Finding Aid for the Exhibit collection of Near Eastern manuscripts, 1492-1848
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
- Manuscripts
- Scrolls
- Book covers and artifacts
- Minasian Collection of Near Eastern Manuscripts (Collection 1147) . Available in the Department of Special Collections, UCLA.
- Qayani Collection of Arabic and Persian Manuscripts (Collection 1053) . Available in the Department of Special Collections, UCLA.
- Wellcome Collection of Near Eastern Manuscripts (Collection 1148) . Available in the Department of Special Collections, UCLA.
Container List
Manuscripts
Manuscript no. 1 Kanz al-lughāt / Treasure of words 1658
Scope and Content Note
- Author: Muḥammad ibn Άbd al-Khāliq ibn Ma 'arīf, fl. 16th cent?
- Scribe: Ibn Abī Turāb Muḥammad Ibrāhīm (al-Ḥusayn?)
- Language: Text in Persian and Arabic
- Origin: Ṣafawid Persia
- Layout: Average of 21 lines of text per page.
- Script: Written in fine nastẚ līq hand.
- Decoration: Illuminated title page.
- Binding: Decorated red leather binding. Covers painted with portraits of youths; inside covers painted with partridges.
- Additional description: Arabic terms and phrases in red. Marginalia. Occasional bleeding of red ink, particularly in the last third of the text; light brown staining and black ink stains on a number of leaves. Misspelled fore-edge title; spine title.
- Contents:
- ff. 1b-3a: Preface;
- ff. 3a-4b: Table of contents;
- ff. 4b-375a: Twenty eight chapters according to the letters of the alphabet (alif to yā).
Manuscript no. 2 Kalīlah va Dimnah / Kalīlah and Dimnah 1787
Scope and Content Note
- Author: Kāshifī, Ḥusayn Vā ᾽iẓ, d. 1504 or 5
- Language: Text in Persian
- Origin: Persia
- Layout: Average of 21 lines of text per page.
- Decoration: Illuminated title page.
- Binding: Black laquered book cover with floral ornamentation.
- Additional description: Punctuation and introductory words in red ink. Marginalia in two hands: one hand resembles the scribe's, the other seems to have been involved in the production of the book (i.e. on leaf 227a, the second hand has extended the gilt text box to accommodate notes). Leaves 3 and 4 are detached, and 88 is missing. The copier has dated the finishing of some of the chapters.
- Contents:
- ff. 1b-6a: Kāshifī's preface;
- ff. 6a-29b: Introduction;
- ff. 29b-78b: Chapter one: on avoiding to listen to the words of a slanderer and calumniator;
- ff. 78b-104a : Chapter two: on evil-doers finding their recompense and the inauspiciousness of their end;
- ff. 104a-126b: Chapter three: on the benefits of being in harmony with friends and supporting them;
- ff. 126b-157a: Chapter four: on keeping an eye on enemies and not feeling secure;
- ff. 157a-169b: Chapter five: on the harmfulness of negligence and losing what is sought;
- ff. 169b-175a: Chapter six: on the curse of haste and the harm of precipitancy;
- ff. 175a-185a: Chapter seven: on prudence and discretion and finding deliverance from the snare of adversaries by ruses;
- ff. 185a-194a: Chapter eight: on being on one's guard against men of malice and not relying upon their flattery;
- ff. 194a-210a: Chapter nine: on the merit of forgiveness and discretion which are the best adjuncts to kings;
- ff. 210a-216b: Chapter ten: on the recompense of deeds in the manner of punishments;
- ff. 216b-223b: Chapter eleven: on the harmfulness of desiring too much at the expense of doing one's task;
- ff. 223b-240a: Chapter twelve: on the merit of self-possession and dignity and being settled and staid, particularly for kings;
- ff. 240a-250a: Chapter thirteen: on avoiding the words of men of treachery and treason;
- ff. 250a-262a: Chapter twelve: on not regarding the fluctuations of time and basing One's affairs on fate and divine decree.
Manuscript no. 3 Yīsuf va Zulaykhā / Yusuf and Zulaikha 1511
Scope and Content Note
- Author: Jāmī, 1414-1492
- Scribe: Άlā al-Dīn Muḥammad al-Haravī
- Language: Text in Persian
- Origin: Timurid Herat
- Layout: Average of 14 lines of text in two columns per page.
- Script: Written in a nastaẚ līq hand.
- Decoration: Illumination on title page.
- Binding: Black leather binding with stamped gilt leather decoration; painted red endpapers.
- Additional description: Verses enclosed in gold and blue text box. Episode headings generally one to three lines; first line blue, second line gold, and third line red. Pagination in ink on upper corners.
- Contents:
- ff. 1b-18a: Opening verses;
- ff. 18a-19a : The story of the lighting of the candle of Yīsuf's beauty in the otherworldly night-chamber and the burning of Adam's heart upon witnessing that light;
- ff. 19a-21b: How the sapling of Yīsuf's beauty was brought into the Garden of Testimony, and how it was nourished by the tears of Jacob's eyes and the desires of Zulaykha's heart;
- ff. 21b-24b: On the qualities and attributes of Zulaykha, from the sunrise of whose beauty, the occident had become the orient, but even a thousand degrees more so;
- ff. 24b-26a: On how Zulaykha saw in the scabbard of sleep the sword of Yīsuf's beauty for the first time, and how she was love-slain by that sword in the scabbard;
- ff. 26a-27b : On how the morning breeze blew upon Zulaykha and awakened her sleepy narcissus eyes, and on how she drank the blood of her heart like a blossom and sealed her lips from the nightly vision;
- ff. 27b-30b: On how the string of the intellect of maidens was tied into a knot of astonishment when they witnessed the change in Zulaykha's condition, and how her nurse untied that knot by the fingertips of interrogation;
- ff. 30b-33b: How Zulaykha saw Yīsuf in a dream a second time, and how the chains of her love quavered, dragging her into the embroilment of madness;
- ff. 33b-35b: On how Yīsuf came to her dream a third time, and how she learned his name and status, returning to sanity and consciousness;
- ff. 35b-37b: How the envoys of the monarchs of those parts other than Egypt came to ask for Zulaykha's hand, and how her heart was constricted from her resulting despair;
- ff. 37b-39b: How Zulaykha's father sent a messenger to the Άzīz of Egypt, offering her to him, and how he accepted it;
- ff. 39b-41b: How the breeze of acceptance blew from Egypt, and how Zulaykha's litter was conveyed to Egypt like a bouquet of flowers;
- ff. 41b-43a: How the Άzīz of Egypt found out that Zulaykha had arrived, and how he rose to set out for her welcoming, and how he adorned the army of Egypt in rich array;
- ff. 43a-45a: How Zulaykha saw the Άzīz of Egypt from an opening in the pavilion-tent and cried "He is not the one I have seen in my dream, and for whom I have suffered the tribulations of love";
- ff. 45a-47a: How Zulaykha came into Egypt along with the Άzīz of Egypt, and how the Egyptians came out and sprinkled trayfuls of offerings upon Zulaykha's litter;
- ff. 47a-50a: How Zulaykha spent her days in the absence of Yīsuf, and how she pined and grieved during the passing of those mornings and nights;
- ff. 50a-51a: The beginning of the brothers' jealousy, and how they cast Yīsuf out of Canaan;
- ff. 51a-52b: How Yīsuf dreamed that the sun and the moon and twelve stars were bowing down to him, and how the brothers heard this, and how their jealousy was increased;
- ff. 52b-53b: How the brothers held council with one another to see what ruse they might devise to separate Yīsuf from their father;
- ff. 53b-54b: How the brothers went to their father and asked him to take Yīsuf into the wilderness with them;
- ff. 54b-57a: How the brothers took Yīsuf away from their father, and how they dug a well of darkness in the path of their own guidance, throwing him who was guiltless into the well;
- ff. 57a-59a: How the caravan arrived at the well, and how they took Yīsuf out of the well, illuminating the world once again by the light of his beauty;
- ff. 59a-60a: How the proprietor brought Yīsuf to the environs of Egypt, and how the king found out about it and sent the Άzīz to their welcoming;
- ff. 60a-61b: How Yīsuf got into the river Nile to wash himself of the dust of the road, and how he sat in a litter intending for the court of the king of Egypt;
- ff. 61b-63a: How Zulaykha, arriving at court and asking the reason for the congestion, saw Yīsuf's beauty and recognized him;
- ff. 63a-65a: How the proprietor presented Yīsuf for sale, and how Zulaykha bought him by doubling what the others were buying him for;
- ff. 65a-68a: The story of a girl named Bazigha, a descendant of the ᾽īd, who was like none other in her wealth and beauty, and who fell in love with Yīsuf absently, and saw the Truth in that mirror of beauty, and reached the Truth via that path;
- ff. 68a-70a: How Zulaykha instructed Yīsuf, and how she served him with whatever was at hand;
- ff. 70a-71b: How Yīsuf described the tribulations of the road and the agonies of the well, and how Zulaykha realized that this was the cause for his sadness that day;
- ff. 71b-72b: How Yīsuf besought a shepherd, on account of the fact that there has never been a prophet who did not herd livestock, and how Zulaykha prepared the means of his shepherding;
- ff. 72b-74a: How Zulaykha asked Yīsuf for attainment, and how Yīsuf fled from her;
- ff. 74a-75b: How the nurse asked Zulaykha the cause of her burning and smoldering;
- ff. 75b-77a: How Zulaykha sent the nurse to Yīsuf to ask for her wish, and …[text faded];
- ff. 77a-79b: How Zulaykha went herself to Yīsuf and implored, and how Yīsuf excused himself from satisfying her desire;
- ff. 79b-81b: How Zulaykha sent Yīsuf to the garden and how she set him up;
- ff. 81b-83b: How evening fell, and how the maidens presented their beauties to Yīsuf, to see unto which one of them would Yīsuf be inclined;
- ff. 83b-85a: How Zulaykha implored her nurse for a ruse that would bring about the attainment of Yīsuf;
- ff. 85a-86b: How the nurse built a house in which the pictures of Yīsuf and Zulaykha were painted;
- ff. 86b-90a: How Zulaykha summoned Yīsuf into that house and asked for attainment;
- ff. 90a-95a: How Zulaykha brought Yīsuf into the seventh house, and how she set forth her endeavor into the Nile of desire, and how Yīsuf ran away and left her rueful and pining;
- ff. 95a-97b: How the Άzīz of Egypt came up to Yīsuf in front of that house, and how [Yīsuf] hid what had past between him and Zulaykha, and how Zulaykha divulged it;
- ff. 97b-99a: How the captains dragged Yīsuf to prison, and how a nursling infant testified to his innocence, and how he was left alone;
- ff. 99a-103a: How the women of Egypt removed their hands from the mouths, and began upbraiding Zulaykha, and how the sword of the zeal of love cut their tongues and hands;
- ff. 103a-105b: How the women of Egypt excused Zulaykha after they had witnessed Yīsuf's beauty, and how Yīsuf disdained submission to Zulaykha, and how she threatened him with imprisonment;
- ff. 105b-108a: How the women of Egypt induced Zulaykha to send Yīsuf to prison, and how Zulaykha obeyed them;
- ff. 108a-111a: How Zulaykha regretted having sent Yīsuf to prison, and how she began to weep and wail for his absence;
- ff. 111a-113b: How Zulaykha grew impatient at Yīsuf's absence, and how she went to prison at night along with the nurse and witnessed his beauty;
- ff. 113b-115b: How in daytime Zulaykha went to the rooftop of her palace, and watched the rooftop of the prison from there, and how she began weeping and moaning over his absence;
- ff. 115b-117a: The description of how Yīsuf did good to the men in jail, and how he interpreted the dream of the confidants of the king of Egypt, and how he charged one of them to recall him to the king;
- ff. 117a-120a: How the king of Egypt requested Yīsuf for the interpreting of his dream, and how he pleaded that he investigate into what had passed between him and the women of Egypt;
- ff. 120a-122a: How Yīsuf came out of prison, and how the king honored him, and how the Άzīz of Egypt passed away, and how Zulaykha was stricken with loneliness and separation;
- ff. 122a-125a: The description of Zulaykha's condition after the death of the Άzīz of Egypt, and how the love of Yīsuf overpowered her, and how she was stricken with the tribulation of estrangement;
- ff. 125a-127a: How Zulaykha came to Yīsuf's way and built a hovel so she might find solace at the sound of the passing of his army;
- ff. 127a-129a: How Zulaykha blocked Yīsuf's way, and how she did not find favor, and how afterwards she went home, broke the idol, believed in God most high, went back to his way, and found favor;
- ff. 129a-131b: How Zulaykha came to the private house of Yīsuf, and how, by his prayers, she regained her sight, beauty, and youth;
- ff. 131b-133b: How Yīsuf took Zulaykha as wife by the order of God most high, and how he took her to the marriage bed;
- ff. 133b-135b: How the love for Zulaykha overpowered Yīsuf, and how he built a house of worship for her;
- ff. 135b-137a: How Yīsuf saw his mother and father in a dream, and how he asked God most high to pass away, and how Zulaykha panicked;
- ff. 137a-142a: How Yīsuf passed away, and how Zulaykha died from the pain of his separation;
- ff. 142a-152a: closing material.
Manuscript no. 4 Maṭlẚ-i sẚdayn va majmẚ -i baḥrayn / The rising of the auspicious [lunar] mansions, and the gathering of the seas 1492
Scope and Content Note
- Author: Άbd al-Razzāq Kamāl al-Dīn ibn Isḥāq al-Samarqandī, 1413-1482
- Scribe: Άbd al-Mī'min ibn Maqṣīd Άlī al-Mu᾿allim
- Language: Text in Persian
- Origin: [Northeast Persia or Afghanistan?]
- Layout: Average of 21 lines of text per page.
- Decoration: Illuminated title page.
- Binding: Red leather binding with gilt stamping.
- Additional description: Chapter headings, Koranic verses, and the words "verse" or "poem" in red ink. Each leaf has been numbered on the "b" side, in the right margin. Occasional streaking of ink, and ink-stained fingerprints. Possible water damage at tail.
- Contents:
- ff. 1a-3b: Opening;
- ff. 3b-11b: The enthronement of Shah Rukh Mīrza;
- ff. 11b-31a: Events of 808-809 AH;
- ff. 31a-100a: Events of 810-819 AH;
- ff. 100a-156b: Events of 820-829 AH;
- ff. 156b-188b: Events of 830-849 AH;
- ff. 188b-235a: Events of 840-849 AH;
- ff. 235a-314a: Events of 850-859 AH;
- ff. 314a-387b: Events of 860-869 AH;
- ff. 387b-430a: Events of 870-874 AH.
Manuscript no. 5 Tarassul / Letter writing 1604
Scope and Content Note
- Author: Manṣīr ibn Muḥammad ibn Άlī al-Qazvīnī
- Language: Text in Persian
- Origin: [Ṣafawid Persia?]
- Layout: Average of 8 lines of text per page.
- Script: Divani.
- Binding: Black leather binding with blind stamping.
- Additional description: Blue paper with ivory and pink paper inlays. Headings and some punctuation in red ink. Pagination in Arabic numerals stamped on top right and left hand of facing pages. Fore-edge title.
- Contents:
- ff. 1a-1b: Blank;
- ff. 2a: Date;
- ff. 2b-3b: Opening;
- ff. 3b-66b: Sample letters;
- ff. 67a-67b: Blank.
Manuscript no. 6 Asās al-iqtibās / The foundations of learning n.d.
Scope and Content Note
- Author: Ṭusī, Naṣīr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad, 1201-1274
- Language: Text in Persian
- Layout: Average of 19 lines of text per page.
- Script: Nastẚ līq.
- Binding: Burgundy leather binding with blind stamped leather inlays. Front cover has been replaced with blue cloth over a wooden board.
- Additional description: Chapter headings in red ink. Fairly extensive marginalia. Tables and charts (leaves 57-58). Spine title: Asas al-eqbas.
- Contents:
- ff. 1a-2a: Preface;
- ff. 2a-13b: The First discourse: introduction to logic or Isagoge;
- ff. 13b-24a: The Second discourse: on the ten classifications. It is called Categories;
- ff. 24a-74a: The Third discourse: on interpretation. The target of these subjects is definitive statements. It is called Hermeneutics;
- ff. 74a-147a: The Fourth discourse: on the science of analogies. It is called Prior Analytics;
- ff. 147a-196a: The Fifth discourse: on proof. It is called Posterior Analytics;
- ff. 196a-233b: The Sixth discourse: on argumentation. It is called Topics;
- ff. 233b-240b: The Seventh discourse: on fallacies. It is called Sophistry;
- ff. 240b-269a: The Eighth discourse: on oratory. It is called Rhetoric;
- ff. 269a-276a: The Ninth discourse: on poetry. It is called Poetics.
Manuscript no. 7 Tuḥfat al-mulīk / The kings' gift 1822
Scope and Content Note
- Author: Kashfī, Ja ῾far ibn Abī Isḥāq, d. 1850 or 51
- Scribe: Qāsim ibn Muḥammad al-Naṣrābādī
- Language: Text in Persian and Arabic
- Origin: Qajar Persia
- Layout: Average of 29 lines of text per page.
- Decoration: Several large cosmological illustrations.
- Binding: Lacquered painted boards; outside covers show a floral medallion on a black background, bordered in gold; inside covers show a yellow flowering plant on an orange background.
- Additional description: Chapter and section headings in red ink. The leaves are frayed and have been poorly taped. Charts and illustrations throughout. Interlinear Persian and Arabic text from ff. 194- 198.
- Contents:
- ff. 1b-2b: Preface;
- ff. 2b-18a: The first stratum: on the truth of reason;
- ff. 18a-75b: The second stratum: on the quality of relationship, and its belonging to living beings, and all that belongs to it;
- ff. 75b-137b: The third stratum: on the attributes and the signs and vestiges thereof, and that which belongs to them;
- ff. 137b-187a: The closing: on one bit of the authority of reason which belongs to managing the populace; first part;
- ff. 187a-201a: Second part.
Manuscript no. 8 Dīvān-i Ḥāfiẓ / Poems of Ḥāfiẓ 1831
Scope and Content Note
- Author: Ḥāfiẓ, 14th cent.
- Scribe: Άlī Ashraf Khān
- Language: Text in Persian
- Origin: Qajar Persia
- Layout: Average of 25 lines of text per page; some pages have 4 columns.
- Script: Nastẚ līq.
- Decoration: Leaves 1b and 6a are illuminated.
- Binding: Lacquered painted boards with gold floral and bird ornamentation on a black background, framed in gold, red, and black borders. Inside covers depict a perched bird in gold on a red background, framed in gold and black borders.
- Additional description: Ornate title page illumination. Poems generally in black ink. Quatrains towards the end of the text are designated with red ink headings. Some staining.
- Contents:
- ff. 1b-3a: Prose introduction;
- ff. 3b-6a: Opening verses;
- ff. 6a-73b: Poems.
Manuscript no. 10 Qurʼān / Koran n.d.
Scope and Content Note
- Language: Text in Arabic
- Layout: Average of 11 lines of text per page.
- Decoration: Illuminated.
- Additional description: One quire. Text in black ink, with every first, fifth, and eleventh line in larger script.
Manuscript no. 11 Tuḥfat al-zā Ἰr / The pilgrim's gift 1830
Scope and Content Note
- Author: Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir ibn Muḥammad Taqī, 1627 or 8-ca. 1699
- Language: Text in Persian and Arabic
- Origin: Qajar Persia
- Layout: Average of 21 lines of text per page.
- Decoration: Illuminated title page.
- Binding: Lacquered painted boards with decorative floral ornamentation.
- Additional description: Text in black ink with gilt ruling; chapter headings in red and framed in gold. Occasional spelling errors and marginalia. Water damage. Paper fragments laid in provide bibliographical information about two other manuscripts, one them is in the present collection (ms. 25).
- Contents:
- ff. 1b-2b: Opening;
- ff. 2b-10a: Introduction;
- ff. 10a-18b: Chapter one: the merits of repairing the holy tombs of the Prophet and the Imams, the merits of making pilgrimage to them, and the manner of making pilgrimage to them;
- ff. 18b-36b: Chapter two: on the merit [?] and quality of making pilgrimage to the Apostle of God, Faṭima Zahrá, and the Imams;
- ff. 36b-77b: Chapter three: on the merit of making pilgrimage to [Άlī] and the quality of making pilgrimage to him;
- ff. 77b-93a: Chapter four: on the merit of the noble Najaf, Kīfa, the mosques of Kīfa, and the waters of Euphrates;
- ff. 93a-118b: Chapter five: on the merit of making pilgrimage to the Lord of the Martyrs, Ḥusayn ibn Άlī;
- ff. 118b-133a: Chapter six: on the merit of the glorious burial place and Karbala, and the merit of the tomb of Imam Ḥusayn, and the manner thereof;
- ff. 133a-187b: Chapter seven: on the separated pilgrimages of his highness, which are not special to particular times, and the manners thereof, and other acts and prayers which must be done in the holy mausoleum;
- ff. 187b-221a: Chapter eight: on the merit and quality of making pilgrimage to his highness which is special to known times and days;
- ff. 221a-239b: Chapter nine: on the merit and quality of making pilgrimage to their highnesses Imām Mīsá Kaẓim, Imām Riḍā, and Imām Muḥammad Taqī;
- ff. 239b-257b: Chapter ten: on the merit and quality of making pilgrimage to their highnesses Imam Άlī Naqī, Imam Ḥasan Άskarī, and the Lord of the Event;
- ff. 257b-296a: Chapter eleven: on visiting the mosque where every Imam can be visited there;
- ff. 296a-304a: Chapter twelve: on the manners of making the pilgrimage on another's behalf, and the manners of making the pilgrimage to the ofsprings of the Imams;
- ff. 304a: Closing.
Manuscript no. 12 Al-daftar al-tāsἳ min al-dafātir al-marsīma bi al-Sulaymāniyya / The ninth book of the books styled al-Sulaymāniyya 1593
Scope and Content Note
- Author: Kemalpasazade, 1468 or 9-1534
- Scribe: Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Wāqi᾿ [al-Wāfi”?]
- Language: Text in Ottoman Turkish
- Origin: Ottoman Empire
- Layout: Average of 17 lines of text per page.
- Binding: Quarter leather binding with decorative purple wrappers over stiff paper boards.
- Additional description: Text boxes, chapter headings, punctuation marks, and words introducing poetry in red ink. Leaf 59b entirely in red ink; leaves 72 and 79 are blue. Some spelling errors and marginalia.
- Contents:
- ff. 1b-2b: Brief opening;
- ff. 2b-3b: Death of Bayezid, Selim mourns;
- ff. 3b-6a: Selim ascends the throne, Ahmed rebels;
- ff. 6a-8a: Selim deals with brothers and nephews;
- ff. 8a-10a: Ahmed returns from Arab provinces, defeated outside Yenisehir;
- ff. 10a-11a: Süleyman appointed Emir;
- ff. 11a-18a: Kizilbas (Qizilbash) movement in Azerbayjan;
- ff. 18a-18b: The army gathers, ready to set out;
- ff. 18b-22a: Selim sets out, holds court in the field;
- ff. 22a-24b: Correspondence with Shah Ismaʼīl leads to war. Selim marches to Çaldiran;
- ff. 24b-29a: Battle of Çaldiran, Selim victorious;
- ff. 29a-30b: Victory-letters dispatched about;
- ff. 30b-32b: Selim enters Tabrīz;
- ff. 32b-36b: Selim leaves Tabrīz for Rīm;
- ff. 36b-39b: Invasion of the isle of Rhodes;
- ff. 39b-42b: Marine "gaza" from Gallipoli;
- ff. 42b-49b: Selim sets out on victorious journey and raises imperial standards;
- ff. 49b-51a: Crossing into Rhodes, intending "gaza";
- ff. 51a-53b: Orders battle, councilors and commanders plot the taking of fortifications;
- ff. 53b-57b: Ruler of Egypt joins the "gaza";
- ff. 57b-62a: Instruction on the capture of enemy, battle;
- ff. 62a-65a: Ruler of Egypt dies;
- ff. 65a-67b: Ottoman forces lay siege to the fortress;
- ff. 67b-69a: What was taking place in surrounding kingdoms while the siege continued;
- ff. 69a-72a: Assault on the fortress;
- ff. 72a-77a: Residents of the fortress sue for peace;
- ff. 77a-79b: Rhodes fortress taken;
- ff. 79b-81a: Triumphant return home.
Manuscript no. 13 Humāyīn nāma, yā, Mavāhib-i ilāhī / Book of Humāyīn, or, Divine gifts n.d.
Scope and Content Note
- Author: Mu᾿īn al-Dīn Yazdi, d. 1387
- Language: Text in Persian
- Origin: [Persia?]
- Layout: Average of 21 lines of text per page.
- Script: Nastẚ līq.
- Binding: Black leather binding with blind stamping.
- Additional description: Chapter headings in red. Some stains and discoloration.
- Contents:
- ff. 1a-3b: Opening;
- ff. 3b-9a: Introduction;
- ff. 9a-271a: The text.
Manuscript no. 14 Akhlāq al-Muhsinī / The morals of the beneficent 1802
Scope and Content Note
- Author: Kāshifī, Ḥusayn Vā ῾iẓ, d. 1504 or 5
- Scribe: Άbd Allah ibn Άbd Allah ibn Άbd Allah
- Language: Persian
- Layout: 16 lines of text per page.
- Script: Nastẚ līq.
- Decoration: Illuminated title page.
- Binding: Brown leather binding with gilt stamping on spine.
- Additional description: Chapter headings and verse markers in red ink. Text and outer page margins have been colored.
- Contents:
- ff. 1a-4a: Opening;
- ff. 4a-4b: Table of contents;
- ff. 4b-5a: Chapter one: worship;
- ff. 5a-5b: Chapter two: purifying;
- ff. 5b-6a: Chapter three: prayer;
- ff. 6a-7a: Chapter four: thanksgiving;
- ff. 7a-8a: Chapter five: patience;
- ff. 8a-8a: Chapter six: contentment;
- ff. 8a-8b: Chapter seven: reliance on God, and the ability to live without;
- ff. 8b-10b: Chapter eight: having shame;
- ff. 10b-10b: Chapter nine: chastity;
- ff. 10b-11b: Chapter ten: courtesy;
- ff. 11b-12b: Chapter eleven: eminence of resoluteness;
- ff. 12b-13a: Chapter twelve: purposefulness;
- ff. 13a-14a: Chapter thirteen: endeavoring and struggling;
- ff. 14a-15a: Chapter fourteen: steadfastness;
- ff. 15a-23a: Chapter fifteen: justice;
- ff. 23a-25a: Chapter sixteen: forgiving;
- ff. 25a-26b: Chapter seventeen: restraint;
- ff. 26b-27b: Chapter eighteen: affability and benignity;
- ff. 27b-29b: Chapter nineteen: mercy and clemency;
- ff. 29b-31b: Chapter twenty: good works and charity;
- ff. 31b-34b: Chapter twenty one: generosity and beneficence;
- ff. 34b-37a: Chapter twenty two: humility and respectfulness;
- ff. 37a-38b: Chapter twenty three: trustworthiness and religiosity;
- ff. 38b-41a: Chapter twenty four: loyalty to a pledge;
- ff. 41a-41b: Chapter twenty five: honesty;
- ff. 41b-42b: Chapter twenty six: bringing about the needs of others;
- ff. 42b-43b: Chapter twenty seven: deliberation and careful regard;
- ff. 43b-45b: Chapter twenty eight: consultation and planning;
- ff. 45b-46b: Chapter twenty nine: vigilance and foresight;
- ff. 46b-51a: Chapter thirty: bravery;
- ff. 51a-53b: Chapter thirty one: zeal for honor;
- ff. 53b-55b: Chapter thirty two: management;
- ff. 55b-59b: Chapter thirty three: being wakeful and informed;
- ff. 62a-63a: Chapter thirty five: concealing secrets;
- ff. 63a-65b: Chapter thirty six: taking advantage of opportunity;
- ff. 65b-72a: Chapter thirty seven: honoring the rights;
- ff. 72a-74b: Chapter thirty eight: conversing with those who are upright;
- ff. 74b-82b: Chapter thirty nine: repulsing rascals;
- ff. 82b-102a: Chapter forty: on training servants and retainers, and their manners.
Manuscript no. 15 Tuḥfat al-aḥrār va … subḥat al-abrār / The gift of the free and ... the majesty of the upright [1450-1550?]
Scope and Content Note
- Author: Jāmī, 1414-1492
- Language: Text in Persian
- Origin: [Timuird Herat?]
- Layout: Average of 15 lines of text per page; two columns.
- Script: Nastẚ līq.
- Decoration: Pages 1b-3a, and 64b-66b are illuminated.
- Binding: Black leather binding with red leather inside covers.
- Additional description: Text in black ink; lacks chapter headings.
- Contents:
- ff. 1a-1b: Opening;
- ff. 1b-63a: Tuḥfat al-aḥrār;
- ff. 64b-168a: Subḥa al-abrā.
Manuscript no. 16 Târih-i feth-i Belgrad ; Târih-i Bosna / The history of the conquest of Belgrade ; History of Bosnia 1741 March
Scope and Content Note
- Author: Mehmet Subhî, d. 1769 and Ömer Bosnavi, 18th cent.
- Language: Text in Ottoman Turkish
- Origin: Ottoman Empire
- Layout: Average of 23 lines of text per page.
- Binding: Deteriorated brown leather binding with blind stamped leather cutout on cover; leather fore-edge flap.
- Additional description: Text in black ink, punctuation marks (often misplaced) in red. Chapter headings and verse markers in red from ff. 72b-117b.
- Contents:
- ff. 1b-117b: Târih-i Feth-i Belgrad;
- ff. 119b-167a: Târih-i Bosna.
Manuscript no. 17 Ḥālnāmah / The book of ecstasy 1566?
Scope and Content Note
- Author: ῾ārifī, d. ca. 1449
- Language: Text in Persian
- Layout: Average of 12 lines of text per page.
- Script: Nastẚ līq.
- Decoration: Illumination on title page; paper is painted in blue and gold floral motifs.
- Binding: Red leather binding with three medallions blind stamped on cover.
- Additional description: The leaves decorated in yellows, greens, and blues, with gold floral motifs. The text in black, chapter headings in gold.
- Content:
- ff. 1b-5b: Opening;
- ff. 5b-11a: Narrative;
- ff. 11a-17a: Closing.
Manuscript no. 18 / [Letter-writing] n.d.
Scope and Content Note
- Language: Text in Ottoman Turkish
- Layout: Average of 15 lines of text per page.
- Decoration: Illuminated title page.
- Binding: Brown leather binding with gilt medallion stamped on covers; detached fore-edge flap. Decorative green, red, and white endpapers.
- Additional description: Official correspondence manual. Text in black and red ink.
- Content:
- ff. 1b-5a: Opening;
- ff. 5a-65b: Sample letters;
- ff. 65b-67b: Blank.
Manuscript no. 19 Qurʼān / Koran n.d.
Scope and Content Note
- Language: Text in Arabic
- Layout: 15 lines of text.
- Decoration: Chapter headings in gold.
- Additional description: Text in black ink, vowels in red ink. Framed in gold border.
Manuscript no. 19 Qurʼān / Koran [18--?]
Scope and Content Note
- Language: Text in Arabic and Persian
- Origin: [Qajar Persia?]
- Layout: Average of 12 lines of text per page.
- Script: Naskh (Arabic text), nastẚ līq (Persian text).
- Decoration: Extensive, full-leaf illumination on leaves 1b, 2a, 2b, 105b, 106a, 201b, 202a, 292a, 293b, 374b, 375a, 448b, 449a, 518b, 519a, 604b, and 605a. Partial illumination throughout entire manuscript.
- Binding: Red lacquer boards; red leather spine. Dense floral design on the outside covers, medallions on inside covers.
- Additional description: Arabic text in black, interlinear Persian in red, and marginalia in black and red. The text is framed in a box with thin green, gold, red, white, and blue borders. Between this box and the edge of the paper, there is another gold border 13 × 16 mm. from the edge of the paper. Extensive marginalia in red and black ink.
Manuscript no. 20 / [Calendar] [1775]
Scope and Content Note
- Language: Ottoman Turkish
- Origin: Ottoman Empire
- Layout: Average of 12-15 lines of text per page.
- Binding: Half leather binding with decorative blue paper; red, green and gray botanical print endpapers.
- Additional description: Text in black, orange, green, gold, and red ink. Ink-stained, chipped and frayed.
Scrolls
Manuscript no. 21 [Scroll] [18--?]
Scope and Content Note
- A) brown cross with green wreath on top, planted into green earth;
- B) Jesus dressed in red and blue, surrounded by three winged faces;
- C) section historiated with three figures in same positions--an angel, a bear or lion, and a donkey or goat, each with a red fish-tale and holding a book;
- D) black cross;
- E) red and gold cross;
- F) Jesus dressed in red and blue with his hand on the head of a man dressed in green, kneeling before him;
- G) gold cross on red and black platform set on pink paper;
- H) red cross with two angels hovering at the foot, set on yellow paper.
- Language: Text in Armenian
Manuscript no. 22 [Scroll] [18--?]
Scope and Content Note
- Layout: Four small scrolls glued together.
- Decoration: Painting at head of scroll of Jesus with a gold halo, dressed in red and blue. Watermark at head of scroll.
- Language: Text in Armenian
Manuscript no. 23 [Scroll] 1835
Scope and Content Note
- Language: Text in Arabic and Persian
Manuscript no. 24 [Scroll] 1842
Scope and Content Note
- Layout: Ruled text in black ink, framed in painted orange borders. Torn at the top and bottom; frayed around the edges.
- Language: Text in Armenian
Manuscript no. 25 [Scroll] 1842
Scope and Content Note
- Language: Text in Armenian
Manuscript no. 26 [Scrolls] [18--?]
Scope and Content Note
- Layout: 7 separate scrolls, some illustrated.
- Language: Text in Armenian
Manuscript no. 27 [Scroll and purse] [18--?]
Scope and Content Note
- Layout: Black and red ink text in a red border. Cloth pouch of brightly colored fabric; small metal clasp. Scroll has fine and elaborate illustrations throughout. Scroll is fragile and light-sensitive. May not be handled without the express permission and supervision of the Manuscripts Librarian.
- Language: Text in Armenian
Manuscript no. 28 [Scroll] 1848
Scope and Content Note
- Layout: Scroll comprised of two pieces glued together. Decoration: Illustration of green and red cross at head of scroll. Text in black ink, with yellow borders. Watermark at head of scroll.
- Language: Text in Armenian
Manuscript no. 29 [Scroll] [18--?]
Scope and Content Note
- Decoration: Illustration of Jesus, dressed in red and blue. Text in black, framed in yellow borders.
- Language: Text in Armenian
Manuscript no. 30 [Scroll] 1839
Scope and Content Note
- Layout: Unruled text with section headings; ruled borders. Illustration of Jesus at head of scroll, dressed in blue and red with yellow halo. Text in black ink, with red or blue headings. Yellow and black borders. Undated notation, possibly regarding the scroll, wrapped around it.
- Language: Text in Armenian
Manuscript no. 31 [Scroll] [18--?]
Scope and Content Note
- Layout: Average of 10 lines of text within each circular frame; circles are approx. 8 cm. in diameter. Two pieces glued together to comprise one scroll.
- Decoration: Painted circle borders enclose the text; green and pink floral motif painted in the margins. Red, black, green and blue ink. The scrolls appear to have been folded lengthwise before rolling; a tear has occurred along the top 16.5 cm. of the seam.
- Language: Text in Arabic
Manuscript no. 32 [Scroll] 1833
Scope and Content Note
- Layout: Unruled text on two fragments. Text in black, red, orange, green, and blue ink, framed in brown and yellow borders. At the head of the scroll, a piece has been torn from the margin to the inner edge of the border, measuring 14.7 × 1.9 cm.
- Language: Text in Armenian
Book covers and artifacts
Manuscript no. 33 [Leather bag] n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Manuscript no. 34 [Book cover] n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Manuscript no. 35 [Book cover] n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Manuscript no. 36 [Book cover] n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Manuscript no. 37 [Book cover] n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Manuscript no. 38 [Book cover] n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Manuscript no. 39 [Book cover] n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Manuscript no. 40 [Book cover] n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Manuscript no. 41 [Book cover] n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Manuscript no. 42 [Book cover] n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Manuscript no. 43 [Book cover] n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Manuscript no. 44 [Book cover] n.d.
Scope and Content Note
Manuscript no. 45 [Wallet] n.d.
Scope and Content Note