Compendium of alchemical treatises in Arabic, Persian and Ottoman

Content

The volume comprises two manuscripts. The first (ff. 3-112) was the notebook of the Qudrat Allāh al-Marandī al-Ādharī, who copied into it thirteen alchmical texts between 919 AH/AD 1513 and 925 AH/AD 1519, first at Fez and then Damascus (see colophons on ff. 11r, 14r, 57r and 66r). The second (ff. 113r-159v) was copied in the 18th century, beginning with ff. 113r-158r copied in 1177 AH/AD 1764 by Muḥammad ibn Sulaymān al-Mawṣūlī in Algiers (see colophon Section at the end of a manuscript text. on f. 158v).

The volume contains 16 alchemical texts:

• Anonymous, Risālah nāfi‘ah fī ghāyat al-naf‘ wa-l-nafāsah lam yu‘raf muṣannifuhā (رسالة نافعة في غاية النفع والنفاسة لم يعرف مصنّفها) (ff. 3r-11r);
• Khālid ibn Yazīd al-Umawī (خالد بن يزيد الأموي), Risālah li-Abī Hishām al-Amīr Khālid (رسالة لأبي هشام الأمير خالد ) (ff. 11v-14r);
• al-Ṣafadī, Khalīl ibn Aybak (الصفدي، خليل بن أيبك), Extract from Kitāb al-Ghayth al-musjam fī sharḥ Lāmīyat al-ʿAjam (كتاب الغيث المسجم في شرح لامية العجم) (f. 14r);
• al-Ṭuġrāʾī, al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī (الطغرائي، الحسين بن علي), Kitāb tarākīb al-anwār (كتاب تراكيب الأنوار) (ff. 14v-57r);
• Democritus (ذومقراطيس), Untitled alchemical treatise (ff. 57v-66r);
• Jābir ibn Ḥayyān (جابر بن حيان), Ayn fuṣūl az ba‘z̤ kutub ustaẕ Jābir (اين فصول از بعض كتب أستاذ كبير جابر ) (ff.66v-67v);
• al-Rāzī, Fakhr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar (الرازي، فخر الدين محمد بن عمر), Selections from Kitāb al-Mulakhkhaṣ (كتاب الملخص) concerning physics (ff. 67v-76b);
• al-Rāzī, Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakarīyā (الرازي، أبو بكر محمد بن زكريا), Selections from al-Rāzī’s al-Kutub al-Ithná ‘asharah (الكتب الإثنى عشرة) (ff. 77r-91v);
• Ibn Waḥshīyah, Aḥmad ibn ‘Alī (ابن وحشية، أحمد بن علي), Extracts from Kitāb fī Maʿrifat al-ḥajar (كتاب في معرفة الحجر) (ff. 91b-96b);
• Anonymous, Excerpts from a commentary on the poem of ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz b. Tammām al-ʿIrāqī (عبد العزيز ابن تمام العراقي) (ff. 96v-98r);
• Anonymous, Excerpts from a commentary on the alchemical poem Shudhūr al-dhahab (شذور الذهب) (ff. 98r- 110v);
• al-Sayyid al-Sharīf al-Bukhārī al-Naqshabandī (السيد الشريف البخاري النقشبندي), Excerpts from the Risālah fī al-Ṣināʿah al-falsafīyah (رسالة في الصناعة الفلسفية) (ff. 111r-112r);
• Anonymous, Cancelled page of Persian alchemical poetry (f. 112v);
• al-Maṣmūdī, Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad (المصمودي، محمد بن أحمد), Kitāb al-Wāfī fī al-Tadbīr al-kāfī (كتاب الوافي في التدبير الكافي) (ff. 113r-158r);
• Anonymous, Fragment of a treatise on practical chemistry (f. 159r);
• Anonymous, Instructions for producing perfumes (f. 159v).

Extent and format

Codex A collection of pages, usually gathered into quires, and bound between covers. ; ff. 159+i

It is grouped into

رسالة نافعة في غاية النفع والنفاسة لم يعرف مصنّفها Risālah nāfi‘ah fī ghāyat al-naf‘ wa-al-nafāsah lam yu‘raf muṣannifuhā

17 images

Ref: Or 13006, ff 3r-11r

Risālah li-Abī Hishām al-Amīr Khālid رسالة لأبي هشام الأمير خالد Khālid ibn Yazīd al-Umawī خالد بن يزيد الأموي

6 images

Ref: Or 13006, ff 11v-14r

Extract from Kitāb al-Ghayth al-musjam fī sharḥ Lāmīyat al-ʿAjam (كتاب الغيث المسجم في شرح لامية العجم) Ṣafadī, Khalīl ibn Aybak صفدي، خليل بن أيبك

1 image

Ref: Or 13006, f 14r

Kitāb Tarākīb al-anwār كتاب تراكيب الأنوار Ṭughrāʾī, al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī طغرائي، الحسين بن علي

86 images

Ref: Or 13006, ff 14v-57r

Untitled alchemical treatise ذومقراطيس Democritus

18 images

Ref: Or 13006, ff 57v-66r

اين فصول از بعض كتب ستاذ كبير جابر Īn fuṣūl az ba‘z̤ī kutub-i ustaẕ kabīr Jābir Jābir ibn Ḥayyān جابر بن حيان

3 images

Ref: Or 13006, ff 66v-67v

Selections from Kitāb al-Mulakhkhaṣ (كتاب الملخص) concerning physics Rāzī, Fakhr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar رازي، فخر الدين محمد بن عمر

19 images

Ref: Or 13006, ff 67v-76v

Selections from al-Rāzī’s al-Kutub al-Ithná ‘asharah (الكتب الإثنى عشرة) Rāzī, Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakarīyā رازي، أبو بكر محمد بن زكريا

30 images

Ref: Or 13006, ff 77r-91v

Extracts from Kitāb fī Maʿrifat al-ḥajar (كتاب في معرفة الحجر) Ibn Waḥshīyah, Aḥmad ibn ‘Alī ابن وحشية، أحمد بن علي

11 images

Ref: Or 13006, ff 91v-96v

Excerpts from a commentary on the poem of ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Tammām al-ʿIrāqī (عبد العزيز ابن تمام العراقي) Anonymous

4 images

Ref: Or 13006, ff 96v-98r

Excerpts from a commentary on the alchemical poem Shudhūr al-dhahab (شذور الذهب)

26 images

Ref: Or 13006, ff 98r-110v

Excerpts from the Risālah fī al-Ṣināʿah al-falsafīyah (رسالة في الصناعة الفلسفية) al-Sayyid al-Sharīf al-Bukhārī al-Naqshabandī السيد الشريف البخاري النقشبندي

3 images

Ref: Or 13006, ff 111r-112r

Cancelled page of Ottoman alchemical poetry Anonymous

1 image

Ref: Or 13006, f 112v

Kitāb al-Wāfī fī al-Tadbīr al-kāfī كتاب الوافي في التدبير الكافي Maṣmūdī, Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad مصمودي، محمد بن أحمد

92 images

Ref: Or 13006, ff 113r-158r

Anonymous fragment of a treatise on practical chemistry

1 image

Ref: Or 13006, f 159r

Anonymous instructions for producing perfumes

1 image

Ref: Or 13006, f 159v

Physical characteristics

Material: Paper

Dimensions: 215 x 150 mm leaf [168 x 112 mm written]

Foliation: British Museum foliation in pencil; Arabic foliation in the purple crayon typical of Lebanese bookdealers of the 19th century

Ruling: Misṭarah ; 19 lines per page; vertical spacing 11 lines per 10 cm (ff. 113r-158v: 29 lines per page; vertical spacing 17 lines per 10 cm)

Script: Naskh with nasta‘līq tendencies and some titles in thuluth (ff. 113r-158v: naskh )

Scribes: Qudrat Allāh al-Marandī al-Ādharī (ff. 3r-112v) and Muḥammad ibn Sulaymān al-Mawṣilī (ff. 113r-158v)

Ink: Black ink, with rubricated, yellow and green headings and overlinings in red (ff. 113r-158v: black)

Binding: British Museum binding

Condition: Some worm damage, foxing, and tears towards the fore edge. Folios 19, 21 and 24 have been replaced.

Marginalia: Extensive marginal corrections, conjectures, glosses in Arabic and Persian and other evidence of collation and textual study (ff. 113r-158v: very few)

Written in

Arabic, Persian, Farsi and Turkish, Ottoman in Arabic script

Type

Manuscript

Access & Reference

Original held at

British Library: Oriental Manuscripts

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

Or 13006

History of this record

Date(s)

919-1177 (AH, Hijri qamari)

Context of creation

Damascus, Fez, Algiers

Related material

Subjects

Alchemy--Early works to 1800Chemistry--Early works to 1800

Share this record

• Share on twitter
• Share on facebook

Cite this record in your research

Compendium of alchemical treatises in Arabic, Persian and Ottoman, British Library: Oriental Manuscripts, Or 13006, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000003591.0x000001> [accessed 4 December 2024]

Link to this record

https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100000003591.0x000001

IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000003591.0x000001/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Copyright: How to use this content