

Box 1, Folder 6

Ms. No: 3

Jāmἵ-I Mufīdī mujallid-i siyyum The third volume of the beneficial collection. 1860.

Author: [Bāfqī, Muḥammad Mufīd ibn Maḥmūd, 17th cent.]

Physical Description: 66 leaves : paper ; 175 x 105 mm. bound to 178 x 111 mm.

Origin: Qājār Iran.

Scope and Content Note

Selection from Bāfqī's Jāmἵ-I Mufīdī (History of Yazd, or Iran), consisting of a biography of 14th century Shiite Sufi master Ni ᾿mat Allāh Valī. In the introduction, Bāfqī states that he consulted a number of contemporary texts on his subject (f. 5). The narrative begins with the master's birth in Aleppo, and then relates his travels, pilgrimages, encounters with important personages, and arrival in the city of Kirman (f. 23a). The biography concludes with a lengthy list of the central figures of the order, following Ni ᾿mat Allāh Valī's death. The last date mentioned in the text is 1655 December 12, well within the author's lifetime.

Layout: 15 lines of text per page.

Script: Nasta᾿ līq.

Binding: Soft dark green leather, blind stamped.

Additional descriptive data: Text in black ink with headings, or the first few words of each section, in red.

Text in Persian.

Box 2, Folder 1

Ms. No: 4

[Biography of Napoleon Bonaparte]. [ca. 1808?].

Physical Description: 79 leaves : paper ; 214 x 160 mm. bound to 217 x 165 mm.

Origin: Qājār Iran.

Scope and Content Note

Original biographical composition on Napoleon Bonaparte; possibly incomplete, or lacking pages towards the end. Continuous narrative, without chapter divisions, except for three breaks on 38a, 39b, and 60b. After each break the author writes "thus says the author" or "the narrator narrates," thereafter resuming his story. The author refers to his subject as "General Napoleon," and the last dated reference is 1796. However, the biography was clearly composed at a later date, as author mentions an event which occurred in 1808 (f. 25a), when Bonaparte was First Consul and Emperor of France. The historical context for this biography reflects the political and nationalistic tensions during the reign of King Fatḥ-῾Alī Shāh Qājār (r. 1797-1834), who courted the French for military assistance to offset the Russian threat to the north, and the British expansion in India and modern Afghanistan in the east and southeast.

Layout: Average 21 lines of text per page (in columns).

Script: Nasta᾿ līq.

Decoration: First two pages gilt.

Binding: Soft black leather.

Additional descriptive data: Text in black ink, framed in a red, gold, and blue border. Occasional stains and smears.

Text in Persian.

Box 2, Folder 2

Ms. No: 5

῾Ayn al-bakkā᾿ Weeper's eye. [18--].

Author: Burūjirdī, Sayyid ῾Alī Naqī.

Scribe: Muḥammad Ḥusayn ibn Muḥammad Ja᾿ far.

Physical Description: 263 leaves : paper ; 210 x 130 mm. bound to 210 x 136 mm.

Origin: Iran/Iraq.

Scope and Content Note

Collection of stories about the death or martyrdom of Shiite holy figures, with special emphasis on the events surrounding the death of the third Imam, Ḥusayn ibn ῾Alī (see Storey I, p. 219). The manuscript immediately opens with a narrative, instead of the typical introductory paragraphs. It begins with Ḥusayn's march from Medina towards Kūfa, where he was met by an opposing army, followed by an account of the martyrdom of several of his companions. This section also tells the story of Za᾿ far the genie, who volunteers to die for the Imam. Next, Ḥusayn gives the final speech to his family before the 10th of Muḥarram (the day of his martyrdom), and the author includes accounts of the deaths of Ḥusayn's grandfather (the prophet Muḥammad), mother (Fāṭima Ẓahrā᾿, Muḥammad's daughter), and father (Imam ῾Alī).

The narrative shortly reverts to the martyrdom of the eighth Imam (῾Alī al-Riḍa) before returning to the subject of Ḥusayn, specifically Ḥusayn's severed head, which prompts fantastic occurrences en route to Syria. The manuscript also covers the battle of Ṣiffīn, where Ḥusayn's father ῾Alī had been betrayed by his companions; it then diverts to the story of Abraham's near sacrifice of Ishmael (as opposed to Isaac, in Genesis). The author concludes with accounts of the martyrdom of Ḥusayn's other male relatives.

Layout: 14 lines of text per page.

Script: Nasta᾿ līq.

Binding: Brown leather, blind stamped; light blue pastedowns.

Additional descriptive data: Chapter headings and punctuations in red ink, text in black. The text is bordered by a red box for the first eight leaves; the final chapter headings are blank.

Text in Persian.

Box 2, Folder 3

Ms. No: 6

[Correspondence, et. al]. [ca. 1827?].

Physical Description: 56 leaves : paper ; 278 x 189 mm. bound to 280 x 193 mm.

Origin: Qājār Iran.

Scope and Content Note

Persian translation of a draft report on the province of ῾Iraq-I ῾Ajam (in modern-day central and western Iran), and copies of translated correspondence between the Qājār ruling elite and various European powers, especially Imperial Russia. In 1826, Russia had defeated the Qājārs a second time, and annexed additional territory in the Caucasus. Fatḥ ῾Alī Shāh was rumored to harbor plans to construct a city in the province of ῾Iraq-I ῾Ajam, as the road between Azerbayjan and the capital Tehran was unprotected. The correspondence, report, and assorted documents probably relate to these events, as the scribe dedicates the manuscript to Fatḥ ῾Alī Shāh Qājār (r. 1797-1834) and writes that the people of Iran have been subjected to much cruelty of late. The last letter is dated 1827 January 6.

Contents:

ff. 1b-4b: Opening.
ff. 4b-13b: Provincial survey of ῾Iraq-I ῾Ajam.
ff. 13b-18a: Blank.
ff. 18a-36b: Translation of papers documenting diplomatic exchange with Britain (1823 November 20).
ff. 37a-39a: Blank.
ff. 39a-44b: Correspondence documenting Russian and Austrian affairs.
ff. 45a-46a: Blank.
ff. 46b-50a: Correspondence documenting Russian and French affairs (some written by Qājār official in Istanbul).
ff. 50b-51a: Blank.
ff. 51b-56a: Report of diplomatic mission to Istanbul.

Layout: 12 lines of text per page.

Script: Nasta᾿ līq.

Binding: Soft green leather.

Additional descriptive data: Text in black ink, except for the geographical indicators in the report, which are in red. Occasional staining and separation of leaves.

Text in Persian.

Box 2, Folder 4

Ms. No: 7

Mirqāt al-ṣu῾ ūd fī tawḥīd al-wujūd Ladder of ascension in the unity of existence. 1879.

Author: Imām-i Jum῾a, al-Ḥāj Mullā Muḥammad ῾Alī.

Scribe: ῾Abd Allāh Tabrīzī Qazvīnī.

Physical Description: 65 leaves : paper ; 180 x 101 mm. bound to 165 x 111 mm.

Origin: Qājār Iran.

Scope and Content Note

Religio-philosophical treatise. Each section discusses a theme, or an exegesis, on verses from the Koran or Hadith. The author begins by rebuking those who see only appearances, followers of opinions and whims; thus establishing the binary opposition of appearance/essence. Manuscript includes several sections on desire, followed by relevant exegetical passages. Also contains numerous discussions on aspects of the soul.

Layout: 14 lines of text per page.

Script: Nasta᾿ līq.

Binding: Bound in cats-paw calf, stamped in gilt, with marbled endpapers. The text block is entirely detached from its binding, and extends 15 milimeters above the top of the boards.

Additional descriptive data: Text in black ink, with occasional page stains. Sparse marginalia, including a few Russian notations in pencil.

Text in Persian.

Box 2, Folder 5

Ms. No: 8

al-῾Awāmil fī al-naḥw The elements of grammar. 1824.

Author: Jurjāniī, ῾Abd al-Qāhir ibn ῾Abd al-Raḥmān, d. 1078?

Physical Description: 27 leaves : paper ; 215 x 164 mm. bound to 217 x 165 mm.

Scope and Content Note

Jurjānī's 11th century grammatical treatise on Arabic, ῾Awāmil al-mi ῾ah. A second title, written in red ink on f. 1b, reads "hādhā kitāb al-῾awāmil al-Jurjānī," or "this is Jurjani's book of elements." The manuscript begins with divisions of words into "sound and sense," or pronunciation and meaning. The concept of "sound" is further subdivided into acoustic and modal categories; the first consisting of 91 additional subdivisions, and the second, 7. These subdivisions, plus the two major divisions of sense or meaning, add up to Jurjānī's one hundred elements of grammar.

Layout: 12 lines of text per page.

Script: Naskh.

Binding: Soft black leather, blind stamped, with golden paper pastdowns.

Additional descriptive data: Text in black ink on blue paper, with some headings and underlining in red, and extensive marginalia. Occasional staining and holes.

Text in Arabic.

Box 2, Folder 6

Ms. No: 9

[Dīvān-i Manūchihrī Dāmghānī] [Poems of Manūchihrī Dāmghānī]. 1866.

Author: [Manūchihrī Dāmghānī, Abū Najm Mīrzā Maḥmūd Hakim.

Scribe: Aḥmad ibn Qawṣ].

Physical Description: 34 leaves : paper ; 208 x 125 mm. bound to 210 x 130 mm.

Origin: Qājār Iran.

Scope and Content Note

Selected poetry by 11th century Persian poet Manūchihrī Dāmghānī. The manuscript contains six of Manūchihrī Dāmghānī's "qaṣīdas," panegyrics to the Ghaznawid dynasty court elite, and a number of "tarjī᾿ bands," poems with refrain.

Layout: Average 13 lines of text per page.

Script: Nasta᾿ līq.

Binding: Soft brown leather, blind stamped.

Additional descriptive data: Text in black ink on blue paper. ff. 30-34 are stained.

Text in Persian.

Box 2, Folder 7

Ms. No: 10

[Sirāj al-munīr, va Dīvān-i Sabzavārī] [The luminous light beam, and Poems of Sabzavārī]. 1866.

Author: Muḥammad Sharīf ibn Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad ; Sabzavārī, Hādī ibn Mahdī, b. 1797 or 8.

Scribe: Ḥāfiẓ ibn ῾Abd al-Karīm al-῾Aqīlī al-Kirmānī.

Physical Description: 130 leaves : paper ; 117 x 110 mm. bound to 181 x 115 mm.

Origin: Qājār Iran.

Scope and Content Note

The manuscript contains two works. Sirāj al-munīr (ff. 1-66) is a 17th century work by Muḥammad Sharīf ibn Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad. The second work (ff. 67-130) is a collection of poems by Hādī ibn Mahdī Sabzavārī (b. 1797 or 8). The title of the second work, as given in the manuscript, is Dīvān-i ta ᾿līfāt va ghazaliyyāt-i afkār-i abkār-i fakhr al-῾ārifīn jināb-i Ḥājī Mullā Hādī-yi Sabzavārī al-mutikhalliṣ bi Asrār, which translates to "The anthology of the compositions and sonnets of the unprecedented ideas of the glory of Gnostics, his grace the pilgrim Mullā Hādī of Sabzavār, with the nom-de-plume 'Mysteries'." The scribe has written some dedicatory lines to the Qājār prince Amīd al-Dawlah (66a).

Contents:

ff. 1b-65a: The luminous light beams.
ff. 1b-4b: Table of contents.
ff. 4b-8a: The first flash: courtesy.
ff. 8a-11a: The second flash: shame.
ff. 11a-13b: The third flash: restraint.
ff. 13b-16a: The fourth flash: justice.
ff. 16a-19a: The fifth flash: benevolence.
ff. 19a-22b: The sixth flash: patience.
ff. 22b-26b: The seventh flash: love.
ff. 26b-29b: The eighth flash: kindness.
ff. 29b-32b: The ninth flash: generosity.
ff. 32b-37b: The tenth flash: bravery.
ff. 37b-41a: The eleventh flash: conversation.
ff. 41a-45a: The twelfth flash: reversal of fortune.
ff. 45a-47b: The thirteenth flash: silence.
ff. 47b-50b: The fourteenth flash: the ability to live without.
ff. 50b-52a: The fifteenth flash: coveting.
ff. 52a-54a: The sixteenth flash: youngmanliness (chivalry).
ff. 54a-56b: The seventeenth flash: foresight.
ff. 56b-59a: The eighteenth flash: oppression.
ff. 59a-61b: The nineteenth flash: fraud.
ff. 61b-64b: The twentieth flash: jealousy.
ff. 64b-65a: Closing.
ff. 66a-66b: Dedication.
ff. 67a-130a: The anthology of Sabzavārī.

Layout: Average 15 lines of text per page.

Script: Nasta᾿ līq.

Binding: Soft black leather, blind stamped.

Additional descriptive data: Text in black ink on blue paper, with headings, some names, verse markers, and some punctuation in red. Title of second work on fore-edge.

Text in Persian.

Box 2, Folder 8

Ms. No: 11

Ẓiyā᾿ al-ẓamir The glow of comprehension. 1730.

Author: Mullá ῾Alī.

Scribe: ShĀmlū, Murtaẓá Qulī.

Physical Description: 56 leaves : paper ; 183 x 109 mm. bound to 183 x 109 mm.

Origin: Persia.

Scope and Content Note

Mathematical treatise covering basic arithmetic functions, including radicals, fractions, functions and uses, sample problems, and basic geometry. The target audience is probably those who use the information for practical matters, specifically small business accounting. For example, the first two sample problems deal with calculating wages; the third with buying produce; and the fourth and the fifth with the volume of water in cisterns.

Contents:

ff. 1b-3a: Opening.
ff. 3a-4b: Addition.
ff. 4b-5a: Halving.
ff. 5a-6a: Subtractions.
ff. 6a-15a: Multiplications.
ff. 15a-17b: Divisions.
ff. 17b-23b: Radicals.
ff. 23b-28b: Fractions.
ff. 28b-29a: Adding fractions.
ff. 29a-30a: Halving fractions.
ff. 30a-32b: Multiplying fractions.
ff. 32b-41a: Dividing fractions and other points.
ff. 41a-43a: Uses (accounting).
ff. 43a-49a: Sample problems.
ff. 49a-56b: Geometry (measuring area).

Layout: Average 9 lines of text per page.

Script: Nasta᾿ līq.

Binding: Soft red morocco.

Additional descriptive data: Text in black ink, with charts, numbers, and headings in red. Staining and damage at the bottom right fore-edge; occasional marginalia. Extended title on the spine.

Text in Persian.

Box 2, Folder 9

Ms. No: 12

[Prayer book]. [ca. 18--?].

Physical Description: 135 leaves : paper ; 133 x 98 mm. bound to 135 x 103 mm.

Origin: Iran.

Scope and Content Note

Shiite prayer book of Koran verses, in addition to Arabic prayers accompanying instructions in Persian.

Contents:

ff. 1b: Chapter 1 and 117 of the Koran (al-IkhlĀṣ & al-Fātiḥa).
ff. 2a-11b: The prayer of Kumayl.
ff. 11b-15a: The prayer of "surrendering abundantly" (Taslīman Kathīran).
ff. 15a-19a: The prayer of "those who pardon" (al-Rāḥimīn).
ff. 19a-20a: The prayer of ending a visitation to the prophet and his family.
ff. 20a-32a: The prayer of twelve Imams by Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī.
ff. 32a-33a: The prayer of Ali in the bed (Firāsh).
ff. 33b: The prayer after the Morning Prayer.
ff. 34a: The prayer after praising Fāṭima al-Zahrā᾿.
ff. 34b: The prayer for after every required Prayer (namāz).
ff. 34b-35a: After the Morning Prayer.
ff. 35a-36a: After the Noon Prayer.
ff. 36a-37a: After the Afternoon Prayer.
ff. 37a-37b: After the Sunset Prayer.
ff. 37b-39a: Also after the Sunset Prayer.
ff. 39a-40a: Prayers to be recited after the required Prayers during holy months.
ff. 40a-42b: Prayer for the pre-dawn (saḥar) during Ramaḍān.
ff. 42b-46a: Prayer for the night of the nineteenth of Ramaḍān.
ff. 46a-47b: Prayer for the night of the twenty-first of the same month.
ff. 47b-49a: Prayers for the festival of breaking the fast (ἳd al-fiṭr).
ff. 49a-60a: Prayers for the pilgrimage to great shrines.
ff. 60a-64b: Prayer for the tenth of Muḥarram.
ff. 64b-67a: How to visit Imam al-Riḍā.
ff. 67a-91a: Prayers for solving problems.
ff. 91a-94a: The prayer for deflecting adversity.
ff. 94a-: The prayer of the tens (᾿asharāt).
ff. 101a-119a: The prayer of the small coat of mail (jawshan-i ṣaghīr).
ff. 119b-121a: Prayers (in a different hand).
ff. 121a-135: Blank.

Layout: Average of 15 lines of text per page.

Script: Naskh (Arabic) and nasta᾿ līq. (Persian).

Binding: Brown leather, blind stamped.

Additional descriptive data: Text in black ink on blue, yellow, green, or pink paper, with headings and underlines in red.

Text in Arabic and Persian.

Box 3, Folder 1

Ms. No: 13

Aḥādīth Hadiths. [between 1514 and 1558].

Author: Qummī, Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad, 10th/11th cent.

Scribe: Mashhadī, Abū Ṭālib ibn Abū al-Fatḥ al-Ḥusaynī.

Physical Description: 58 leaves : paper, ill. ; 199 x 123 mm. bound to 208 x 140 mm.

Origin: [Persia].

Scope and Content Note

Illuminated collection of Shiite Hadiths, or sayings of holy figures, translated into Persian. Mashhadī, the compiler, translator and calligrapher of the manuscript, writes that it was created for non-Arabic readers in Ṣafawid Persia. The major, but not exclusive source for selections is the work of 9th century scholar Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Qummī. The manuscript is dedicated to Shāh Ṭahmāsb Ṣafawid (r. 1524-1576).

Contents:

ff. 1b-4a: Opening.
ff. 4a-7b: First hadith.
ff. 7b-11a: Second hadith.
ff. 11a-13a: Third hadith.
ff. 13a-15a: Fourth hadith.
ff. 15a-16a: Fifth hadith.
ff. 16a-17b: Sixth hadith.
ff. 18a-19b: Seventh hadith.
ff. 19b-20b: Eighth hadith.
ff. 20b-22b: Ninth hadith.
ff. 22b-25a: Tenth hadith.
ff. 25a-26a: Eleventh hadith.
ff. 26a-27b:Twelfth hadith.
ff. 27b-29a:Thirteenth hadith.
ff. 29a-31b: Fourteenth hadith.
ff. 31b-32b: First story.
ff. 32b-37b: Second story.
ff. 37b-39a: Third story.
ff. 39a-40b: Fourth story.
ff. 40b-42b: Twelve hadiths of Moses.
ff. 43a: blank.
ff. 43b-58a: Prayer and closing.

Layout: Average of 11 lines of text per page.

Script: Naskh; from 40b-42b Arabic text in naskh, Persian text in nasta᾿ līq.

Decoration: Illuminated throughout.

Binding: Black lacquer boards, painted in gold and black, with a red leather spine.

Additional description: Text in black, red, green, and blue, framed a thin green, gold, red, white, and blue decorative border.

Text in Persian and Arabic.

Box 3, Folder 2

Ms. No: 14

Kitāb-i ṭibb-i Ḥakīm-i Māẓī mawsūm bih sī bakhiyah The medical book of the former sage known as the thirty stitches. 1866.

Author: [Shāmlū, Murtaẓá Qulī].

Scribe: Ẕimnī.

Physical Description: 66 leaves : paper ; 182 x 106 mm. bound to 186 x 112 mm.

Origin: Qājār Iran.

Scope and Content Note

Medical text commonly attributed to author and calligrapher MurtaẒá Qulī (Khān) Shāmlū, son of Ḥasan Shāmlū, 17th century Ṣafawid governor of Heart, in modern Afghanistan (Storey II, 263). The work is also known as the Khirqah. The scribe refers to himself as a descendant of the author's family, and dedicates the book to "the second Ṣaḥib Qirān," probably the Qājār king Nāṣir al-Dīn Shāh (r. 1848-96). The text covers topics of sexual health and reproduction, including infertility, manners and timing for copulation, determining the gender of fetuses, increasing sperm count, erectile function and enlargement, female sexuality (based on physical appearance of women), and curing a variety of ailments and discomforts. The recommendations almost always include the use of various potions, to be applied to the body or ingested.

Layout: 12 lines of text per page.

Script: Nasta᾿ līq.

Binding: Soft brown leather, blind stamped.

Additional descriptive data: Chapter headings and other divisions in red ink, text in black. The name "Ḥakīm-I Māḍī" is signed in ink on the spine, fore-edge, and front endpapers. On leaf 39b, next to chapter 13, a note in the margin reads "the description of the 13th chapter was not there and therefore was not written."

Text in Persian.

Box 3, Folder 3

Ms. No: 15

Tārīkh-i padshāhān-i ῾Ajam ... az ... Kiyūmars ilá ... Fatḥ ῾Alī Shāh-i Qājār The history of Persian kings ... from ... Kiyūmars to ... Fatḥ ῾Alī Shāh-i Qājār. [between 1797 and 1834].

Physical Description: 175 leaves : paper ; 217 x 114 mm. bound to 216 x 127 mm.

Origin: Qājār Iran.

Scope and Content Note

Dynastic history of Iran, written during the reign of Fatḥ ῾Alī Shāh-I Qājār (r. 1797-1834). The manuscript includes a list of kings for each dynasty, and a brief summary of their most famous deeds. Possibly written by a member of the court elite, for use as a reference tool.

Contents:

ff. 2a-4b: List of kings and dynasties.
ff.4b-15b: The Pīshdādids (Kiyūmarth to Alexander).
ff.16a-18a: The Party kings (From Alexander to Ardashīr the Sasanian).
ff.18a-28b: Sasanians (Ardashīr to Yazdgird III).
ff.28b-38a: The Arabs of Iraq and Syria (Banū Tamīm, the Ghassānids, and the Himyarites).
ff.38b: Blank.
ff.39a-40b: List of kings from Muḥammad to Fatḥ-῾Alī Shāh.
ff.41a-48b: From Muḥammad to Ḥasan ibn ῾Alī.
ff.49a-55a: The descendants of Muḥammad (Ḥusayn to Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Mahdī).
ff.55b-: Blank.
ff.56a-59b: The Umayyids (Yazīd to Marwān).
ff.60a-68b: Abbasids (Saffāḥ to al-Musta᾿sim).
ff.69a-90b: Kings contemporary with the Abbasids (Ṭāhirids, Ṣaffārids, Samānids, Ghaznawids, Ghūrids, Būyids, Saljūqids.
ff.Khwārazm-Shāhs, Atā Begs, Isma᾿ īlis, Ayyūbids, Qarā Khiṭā).
ff.90b-96b: The Mongols (Genghis Khan to Malik Ashraf).
ff.97a-106b: The party kings contemporary with the Mongols and after (Chūpānids, Ilkāyids, Amīr Shaykh Abū al-Ḥasan, Muẓaffarids, Karts, Sarbadārids).
ff.107a-118b: The Gūrakānids and Turcoman kings (Tamerlane and his descendants as well as Qara Quyunlu, Aq Quyunlu, Uzbeks).
ff.118b-134b: The Ṣafawids and Afghans.
ff.134b-148b: The Afshārids.
ff.149a-155b: The Zandids.
ff.155b-173b: The Qājārs.

Layout: Average 20 lines of text per page.

Script: Nasta᾿ līq.

Binding: Red leather binding, stamped in black and gilt.

Additional descriptive data: Text in black ink, in a red, gold, blue and black border.

Text in Persian.

Box 3, Folder 4

Ms. No: 16

Tarjumah-i Fārsī min laṭāyif-i ma᾿ navī The Persian translation of the spiritual pleasantries. 1761.

Physical Description: 129 leaves : paper ; 180 x 110 mm. bound to 192 x 157 mm.

Origin: Persia.

Scope and Content Note

Persian translation of an unidentified Turkish commentary on Maulana Jalal al-Din Rumi's Masṉavī. The manuscript begins well into Book 1, with the story of "The lion and the games" (verse 1186 of Nicholson's edition). The commentary does not follow the Masṉavī verse-to-verse, but proceeds selectively through the text. The final commentary is on verse 563 of Book 5, or the story of "The wise man and the peacock."

Contents:

ff. 1a-28a: Book One.
ff. 28b-60b: Book Two.
ff. 60b-94b: Book Three.
ff. 94b-125a: Book Four.
ff. 125a-129b: Book Five.

Layout: Average 21 lines of text per page, mostly diagonal.

Script: Nasta᾿ līq.

Binding: Soft black leather, blind stamped. The text block is entirely detached from its binding.

Additional descriptive data: 16 quires, probably lacking quires from the beginning and end. Text in black ink, with verses and underlining often in red. Occasional staining and marginalia.

Text in Persian.

Box 3, Folder 5

Ms. No: 17

Davāzdah imām Twelve imams. [1897-1899].

Author: Tūṣī, Naṣīr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad, 1201-1274.

Scribe: Mīrzā Muḥammad ᾿Alī al-Arzinjānī.

Physical Description: 16 leaves : paper ; 122 x 76 mm. bound to 126 x 80 mm.

Origin: Qājār Iran.

Scope and Content Note

Short prayer by thirteenth-century Shiite scholar Naṣīr al-Dīn Tūsī, in an exemplary Naskh script. Dedicated by the scribe to the governor of Fārs, ῾Abd al-Ḥusayn Mīrzā Farmānfarmā.

Layout: Average 20 lines of text per page.

Script: Naskh.

Decoration: Gilt applied to space between lines of text and borders (ff. 1b-2a.)

Binding: Brown leather binding, stamped in green, with blue and yellow pastedowns.

Additional descriptive data: Exquisite calligraphy, with most of the text in black ink. The name of God appears in red or blue, and the word "praise," followed by the name of the prophet or an imam in red ink. Dedication in red and blue ink.

Text in Arabic and Persian.

Box 3, Folder 6

Ms. No: 18

Zīj Astronomical tables. 1827.

Author: Tūsī, Naṣīr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad, 1201-1274.

Scribe: ῾Alī ibn ῾Abd al-Razzāq al-Tabrīzī.

Physical Description: 62 leaves : paper ; 243 x 186 mm. bound to 247 x 189 mm.

Origin: Qājār Iran.

Scope and Content Note

The manuscript contains three separate works, as indicated by a spine label stating, "Three books in one." The three texts are contained within seven parallel columns on each page, alternatively narrow (in red ink), and wide (in black ink). The two narrow columns set along the outer border of the pages contain single letters, and occasional pairs of letters; the two narrow internal columns consist of individual words. The text in the wider columns consists of complete sentences. The three compositions are written linearly within these columns throughout the extent of the manuscript, proceeding from page to page; one in the wider, black-ink columns, one in the outer narrow columns, and one in the inner narrow columns. A second hand, probably a former owner, has written the title "Tārīkh dawlat rasūlī" on the first leaf. The same title, in a different hand, is found on the fore-edge.

Layout: Average 17 lines of text per page.

Script: Naskh.

Binding: Soft black leather with blue pastedowns.

Additional descriptive data: Text in black, red, and orange ink; occasional stains.

Text in Arabic.

Box 3, Folder 7

Ms. No: 19

[Tārīkh-i Vaṣṣāf] [Vaṣṣāf's history]. 1843.

Author: [Vaṣṣāf al-Ḥaẓṛrat, ῾Abd Allāh ibn Faẓḷ Allāh, 1264 or 5-1329?].

Physical Description: 261 leaves : paper ; 334 x 206 mm. bound to 350 x 212 mm.

Origin: Qājār Iran.

Scope and Content Note

Volumes 1 and 2 from Vaṣṣāf's 5-volume history of the Mongols, including histories of the Hülegu, Qublai and Arghun, in addition to the Salghurids of Fars. Incomplete, with missing quires.

Layout: 17 lines of text per page.

Script: Naskh.

Additional descriptive data: Persian text in black, Arabic verses in red. Occasional marginalia and stains.

Text in Persian.

Container List