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Or 1621

Record Id:

032-003283336

Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:

032-003283336

MDARK:

ark:/81055/vdc_100035587342.0x000001

LARK:

ark:/81055/vdc_100069546293.0x000002

SLARK:

Format:

ISAD(G)

Reference (shelfmark):

Or 1621

Title:

Tarjumah-ʼi ʻAjā’ib al-makhlūqāt ترجمۀ عجائب المخلوقات

Anonymous translator

Scope & Content:

The ʻAjā’ib al-makhlūqāt (عجائب المخلوقات) by Zakarīyā ibn Muḥammad Qazwīnī (زكريا بن محمد قزوینی) translated from Arabic into Persian at the request of Ibrāhīm ʻĀdil Shāh, ruler of Bijapur in Shaʻbān AH 954 (1547). The text is illustrated with 461 mid-seventeenth-century Deccani paintings and diagrams.

The original translation (ff.1v-426v) has been supplemented (ff. 427r-463r) by an appendix written in a 19th-century hand, perhaps for Henry Miers Elliot, containing the following chapters omitted by the ʻĀdilshāhi translator and copied from a different, earlier, Persian translation (see Add. MS. 16739, Rieu, p. 462): races of men (f.427r), arts and sciences (f.436v), and the second species of the animal kingdom, or the Jinns (f.457v).

The margins are extensively covered with explanatory works and glosses, some of which are described in a detailed list of contents (ff.1v-6r), completed on 17 Shavvāl, regnal year 4 of Aḥmad Shāh (8 September 1751). These correspond approximately to the marginal works included in IO Islamic 3243, described by Ethé in vol 1 of his Catalogue of Persian manuscripts in the Library of the India Office (Oxford, 1903), no. 714.

Begins (f.7v, lines 2-3):

العظمة لک و الکبریاء لحلالک اللهم یا قایم الذات و مفیض الخیرات واجب الوجود و فايض

الجود ...

End of 1547 translation (f.426v, line 6):

و الاتمام و الیه المرجع و الماب فی جمیع الامور و هو حسبنا و نعم الوکیل

Colophon (f. 426v, lines 7-12):

و این اخر کلامست از ترجمه کتاب عجایب مخلوقات و غرایب موجودات بعون الله و منه و الحمد لله رب العالمین‫…‬و آله اجمعین

End of supplement (f.464r, lines 17-19):

فقال رسول الله صـ هذا شيطان يكلم الناس في الأوثان يقال له مسعر والله تعالى مخزيه فيمكثوا ثلثة أيام فإذا هتف من أعلى الجبل فقال صـ دونكم عفريت من الجن يقال له سمحج سميته عبد الله آمن من لي أخبروني أنه في طلبه منذ أيام فقال علي جزاه الله تعالى خيرًا

Illustrations:

f.26r: Diagram of the celestial spheres.
f.27r: Diagram of the orbit of the moon.
f.27v: The full moon represented by a haloed figure and a crab.
f.28r: Phases of the moon.
f.29r: Eclipses of the moon.
f.31v: Orbit of Mercury.
f.32r: Mercury (women and a man with a scroll).
f.32v: Orbit of Venus.
f.33r: Venus (woman playing a lute).
f.33v: Orbit of the sun (incomplete diagram).
f.35r: (above) Diagram of the eclipse of the sun; (below) The sun represented by a man with rays proceeding from his head, accompanied by two lions.
f.37r: (above) Mars (man holding a sword and a severed head); (below) Jupiter (man holding a book and with angels beside him).
f.38r: Saturn (six-armed man).
f.38v: Diagram of the spheres(damaged).
f.40v: Ursa Minor (bear).
f.41r: Ursa Major (bear).
f.41v: Draco (dragon).
f.42r: Cepheus (young man).
f.42v: (above) Boötes (man holding a stick); (below) Corona Borealis (disk).
f.43r: Hercules (man with a goad).
f.43v: (above) Lyra (vulture); (below) Cygnus (hen).
f.44r: Cassiopeia (woman on a throne).
f.44v: Perseus (man holding a sword and a severed head).
f.45r: Auriga (man holding a stick).
f.45v: (above) Ophiucus (holding a serpent); (below) Sagitta (arrow).
f.46r: Aquila (eagle).
f.46v: (above) Delphinus (dolphin); (below) Equleus (horses head).
f.47r: Pegasus (winged demi-horse).
f.47v: Andromeda (fettered figure).
f.48r: (above) Equus Major (trotting horse); (below) Triangulum (triangle).
f.48v: Aries (ram).
f.49v: (above) Taurus (white demi-bull); (below) Gemini (twins).
f.50r: Cancer (crab).
f.50v: Leo (lion).
f.51r: (above) Virgo (man cutting corn with a sickle); (below) Libra (woman holding scales).
f.51v: Scorpio (scorpion).
f.52r: Sagittarius (centaur holding a bow and arrow).
f.52v: Capricorn (goat with a fish's tail).
f.53r: (above) Aquarius (man holding a rope and water bottle); (below) Pisces (two fish).
f.53v: Cetus (fish with a deers head).
f.54r: Orion (man holding a sheathed sword).
f.54v: Eridanus (serpent).
f.55r: Lepus (hare).
f.55v: Canis Major (dog).
f.56r: (above) Canis Minor (dog); (below) Argo Navis (ship).
f.56v: Hydra (snake).
f.57r: (above) Crater (man's head); (below) Corvus (raven).
f.57v: Centaurus (galloping centaur holding a trident).
f.58r: (above) Leo (lion); (below) Ara (flaming brazier).
f.58v: (above) Corona Australis (crown); (below) Piscis Australis (fish).
ff.59a-70r: The lunar mansions represented by gold disks, 27 out of 28 shown (No. 27 is always omitted).
f.72v: Angels which support God’s throne.
f.73v: The angel, al-Rūḥ.
f.74v: Israfil with his trumpet.
f.76r: Jibrāʼīl.
f.76v: Mikāʼīl.
f.77r: Izrāʼīl.
f.79v: (above) Cow-headed angels of the first heaven; (below) Eagle-shaped angels of the second heaven.
f.80r: (above) Vulture-formed angels of the third heaven; (below) Angels of the fourth heaven with double-horses heads and birds claws.
f.80v: (above) Houris of the fifth heaven; (below) Boys of the sixth heaven.
f.81r: Men of the seventh heaven.
f.82r: Recording angels with asses ears seated either side of a man.
f.85r: Harut and Marut with asses ears, hanging upside-down.
f.98r: Diagram of the months.
f.118v: Diagram showing the position of the winds (unfinished).
f.121v: Diagram of the reflection of light (unfinished).
f.123r: Aureole round the moon.
f.123v: A rainbow.
f.127v: Map of the oceans of the world (unfinished).
f.129r: Winged cats of Sumatra.
f.129v: (above) Muskdeer of Sumatra; (below) Apes of Sumatra.
f.130r: Winged tree-dwellers of Sumatra.
f.130v: Tree-dwellers of Ramni.
f.131r: Rhinoceros of Ramni.
f.131v: Waqwaq tree.
f.132v: Bird (China Sea).
f.133v: Serpent (China Sea).
f.136r: Dog-headed people of the island al-Qasr.
f.136v: Adam on Sarandib.
f.137r: People of Jaba with their heads on their chests.
f.137v: A dragon with an ox in its mouth on the Island of Tinnin.
f.138r: Horned-hare which the islanders gave to Alexander.
f.138v: Human-headed fish (Indian Sea).
f.142v: (above) Dragon-headed monster (Persian Sea); (below) Swordfish (Persian Sea).
f.143r: Fish like a shield (Persian Sea).
f.144r: A giant bird saving a shipwrecked man (Persian Sea).
f.145v: (above) Fish which frightens sailors (Red Sea); (below) Fish which becomes like cotton when the flesh is dried (Red Sea).
f.146r: Owl fish (Red Sea).
f.147v: Dog-headed monsters of the Island of Sagsar (Sea of Zanj).
f.148v: Man with two women (Sea of Zanj).
f.149r: Horned fish (Sea of Zanj).
f.149v: Whale (Sea of Zanj).
f.152r: A spotted yellow serpent and a snake-tailed fish.
f.152v: 'Jewish Shaykh' fish of the Western Sea.
f.153r: Mule fish of the Western Sea.
f.153v: (above) The fish of Joshua and Moses (Western Sea); (below) 'Hat-like' fish (Western Sea).
f.154r: (above) Winged fish of the Western Sea; (below) 'Lighthouse' fish (Western Sea).
f.156r: A serpent (with front paws) (Caspian).
f.156v: Human-headed monster (Caspian).
f.157v: (above) Sea-hare; (below) Large fish which eats bones.
f.158r: Water men.
f.158v: Water cow.
f.159v: Crocodile.
f.160r: Sea dragon (tinnīn).
f.161r: (above) Catfish; (below) Lamprey.
f.161v: (above) Dolphin; (below) zūbyān fish.
f.162r: Torpedo fish.
f.162v: Fish whose burned skin is used to heal the eyes of cattle.
f.163r: Crab.
f.163v: Five-legged crab.
f.164r: Skink.
f.165r: Turtle with a tree growing from its shell.
f.166r: (above) Carp; (centre) Ray (shifnīn); (below) Anchovy (ṣīr); (border) Frog in human form.
f.167r: Frog.
f.167v: Leech.
f.168r: Mollusc with a head.
f.168v: Winged Nile horse.
f.169r: Whale.
f.169v: Qusṭā fish.
f.170r: Beavers.
f.170v: Sea hedgehog.
f.171r: (above) Narwhal; (below) Water-dog and a man with a dagger.
f.171v: Shark found near Basrah.
f.175v: Diagram of the seven climes.
f.182r: Khusrau visiting Shirin, with Farhad standing nearby (Mt. Bisitun).
f.213r: Harut and Marut chained upside down in a well in Babel.
f.251v: Myrtle.
f.252r: Ebony.
f.252v: Citron.
f.253r: Plum (ijjāṣ).
f.253v: (above) Persian lilac; (below) Gum Arabic tree (umm ghaylān).
f.254r: (above) Horseradish tree; (below) Turpentine tree (buṭm).
f.254v: Balsam tree (balasān).
f.255r: Oak.
f.255v: Apple.
f.256r: (above) Spruce; (below) Mulberry.
f.257r: Fig tree.
f.257v: Sycamore fig.
f.258r: (above) Walnut; (below) Galingale.
f.258v: (above) Castor-oil; (below) Egyptian willow.
f.259r: Peach.
f.259v: (above) Spiny broom; (below) Elm.
f.260r: (above) Plane tree; (below) Laurel.
f.260v: Pomegranate.
f.261v: Olive.
f.262v: Cypress.
f.263r: Quince.
f.263v: (above) Sumac tree; (below) Umbrella Thorn Acacia.
f.264r: (above) Juniper gum tree; (below) shabāb tree.
f.264v: (above) Chestnut; (below) Sandalwood.
f.265r: (above) Pine; (below) Balm that grows in Yemen.
f.265v: (above) Tamarisk; (below) Juniper.
f.266r: (above) Mudar plant; (below) Gall oak (ʻafs).
f.266v: Jujube tree.
f.267r: (above) Aloes wood (ʻūd); (below) Sorbus.
f.267v: (above) Desert poplar; (below) A hard wood (fāvāniyā).
f.268r: (above) Pistachio; (below) Pepper tree.
f.268v: Hazlenut.
f.269r: (above) Wolfberry; (below) Clove.
f.269v: Sugar-cane.
f.270r: Camphor.
f.272r: Grapevine.
f.272v: (above) Pear tree; (below) Sun spurge.
f.273r: (above) Frankincense; (below) Almond tree.
f.274v: Lime.
f.275r: Apricot.
f.275v: (above) Banana; (below) Orange.
f.276r: (above) Coconut palm; (below) Buckthorn.
f.277v: Date palm.
f.278r: Rose.
f.279r: Generic herb with purple flowers.
f.279v: (above) Tarragon; (centre) Wormwood; (below) Lentil.
f.280r: (above) Indigo plant; (below) Nightshade.
f.281r: (above) Radish; (below) Purslane.
f.281v: Vitex.
f.282r: (above) Calamint; (centre) Wolf's bane; (below) Dog’s bane.
f.282v: Milkvetch.
f.283r: (above) Armenian cucumber; (below) Safflower.
f.283v: (above) Cotton; (below) Prickly thrift.
f.284r: Hemp.
f.284v: (above) Cauliflower; (centre) Yarrow; (below) Bugloss.
f.285r: Flax.
f.285v: (above) Leek; (below) Vetch.
f.286r: (above) Celery; (below) Caraway.
f.286v: (above) Coriander; (centre) kakvāsah; (below) Cumin.
f.287r: A kind of wheat (gūzgandum).
f.287v: (above) Truffle; (centre) Bindweed; (below) Plantain (fleawort).
f.288r: (above) Sparrow's tongue (lisān al-ʻaṣafīrah); (below) Caper.
f.288v: (above) Mandrake; (below) Black-eyed peas.
f.289r: (above) Lūq (for lūf), called 'elephant ear'; (centre) Water lily; (below) Mung bean.
f.290r: (above) Daphne; (centre) māhūdānah, called the berry of kings; (below) Mullein.
f.290v: (above) Marjoram; (below) Nard.
f.291r: Caraway.
f.291v: (above) Narcissus; (below) Dog rose.
f.292r: Peppermint.
f.292v: (above) Asparagus; (below) Chicory.
f.293r: (above) Turmeric, a Yemeni plant similar to sesame; (below) Gourd.
f.345r: Horses.
f.346r: Mule.
f.347r: Domestic asses.
f.348r: Wild asses.
f.349v: Camels.
f.351r: Humped white bull.
f.352r: Male and female antelope.
f.352v: Buffalo.
f.353r: Giraffe.
f.354r: Ram and ewe.
f.355r: Goats.
f.355v: Blackbuck.
f.356v: Mountain goat.
f.357v: Jackal.
f.358r: Weasel (ibnʻirs).
f.358v: Hare.
f.360r: Lion.
f.360v: Tiger.
f.361v: Foxes.
f.362r: Unicorn (jarīsh).
f.363r: Wild boar.
f.364r: Bear.
f.364v: Marten (dalaq).
f.365v: Wolf.
f.366r: Sinād.
f.366v: Squirrels.
f.367r: (above) Cats; (below) Wildcat.
f.367v: Shīr-i uns.
f.368r: Shādahvār.
f.369r: (above) Hyena; (below) Caracal.
f.369v: (above) Demonic camel killer; (below) Falā.
f.370r: Cheetah.
f.371v: Elephant.
f.372r: Apes.
f.373r: Rhinoceros.
f.375r: (above) Leopard; (below) Tiger-striped horned feline.
f.375v: Stag.
f.376v: (above) Abū Barāqish; (below) Abū Hārūn.
f.377r: (border) Goose.
f.377v: Hawk.
f.378r: (above) Parrot; (below) Nightingale.
f.378v: Owl.
f.379r: (above) Pheasant; (below) Weaver bird.
f.379v: (above) Vipers Nurse bird; (below) Bustard.
f.380r: Kite.
f.381r: Dove.
f.382r: Swallows.
f.383r: (above) Bats; (below) Francolin.
f.384v: Cock.
f.385r: Hen.
f.385v: A kind of vulture.
f.386r: Rook.
f.386v: (above) Starling; (below) A kind of vulture (mazmaj).
f.387r: (above) Quail; (centre) Gyrfalcon; (below) Peregrine.
f.387v: (above) Turtle dove; (below) Shiqrāq.
f.388r: (above) Ṣāfir (bird which sings at night); (below) Saker falcon.
f.388v: Sea bird.
f.389r: (above) Peacock; (below) Grouse.
f.389v: Sparrows.
f.390v: Eagle.
f.391r: Magpies.
f.391v: Simurgh (ʻanqā).
f.392v: (above) Crow; (below) Cranes.
f.393r: Diver.
f.393v: Laughing dove.
f.394r: (above) Partridge; (below) Lark.
f.394v: Sandgrouse.
f.395r: (above) Barbary dove; (centre) Phoenix; (below) Grus.
f.395v: Curlew.
f.396r: (above) Heron; (below) Desert lark.
f.396v: Vulture.
f.397r: (above) Ostrich; (below) Hoopoe.
f.398r: (above) Diving bird; (below) Gold firebird.
f.400v: Viper.
f.402r: Dragon.
f.402v: Locust.
f.403r: (above) Chameleon; (centre) Flea-like insect (ḥurqūṣ); (below) Snails.
f.404v: Bird-eating snakes.
f.405r: Earthworm.
f.405v: Black beetle.
f.406r: (above) Silkworm (dūd al-qazz) drawn as a beetle; (below) Worms.
f.407r: Flies.
f.407v: (above) Cantharides; (below) Tarantulas.
f.408r: (above) Hornet; (below) Gecko in text but drawn as a fly.
f.408v: Turtle.
f.409r: (above) A moth called Bint Varvar which resembles a green plant; (below) Ṣannājah.
f.410r: (above) Uromastyx; (below) Polecat.
f.410v: Lizard.
f.411r: Scorpion.
f.412r: Spider.
f.413r: Mouse and mouseholes.
f.413v: (above) Mole; (centre) Musk mouse; (below) Z̲āt al-niṭāq mouse; (below) Bīsh mouse.
f.414r: Jerboas and holes.
f.414v: Salamanders.
f.416v: (above) Hedgehog; (below) Ticks.
f.418r: Bees.
f.419v: Lizard.
f.420r: Giant man and woman from the Land of Gog and Magog.
f.420v: (above) Elephant-eared people from the Land of Mansuk; (centre) Black pygmies; (below) Tree-dwellers of Sumatra.
f.421r: (above) Naked dwellers of Ramni; (below) One-eyed inhabitants of an island of Zanj.
f.421v: (above) Dog-headed people of Zanj; (below) Beautiful people of Zanj who had no bones in their legs.
f.422r: (above) Winged people with elephants' trunks; (centre) Winged people with horses' heads; (below) Two-headed people with tails.
f.422v: (above) Two-headed people with many legs; (centre) Human-headed serpents; (below) People with their faces on their chests.
f.423r: (above) Split people; (centre). Human-headed turtle; (below) A 'Giraffe' (Cross between a camel and an ox).
f.423v: (above) Cross between a horse and a wild ass; (centre) Cross between a camel and a dromedary; (below) Cross between men and bears.
f.424r: (above) Cross between a wolf and a hyena; (centre) Cross between a dog and a wolf; (below) Cross between a domestic pigeon and a wild pigeon.
f.424v: The giant Ūj ibn ʻAnaq.
f.425r: A giant from the land of the Bulgars.
f.425v: (border) Two fish inscribed with the Basmala; (above) A giant of Mosul; (below) A person from Yemen with two conjoined bodies from the waist up.
f.426r: (above) Human-headed bird; (centre) The winged fox which was presented to Nūḥ ibn Manṣūr; (below) A woman with the double-headed child she gave birth to in Khurāsān.
f.426v: The horned horse presented to Nūḥ ibn Manṣūr.

Collection Area:

Oriental Manuscripts

Project / Collection:

Qatar Foundation Partnership Programme

Hierarchy Tree:

[{ "id" : "032-003283336", "parent" : "#", "text" : "Or 1621: Tarjumah-ʼi ʻAjā’ib al-makhlūqāt ترجمۀ عجائب المخلوقات Anonymous translator" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} }]

Hierarchy Record Ids:

032-003283336

Is part of:

not applicable

Hierarchy:

032-003283336

Container:

not applicable

Record Type (Level):

Fonds

Extent:

Codex; ff. iv+466+ii

Digitised Content:

https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100035587342.0x000001

Thumbnail:

Languages:

Persian

Scripts:

Arabic

Styles:

Deccani style
Deccani/Bijapur style
South Indian style

Start Date:

1600

End Date:

1899

Date Range:

17th and 19th centuries

Calendar:

Gregorian

Era:

Access:

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User Conditions:

Physical Characteristics:

Material: Paper

Dimensions: 310 x 210 mm leaf [ 210 x 146 mm written]

Foliation: British Museum foliation in pencil; Arabic foliation in red and black ff. 2 (i.e. f.8)-416 (ie. f.426)

Ruling: 19 lines per page; vertical spacing 9 lines per 10 cm

Script: Naskh

Ink: Black ink, with rubricated headings and overlinings in red

Decoration: Sarlawḥ; opening (ff.7v-8r) text block in white cloud-bands against gilt background with floriated decoration (red and green); text illustrated with 461 mid-17th century Deccani paintings.

Binding: Red leather oriental binding without flap; stamped and pasted central medallion with pendants, corners, and cartouches

Condition: Waterstains, torn edges.

Marginalia: Extensive.

Seals: f.7r: round seal of Muḥammad ʻĀdil Shāḥ; f. iv verso: red British museum stamp.

Custodial History:

Muḥammad ʻĀdil Shāh, ruler of Bijapur (r. 1627-1656): his abraded seal and inscription recording that the manuscript entered his library, with the official seal, on 6 Shavval 1061 (22 September 1651, f.7r);

Abraded seal of former owner (f.7r);

Sir Henry Miers Elliot, K.C.B.: his bookplate (front doublure and f.iv-r); purchased by Elliot from the Lahore Toshkhanah for Rs 40.

Source of Acquisition:

Purchased from the son of Sir Henry M. Elliot, 13 April 1878.

Administrative Context:

India

Finding Aids:

Rieu, Charles, Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts in the British Museum (London: The British Museum, 1879-1883), p. 995.

Titley, Norah M., Miniatures from Persian Manuscripts: a Catalogue and Subject Index of Paintings from Persia, India and Turkey in the British Library and the British Museum (London, 1977), no. 241

Publications:

Ethé, Hermann, Catalogue of Persian manuscripts in the Library of the India Office (Oxford, 1903), no. 714

Material Type:

Archives and Manuscripts

Legal Status:

Not Public Record(s)

Names:

Qazwīnī, Zakarīyā ibn Muḥammad, c 1203-1283

Subjects:

Cosmology -- early works to 1800