Persian MS 431 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
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Persian Manuscripts
Contents
Summary of Contents: The Iqbālnāmah-'i Tārīkh-i Humayūn Pādishāh (The Book of Prosperity of the History of the Emperor Humāyūn), a general history of the reign of the Mughal ruler Humāyūn (b. 1508, r. 1530–40, 1555–56), probably spuriously ascribed to famed 16th-century Mughal poet Fayz̤ī. Completed on 12 July 1863, this work appears abridged from earlier sources.Author and Dubious author: Fayz̤ī, Abū al-Fayz̤ ibn Mubārak 1547 or 1548-1595 فيضى، ابوالفيض بن مباركRubric: برگ ۱پ (folio 1b): رب يسر و تمم بالخيرIncipit: (basmala) برگ ۱پ (folio 1b): قسم اوّل: در جلوس فرمودن بر سرير خلافت نصرالدين محمد همايون بادشاه غازی و منور ساختن عالم رايه نور عمانت و مسكين نوازي بر ضماير ذوي البصاير اهل ذكا روشن و هويدا داشت...Explicit: برگ ۲۳۳ر (folio 138b): چون این تاریخ را التحف طل الله ساخته بودند همان لفظ طل الهی تاریخ اتمام او گردید.Colophon: برگهای ۱۳۸پ - ۱۳۹ر (folios 138–139a): این در سر کار نیرگان(؟) اقباد و اجالا نسخه اقبالنامه تاریخ همایون بادشاه غفران پناه بتاریخم [۱۳۹ر] دوازده (۱۲) ماه جولایی سنه ۱۸۶۳ ع روز یکشنبه اتمام و پیرایه اختتام یافت.Colophon: Completed on 12 July 1863 CE. Note that Michael Kerney previously misinterpreted the date as 1826 CE. Since this work does not comport with others bearing the same or similar titles, it awaits further investigation and analysis.Language(s): PersianPhysical Description
Form: codexSupport: Textblock of straight-grained, ivory-coloured paper wove paper, probably machine-made in Britain with 8 laid lines per cm and no discernible chain lines.Extent: 139 folios, 2 flyleaves (ff. i + 139 + i).Dimensions (leaf): 262 × 175 mm.Dimensions (written): 102 × 78 mm.Foliation: Correctly foliated in blackHindu-Arabic numerals on the upper-left corners of the a sides, starting on folio 25a, followed for this record.Foliation: Pencilled Arabic numerals confusingly commence with 2a to 101a then stop, hence off by one.Collation
Primarily quaternions throughout 17IV(136)1II+1(139). Catchwords throughout most of the lower-left corners of the b sides.Condition
In good condition.Layout
Written in 1 column with 13 lines per page. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Written in clear black nasta‘līq with subheaders in red.
Additions:
Inscriptions: The right flyleaf a side (f. ia) bears the title and author in a bold nasta‘līq hand.
Bookplates: The left pastedown: ‘Bibliotheca Lindesiana’ with pencilled shelfmark ‘1/E’, and ‘Hamilton MSS No. 348’.Binding
Probably bound in Delhi for patron or former owner Colonel George William Hamilton (1807-1868)
Abbreviated sewing on two recessed cords, laced into pasteboards. Endpapers of comparatively rough paper, probably handmade in the Indian subcontinent added to the beginning and end, then trimmed. Applied endbands adhere to the head and tail of the spine. Boards covered in half brown goatskin leather, with British-made 'Spanish' pattterned marbled paper sides.
The spine bears five erratic, blind-tooled flourishes.
262 × 183 × 20 mm.
In good condition, with exterior abrasion and interior staining.
History
Origin: Possibly completed as a commision for Colonel George William Hamilton (1807-1868) in Delhi; 7 Jul. 1863 CE.Provenance and Acquisition
After his death, the British Museum selected 352 volumes from his collection of over a thousand Indian and Persian manuscripts, now held in the British Library.
Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (1812–1880) purchased the remainder of Hamilton's collection in 1868.
Purchased by Enriqueta Rylands (1843–1908) in 1901 from James Ludovic Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford (1847–1913).
Bequeathed by Enriqueta Rylands (1843–1908) in 1908 to the John Rylands Library.
Record Sources
Bibliographical description based on an index created by Reza Navabpour circa 1993, derived from a manuscript catalogue by Michael Kerney, circa 1890s, concisely published as Bibliotheca Lindesiana, Hand-list of Oriental Manuscripts: Arabic, Persian, Turkish, 1898.
Manuscript description by Jake Benson in 2022 with reference to the volume in hand.
Availability
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Digital Images
Manchester Digital Collections (full digital facsimile)
Funding of Cataloguing
Iran Heritage Foundation
The John Rylands Research Institute
Subjects
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