Back to Search

Nihāyat al-su’l wa al-umniyya fī ta‘allum ‘amam al-furusiiyya, by al-Aqṣarā’ī (d. 1348)

Title	Nihāyat al-su’l wa al-umniyya fī ta‘allum ‘amam al-furusiiyya, by al-Aqṣarā’ī (d. 1348)
Publication Date:	1366 (Hattaha)
Type	Document
Language	Arabic
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	Yes
Physical Dimensions	307 mm x 222 mm x 79 mm (height x width x depth)
Library:	Chester Beatty
Record ID	Ar 5655
Library Location	Arabic collection
Date	1366 (Hattaha)
Notes	Manual on the Arts of Horsemanship (Nihāyat al-su’l wa al-umniyya fī ta‘allum ‘amāl al-furūsiyya) by al- Aqṣarā’ī (d. 1348). First composed in Mamluk Damascus, al- Aqṣarā’ī's well-known military encyclopaedia describes the many skills required for an effective cavalry army, organised in twelve lessons. There is an extensive Arabic literature on the arts of horsemanship, and this copy (probably made in Damascus, in 1366) is one of the earliest illustrated examples known. These arts include the care and training of horses, the correct handling of weapons, and equestrian parade displays for the hippodrome, as well as cavalry formations in battle, just distribution of war booty, and treaty negotiations. Codex, ink, colours and gold on paper, 319 folios, Arabic text in naskh script, illuminated frontispiece (fol. 1r), with seven paintings (fols. 120v, 130r, 151v, 154v, 157v, 166r, faces later re-painted) and seven diagrams (fols. 109v-113), Nihāyat al-su’l wa al-umniyya fī ta‘allum ‘amāl al-furūsiyya, by Muḥammad ibn `Īsa ibn Ismā`īl al-Ḥanafī al- Aqṣarā’ī (d. 1348, Damascus), on the arts of horsemanship, text copied by `Umar ibn `Abdullāh ibn `Umar al-Shāfi’ī, later owner dedication (fol. 1r: bi-rasm al-Sulṭān al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Abū Sa`īd Jaqmaq) to Mamluk sultan Sayf al-Dīn Jaqmaq (r. 1438-1453), probably Damascus, Syria, dated 12 Jumada I 767H, 25 January 1366. (There are a further twelve detached folios in this collection.)
Materyal	Paper (material), Pigment (material), Ink (material), Gold
Nesne Adı	Codex
Müstensih ve Üretim Yeri	`Umar ibn `Abdullāh ibn `Umar al-Shāfi’ī, Damascus (probably)
Yazı Tipi	Naskh script

View in source Chester Beatty Chester Beatty - Ottoman library catalog search

Chester Beatty

Nihāyat al-su’l wa al-umniyya fī ta‘allum ‘amam al-furusiiyya, by al-Aqṣarā’ī (d. 1348)

Publication Date 1366 (Hattaha)

Type Document

Language Arabic

Digital Yes

Manuscript Yes

Physical Dimensions 307 mm x 222 mm x 79 mm (height x width x depth)

Library Chester Beatty

Record ID Ar 5655

Library Location Arabic collection

Date 1366 (Hattaha)

Notes Manual on the Arts of Horsemanship (Nihāyat al-su’l wa al-umniyya fī ta‘allum ‘amāl al-furūsiyya) by al- Aqṣarā’ī (d. 1348). First composed in Mamluk Damascus, al- Aqṣarā’ī's well-known military encyclopaedia describes the many skills required for an effective cavalry army, organised in twelve lessons. There is an extensive Arabic literature on the arts of horsemanship, and this copy (probably made in Damascus, in 1366) is one of the earliest illustrated examples known. These arts include the care and training of horses, the correct handling of weapons, and equestrian parade displays for the hippodrome, as well as cavalry formations in battle, just distribution of war booty, and treaty negotiations. Codex, ink, colours and gold on paper, 319 folios, Arabic text in naskh script, illuminated frontispiece (fol. 1r), with seven paintings (fols. 120v, 130r, 151v, 154v, 157v, 166r, faces later re-painted) and seven diagrams (fols. 109v-113), Nihāyat al-su’l wa al-umniyya fī ta‘allum ‘amāl al-furūsiyya, by Muḥammad ibn `Īsa ibn Ismā`īl al-Ḥanafī al- Aqṣarā’ī (d. 1348, Damascus), on the arts of horsemanship, text copied by `Umar ibn `Abdullāh ibn `Umar al-Shāfi’ī, later owner dedication (fol. 1r: bi-rasm al-Sulṭān al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Abū Sa`īd Jaqmaq) to Mamluk sultan Sayf al-Dīn Jaqmaq (r. 1438-1453), probably Damascus, Syria, dated 12 Jumada I 767H, 25 January 1366. (There are a further twelve detached folios in this collection.)

Materyal Paper (material), Pigment (material), Ink (material), Gold

Nesne Adı Codex

Müstensih ve Üretim Yeri `Umar ibn `Abdullāh ibn `Umar al-Shāfi’ī, Damascus (probably)

Yazı Tipi Naskh script