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Delhi Arabic 1946

Record Id:

032-003693958

Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:

032-003693958

MDARK:

ark:/81055/vdc_100106884564.0x000001

LARK:

SLARK:

Format:

ISAD(G)

Reference (shelfmark):

Delhi Arabic 1946

Title:

Collection of texts on talisman making and related occult sciences

Scope & Content:

Eleven texts on talisman making, the occult properties of stones and other natural substances, amulet engraving and related subjects.

The first five items in the manuscript form parts of the cycle of texts known as the pseudo-Aristotelian Hermetica, which purport to contain the occult knowledge of the sage Hermes (هرمس) as recorded by Aristotle (أرسطاطاليس, d. 322 BC) for his pupil Alexander the Great (الاسكندر, d. 323 BC; see Saif, Liana, 'A Preliminary Study of the Pseudo-Aristotelian Hermetica: Texts, Context, and Doctrines', Al-ʻUsūr al-Wusṭā 29 [2021], pp. 20-80, esp. 67-68).

The title given on the title page, 'The Treatises of al-Isṭimākhīs from the Sages of Philosophy' (رسائل الإسطماخيس من حكماء الفلسفة, f. 1r) may refer to the first item in the manuscript only (ff. 1v-21r), the first five items of the Pseudo-Aristotelian Hermetica, or it may be a general title designating the whole contents of the manuscript.

Contents:

(1) Aristotle (أرسطاطاليس), The Book of Isṭimākhīs (كتاب الإسطماخيس, ff. 1v-21r);
(2) Aristotle (أرسطاطاليس), The Book of Attracting the Spiritual Being of All Beasts (كتاب استجلاب روحانية البهائم كلها, ff. 21v-32r);
(3) Aristotle (أرسطاطاليس), Extract from the Book of Iṣṭimāṭīs (من كتاب الإصطماطيس, ff. 32v-52v);
(4) The Book of Hādhīṭūs (كتاب الهاذيطوس, ff. 53r-85r);
(5) Aristotle (أرسطاطاليس), Section from the Book of Ashnūṭās (فصل من كتاب الأشنوطاس, ff. 85v-92v);
(6) The Book of Kyranis (كتاب جرنيس, ff. 93r-115v);
(7) Book of Stones (كتاب الأحجار, ff. 116r-119r);
(8) ʻUṭārid ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥāsib (عطارد بن محمد الحاسب), The Book of ʻUṭārid ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥāsib on the Uses of Stones, Amulets, Talismans, and Seals of the Seven Planets (كتاب عطارد بن محمد الحاسب في منافع الأحجار والحرز وطلسماتها وخواتم الكواكب السبعة, ff. 119r-126r);
(9) Compilation on the Occult Properties of Stones (الكتاب المجموع في خواص الأحجار, ff. 126r-197r);
(10) Supplementary appendix to the Small Book of Stones (التعليق الزائد على كتاب الأحجار الصغير, ff. 197v-199r);
(11) Suqraqṭis (سقرقطس), Chapter taken from another book by Suqraqṭis (باب نقل من كتاب آخر لسقرقطس, ff. 199r-200r).

The manuscript entered the collections of the India Office in the form of loose quires without a binding. They were wrapped in single sheet of paper (now housed in box with manuscript, see Physical characteristics) extracted from a collection of printed penal legislation (Acquittance Roll) issued by the Law Examination Committee of the East India Company Government of India, dating from circa 1847. The printed text is mainly in Indian Persian (i.e., Persian containing letters typically found in the modern Urdu script used for transliterations from English). The upper right corner of the recto side carries numerical annotations in Bengali, suggesting that these collections of legislation were already used as scrap paper before being torn up for use as wrappers for Delhi Collection manuscripts, probably after the collection was rescued from poor storage in Calcutta and inventoried by Heinrich (Henry) Ferdinand Blochmann (d. 1878), philological secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bengal and assistant professor at the Calcutta Madrasa.

Collection Area:

Oriental Manuscripts

Project / Collection:

India Office Library
Qatar Foundation Partnership Programme

Hierarchy Tree:

[{ "id" : "032-003693958", "parent" : "#", "text" : "Delhi Arabic 1946: Collection of texts on talisman making and related occult sciences" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} },{ "id" : "040-004376377", "parent" : "032-003693958", "text" : "Delhi Arabic 1946, ff 1v-21r: Kitāb al-Isṭimākhīs كتاب الإسطماخيسAristotle أرسطاطاليس" },{ "id" : "040-004376379", "parent" : "032-003693958", "text" : "Delhi Arabic 1946, ff 21v-32r: Kitāb istijlāb rūḥānīyat al-bahāʼim kullihā كتاب استجلاب روحانية البهائم…" },{ "id" : "040-004376380", "parent" : "032-003693958", "text" : "Delhi Arabic 1946, ff 32v-52v: Extract from Kitāb al-Iṣṭimāṭīs من كتاب الإصطماطيسAristotle أرسطاطاليس" },{ "id" : "040-004376381", "parent" : "032-003693958", "text" : "Delhi Arabic 1946, ff 53r-85r: Kitāb al-Hādhīṭūs كتاب الهاذيطوس" },{ "id" : "040-004376382", "parent" : "032-003693958", "text" : "Delhi Arabic 1946, ff 85v-92v: Faṣl min kitāb al-Ashnūṭās فصل من كتاب الأشنوطاسAristotle أرسطاطاليس" },{ "id" : "040-004376383", "parent" : "032-003693958", "text" : "Delhi Arabic 1946, ff 93r-115v: Kitāb Jiranīs كتاب جرنيس" },{ "id" : "040-004376384", "parent" : "032-003693958", "text" : "Delhi Arabic 1946, ff 116r-119r: Kitāb al-aḥjār كتاب الأحجار" },{ "id" : "040-004376385", "parent" : "032-003693958", "text" : "Delhi Arabic 1946, ff 119r-126r: Kitāb ʻUṭārid ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥāsib fī manāfiʻ al-aḥjār wa-al-ḥiraz wa-ṭillismātihā…" },{ "id" : "040-004376387", "parent" : "032-003693958", "text" : "Delhi Arabic 1946, ff 126r-197r: al-Kitāb al-majmūʻ fī khawāṣṣ al-aḥjār الكتاب المجموع في خواص الأحجارAristotle…" },{ "id" : "040-004376388", "parent" : "032-003693958", "text" : "Delhi Arabic 1946, ff 197v-199r: al-Taʻlīq al-zāʼid ʻalā kitāb al-aḥjār al-ṣaghīr التعليق الزائد على كتاب…" },{ "id" : "040-004376389", "parent" : "032-003693958", "text" : "Delhi Arabic 1946, ff 199r-200r: Bāb nuqila min kitāb ākhar li-Suqraqṭis باب نقل من كتاب آخر لسقرقطسSuqraqṭis…" }]

Hierarchy Record Ids:

032-003693958

Is part of:

not applicable

Contains:

Click here to View / search full list of parts of Delhi Arabic 1946

Hierarchy:

032-003693958

Container:

View / search within Archive / Collection: Delhi Arabic 1946

Record Type (Level):

Fonds

Extent:

Codex; ff. 200

Digitised Content:

Languages:

Arabic

Scripts:

Arabic

Start Date:

1700

End Date:

1799

Date Range:

18th century

Era:

Access:

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User Conditions:

Physical Characteristics:

Material: Eastern laid paper

Dimensions: 178 x 112 mm leaf [135 x 70 mm written]

Foliation: India Office Library foliation stamped in black ink

Ruling: Misṭarah; 14 lines per page; vertical spacing 10 lines per 10 cm

Script: Naskh

Ink: Black ink, with rubrications and overlinings in red

Decoration: None

Binding: British Library soft binding; manuscript entered collection without binding, wrapped in single sheet of western laid paper (335 x 209 mm, now housed in box with manuscript) printed with Persian text (see Scope and Content)

Condition: Extensive insect damage with minimal loss of text; folios trimmed with occasional loss of marginalia on f. 1r

Marginalia: Few; some marked 'margin[al note]' (حاشية) apparently by hand of main scribe (see, e.g., f. 8r); some interlinear glosses

Seals: Government of India stamp (ff. 1r and 200v)

Custodial History:

The Government of India, its seal with central legend 'Delhi MSS' (ff. 1r and 200v)

Source of Acquisition:

Purchased by the Government of India at sale organised by Delhi Prize Agents, 1859; administrative deposit India Office Library, 1876

Publications:

Study:

Saif, Liana, 'A Preliminary Study of the Pseudo-Aristotelian Hermetica: Texts, Context, and Doctrines', Al-ʻUsūr al-Wusṭā 29 (2021), pp. 20-80, esp. 67-68 https://doi.org/10.52214/uw.v29i1.8895

Material Type:

Archives and Manuscripts

Legal Status:

Not Public Record(s)