Persian MS 988 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)

Persian Manuscripts

Summary of Contents: The Lubb al-Tavārīkh by Mīr Yaḥyá ibn ʻAbd al-Laṭīf Qazvīnī (1481–1555). The text opens with The manuscript opens with an enconium praisising God, the Prophet Muḥammad, and the Twelve Imams followed by a preface dedicated to the Safavid prince Abū al-Fatḥ Bahrām Mīrzā (d. 1549), a younger brother of Shāh Tahmāsb (b. 1514, r. 1524–1567) and a list of contents. Divided into four sections (qism) that summarily recounts Islamic and Iranian history until 948 AH (1542 CE), a scribe named ʿAbd al-Ghanī Kashmīrī ( عبدالغنی کشمیری ) completed this manuscript in Lahore on 14 Ramadan 1036 AH (29 May 1627 CE).

Author: Qazvīnī, Yaḥyá ibn ʻAbd al-Laṭīf, 1481-1555
قزوينى، يحيى بن عبد اللطيف

Scribe: ʿAbd al-Ghanī Kashmīrī
عبدالغنی کشمیری

Title: Lubb al-Tavārīkh

Title: لب التواريخ

Language(s): Persian

Physical Description

Form: codex

Support: Thin beige paper.

Extent: 260 folios (ff. 260).

Dimensions (leaf): 214 × 150 mm.

Layout

Written in 2 columns with 20 lines per page. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.

Hand(s)

Written in clear black nasta‘līq with red subheaders.

Decoration

Red headings and overlinings. Text frames: gold, red, and blue.

Additions:

Additions on the margins of ff. 68b-84b.

History

Origin: Locus of production unidentified. Undated, but probably 18th century CE.

Provenance and Acquisition

Subsequently acquired by Manchester merchant and scholar Samuel Robinson (1794–1884) of Wilmslow, the author of Persian Poetry for English Readers (1883), who donated it to Owens College (the original institution that evolved into the of The University of Manchester today).

Transferred to the John Rylands Library in 1975 after it merged with the University of Manchester.

Record Sources

Bibliographical description derived from Siavash Rafiee-Rad, 'Persian Manuscripts in Samuel Robinson’s Collection in The John Rylands Library' (2017).

Manuscript description by Jake Benson in 2022 with reference to the volume in hand.

Availability

To book an in-person or online appointment to consult the manuscript, visit Using the Special Collections Reading Rooms. For any other enquiries please email uml.special-collections@manchester.ac.uk.

Bibliography

S. Rafiee-Rad, 'Persian Manuscripts in Samuel Robinson’s Collection in The John Rylands Library', Manuscripta: A Journal for Manuscript Research, Vol. 61, No. 2 (2017): pp. 273–275, pls. 7–8.

C. Rieu, Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in the British Museum, Vol. I (London: British Museum, 1879), pp. 104–105 [British Library Or. 140, Add. 16707, and Add. 23512].

C. Rieu, Catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in the British Museum, Vol. II (London: British Museum, 1881), p. 797 [British Library and Add. 6541/I].

Funding of Cataloguing

The John Rylands Research Institute and Library

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