Anonymous treatise on the construction of the astrolabe and Kitāb al-mujmal fī aḥkām al-nujūm كتاب المجمل في أحكام النجوم Kūshyār كوشيار

Content

Composite volume containing two texts on the manufacture of the astrolabe Ancient instrument for astronomical observations. and on astrology.

The first text was copied in the middle of Jumādá I 1056/end of June 1646, while the second was completed on 18 Shawwāl 1061/4 October 1651 by the scribe Ghiyāth al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan Bīk Munajjim, 'the astronomer' (غياث الدين محمد بن حسن بيك منجم, see colophon Section at the end of a manuscript text. , f. 32v, line 9 transcribed below), whose ownership stamp and inscription is also found on f. 14r.

The tables, graphs, and calligraphic exercises found on ff. 11-13 are inserted into the volume.

Contents:

• (1) Anonymous treatise on the construction of the astrolabe Ancient instrument for astronomical observations. [رساله در صنعت اسطرلاب] (ff. 2v-9r);
• (2) Kūshyār ibn Labbān (كوشيار بن لبان), Kitāb al-mujmal fī aḥkām al-nujūm (كتاب المجمل في أحكام النجوم; ff. 14v-32v).

Extent and format

Codex A collection of pages, usually gathered into quires, and bound between covers. ; ff. iii+1+i+31+iii

It is grouped into

Anonymous treatise on the construction of the astrolabe [رساله در صنعت اسطرلاب]

16 images

Ref: IO Islamic 1514, ff 2v-9r

Kitāb al-mujmal fī aḥkām al-nujūm كتاب المجمل في أحكام النجوم Kūshyār كوشيار

37 images

Ref: IO Islamic 1514, ff 14v-32v

Physical characteristics

Material: Eastern laid paper with wove paper used for repairs and inserts.

Dimensions: 190 x 330 leaf [first text: 275 x 105 written; second text: 270 x 130 written]

Foliation: British Museum foliation in pencil; 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 (cancelled); Eastern Arabic foliation on verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. head margins (ff. 2v-32v excluding inserts, ff. 23 and 26).

Ruling: Misṭarah ; 29 lines per page; vertical spacing 11 lines per 10 cm

Script: Nastaʿlīq in different hands; the scribe of the second text is Ghiyāth al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan Bīk Munajjim, 'the astronomer' ( غياث الدين محمد بن حسن بيك منجم, see colophon Section at the end of a manuscript text. , f. 32v, line 9)

Ink: Black ink, with rubricated headings and overlinings in red

Decoration: None

Binding: Plain light brown leather binding

Condition: Paper edges damaged and heavily restored throughout; ff. 23 and 26 are inserted; some stains and smudges throughout

Marginalia: Intermittent marginal notes and corrections. Some notes in pencil (e.g., f. 16v)

Seals: ff. 2r, 14r and 32v

Written in

Arabic, Persian and Farsi in Arabic script

Type

Manuscript

Access & Reference

Original held at

British Library: Oriental Manuscripts

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

IO Islamic 1514

History of this record

Date(s)

Jumādá I 1056-18 Shawwāl 1061 (AH, Hijri qamari)

Provenance

• East India Company Library, its seal (f. 2r);
• ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥasanʿalī, (عبد الله ابن حسنعلي): his inscription and seal with date 1172/1758-59 (f. 14r);
• Ghiyāth al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan Bīk Munajjim (غياث الدين محمد بن حسن بيك منجم): his inscription and seal (f. 14r) and scribal inscription (f. 32v, line 9).

Immediate source of acquisition

From the library at Seringapatam (Srirangapatna) of Tīpū Sulṭān (ٹیپو سلطان), Nawwāb An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. Fatḥ ‘Alī Khān (نواب فتح علي خان) of Mysore (reg. 1782-99), transferred to Fort William College, Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1799, then deposited at the 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. in 1806 and 1937

Related material

Finding aids

Ethé, Hermann, Catalogue of Persian Manuscripts in the Library of the 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. , 2 vols. (vol. 2. revised and completed by Edward Edwards) (Oxford: 1903-37), No. 2256, pp. 1231-32

Subjects

Astronomy--Early works to 1800

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Anonymous treatise on the construction of the astrolabe and Kitāb al-mujmal fī aḥkām al-nujūm كتاب المجمل في أحكام النجوم Kūshyār كوشيار, British Library: Oriental Manuscripts, IO Islamic 1514, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100106886852.0x000001> [accessed 7 July 2024]

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