Ṭabā’i‘ al-ḥayawān طبائع الحيوان Marwazī, Sharaf al-Zamān Ṭāhir مروزي، شرف الزمان طاهر

Content

Treatise on zoology in five chapters (مقالات) by Sharaf al-Zamān Ṭāhir al-Marwazī (شرف الزمان طاهر المروزي; fl. 1056-1125). It is likely that this copy was transcribed by a student of al-Marwazī, during the author's lifetime (see the scribal aside at f. 214v, lines 18-19).

This copy contains Chapter One (missing the first three bābs ), the whole of Chapters Two to Four and Chapter Five (defective at end; see Iskandar, 'A Doctor's Book on Zoology', Oriens 27/28 (1981) p. 270, n. 22):

• [ Maqālah One] ([المقالة الأولى]; ff. 1r-66v);
• Maqālah Two: On Domesticated, Wild and Predatory Quardrupeds, Forty-five Bābs (المقالة الثانية في ذكر البهائم والوحوش والسباع ذوات الأربع قوائم وهي أربعة وخمسون بابًا; ff. 66v-139r);
• Maqālah Three: On Birds (المقالة الثالثة في ذكر الطيور; ff. 139r-181r);
• Maqālah Four: On Insects (المقالة الرابعة [في ذكر الحشرات]; ff. 181r-217v).

Begins (f. 1r, lines 1-3, defective at beginning):

الملوك واستولى على إيرانشهر وما ولاها من ممالك الفرس وملوك الأرض

المشهورون المعظّمون ملك الصين ويسمّى فغفور وملك الترك ويسمّى خاقان

وملك الروم ويسمّى قيصر وملك الفرس ويسمّى كسرى وملك الهند ويسمّى بُلهَرا

Ends (f. 217v, lines 19-21, defective at end):

... الحيوانات البحرية التي عليها

خزف صلب مثل الأصداف والقنفذ التبري فمنها ما ليس في داخل جوفه لحم

كالقنفذ البحري ومنها ما في جوفه لحم مثل السلحفاة ورؤس الخزفيات في الأثر

Extent and format

Codex A collection of pages, usually gathered into quires, and bound between covers. ; ff. iii+217+ii

Physical characteristics

Material: Eastern laid paper

Dimensions: 310 x 185 mm leaf [220 x 130 mm written]

Foliation: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Library foliation in pencil

Ruling: No ruling visible; 21 lines per page; vertical spacing 10 lines per 10 cm

Script: Naskh

Ink: Black

Binding: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Library binding; leather from original boards pasted into inside front and back boards

Condition: Waterstains; wormholes many repaired; all folios guarded

Marginalia: Very few, but see f. 62r

Seals: ff. 1r and 217v

Written in

Arabic in Arabic script

Type

Manuscript

Access & Reference

Original held at

British Library: Oriental Manuscripts

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

Delhi Arabic 1949

History of this record

Date(s)

12th century (CE, Gregorian)

Context of creation

Marw/Merv (?)

Provenance

• Large (Mughal?) seal, erased (f. 1r)
• The Government of India, Delhi MSS, its seal (ff. 1r and 217v);
• Covered seal (beneath paper on which is The Government of India, Delhi MSS seal, f. 1r);
• Seal inscribed اهيا اشر اهيا (Arabic transcription of אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה [Exodus 3:14; King James Version: 'I AM THAT I AM']), dated 771/1369-70 (f. 217v).

Immediate source of acquisition

Purchased by the Government of India at sale organised by Delhi Prize Agents, 1859; administrative deposit India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Library, 1876

Related material

Select Bibliography

Studies and partial editions:

• Arberry, Arthur J., 'An Unknown Work on Zoology', Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , pt. 3 (1937) pp. 481-82
• Iskandar, Albert Z., 'A Doctor's Book on Zoology: al-Marwazī's Ṭabā’i‘ al-ḥayawān (Nature of Animals) Re-assessed', Oriens 27/28 (1981) pp. 266–312
• Marwazī, Sharaf al-Zamān Ṭāhir, Sharaf Al-Zamān Tạ̄hir Marvazī on China, the Turks and India , edited and translated by Vladimir Minorsky (London: Royal Asiatic Society, 1942; reprinted as vol. 8 in the series The Muslim world, 1100-1700: Early Sources on Middle East History, Geography and Travel , edited by Hiroyuki Mashita [London: Routledge, 2007])
• Stern, S.M., 'Some Fragments of Galen's On Dispositions (Περὶ ἠθῶν) in Arabic', Classical Quarterly , new series 6, (1956) pp. 91-101, on pp. 93-96 and 98-101

Subjects

Zoology --Pre-Linnean works

People & organisations

Sharaf al-Zamān Ṭāhir Marwazī

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Ṭabā’i‘ al-ḥayawān طبائع الحيوان Marwazī, Sharaf al-Zamān Ṭāhir مروزي، شرف الزمان طاهر, British Library: Oriental Manuscripts, Delhi Arabic 1949, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/node/9477> [accessed 1 February 2025]

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