This treatise discusses different aspects of the art of versification, including meters, verses, letters, syllables, patterns of rhythm, and other topics relating to the poetic arts in early modern Persian poetry. The author, who is identified on folio 2, Mahmud ibn ʻUmar al-Najati al-Nisaburi (died 1328), is also known as Hamid al-Din Mahmud bin ʻUmar Nijati Nishapuri. No information exists about his place and date of birth or about his death. He is known to have produced a translation of and commentary on Tārīkh-i Utubi, also known as Tārīkh-i Yamīnī (History of Yamini), an early 11th-century courtly chronicle recounting the political and military events of the early Ghaznavid sultans, especially of Sultan Mahmud (died 1030). Where and when this manuscript was made are unclear, but its calligraphic style and clear prose nastaʻliq script suggest that it could have been written in the 15th-16th centuries somewhere in the Persianate world, e.g., India, Afghanistan, Iran, or somewhere in Islamic Central Asia. The manuscript is organized around a five-line eulogistic note (folio 1) praising and thanking God, an eight-page preface (folios 1-8), and the main contents. In the preface, the author discusses Persian poetry and the usefulness of a treatise on Persian prosody, briefly touching upon the names and works of earlier prosodists, such as the 12th century al-Ustad al-Mutarzi al-Ganji (folios 4-5). He also mentions the relationship between holidays and festivities, such as Nawruz (Persian New Year) and the Islamic festival of Eid, and the composition of poetry. The main contents start on folio 9. The first two poetic verses discussed (folios 9-15 and 16-17) are from a famous longer qasidah (poem) of al-Ustad al-Murtarzi al-Ganji (also known as Qavami Ganjavai), said to exemplify the composition of a studious, elegant, and meaningful qasidah and the technical and conceptual contents of the first two lines of a long poem (referred to in Arabic and Persian poetic sciences as Husn-i Mutala-e and Nik Aghazi, (literally, "elegant beginning")). In addition to Husn-i Mutala-e, other technical aspects of prosody, such as meter and repetition, are discussed throughout the treatise. Although the work is written in Persian, the language is filled with dense Arabic grammar and vocabulary. All the poems discussed in the text have subheadings that appear in bold red font, indicating the author or the theme being discussed; the headings are always written in Arabic, while the discussion is in Persian. The paper is thin and light-cream colored. Chain lines run vertically and horizontally in a random manner throughout the text. The manuscript is written in black ink with rubrication; folio 1 is elaborately decorated in blue and gold. The writing is enclosed in thin gold borders edged in black. Two lines of an Ottoman Turkish poem appear at the end of the manuscript, although there is no evidence to suggest that these two lines are original; they might be a later addition, as might the title of the manuscript that appears on the flyleaf. There is no pagination. World Digital Library. Unnamed work on prosody by Maḥmūd ibn ʻUmar al-Najātī al-Nīsābūrī.
This manuscript in Persian is an untitled Sufi text on meditation containing both poetry and prose. It was completed in early 1520, probably in Herat (present-day Afghanistan) or Mashhad (present-day Iran). The colophon, which is in Arabic, gives the name of the scribe, Mīr 'Alī Ḥusaynī Haravī (circa 1476-1543). The manuscript is on a firm cream-colored paper inlaid into light cream (folios 1-8) or pale greenish-blue margin paper, with the writing enclosed within alternating gold and cream (or green) bands with black ruling. The margin paper is profusely decorated with floral and animal motifs. The text is in nastalīq script, eight lines to the page. The binding is contemporary leather with medallions. A former owner's stamp appears on folio 1a. Sufism, a mystical and introspective interpretation of Islam that emerged after the initial spread of the religion, combines Islamic teachings with gnosticism. The practice embraced the idea of enlightenment through spiritual knowledge, informed by pre-Islamic Greek, Zoroastrian, and Indian spiritual practices. By the 13th century, Sufi thought in the Persian-speaking world was expressed primarily through poetry or in poetic works of prose, such as this treatise. World Digital Library. Untitled Sufi text on meditation containing both poetry and prose.
Manuscript. Persian. Title supplied by cataloger. Scribe not identified. Written in Central Asia. Paper; lightly polished cream color laid paper with very faint horizontal chain lines on some pages and no visible watermarks; elaborate floral unwan in gold, blue and red with pinkish flowers; text enclosed in ruled border of blue, gold, red and blue; text is divided into hemistichs separated by wide columns which vary in color but are primarily reddish coral color; margins of all facing pages have floral designs in various colors which vary from page to page; black ink with elaborate section titles. Nastaʻliq; 14 lines in written area 15 x 7.5 cm. Fol. 1b-102a. Library of Congress. Persian manuscript, M39. Modern dark brown leather binding with embossed center medallions front and back. Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress website.
This Persian manuscript dated 1025 AH (1616) contains two works on prosody by Nūr al-Dīn 'Abd al-Rahmān Jāmī (1414-92), as well as an incomplete, anonymous work on astronomy. Jāmī was a great poet, scholar, and mystic who lived most of his life in Herat, present-day Afghanistan. The 69 leaves of the manuscript are on a variety of papers: thin, pink-colored laid paper (folios 1a-31b); cream-colored laid paper (folios 32a-35b); pink-colored laid paper (folios 36a-37b); cream-color laid paper (folios 38a-40b); light-green-colored laid paper (folios 41a-45b); tan unpolished paper (folios 46a-53b); orange-to-rose-colored unpolished paper (folios 54a-61b); and dark-yellow-colored paper (folios 62a-69b). The text is in a nastaʻliq script, but different numbers of lines are used in different parts of the manuscript: 14 lines (folios 1b-40b), 10 lines (folios 41a-45b), and 12 lines (folios 46a-69b). Certain pages have circular figures showing classical poetic metrical schemes. The binding is newer, in a flexible leather without ornamentation. World Digital Library. Two works on prosody by the poet Jāmī, 1414-1492; and an incomplete, anonymous work on astronomy.
ملخص: مجلد مُجمّع يضم مخطوطتين عن الأدوية.المحتويات:(١) إسفراييني، محمد - تقويم العدوية (صص. ١و-١٣٥ظ)؛
(2) تقي الدين محمد ابن صدر الدين علي - دراسة عن الأدوية (صص. ١٣٦و-٢٣٧ظ).ملخص: Composite volume containing two manuscripts on drugs.Contents:(1) Isfarāyīnī, Muḥammad (إسفراييني، محمد),
Taqwīm al-adwīyah(تقويم العدوية; ff. 1r-135v);(2) Taqī al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Ṣadr al-Dīn ‘Alī (تقي الدين محمد ابن صدر الدين علي), Treatise on drugs (ff. 136r-237v).الوصف المادي: المادة: ١و-١٣٥ظ: ورق مسلّك شرقي؛ ١٣٦و-٢٣٧ظ: ورق غربي مسلَّكالأبعاد: حجم الورقة ٢٧٥ × ١٥٥ مم [١و-١٣٥ظ: مساحة الكتابة ١٧٠ × ٨٥ مم (أوراق غير مُجَدْوَلة)، ١٣٦و-٢٣٧ظ: مساحة الكتابة ١٦٥ × ٩٠ مم]ترقيم الأوراق: ترقيم المتحف البريطاني بالقلم الرصاصالتسطير: ١و-١٣٥ظ: لا يوجد تسطير واضح، ١٤ سطرًا في كل صفحة، مسافة تباعد عمودية ٩ أسطر لكل ١٠ سم؛ ١٣٦و-٢٣٧ظ (أوراق غير مُجَدْوَلة):
مسطرة، ١٩ سطرًا في كل صفحة، مسافة تباعد عمودية ١٢ سطرًا لكل ١٠ سمالخط: ١و-١٣٥ظ:
نستعليق؛ الناسخ هو ابن عبد الله أبو الحسن الشيرازي (انظر حرد المتن، ص. ١٣٤و، السطران ٨-٩)؛ ١٣٦و-٢٣٧ظ:
نستعليقالحبر: حبر أسود، مع تحمير العناوين والخطوط الأفقية أعلى النصالزخرفة: ١و-١٣٥ظ: صفحتان متواجهتان مزخرفتان (صص. ٣ظ-٤و) مع رسم مزخرف باللونين الأزرق والذهبي مع تصميم على شكل ورود وتشجير بالأحمر والأصفر والأخضر والأبيض، وأشكال الورود والتشجير باللون الذهبي والأزرق والأخضر والأحمر في الهوامش وما بين أسطر النص؛ الأوراق التي تليها مؤطرة باللونين الأزرق والذهبي؛ ١٣٦و-٢٣٧ظ: كافة الأوراق مؤطرة باللون الأزرق والأحمر والذهبيالتجليد: تجليد المتحف البريطاني من قماش البقرم الأحمر؛ غلافان جلديان للتجليد السابق من الجلد الأحمر مع جامة متعددة الألوان وأذيال جامات مُلصقان على جانب اللوحين الحاليين الأيمن والأيسرالحالة: بقع مائية طفيفة على زوايا الحافة السفلى باتجاه بداية المجلد ونهايته؛ زوايا الحافة السفلى في صص. ١٣٤، ١٣٥ مقطوعة وتم إصلاحهاالحاشية: قليلة جدًاالأختام: ٣و، ٤٠و، ١٣٤و، ١٣٥والوصف المادي: Material: 1r-135v: Eastern laid paper; 136r-237v: Western laid paperDimensions: 275 x 155 mm leaf [1r-135v: 170 x 85 mm written (untabulated folios), 136r-237v: 165 x 90 mm written]Foliation: British Museum foliation in pencilRuling: 1r-135v: no ruling visible, 14 lines per page, vertical spacing 9 lines per 10 cm; 136r-237v (untabulated folios):
Misṭarah, 19 lines per page, vertical spacing 12 lines per 10 cmScript: 1r-135v:
Nasta‘līq; the scribe is Ibn ‘Abd Allāh Abū al-Ḥasan al-Shīrāzī (ابن عبد الله أبو الحسن الشيرازي, see colophon, f. 134r, lines 8-9); 136r-237v:
Nasta‘līqInk: Black ink, with rubricated headings and overlinings in redDecoration: 1r-135v: illuminated opening (ff. 3v-4r) with head piece in blue and gold with floral and foliate design in red, yellow, green and white, floral and foliate pattern in gold, blue green and red in margins and between lines of text; subsequent folia framed in blue and gold; 136r-237v: all folia framed in blue, red, and goldBinding: British Museum red buckram binding; leather covers of previous binding of red leather with multicoloured medallion and pendants pasted to inside current right and left boardsCondition: Minor tidemarks to lower edge corners towards front and back of volume; lower edge corners of ff. 134 and 135 mutilated and repairedMarginalia: Very fewSeals: 3r, 40r, 134r, 135r
Manuscript. Persian. Caption title. Scribe not identified. Probably written in India. Paper; thin, polished laid paper with horizontal laid lines and no visible chain lines or watermarks; both sections have almost identical carpet pages with floral unwan in gold, blue, reddish orange and white, with titles in white in gold cartouche, carpet pages have elaborate floral design in margins; text enclosed in a ruled border of blue, gold and orange; black ink with rubrication and some overlining in red; catchwords. Rieu, C. Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts, I, 91 Small naskh; 32 lines in written area 24 x 13.5 cm. Fol. 1b-170a, 171b-199b. Library of Congress. Persian manuscript, M149. Binding; lacquered morocco leather with embossed center medallions with a wide embossed gold inner border and a narrow stamped floral outer border front and back; text block loose in binding. Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress website.