Arabic MS 676 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
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Arabic Manuscripts
Composite manuscript containing a treatise on music and an astrological work.
Contents
Summary of Contents: Composite manuscript containing a treatise on the Arabic musical tunes by Muẓaffar ibn al-Ḥusain ibn al-Muẓaffar al-Ḥaṣkafi entitled Risālat al-Kashīf fī ʿIlm al-Anghām (The Treatise of the Discoverer in the Science of Melodies), and an astrolomical treatise entitled Ẓuhūr ath-Thariyyā wa-Khafāʿ ma kān wabiyya (The Appearance of the Pleiades and the Disappearance of the Plague-stricken) by Ottoman astronomer Sulaymān ibn Ḥamzah ibn Ḥashīsh.Physical Description
Form: codexSupport:Extent: 17 foliosDimensions (leaf): 200 × 152 mm.Foliation: Modern pencil foliation in Arabic numerals. Number 7 has been missed when foliated.Binding
Quarter-bound, with marble paper covers. Label on front cover: "MUSIQUE PLEYADES".
History
Provenance and Acquisition
Formerly in the collection of Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (1812–1880) Crawford, Alexander Crawford Lindsay, 1812-1880.
Purchased by Enriqueta Rylands (1843–1908) Rylands, Enriqueta, 1843–1908 in 1901 from James Ludovic Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford (1847–1913) Crawford, James Ludovic Lindsay, Earl of, 1847–1913 .
Bequeathed by Enriqueta Rylands (1843–1908) in 1908 to John Rylands Library.
Contents
1a-6bTitle: رسالات الكشاف في عام الانغامLanguage(s): ArabicTitle page on folio 1a.
The work is dedicated in the preface to a much-praised but unnamed king.
The author says that all musical tunes are derived from the one called راست. Two of its immediate derivatives are those called دوكاه and سيكاه. From these three are directly derived eight other key-tunes. The remaining tunes to the number of eighteen are derived from the above eleven principal tunes. All musical tunes, therefore, are twenty-one in number.
Marginal notes.
Incipit: بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الله احمد حمد من ابتهل اليه واستعينه واومن به وانوكل عليهReferences
Physical Description
Form: codexSupport: paperExtent: 6 foliosDimensions (leaf): 200 × 152 mm.Foliation: Modern pencil foliation in Arabic numerals.Collation
A single quire of 6 leaves. Catchword on every verso.Condition
A few usage stains.Layout
Hand(s)
Naskh script in black and red ink.
History
Origin: Produced probably in Egypt; around 1660 CEProvenance
Title page: short shopkeeper's bill.
Title page: Ownership inscription by Ḥasan al-Jabarti (حسن الجبرتي) who maybe identified with Ḥasan bin Ibrahīm bin Ḥasan ibn Ali al-Jabirati, who died in AH 1188 (1774 CE).
Contents
8a-17bAuthor: Sulaymān ibn Ḥamzah ibn Ḥashīsh al-Ḥanafi al-Falaki al-ʿUthmānī ar-Rumi سليمان بن حمزة بن حشيش الحنفي الفلكي العثماني الرومميLanguage(s): ArabicThe occasion of the writing of the book is the plague which raged in Egypt in AH 987-988 (1579-1580 CE). The the appearance of the Pleiades (a star cluster in the Taurus constellation) this plague ceased, and the author (an Ottoman astronomer), who died about AH 1010 (1601 CE) was asked to write a treatise on the Pleiades and the influence of the stars in general on the plague.
The manuscript is an autograph of the author, and was written by him in its final form in AH 998 (1589 CE).
Incipit: بسم الله الرحمن الرحيمPhysical Description
Form: codexSupport: paperExtent: 10 folios (ff. 8-17)Dimensions (leaf): 200 × 152 mm.Foliation: Modern pencil foliation in Arabic numerals; continuation of previous part.Collation
A single quire of 10 leaves. Catchword on every verso.Condition
A few usage stains.Layout
Hand(s)
Egyptian Naskh script in black and red ink. Most of the words which offered a certain difficulty are vowelled.
History
Origin: Produced probably in Egypt; in AH 998 (1589 CE) AHAdditional Information
Record Sources
Description is based on A. Mingana, Catalogue of the Arabic Manuscripts in the John Rylands Library Manchester (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1934), no. 790 [676].Availability
The item is available for consultation by any accredited reader.
For information on eligibility and admissions procedures, see Using Special Collections at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library.
For further information on the availability of the item, please contact the Special Collections Reader Services.
Digital Images
Manchester Digital Collections (full digital facsimile)
Bibliography
See this manuscript on FihristFunding of Cataloguing
The John Rylands Research Institute and Library
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