IO Islamic 4541 (Oriental Manuscripts, British Library)
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Contents
Summary of Contents: Haft iqlīm by Amīn Aḥmad Rāzī, a collection of biographical and topographical entries completed in 1002/1593–4, arranged in order of the seven climes (iqlīm)Title: Haft iqlīmTitle: هفت اقليمThe date in the colophon reads سنه ۱۰۶ which most likely represents regnal year 16 (1663-64) of the Emperor Aurangzeb, where the middle digit represents the 'n' of sanah, though it has previously been interpreted as [1]106 (1694-95), or even 106[0] (1650).
Language(s): PersianPhysical Description
Form: codexExtent: 525 ff.Dimensions (leaf): 328 × 180 mm.Dimensions (written):Hand(s)
Nastaʻlīq; copied in black ink, with headings and overlinings in red; catchwords.
Decoration
Illuminated polychrome headpiece (f. 1v).
Interlinear and marginal gilding (ff 1v-2r); ruled text-frames.
Additions:The names of countries, towns and persons dealt with in the text have in many cases been written marginally by E. G. Browne, with a few pencillings by Major H.G. Raverty.
Notes on f. 1r give a date of purchase, accompanied by his rectangular seal, by Muḥammad Aḥsan Allāh Khān on 15 Rabiʻ I, RY 3 of Ahmad Shah (1164, 11 Feb 1751) from the book-binder (ṣaḥḥāf) Muhammad ʻAlī.
Other former owners mentioned (f1 r.) are Allāh Sayyid Muḥammad and Mīrzā Muḥammad Khiṣāl
A valuation of Rs 52 is given alongside an inspection dated 22 Shavval in regnal year 24 of an unspecified ruler.
Partially covered over accession statement in Persian (f1 r.) by Richard Johnson (or his munshi), records that the manuscript was purchased for Rs 30 and accessioned on 10 Rajab of an unspecified year: [Kitāb-i Sarkār] Navvāb Ṣāḥib Mumtāz al-Dawlah Mufakhkhar al-Mulk Ḥusām Jang [Mistar Richārd] Jānsan Ṣāḥib Bahādur dām iqbāluh. Kitāb-i Haft iqlīm kharīd sī rūpīyah ba-tārīkh-i dahum shahr-i Rajab dākhil-i kitābkhānah shud.
Seal(s):Binding
Half-leather 19th century European binding with marbled boards
f. 1v: rectangular seal of former owner Muḥammad Aḥsan Allāh Khān, 1163, [regnal year] 3 (1750-51).
f. 525v: illegible 4-lined stacked circular seal of former owner.
History
Origin: Regnal year 16 (of Aurangzeb, 1663-64); IndiaProvenance and Acquisition
Dating from the 17th century, the manuscript belonged to Muḥammad Aḥsan Allāh Khān, Sayyid Muḥammad and Mīrzā Muḥammad Khiṣāl before being acquired by Richard Johnson between 1770 and 1790. That it was then acquired by a further owner, probably in India, is certain because Johnson's acquisition notes are partially covered over by a pasted strip carrying an unrelated Persian inscription. It was therefore not part of the Johnson collection which was sold by him to the East India Company in 1807, but instead was acquired at a later date by H.G. Raverty after whose death it was sold with two other manuscripta in 1907 by his widow to E.G. Browne and thence to the E. J. W. Gibb Memorial Fund (See Ms K. 4 in A descriptive catalogue to Oriental MSS. belonging to the late E.G. Browne. Cambridge, 1932, p. 142).
Presented to the India Office Library by the Gibb Memorial Fund on 23 June 1927.
Record Sources
Based on R. A. Nicholson: A descriptive catalogue of the Oriental MSS belonging to the late E.G. Browne. Cambridge, 1932 and unpublished description in Catalogue of Persian Manuscripts in the India Office Library, vol. 3, available on British Library Digitised Manuscripts, manuscript number: MSS Eur E207/16_f099r with reference to the manuscript in hand.Availability
Entry to read in the Library is permitted only on presentation of a valid reader's card for admissions procedures contact British Library, Registering for a Reader Pass. Contact apac-enquiries@bl.uk for further information on the availability of this manuscript. For information on catalogues and ordering manuscripts see Finding and ordering Persian manuscripts in the British Library.
Bibliography
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