1. Divan-i Ṭarzī

الوصف:

Complete poems of Ghulām Muḥammad Ṭarzī. Divan-i Ṭarzī (Poetic collection of Tarzi) contains verses by Ghulām Muḥammad Ṭarzī (1830-1900), mostly concerning piety, ethics, politics, and society in 19th century Afghanistan. Tarzi came from a distinguished background; he belonged to the Mohammadzai sub-lineage of the Durranis, one of two main Afghan Pashtun lineages, the other being Ghilzai. Because of their connections to Muḥammad Yaʻqūb Khān, Tarzi and his family were exiled from Afghanistan in 1882-83 by Abd al-Raḥmān Khān, a kinsman of Yaʻqūb Khān and a rival to the Afghan throne. The feeling of desolation occasioned by Tarzi's exile pervades many of the poems. Each poem is specific in theme, meaning, and place. One poem, for example, extols the verse of Mirza ʻAbd al-Qādir Bīdil, the famous Persian poet and Sufi who was instrumental in the development of "Indian-style" Persian poetry in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. In another poem, Tarzi praises the wedding of Muḥammad Yaʻqūb Khān, who in 1879 was briefly amir of Afghanistan, after he signed the Treaty of Gandamak recognizing British control of Afghanistan's foreign affairs. Each poem has a rubricated title that indicates where it was written and its purpose. On page 336, for example, it is stated that "this ghazal is written in Kandahar in response to Neamat Khan." A few poems are not titled, but each is distinguished by its conclusion with the author's pen name tarzi (stylist). The volume itself is not titled. The names and personal library stamps of several owners and readers, including that of Abdul Rauf Khan Tarzi, a descendant of the author, appear on the cover and last pages. The book is in two sections: the main one is of ghazal (lyric) verses, while the last 50 pages are in rubai (quatrain) form. The script includes several versions of Persian nastaliq, such as clear nastaliq, broken nastaliq, and uneasy nastaliq. The paper is of different qualities and colors; most text appears on plain cream paper laid down on a marbled backing. Pages have penciled Persian-Arabic numerals inserted by a reader. The marginal notes may be the author's own or by anonymous readers. The final text is a prose piece, in which Tarzi emphasizes his virtue, sorrow, and loyalty. World Digital Library.

2. Hāz̲ā kitāb-i Sirr-i bakhyah

الوصف:

Manuscript. Persian. Caption title. Scribe not identified. Gift of Cyrus Ebrahim Zadeh, Nov. 9, 2009. Possibly written in northern Iran. Paper: tan colored glazed laid paper with horizontal chain line and obscured armorial watermark, and countermark G M ; black ink in cursive Nastaʻliq; catchwords; lacuna from Folio 1-26 caused by insect or rodent damage, with some loss of text. Nastaʻliq; 13 lines in written area 17 x 9 cm. Folio 1b-65b; 66a notes in Persian and Armenian. With: Badīʻī Tabrīzī. Hāz̲ā kitāb-i Mus̲allas̲ah. [May 1867]. Library of Congress. Manuscript, M307a. Binding: medium brown leather with embossed gold center medallions front and back.

3. Ṣanāyiʻ-i asṭurlāb

الوصف:

Manuscript. Persian. Title from fol. 1b. Pagination: 1st work: fol. 1b-26a (14 lines); 2nd work: fol. 27b-43a. (15 lines) First work written by ʻAlī ibn Aḥmad al-Shīrāzī; scribe of second work not identified. Gift of Cyrus Ebrahim Zadeh, Nov. 9, 2009. First work written in al-Ṭihrān [Tehran], Iran; second work written in Iran, city not identified. Paper: yellowish, polished cream color commercial paper with no visible watermarks; black ink, with rubrication and some overlining in red; some pages folded over; catchwords. First work: Cursive Naskh; 14 lines in written area 16 x 9 cm.; second work: Nastaʻliq; 15 lines in written area 16.5 x 9.5 cm. First work: Cursive Naskh; second work: Nastaʻliq. Astronomical drawings throughout in red and black. Folio 1b-26a; Folio 27b-43a. Library of Congress. Manuscript, M305. Binding: blue grain over cardboard sides, dark blue cloth spine.

4. Hāz̲ā kitāb-i Gulistān

الوصف:

Manuscript. Persian. Title from fol. 1a. Name of scribe not indicated. Probably written in India. Paper; cream-color, unpolished laid-paper; with horizontal chain lines and no visible watermarks; manuscript appears to be an older manuscript (perhaps 18th century) with missing sections and conclusion added by a later hand and dated 1238 [1822 or 1823], paper of newer section is also laid paper with horizontal chain lines and no watermarks but of a more recent date; older section has text within a ruled border in gold and red ink; newer sections lack border; some interleaved pages; both sections written in black ink with rubrication; numerous marginal glosses; catchwords on some leaves. Nastaʻliq and naskh; 11 lines (nastaʻliq pages), and 13 lines (naskh pages); in written area 15.3 x 10 cm. Text: fol. 2b-136b. Library of Congress. Persian manuscript, M81b. Disbound; original marbled cardboard binding included in case. Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress website.

5. Kitāb-i Saḥr-i ḥalāl

الوصف:

Manuscript. Persian. Scribe not indicated. Written in Iran. Paper; fine, beige paper; manuscript opens with a pair of gorgeous illuminated opening pages, separated by tissue; black ink; extremely fine black script, each line of script on these two pages is separated with a gold background painted with a floral motif; text enclpsed in a thin deep-blue ruled border decorated with tiny white 'crosses' surrounds the text on these two opening pages; the script in the rest of the manuscript is arranged in two columns, crossed with horizontal bands with titles in blue or gold script in clouds against peach-colored cartouches. Modified artistic nastaʻliq; a different type of nastaʻliq script with many curved lines placed horizontally above the lettering at the left of the words. There are beautiful miniature paintings of court scenes on a pair of opening pages; each has a pool with ducks (left) or geese (right) in the courtyard; the scenes are so delicately painted that the artist must have used brushes with single hairs; the bottom of the last page has a delicate gold and floral painting. Library of Congress. Persian manuscript, M089. Binding; dark brown, embossed leather, the recesses filled with gold leaf on covers and on "flap'; envelope binding; inside covers are in brown leather with blue medallions and blue corners decorated in gold. Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress website.