Four treatises on astrolabes and a bibliography of the works of Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakarīyā al-Rāzī (أبو بكر محمد بن زكريا الرازي)

Content

Collection of four early treatises on astrolabes and associated astronomical instruments, bound together with a bibliography of the works of Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakarīyā al-Rāzī (أبو بكر محمد بن زكريا الرازي).

A table of contents appears on f. 1v.

The scribe (of at least Item 5 [see colophon Section at the end of a manuscript text. , f. 113r, to the left of lines 17-18]) is ‘Alī ibn Yūsuf ibn Marwān (علي بن يوسف بن مروان)

A reader's note at the end of the first text (f. 36v, lines 6-7) is dated 683/1284-5 in the province of Dīyār Muḍar (ديار مضر) of the Jazīrah (in modern Syria, Turkey and Iraq).

A waqfīyah seal and associated ownership inscription (f. 2r) makes it clear that the manuscript was endowded to the madrasah of the Mosque of Abū Ḥanīfah (here called مدرسة الإمام الأعظم) in the al-A‘ẓamīyah (الأعظمية) region of North Baghdad by Mi‘mārzādah Ḥusayn al-Anṣārī al-Qādirī (معمار زاده حسين الأنصاري القادري) in the year 1290/1873-74.

Contents:

• (1) Abū al-Ṣalt (أبو الصلت), Risālah fī al-‘amal bi-al-aṣṭurlāb (رسالة في العمل بالأصطرلاب; ff. 2r-36v);
• (2) al-Farghānī (الفرغاني), al-Kāmil fī ṣan‘at al-asṭurlāb (الكامل في صنعة الأسطرلاب; ff. 37v-85r);
• (3) Kitāb ‘aṣāh al-Ṭūsī wa-hūwa al-asṭurlāb al-khaṭṭī (كتاب عصاة الطوسي وهو الأسطرلاب الخطّي; ff. 86r-104v);
• (4) ‘Alī ibn ‘Īsá al-Asṭurlābī (علي بن عيسى الأسطرلابي), al-‘Amal bi-al-ṣafīḥah al-jāmi‘ah al-ma‘rūfah bi-al-āfāqīyah (العمل بالصفيحة الجامعة المعروفة بالآفاقية; ff. 105r-107v);
• (5) Fihrist kutub Muḥammad ibn Zakarīyā al-Rāzī al-mutaṭabbib wa-aghrāḍiha (فهرست كتب محمد بن زكريا الرازي المتطبب وأغراضها; ff. 108v-113r).

Extent and format

Codex A collection of pages, usually gathered into quires, and bound between covers. ; ff. ii+113+ii

It is grouped into

Risālah fī al-ʿamal bi-al-aṣṭurlāb رسالة في العمل بالأصطرلاب Abū al-Ṣalt, Umayyah ibn ‘Abd al-Azīz أبو الصلت، أميّة بن عبد العزيز

70 images

Ref: Or 5479, ff 2r-36v

al-Kāmil fī ṣan‘at al-asṭurlāb al-shimālī wa-al-junūbī wa-‘ilalihumā bi-l-handasah wa-al-ḥisab الكامل في صنعة الأسطرلاب الشمالي والجنوبي وعللهما بالهندسة والحساب Farghānī, Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Kathīr فرغاني، أحمد بن محمد بن كثير

96 images

Ref: Or 5479, ff 37v-85r

Kitāb ‘aṣāh al-Ṭūsī wa-hūwa al-asṭurlāb al-khaṭṭī كتاب عصاة الطوسي وهو الأسطرلاب الخطّي

38 images

Ref: Or 5479, ff 86r-104v

al-‘Amal bi-al-ṣafīḥah al-jāmi‘ah al-ma‘rūfah bi-al-āfāqīyah العمل بالصفيحة الجامعة المعروفة بالآفاقية Asṭurlābī, ‘Alī ibn ‘Īsá أسطرلابي، علي بن عيسى

6 images

Ref: Or 5479, ff 105r-107v

Fihrist kutub Muḥammad ibn Zakarīyā al-Rāzī al-mutaṭabbib wa-aghrāḍiha فهرست كتب محمد بن زكريا الرازي المتطبب وأغراضها

10 images

Ref: Or 5479, ff 108v-113r

Physical characteristics

Material: Eastern laid paper

Dimensions: 235 x 165 mm leaf [180 x 125 mm written (ff. 2-85 and 108-113); 175 x 110 mm written (ff. 86-103)]

Foliation: British Museum foliation in pencil; the second and third texts (ff. 38-104) are also foliated in Eastern Arabic numerals in red and black ink; there are unfoliated leaves between ff. 36 and 37, and 107 and 108

Ruling: Misṭarah ; 19 to 21 lines per page (ff. 2-85 and 108-113) and 14 to 18 lines per page (ff. 86-103); vertical spacing 10 to 13 lines per 10 cm (ff. 2-85 and 108-113) and 9 to 11 lines per 10 cm (ff. 86-103)

Script: Naskh ; the scribe (of at least Item 5 [see colophon Section at the end of a manuscript text. , f. 113r, to the left of lines 17-18]) is ‘Alī ibn Yūsuf ibn Marwān (علي بن يوسف بن مروان)

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

Binding: British Museum binding in red leather with gold tooling

Condition: Some water damage and burn (?) marks on ff. 60-61; ff. 37-38 replaced with later paper; some edges torn and replaced

Marginalia: Infrequent, mostly maghribī and mostly in first text

Seals: F. 2r

Written in

Arabic in Arabic script

Type

Manuscript

Access & Reference

Original held at

British Library: Oriental Manuscripts

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

Or 5479

History of this record

Date(s)

13th century (CE, Gregorian)

Immediate source of acquisition

Purchased from J.J. Naaman, 10 (?) April 1899

Related material

Finding aids

Ellis, A.G. and Edward Edwards, A Descriptive List of the Arabic Manuscripts Acquired by the Trustees of the British Museum since 1894 (London: British Museum, 1912), p. 39

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Four treatises on astrolabes and a bibliography of the works of Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakarīyā al-Rāzī (أبو بكر محمد بن زكريا الرازي), British Library: Oriental Manuscripts, Or 5479, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025071353.0x000001> [accessed 25 April 2024]

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