Abstract Exploring monstrosity in the context of Islamic art offers many unexplored perspectives. Divs, a prominent group of Persian monsters that feature extensively in the richly illustrated manuscripts of the Islamic era, particularly in the Shahnama , merit a thorough examination. Such an analysis not only enhances our understanding of Islamic art in the Persianate context but also contributes to the broader field of monster studies. This study focuses on the painting Tahmuras Defeats the Divs attributed to Sultan Muhammad, demonstrating the visual language that enables audiences to hear the divs’ voice. This voice, which emphasizes the independence of the image from the text it is presumed to illustrate, reveals how the painter deliberately sought a more balanced perspective towards these monstrous beings, moving beyond the traditional human-favoured viewpoint that advocates their suppression. Sultan Muhammad achieved this by celebrating their pictorial diversity, highlighting their emotions and interactions, and, most significantly, centring them in the composition. Employing Nichols’s theoretical framework, this study demonstrates how the image functions as the unconscious of the text, exposing what the text attempts to conceal. Additionally, using Genette’s theory of hypertextuality, the research suggests that thematic extension and stylistic expansion were the strategies by which the painter transformed the Shahnama ’s verbal narrative into a dynamic visual work. This painting challenges the assumption that monsters deserve condemnation solely for embodying otherness, instead encouraging a deeper understanding of their significance. By reinterpreting a pivotal illustration from the Shahnama , this study offers a nuanced understanding of the interplay between text and image, challenging prevailing assumptions in Islamic art historiography. Moreover, this analysis broadens the field of monster studies by examining how Persian monsters such as divs disrupt binary categorizations and invite deeper reflection on otherness and identity.
Abstract This article presents a preliminary catalogue of documents from the Mūsā al-ʿAlamī Collection ( MAC ) preserved at the Institute for Palestine Studies ( IPS ), Beirut Library. The collection, which is in a pristine state, is examined here through an initial scrutiny of its content and layout, with the aim of highlighting its significance and drawing the attention it rightly deserves. Its importance lies in its vast historical framework, the diversity of document types it contains, and its inclusion of materials in both Arabic and Ottoman Turkish. This catalogue of the collection’s 238 documents represents only a first step in the academic exploration of MAC ; nevertheless, it serves a vital purpose by making the collection accessible to scholars seeking to undertake in-depth research into its entirety or selected parts.
Abstract In a recent study, Ala Vahidnia has argued that similar to how the Quranic reading tradition of Nāfiʿ shows a strong connection Maliki school of jurisprudence, other reading traditions may have also showed a close connection with the school of jurisprudence originating in the same region. In particular, she argues that the Awzāʿī school of jurisprudence may have had a close connection to the reading tradition of the Syrian Ibn ʿĀmir, and that when the Awzāʿī school made it to al-Andalus, Ibn ʿĀmir's tradition came along with it. To support this hypothesis, Vahidnia claimed to have found an Andalusi manuscript, BnF Arabe 6982, which follows the reading tradition of Ibn ʿĀmir rather than that of Nāfiʿ. This article shows that this analysis is flawed. By systematically evaluating the variant readings found in the manuscript against readings that are reported to be unique to Nāfiʿ and Ibn ʿĀmir respectively, it is shown that the manuscript consistently aligns with Nāfiʿ and deviates from Ibn ʿĀmir. Thus, the manuscript rather than challenging the notion that Nāfiʿ was dominant in the region, instead further affirms it.
Abstract This article re-examines the early Qurʾānic manuscript BnF Ar. 6982 in light of recent discussions concerning its affiliation with a particular reading tradition. While previous scholarship has focused primarily on identifying the manuscript’s reading tradition, this study argues that the manuscript is more fruitfully understood through the broader concept of scribal tradition. By integrating evidence from vocalization, dotting practices, rasm , and verse-counting ( ʿadd al-āy ), and interpreting these features in light of al-Dānī’s accounts of early Qurʾānic manuscripts, the study demonstrates that BnF Ar. 6982 preserves the Medinan scribal tradition described in classical sources as having been transmitted to the Islamic West. Together with its distinctive early Maghribi-Andalusi features, the manuscript provides material evidence for an intermediate historical stage in the formation of the Andalusi Qurʾānic manuscript tradition. The study thus proposes scribal tradition as a complementary analytical framework alongside reading tradition for investigating the history of Qurʾānic manuscript transmission.
تهدف المقالة إلى التعريف بنصٍّ تاريخي كان في حُكم المفقود، وتم العثور عليه مدمجاً على وجه خاطئ مع نسخة مخطوطة من كتاب تاريخ ابن خلدون، وهي قطعة تخلو من العنوان أو اسم مؤلفها، وتبيَّن أنها تعود للقسم التاريخي من كتاب الثغر الباسم في صناعة الكاتب والكاتم للسحماوي (868 هـ /1464 م ). يتناول النص المكتشف حقبة متأخرة من الدولة المملوكية، مكملاً الفجوة التي وقعت في النُسَخة الوحيدة التي جرى تحقيقها ونَشْرها، وهي تُغطّي أحداث السنوات من 779 هـ / 1377 م وحتى سنة 841 هـ / 1437 م، قدّم فيها المؤلف ـ على نحو مركَّز وانتقائي ـ استعراضاً عاماً لأبرز الأحداث السياسية، بما في ذلك دسائس الحاشية في البلاط والقرارات الإدارية والاضطرابات والتهديدات الخارجية، خاصة حركات التتار بزعامة تيمورلنك التي تابعها بعد وفاته ابنه شاه رخ، وأخبار الحملات المصرية في البحر الأبيض المتوسط منذ العام 796 هـ / 1394 م والتي انتهت إحداها في سنة 829 هـ /1426 م بأسر ملك قبرس جانيوس لوزنيان (Janus Lusignan) ، مع ذكر بعض الكوارث الطبيعية كالأوبئة والزلازل . وإضافة لتحقيق النص، فتشمل الدراسة وصفاً للمخطوطة المكتشفة والمحفوظة بمكتبة السليمانية ضمن خزانة داماد إبراهيم باشا رقم 866 ، وتُسلط الضوء على مدى أهمية النص المكتشف في استدراك الضائع من الكتاب، ومساهمة مؤلفه السحماوي كمعاصر للأحداث ـ إلى جانب أقرانه من المؤرخين المعاصرين له ـ في إثراء الفهم التاريخي عن الدولة المملوكية في أواخر عهدها . كما توجه الدراسة الأنظار إلى نص آخر مُنتزع من كتاب السحماوي قام باستلاله أحد المماليك ونَسَبه لنفسه وقدَّمه في عمل مستقل ّكهدية لخزانة السلطان قانصوه الغوري .
Munster is a small town in Germany. Its library contains a number of manuscripts and archives that are relevant to Oriental studies. The article published here gives an overview of most of the archives and contains detailed descriptions of a small number of Arabic and Turkish manuscripts. These manuscripts seem to have escaped the attention of bibliographers thus far. The materials on which this article is based were collected in the summer of 2012. All descriptions are based on autopsy, and on the photographs that were taken by the author when he visited the Munster library.
The separation and dispersal of a four-volume luxury manuscript of the Kitab al-Shifa' (" The book of healing") by the Maghribi jurist Qadi Iyad (475-544/1083-1149 CE) offers a lens through which to explore the cognitive dissonance provoked by encountering fragmentation within a multi-volume codex that once appeared complete. The separation of the third volume (Walters Art Museum, Ms. W.580) from its three companions occurred in the sixteenth century, within the imperial library of the Ottoman sultans in Istanbul. Already by the fifteenth century, Ottoman readers venerated the Shifa' as a work of pious Sunni literature about the life of the Prophet. Literary sources and the extant holdings in Istanbul document that, in the late fifteenth century, the imperial library owned multiple manuscripts with the Shifa''s complete text. Against this backdrop, the independent circulation of an unusual textual fragment of the Shifa'suggests a pragmatic approach to library collection management at the imperial library one in which literary content took precedence over material splendour: aesthetic opulence alone did not protect a textual fragment from being deaccessioned.
This article introduces a previously lost historical text that was discovered bound within a manuscript copy of Ibn Khaldun's Kitab al-'Ibar. The fragment, which bears neither a title nor an author's name, was identified as part of the historical section of al-Thaghr al-basim fi sina'at al-katib wa-l-katim by Muhammad b. Muhammad al-Sahmawi (d. 868/1464). The recovered text addresses a late period of the Mamluk Sultanate, filling a significant gap in the only known published edition of the work. It covers the years 779-841/1377-1437, offering a concise and selective overview of major political developments. These include palace intrigues, administrative decisions, internal unrest, and external threats particularly the incursions led by Timur and later by his son Shah Rukh. The text also recounts Egyptian military campaigns in the Mediterranean, culminating in the capture of King Janus Lusignan of Cyprus in 829/1426, as well as natural disasters such as plagues and earthquakes. In addition to presenting a critical edition of the fragment, the study provides a detailed codicological description of the manuscript, preserved in the Suleymaniye Library (Damad Ibrahim Pasha collection no. 866). The paper highlights the fragment's significance in restoring missing portions of the original work and underscores al-Sahmawi's contribution alongside his contemporary historians to our understanding of the late Mamluk period. Furthermore, the study brings to light another excerpt that was illicitly extracted from al-Sahmawi's book and reattributed by a Mamluk figure who presented it as an independent work to Sultan Qansuh al-Ghawri's court.
The study of Middle Eastern manuscripts requires an understanding of provenance, materials, and techniques, as well as the history and philosophies of the Middle East. The removal of many manuscripts from their context, along with transcription errors and language differences, creates barriers to understanding the origins and significance of traded manuscripts. This paper examines the methods for contextualising and attributing provenance to a copy of Silsilat al-Zahab by Nūr al-Dīn ʿAbd-al-Raḥmān Jāmī (1414–1492) from The University of Melbourne Library collection. While the library catalogue estimates the manuscript’s publication date between 1800 and 1899, an analysis of the colophon, marginalia, and ownership notes suggests a possible publication date of 1751, when it was part of the Indian Mughal library during the reign of Aḥmad Shāh Bahādur. This book entered the English book market before moving to its current location. Examining textual marginalia and linking this to provenance and the trade in manuscripts expands knowledge of this volume and provides perspectives for those interested in tracing manuscripts and recording their transmissions.
With its rich collection of Islamic manuscripts and archival documents in Arabic, Turkish, and Persian, the Oriental Institute in Sarajevo became one of the primary targets during the 1992–1995 Serbian aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 17 May 1992, the Institute’s building was hit by a guided missile fired from Serbian positions around Sarajevo, with the explicit aim of destroying everything housed within. This act constituted a targeted destruction and a deliberate attempt to annihilate both the material and spiritual heritage of an entire people. Despite the dreadful destruction of 99.9 per cent of its manuscripts and documents, the Oriental Institute has survived and continues its work as a research institution recognised both nationally and internationally. Restoration of its archives, manuscript, and library collections is ongoing, with modern IT technologies playing a crucial role.
تناولتُ في هذه الدراسة ظواهر ماديّة ونصيّة تتعلق بالنصوص العربيّة المَرْوِيَّة، أي تلك النسخ المخطوطة التي وصلت إلينا نصوصها عبر تحمّلها شيخاً عن شيخ، مع الحرص على ذكر سند النسخة في مكانين، ورُكِّز هنا على مخطوطات الأجزاء الحديثيَّة لاتساع عيّنتها . وتمثلت هذه الظواهر بوجود فارق بين سند النسخة في صفحة العنوان الرئيسة وسندها في مطلع النصّ، ووجود اسم شخصٍ معيّن في ذيل سلسلة السند الموجودة على صفحة العنوان الرئيسة، هذا الشخص كان أحد سامعين كثر للنسخة، شاركوه السماع على الشيخ نفسه في المجلس نفسه؛ إلا أنَّه تفرَّد بذكر اسمه في هذا الموضع بالتحديد . إنَّ العمل على تفسير هذه الظواهر قاد إلى ضرورة توليد مصطلحات جديدة مُعَبِّرة عنها وإضافتها إلى الحقل، وإلى نتائجَ من شأنها تقديم قرائن جديدة للباحثين المهتمين بتتبع رحلة المخطوطات، وتفسير هيئاتها الماديَّة ودورة حياتها .
The depiction of individuals with their hands tied to palahang reflects typical Safavid judicial convictions and customary punishments. The prevalence of these pictures suggest their significance for the Safavids. This article examines 23 visual representations of this specific form of punishment, compares the laws related to the Safavid judicial system with the paintings produced, and uncovers the roots of the punishment tools used by the Safavids. The study addresses the following questions: Who are the individuals depicted bound to palahang? What is the reason for depicting kings with tied hands? And who were the artists responsible for creating these images? According to the current study, these types of illustrations-and the presence of a significant number of them in Islamic manuscripts-were designed to humiliate the Safavids' principal enemy, the Uzbeks, and to deter potential attacks.
This study addresses material and textual phenomena in Arabic narrated texts, specifically in those manuscript copies whose texts have come down to us through transmission from one shaykh to another. The study is dedicated to the chain of transmission of the copy in two locations, with a focus on had & imacr;th booklets, due to the breadth of this corpus. One notices differences between the chain of transmission (sanad) on the title page and that introduced at the beginning of the text. Furthermore, the mention of the name of a specific person at the end of the chain on the title page is noteworthy. That person is one among the many individuals who listened to the copy being read aloud. This person participated in the same audience when the shaykh read his copy as the others and was present in the same meeting, but, in contrast to the others, he is distinguished by being named in this specific place of the manuscript. I argue that this person is the owner of the copy. To interpret the findings, new technical terms were introduced. The results of this study can give new impulses to researchers who trace the journey of manuscripts and interpret their physical forms and life cycles.
Al-Badr al-Munawwar is a rare manuscript, which may be a supplement to the al-Morocco, it describes the Ottoman Sultan Selim I's visit to Jerusalem during his conquest of Greater Syria and reveals al-`Ulaymi's role in planning it. This paper presents the English translation of the manuscript and elaborates on its content and attribution to al-`Ulaymi. Al-Badr al-Munawwar may be a separate book rather than a supplement to the al-Uns al-Jalil. It highlights unknown topics regarding al-`Ulaymi's personality, pro-Ottoman political views, and opinions on major events during his last years of life.
The study of Middle Eastern manuscripts requires an understanding of provenance, materials, and techniques, as well as the history and philosophies of the Middle East. The removal of many manuscripts from their context, along with transcription errors and language differences, creates barriers to understanding the origins and significance of traded manuscripts. This paper examines the methods for contextualising and attributing provenance to a copy of Silsilat al-Zahab by Nur al-Din Abd-al-Rahman Jami (1414-1492) from The University of Melbourne Library collection. While the library catalogue estimates the manuscript's publication date between 1800 and 1899, an analysis of the colophon, marginalia, and ownership notes suggests a possible publication date of 1751, when it was part of the Indian Mughal library during the reign of Ahmad Shah Bahadur. This book entered the English book market before moving to its current location. Examining textual marginalia and linking this to provenance and the trade in manuscripts expands knowledge of this volume and provides perspectives for those interested in tracing manuscripts and recording their transmissions.
This article presents a collection of some twenty-five Arabic manuscripts that were once acquired by the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo. Successive directors of the Institute may have aspired to build a large collection of such materials but this ambition was never realized. In 2011, it was decided that the manuscripts would be better housed in the National Library of Egypt, Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya, and a transfer was organized. The manuscripts cover a range of subjects, as the Institute did not maintain a clearly defined collection profile. There are a few religious texts, including one Qur'an notable for its remarkable codicology, a number of texts on zoology, several major works on Arabic rhetorics, etc. The descriptions of these are published here for the first time. One portfolio containing archival materials was initially received by the National Library, subsequently transferred to the National Archives, and has since disappeared from view. Two manuscripts that were not transferred to the National Library and remain at the Institute are described in an appendix at the end of this article. The study concludes with indexes of titles, personal names, and "particular features", mostly of a codicological nature. Most of the manuscripts described here have been made available online, with links provided at the end of each description.
This paper provides an overview of the practice and use of codes in the Arabic-Islamic context while reintroducing a Qur'an manuscript housed in the Kitabkhana-yi markazi & Amacr;stan-i Quds-i Radawi (Mashhad, Iran), known for being written in the socalled Baburikhatt (Babur's script). The manuscript, attributed to the hand of Zahir al-Din Mohammad Babur Shah (886-937/1438-1530), is discussed in connection with the tradition of Arabic encrypted texts and treatises, as well as with Babur's autobiography (Baburnama), which mentions the use of a specific coded script. Moreover, the link between plain/coded texts and literacy is considered, as well as the connection between Arabic medieval chancery habits and modern oral/slang practices (Fr. verlan). Finally, the phenomenon of the encrypted Qur'anic texts is viewed in the context of the Ahl al-kitab manuscript production of sacred scriptures.
Embedded in a lively research trend in the Arabic manuscript studies, this contribution aims at providing a preliminary picture of the library of the Beiruti physician Yusuf Sayfi. The latter's manuscript collection, currently kept at the University of Leeds, will be thoroughly analysed with regard to its codicological and palaeographical features as well as its thematic arrangement. Whereas Yusuf Sayfi's library can be consistently classified as a specialised collection of medical texts, his approach to book culture as exhibited in the collection is heterogenous. Through the evidence of the manuscripts, a partial profile of this unknown man and his library will be sketched. The specificities identified in this case study will be then mirrored into its reference framework, that is, 13th-/19th-century Bilad al-Sham, thereby enabling us to contextualise Yusuf Sayfi's library into the book and literary culture of this fascinating (and revolutionary) period in the history of the Arabic-speaking world.
This article introduces Matenadaran's copy of the manuscript titled Taqwim al-adwiya al-mufrada wa-l-aghdhiya (The Almanac/Tabulation of Medicaments and Foodstuff) written by Abu al-Fadl Hubaysh b. Ibrahim b. Muhammad al-Tiflisi. Our objective is to determine if this particular copy, which dates back to the 13th century, is the earliest existing dated comprehensive manuscript among other eponymous works. The manuscript is the first work in the Arabic medical miscellany no. 2175 within the collection of Arabic-Script Manuscripts at the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts- Matenadaran. It is followed by a still unknown, or little-known, short article by al-Tiflisi titled Maqala mukhtasarafifadlsina'at al-tibb (A Brief Essay on the Merit of Medicine), which contains a colophon indicating the year of its writing as 616/1219.
