Persian MS 538 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
Persian Manuscripts
Contents
Physical Description
Condition
Layout
Hand(s)
Naskh in black ink. Rubrication in red ink. Copied by Abū l-ʿAbbās Ḥusayn b. Mīr ʿAlam
Inscriptions
- The first to sixth left flyleaves bear a variant recension of the beginning of Dihistānī’s text.
- The first right flyleaf a side (f. ia) bears a note describing the re-collation and completion of the defective manuscript for former owner George William Hamilton in March 1863, presumably in Delhi.likely in the hand of his assistant, Muhīn Dās.
- 1a, adjacent to his seal impression (no. 1) Muḥammad Hādī Ḥusaynī declares that he purchased the manuscript in 1090 AH (1679–80 CE).
- Folio 313b bears a description of winter and and note signed by Ṣādiq Muḥammad Raz̤avī adjcent to the seal impression of Muḥammad ʿAlī Shāh (no. 7).
Binding
Stamped binding foliate motifs. Stitched.
1: Folio 1a seal impression of Muḥammad Hādī Ḥusaynī who bought the manuscript in 1090 AH.
f. 1a Seal of Fāz̤il Khān Murīd dated 1114 AH; Seal of Sayyid Khān Ḥusaynī dated 1218. Stamp dated 1206 AH.
f.1b Ex libris of Sulaymān Jāh. Ex libris of Shāh ?Ramīn
f.313b Ex libris of Sulaymān Jāh dated 1244 AH. Stamp of Muḥammad ʿAlī dated 1234 AH
History
Provenance and Acquisition
Subsequently acquired by Colonel George William Hamilton (1807-1868) who served in India from 1823 to 1867, latterly as Commissioner in Delhi. He acquired over a thousand Indian and Persian manuscripts, from which the British Museum selected 352, 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 James White in 2018 with reference to the volume in hand.
Record subsequently amended and enhanced by Jake Benson in 2022.
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
Funding of Cataloguing
Iran Heritage Foundation, the John Rylands Research, and the Soudavar Foundation
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