IO Islamic 4870

A calendar and almanac in Ottoman Turkish for the hijri year 1190 (1776-1777 CE). The manuscript itself is attached to a small red morocco fly-leaf in the shape of a triangle atop a square. The verso of the fly-leaf contains gold-leaf illumination.

An inscription in the gold-leaf concentric circles at the start of the manuscript is barely visible in the light, as is a short phrase in an gold-leaf medallion forming part of the unvan. The inscription appears to bear the words "Haza ruznama-yı derviş (?)" The unvan is illuminated in floral and plant patterns in red, white, blue and orange ink, as well as gold-leaf, and is surrounded by a text box containing blue and gold interlacing patterns.

The ruzname contains a listing of the months of the Islamic calendar as well as those of the Rumi calender. This section contains the number 1190 written twice amongst the name of the months. The months are accompanied by an explanation that the Rumi year begins in March and that it cycles in much the same way as the Arabic year.

After the months come twelve boxes containing the prayer times for each of the days of the two months of the hijri year. These are accompanied by considerable illumination; the times of the prayers are written in red and blue ink, while the names of the prayers are written in gold on blue.

The outer margins of the ruzname contains a gurrename in heavily Persianized Ottoman Turkish. The gurrename is composed in black ink with catchwords in red.

At the end of the ruzname is a small text entitled Cidde Sirzan (?) tarafına nakıl eder, which is as follows:

Bu ruznama tahrir olunun semt-i kıblanın kaidesi İslambul'da ve İslambul'un tuluna ve arzına müsavi olan dumpir (?)de sahih saatler. Bu cedveldeki miktara geldikte kimsene günse (?) ve şu ruznama (?) tamam kıblaya tevaccüh etmiş olur ve bu ımsak temhinsizdir savm için ??? kimsene on beş dakika miktar gerek.

The ruzname is wound tightly around a small metal spindle with semi-globe handles of porcelain decorated with navy blue dots. It comes with a small polished wood cylinder, which can be unscrewed, as a vessel in which to store it.