B.G. Martin Collection of Persian and Arabic literature

Descriptive Summary
Title: B.G. Martin Collection of Persian and Arabic literature
Creator: Hargrett Library
Inclusive Dates: 1488-1804
Language(s): Persian
Extent: 2.1 Linear Feet 22 volumes in 5 document boxes, 1 oversized folder
Collection Number: ms3525
Repository: Hargrett Library

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Collection Description

Scope and Content

This collection consists of 18th and 19th century editions of twenty-two volumes of Persian and Arabic literature, including some important texts originally written over one thousand years ago. No translation is yet available through this repository, and thus the content of the volumes remains somewhat unclear. Descriptive information has been provided by the donor, a scholar of Persian and Arabic literature.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

B.G. Martin Collection of Persian and Arabic literature, ms3525, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript LIbrary, The University of Georgia Libraries.

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Related Materials and Subjects

Subject Terms

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Series Descriptions and Folder Listing

 

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Sa'di, Gulistan, Persian, undated ( No copyist, no colophone, high quality nasta'liq, frontispiece, 15 lines/p, chapter headings in gold, section headings in gold (shi', bayt, qita', hikaya, etc), gold borders, catchwords, complete, leather bound with gold florals in the corners. )

One of the masterpieces of Persian literature at the center of traditional Persian culture, written in prose interspersed with verse and dealing with ethical themes. Extant in numerous manuscripts and published in a variety of editions. A number of English translations exist.

 

1	2	Shihab al-Din 'Abdallah ibn Shams al-Dun Muhammad Marvarid, Sharaf-nama or Munsha'at, Persian, undated ( No copyist, nasta'liq, headings are in red, no frontispiece, no illumination, partial leather binding. Appears to be complete. Slight insect and water damage. )
		Author's pen name is Bayani (d. 922 AH/1516 AD). Very rare manuscript (only four manuscripts were known as of 1955) dealing with Timurid history. Published in facsimile edition from another manuscript as Staatsschreiben der Timuridenzeit. Das Saraf-Nama des 'Abdallah Marwarid in kritischer Auswertung by Hans Robert Roemer (Wiesbaden, F. Steiner, 1952. OCLC 3066553). A copy of this edition is at Emory. In the margins is a copy of Sa'di's masterpiece of poetry, the Bustan (extant in numerous manuscripts and published in a variety of editions, one English translation has been published), which continues in the text beginning on page 189. The manuscript contains a possession note indicating that it belonged to one Shayk Farid al-Din Muhammad ubn Shaykh Badi' al-Din Ahmad al-Faruqi. It also contains an indecipherable possession stamp.

 

1	3	Baba Shah Isfahani, Adab al-mashq, Persian prose, undated ( On the art of the calligrapher, nd, no colophon, small frontispiece, natsa'liq, catchwords. Text area is outlined in blue and the space around the text is filled in with gold, forming scalloped cloudlike boundaries around each line of text. 17ff. )
		Author is Baba Shah Isfahani (d. 996/1587-88), Adab al-mashq, (often incorrectly attributed to the more well-known Mir Imad (d. 1012/1603). Persian prose. Has possession notes dating 1319 and 1332 (AH). Numerous manuscripts are extant. The book has been edited and published in Iran and Pakistan.

 

1	4	Burhan al-Din Ibrahim ibn Hasan al-Shabistari al-Naqshbandi, Kitab Nihayat al-bahja fi al-nahw, undated
		Burhan al-Din Ibrahim ibn Hasan (or al-Husayn) al-Shabistari al-Naqshbandi (d. between 915 AH/ 1509 AD and 920 AH/ 1514 AD, killed with his brother on the journey to the Hajj), called "the second Sibawayhi" after the great Persian grammarian of Arabic. Kitab Nihayat al-bahja fi al-nahw (also known as al-Ta'iyya fi-al-nahw).Contains an editorialnote: Mir 'A [Abdallah?] ibn Abi Baker Basha edited it. It contains numerous detailed marginal annotations. Genre and subject: Arabic poetry dealing with Arabic grammar (syntax); careful scholarly naskh.

 

1	5	Mulla 'Ali ibn Sultan Muhammad al-Qari al_harawi, al-Hizb al-a'zam wa-al-wrd al-afkham li-intisabihi wa-istinadihi ila al-rasul al-akram, undated
		Mulla 'Ali ibn Sultan Muhammad al-Qari al_Harawi (d. 1014 AH/ 1605 AD), al-Hizb al-a'zam wa-al-wrd al-afkham li-intisabihi wa-istinadihi ila al-rasul al-akram. No date, no copyist, written in an excelletn clear naskhk, in Arabic prose, being a well-known manual of prayers from the Prophet Muhammad.The author was a well-known Sunni scholar. The manuscript contains an illuminated frontispiece; text area outlined in gold. It also contains small gold palmette-like florals acting as full-stops (periods). Divided into prayers for each day by a small illumination, with teh day noted in Ottoman Turkish in the margin.

 

1	6	Jami, Subhat al-abrar (894 A.H.), 1488 A.D. ( Good quality illuminated frontispiece in excellent condition. Section headings in red and blue. Text area uptlined in blue and gold. Text is complete. Leather bound, border in gold, embossed with large gold floral palmette. Inside front cover has a black arabesque, blue background and outlined in gold. Back cover is missing. )
		Jami (b. 817 AH/ 1414 AD- d. 898 AH/ 1492 AD), Subhat al-abrar, the fourth book of his well-known Masnawi-i-haft awrang), dated 23 Safar, 894 AH (January 26, 1489 AD).Persian Sufi poetry. The original was apparently written just six or seven years earlier, in 887 AH/ 1482-83 AD. Good Nasta'liq. On the first folio it states: bi-tashih-i faqir-i hafiz, Muhammad Amin, below which are two stamps of the seal of Muhammad Amin. At the end it contains a seal of Nur al-dahr 'Abduhu. The name of the copyist is not noted.

 

1	7	Hafiz, Divan (collected poetry) (948 A.H.), 1541 A.D.
		Hafiz (d. 1390 AD), Divan (collected poetry) dated, completed in Samarqand, in the months of the year 948 AH/ 1541-42 AD. Persian Sufi poetry. It is said that if there is one book in a house where Persian is spoken, it will be the Qur'an; if two, the Qur'an and the Divan of Hafez.

 

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Muhammad Baqir ibn Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi, Zad al-ma'ad (1219 A.H.) , 1804 A.D.

Muhammad Baqir ibn Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi, Zad al-Ma'ad (Provisions for the Resurrection) is a well-known Shi'i text containing prayers in Arabic. Within the text, the famous Du'a Kumayl, also recited by some Sunnis, has an interlinear Persian translation in red nasta'liq calligraphy. The name of each prayer is indicated in the side margin next to it, placed upon a gold palmette. When certina prayers should be prayed on certain days or when specific instructions should be followed on certain days, those days are indicated in red within the text. The body of the text is outlined with gold, red, and blue borders. Text is for the most part in Arabic, with titles and introductions in Persian. The author is more well-known for his opus magnus, the massive encyclopedia of the relgious forms of knowledge, Bihar al-anwar.

 

2	9	Nasir al-Din Tusi Akhlaq-i Masiri (the Nasiri Ethics) , 14th or 15th century A.D.
		Nasir al-Din Tusi (1201-1274 CE), Akhlaq-i Nasiri (The Nasiri Ethics). B.G. Martin noted on the first folio that the manuscript appeared to be copied in the 14-15th century, on account of the stype of the calligraphy. (The style is a careful nasta'liq). Martin noted that in several places (such as on folio 156v) there are notes in the book that contain the date 1186 A.H. /1772 A.D. this is in a script written later than the text. Until folio 81v, occasionally Persian synonyms for Arabic words are provided interlinearly. Chapter and topic headings are written in red within the text. The book is a foundational work of Muslim ethical philosophy in three main divisions: ethics (akhlaq), domestic economics (tadbir-e manzil), and politics (siyasat-e mudun). "[This] work made available to Persian readers the Islamic ethical tradition taken from Greek philosophy but now incorporating Qur'anic material alongside the opinions of Plato and Aristotle. Justice explicitly comes to the fore as the supreme virtue running through all three parts of the priority given in the latyter to justice among the divine attributes; and philospohical ethics and the religious law are stated to be concerned with the same subject matters, thus affirming the intellect's capacity to view normative values."

 

2	10	Muhammad Baha al-Din al-'Amili, Miftah al-falah (1137 A.H.), 1724 A.D.
		Muhammad Baha al-Din al-'Amili, (known as Shaykh Baha'i) (d. 1031 AH/21-22) Miftah al-falah. There are some corrections in the margins indicated by abbreviations as being the correct reading. The text is subtitled, "concerning the acts done during the day and night, among those acts that are compulsory and virtuous and among the adab." The author is "one of the most important Safavid scholars, architects and statesmen."

 

2	11	Amir Khusro Dehlawih, undated
		Amir Khusro Dehlawih (d. 1325). Collection of some of his well-known works of Persian Sufi poetry, specifically, his Khamsa (five books of poetry), of which the Hasht bihisht is missing: Matla' al-anwar, Shirin wa-Khusro, Majnun wa-Layla, and the Iskandar nama.

 

2	12	Hakani, Hilye-i Rasul (Ornament of the Prophet), undated
		Hakani, Hilye-i Rasul (Ornament of the Prophet), original was written in 1007AH/1598. Written in Ottoman Turkish, the script is naskh (nesih). The genre of hilye writing contains poems in praise of the Prophet that describe his moral and physical qualities and express love and devotion for the Prophet. This Hilye of Hakani mehmet Bey (d. 1015/06) [which is also known as Hilye-i Serife] is the best known example of this genre in Ottoman literature.

 

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Jami, Tuhfat al-abrar (Gift of the Righero), undated ( No date, no copyist, illuminated frontispiece, good nasta'liq. Within the text are story titles and headings in blue, gold, and red. The binding is leather, with an embosses floral pattern in the center and an embossed border with a simple dot linear repeat pattern without gilding. )

On the second folio the text is incorrectly identified as being Jami's Subhat al-abrar. The second folio contains possession note with the date of 1264 AH/1847-8 CE and the name Dawud Bihzad Mahmud Fani al-Baghdadi (?). The text consists of Persian Sufi poetry.

 

3	14	Sa'di, Bustan, undated
		The second folio contains possession notes, two of which are dated: 1111 AH/ 99-1700, Mustafa ibn 'Abd al-Rahman, known as Katib zadah, and 1285 ... Mevlevi. The Bustan is considered to be a masterpiece of Persian literature and consists largely of ethical poetry. It has been published in many editions and also has been translated into English.

 

3	15	Ahli-yi Shirazi, Ruba'iyat (Quatrains), undated
		Selections of Quatrains (ruba'iyat), the first is from Ahli-yi Shirazi (d. 942/1535); at least some of the other quatrains are by Omar Khayyam. The quatrains are written diagonally in the form of an "X" as well as at the top, middle, and bottom of a rectangle in which the quatrains on the "X" are placed. Ahli was a well-known but minor poet whose collected works have been published in Iran. The inside papers are red on which a realistic tupli plant has been painted.

 

3	16	Sa'di, Gulistan (902 A.H.) , 1496 A.D.
		Gulistan, in Persian with Ottoman commentary (possibly from the commentary of Sudi-Bosnevi) in the margins. The commentary was written without much care, probably in the late 19th or early 20th century.the first folio contains a large floral palmette frontispiece in the center of which is al-Sa'adah wa al-salamah li-sahibih (good fortune and well-being to its owner). The high quality illumination on the subsequent folios are outlined with blue lines and gold bands.

 

3	17	Hamdullah Mustawfi, Nuzhat al-qulub (Heart's Delight) (1061 A.H.), 1650 A.D. ( Contains no illuminations. )
		Possession notes of 1061 AH/1650 AD and 1189 AH; and a note that it belonged to a J. Fargues (/), who lived in Shiraz in 1881. Contains charts and in particular a striking map of the world known to him. Nuzhat al-qulub, composed around 737 AH/ 1336-7 AD, in Persian prose, is primarily a work of geography and cosmography. Manuscripts of it are relatively common. It has been edited and published in the original Persian and translated into English. The binding is leather, without any guilding or embossing.

 

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18

Mulla Muhammad Taqi ibn Maqsud 'Ali Majlisi, al_Lawami' al-qudsiya or Lawami'-i sahib qirani (1135 A.H.), 1722 A.D.

Mulla Muhammad Taqi ibn Maqsud 'Ali Majlisi, (d. 1070 AH/ 1659-1660 AD), al_Lawami' al-qudsiya or Lawami'-i sahib qirani text originally finished in 1065 AH. This copy was finished the afternoon of Wednesday, 6th of Muharram 1135 (October 17, 1722 CE) and was copied by Mirza Muhammad ibn Mihr 'Ali. The book is a Persian translation and substantial commentary on Ibn Babawayh's Arabic work Man la yahduru al-faqih (which is considered to be one of the primary works of Shi'ite hadith) requested by Shah 'Abbas Safawi. The Arabic is vocalized and its literal Persian translation is overlined in red. This volume deals with prayer; and is one volume out of the entier work. It was published in 1993.

 

4	19	Mirkwand, Tarikh Rawdat al-safa, v. 5 (circa 993 A.H.), 1585 A.D.
		Mirkwand (d. 903 AH/ 1498 AD), Tarikh Rawdat al-safa, v. 5 (Mongols and Ilkhans to Timur). Colophon reads: The fifth volume of the history of Muhammad Khwand Shah was completed [fi ghureh] of the month of Muharram, the year 922 AH (January 14, 1584). (However, Martin wrote Saturday January 14, 1585.) Good illumination on the first folio of the text, excellent quality; in the centerof it, on gold is written "volume 5 of the history of Amir Khand" in white, The subject of the work is history; the language is Persian.

 

4	20	Mirkwand, Tarikh Rawdat al-safa, v. 6, undated
		Mirkwand (g. 903 AH/ 1498 AD), Tarikh Rawdat al-safa, v. 6, no copyist, no date. This volume deals with Timur and Tumurids to 873 AH/ 1468-1469, good illumination on the first folio of the text, excellent quality; in the center of it, on gold is written "volume 6 of the history of Amir Khand" in white. Text area is outlined in blue with gold bands and red outline. Text written in a clear naskh. Cover is brown leather with embossed florals in the corners, center, and on the sides. Probably the same scribe as #19.

 

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21a

Mirza Muhammad Haydar Doghalat ben Muhammad Hussayn Korgani, Tarikh-e Rashidi (1131 A.H.), 1719 A.D.

Mirza Muhammad Haydar Doghalat ben Muhammad Hussayn Korgani, (d. 958 AH/1551AD),Tarikh-e Rashidi copied in 1131 AH/1718 CE. Script: written in Nasta'liq, containing 17 lines oer page, and 104 folios.The language of the text is Persian. Two outstanding full-page illuminations in good condition. This work is described as "a history of the Mogholistan and Kashghar from Taimurid period to babar, which came to an end in the year of 952 AH/ 1546 AD."

 

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Sharif al-Din 'Ali Yazdi, Zafar namah (1131 A.H.), 1719 A.D. ( Outstanding full-page illuminations on facing pages, in good condition. )

Zafar namah, probably copied in 1131 or 1031 AH/ 1718-1719 AD. From folio 105 on. Complete book. No copyist is indicated.

 

5	22	'Ahd nama, various treaties of Iran with other countries, undated
		The first title reads: Surat-e 'ahd-nama-ye dawlatayn-e Iran va-Rus.This appears to be a 20th century photo-reproduction (possible offset printing) to which an illumination has been added. There is a dedication note by an Iranian politician giving it to Brad Martin.

 

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