Or 2872

The collected poems of Amānī, in which the Chaghatay and Persian poems separated. The contents are as follows:

ff 1v-89v : Chagatai poems, beginning with a masnavi in praise of God, the end of which is lost. The following contents do not appear to match those of the original volume, owing to the loss of several folios: the last two ghazals in nun and those ending in sin (ff 2-8); ghazals in shin, sad, dad, ta and ghayn (ff 9-12); the latter part of the ghazals in yaa (ff 13-20); miscellaneous pieces, terkibs, rubaiyyat, ferds and masnavis, beginning with a terkib of a religious nature and ending with a masnavi on a dervish who was miraculously enriched by the fourth Imam Ali Sajjad, composed in Mashhad in 1006 AH (1597-98 CE) (ff 21-47); ghazals in alif, baa and ta (ff 48-55); ghazals from ray to sin (ff 56-66); ghazals in hamza, waw and alif maqsura (ff 67-70); and ghazals from faa to nun (ff 71-89);

ff 90r-245r : works in Persian, including: ghazals in alphabetical order from alif to yaa, slightly lacking at the beginning (ff 90-176); masnavis including panegyrics on the Imams, anecdotes of Bayezid Bestami, elegies and erotic pieces (ff 176-190); rubaiyyat in alphabetical order (ff 190-204); qit'at (f 204-212); terji' and masnavis (ff 212-225); and qasidat (ff 225-245).

The author of the poetry in this volume cannot be identified with any certainty, apart from the information that can be gleaned from the texts in this volume. He appears to have been a Turkic amir attached to the Persian Court during the reigns of Shah Tahmasp and Shah Abbas I, to both of whom, but especially the latter, he addressed laudatory poems (see ff 212v, 194r, 209v, 220r). His age can be approximately inferred from a terkib-bend composed on the occasion of his pilgrimage to Makkah, in 1006 AH (1597-98 CE), in which he states that he was past 60.

He must have therefore been born around or before 945 AH (1538-39 CE). But he evidently continued in active service to an advanced age. From some passages of the Divan it appears that he accompanied Shah Abbas in the campaign at Merv (1008 AH/1599-1600 CE) and in his expedition against Baqi Khan in Balkh (1011 AH/1602-03 CE) (see ff 164r, 209v, 191r). Frequent refereces to Herat (f 116v, 119r, 202r) show that he must have lived some time in that city. The dates occurring in the text range from 972 AH (1564-65 CE; f 197r) to 1014 AH (1605-06 CE; f 13v). A still later date appears in a marginal addition on f 211v. It consists of verses relating to the end of Aqa Khizr, who was mortally wounded and buried in Mashhad in 1016 AH (1607-08 CE).

The text features numerous poems of praise for the 12 Imams revered in Shi'i Islam, especially for Imam Ali Riza.

We learn that Amani's proper name is Muhammad from a short poem regarding his foundation of a charitable establishment on f 189v.

There are copious marginal annotations in the same hand as the main text, but in a smaller script.

This volume is heavily illuminated and contains an unvan.

The manuscript was likely copied in Iran in the early 11th century AH (17th century CE).