Persian MS 870 (The John Rylands Research Institute and Library, The University of Manchester)
Persian Manuscripts
Contents
محمد رضا خان شیرازی مظفر جنگ
A date of initiation, 1202 AH (1787–1788 CE) appears on folio 8bchronogram on 364a provides the same year of completion, 1212 in a chronogram:
بزیر زمین حیف شد آفتاب.
Physical Description
Collation
Condition
Layout
Written in 1 column with 21 lines per page. Ruled with a misṭarah hand guide.
Hand(s)
Written in clear black nasta‘līq with red subheaders.
Binding
Covered in a recylcled binding from the Indian subcontinent, subsequently restored.
Covered in full black goatskin leather over pasteboards, possibly over raised bands given the abrasion by them on the spine. Edges trimmed.
Board margins and spine bands ruled with double gold lines.
Subsequently repaired and restored. Resewn on four recessed cords. Comparatively heavy machine-made wove endpapers added to the beginning and end. Covered in a recycled binding over new boards, given how the original turn-ins appear on the exteriors, with loss areas covered with black goatskin leather, and head and tail of the spine with the same. Endbands omitted.
291 × 181 × 77 mm.
Handle binding with caution. In poor but stable condition, with extensive insect damage, boards yawning, and abrasion to the headcaps.
1. 1: Folio 4b bears a small, legible impression with the name of Muḥammad Khān Iqtidār al-Dawlah Qā'im-Maqam Jang, double-ruled and dated 1222 AH (1809–1810), double-ruled, read from bottom upwards:
‘محمد خان اقتدار الدوله قائم مقام جنگ در سنه ۱۲۲۲’
13 × 19 mm.
2. 2: Folio 5a bears a larger, legible impression with the name of Abū-al-Qāsim Khān Najm al-Dawlah Iftikhār al-Mulk Bahādur Jang, single-ruled and dated 1221 AH (1808–1809), double-ruled, read from bottom upwards:
‘ابو القاسم خان افتخار الملک بهادر جنگ سنه ۱۲۲۲’
22 × 28 mm.
History
Provenance and Acquisition
Subsequently acquired by London bookseller Bernard Quaritch (1819–1899) from an unidentified source, who then advertised it in his 1871 catalogue, no. 391, then sold to Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford (1812–1880) for £1 7 shillings for the Bibliotheca Lindesiana at Haigh Hall, Wigan.
Subsequently 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 2025 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
Funding of Cataloguing
Iran Heritage Foundation
The John Rylands Research Institute
The Soudavar Memorial Foundation
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