Persian MS 825 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)

Summary of Contents: The Tajzīyat al-Amṣār va Tazjīyat al-Aʻṣār (The Progression of Cities and Procession of Ages) by ʻAbd Allāh ibn Faz̤l Allāh (ca. 1264–1329), known as Vaṣṣāf (Panegyrist), hence often called Tārīkh-i Vaṣṣāf (History of Vaṣṣāf). The author commenced the work in 699 AH (1299–1300 CE) and dedicated it to his patron, the Mongol ruler Ghāzān Khān. He intended it to continue earlier histories of the Mongols chronicling the reigns of Changiz (Genghis) Khān (b. 1162, r. 1206–1227) and his descendants. While a value source, the author's artificial ornate prose style proves tedious to read, for in his introduction, he only introduces himself on page 7, and reveals the title of the work on page 16. This manuscript regrettably lacks a fifth and final volume often found in the collection that continues to relate events of that dynasty until 727 (1327 CE). While this manuscript lacks a colophon, the scribe who copied it, possibly in the Ottoman Empire prepared and polished wove paper watermarked ‘Budgen and Willmott 1808’ of Kent for the text and endpapers.