Kitāb al-tadhkirah fī al-hay’ah كتاب التذكرة في الهيئة Ṭūsī, Naṣīr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad طوسي، نصير الدين محمد بن محمد

Or 11209

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The record is made up of Codex A collection of pages, usually gathered into quires, and bound between covers. ; ff. i+74+i. It was created in 11 Shawwāl 688. It was written in Arabic. The original is part of the British Library: Oriental Manuscripts.

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Content

A treatise on astronomy which summarises, rationalises and improves upon the system presented in the Almagest of Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemaeus; c 90-c 168). The text was composed after 1256 by Naṣīr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṭūsī (نصير الدين محمد بن محمد الطوسي; d. 1274).

The text is divided into four chapters (أبواب):

  • Chapter One (الباب الأول, ff.1v-4v);
  • Chapter Two (الباب الثاني, ff. 4v-45v);
  • Chapter Three (الباب الثالث, ff. 45v-65r);
  • Chapter Four (الباب الرابع, ff. 65r-74r).

The manuscript contains twenty-six diagrams. The eleventh diagram (f. 32v) depicts the so-called 'Tusi couple', which demonstrates how linear motion can result from circular motion.

The copy was completed in Ḥamāh, on 11 Shawwāl 688/28 October 1289 by ‘Alī ibn Aḥmad ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Mashraf (علي بن أحمد بن إبراهيم بن مشرف, see colophon Section at the end of a manuscript text. , f. 74r, lines 6-8, transcribed below).

Begins (f. 1v, lines 2-4):

الحمد لله مفيض الخير وملهم الصوابوصلوته على محمد المبحوث

بفسف الخطاب وعلى آله خير آل وأصحابه خير أصحاب.

نريد أن نورد جملًا من علم الهيئة تذكرة لبعض الأحباب...

Ends (f. 74r, lines 1-5):

مركز الأرض فكان خمسة وعشرين ألف ألف وأربعمائة

وإثنا عشر ألفًا وثمان مائة وتسعة وسبعين فرسخًا

ولنختم الكتاب هاهنا حامدين لله تعالى ومصلين على

نبيه المصطفى والحمد لواهب العقل ومبدع والكل وعليه

التكملان (؟) انه الملك الديان وحسبنا الله ونعم الوكيل

Colophon Section at the end of a manuscript text. (f. 74r, lines 6-9):

وقع الفراغ منه في يوم الخميس الحادي عشر

من شوال سنة ثمان وثمانين وستمائة هجرية

بحماه المحروسة كتبه علي بن أحمد بن إبراهيم بن مشرف

مصليًا على محمد وآله ومسلّمًا تسليمًا كثيرًا

Extent and format
Codex A collection of pages, usually gathered into quires, and bound between covers. ; ff. i+74+i
Physical characteristics

Material: Paper

Dimensions: 191 x 123 mm leaf [147 x 90 mm written]

Foliation: British Museum foliation in pencil; eastern Arabic foliation in black ink (the discrpepancy between the two is accounted for by f. 10, which is skipped in the Arabic foliation)

Ruling: No ruling visible; 19 lines per page; vertical spacing 13 lines per 10 cm

Script: Naskh

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

Binding: British Museum binding

Condition: Ff. 1-5 and 71-74 have been repaired

Marginalia: Short marginal corrections and notes by many hands

Seals: f. 1r

Written in
Arabic in Arabic script
Type
Manuscript

Archive information for this record

Access & Reference

Original held at
British Library: Oriental Manuscripts
Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference
Or 11209

History of this record

Date(s)
11 Shawwāl 688 (AH, Hijri qamari)
Context of creation

Ḥamāh

Immediate source of acquisition

Purchased from Dr O. Rescher, 10 May 1930

Related material

Select Bibliography

Edition and translation:

  • Ragep, F. Jamil, Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī's Memoir on Astronomy (al-Tadhkira fī ʿilm al- hayʾa) , 2 Vols., (New York: Springer-Verlag, 1993)

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Kitāb al-tadhkirah fī al-hay’ah كتاب التذكرة في الهيئة Ṭūsī, Naṣīr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad طوسي، نصير الدين محمد بن محمد, British Library: Oriental Manuscripts, Or 11209, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100022583159.0x000001> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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