Persian MS 441 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
Persian Manuscripts
Contents
Physical Description
Collation
Condition
Layout
Written in 1 column with 19 lines per page. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
The scribe refers to the script as shafīā [shafī‘ā] in the colophon, a shikastah-nasta‘līq variant, written in black with subheaders, names of individuals, and the colophon in red.
- Inscription: The right flyleaf a side bears a Persian transcription of the incipit in nasta‘līq script, likely in the hand of Muhīn Dās, who evidently assisted former owner Colonel George William Hamilton:
تاریخ عروج و خروج احمد شاه ابدلی موسوم به احمد شاه درّانی و انهدام شاه نواز خان و خرابی مردم هند و ستانی
کرنیل جارج ولیم هملتن صاحب بهادر
- Bookplates: The left paste-down, ‘Bibliotheca Lindesiana’ with shelf mark ‘I/H’ and ‘Hamilton MSS No. 358’.
Binding
Probably rebound in a hybrid British-Indian style for former owner Colonel George William Hamilton while he served as Commissioner of Multan in the 1850s. Unsupported sewing at three stations, without endbands. Covered in full, tight-backed, red goatskin leather over pasteboards, without a flap (Type III binding as per Déroche), with squares along the edges and defined joints on the exterior.
Boards decorated with a wide dyed black border about 14 mm. in from the edges of the perimeters of the boards, outlined with double-ruled yellow lines, with single vertical lines drawn down the centres. Paper label applied to the spine bears the title Tārīkh-i Aḥmad Shāh Durrānī.
232 × 137 × 5 mm.
Handle with caution. The binding exterior appears in good condition, albeit abraded on the board edges; however, the interior text block readily separates from the binding.
History
Provenance and Acquisition
Acquired by Colonel George William Hamilton (1807-1868) who served in India from 1823 to 1867, ultimately as Commissioner of Delhi. During his tenure, he amassed a collection of more than a thousand Indian and Persian manuscripts, from which the British Museum selected 352 volumes after his death, now held in the British Library.
In 1868, Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (1812–1880) purchased the remainder.
Purchased by Enriqueta Rylands (1843–1908) in 1901 from James Ludovic Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford (1847–1913).
Bequeathed by Enriqueta Rylands 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 in 1898.
Manuscript description by Jake Benson in 2021 with reference to the volume in hand, and in consultation with Dr Dawood Azami, BBC World Service and International Institute for Strategic Studies.
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.
Digital Images
Manchester Digital Collections (full digital facsimile)
Bibliography
Funding of Cataloguing
Iran Heritage Foundation
The John Rylands Research Institute
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