Author
Ṭaybughā al-Ashrafī al-Baklamishī al-Yūnānī
Publication Date
15th century (CE, Gregorian)
Type
Book
Language
Arabic
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
Yes
Pages Count
1
Physical Dimensions
269 x 180 mm
Library
Qatar Digital Library
Library Asset ID
Add MS 23489
Record ID
vdc_100099022995.0x000001
Library Location
British Library: Oriental Manuscripts
Date
15th century (CE, Gregorian)
Notes
An undated copy of a technical treatise on archery, partly in verse, by Ṭaybughā al-Ashrafī al-Baklamishī al-Yūnānī (Taybughā al-Ashrafī al-Baklamishī, d. c. 1394, see f. 19r, line 4), and probably written under the Mamluk sultan al-Ashraf Shaʻbān (reg. 1368-77).
The title is given in a frontispiece illuminated in white, gold and blue (f. 2r), enclosed within a cartouche above a similarly illuminated rosette bearing the details of the dedicatee:
With the drawing of the high happy treasury, the Mawlawi, the princely, the great, the Sayfiyya, the janim, the weapon, the royal arsenal of al-Ashraf, may God bless him (“For the felicitous, high, and proud treasury of the great Amīr al-Sayf [Sayf al-Dīn] Jānim, Superintendent of the royal Arsenal of al-Malik al-Ashraf, may God exalt his affairs.”)
Numerous notes, ownership inscriptions and stamps are found in the volume's opening and closing folios (ff. 1r-2r and ff. 139r-139v) including a list of prophets and early caliphs and their ages; prayers; a poetic excerpt attributed to Shaykh ʻAbd al-Wahhāb, Qāḍī of Kong, a port town on the coast of Iran near Hormuz.
Ownership notes (see Provenance) include that of Alfī Qānī Bek al-Sharīfī, a Mamluk Commander of a Thousand, whom Latham and Paterson suggest may be identified with an individual active in 1496-7, thereby dating the volume to the late 15th century (f. 138v; see Latham, J. D., and Paterson, W.F.,
Saracen Archery: An English Version and Exposition of a Mameluke Work on Archery
[London: The Holland Press, 1970], p. xxxv). Other notes place the volume in Baghdad from the late 17th century onwards, with the ownership note (undated) of one Muḥammad Āghā al-Kamānkish al-Filibawī (Muhammad Agha, famous for the Filipino kamankish), indicating a professional interest in the contents on the part of the owner (Al-Kamānkish, 'Bow-puller'), as well as his Eastern European, possibly Janissary background, suggested by the element al-Filibawī (Filibawī, 'of Plovdiv', Bulgaria).
Marginal collation notices bear witness to the process of collating this copy with its exemplar (ff. 42r, 92r, 108r, 127r, and 138r).
Contents:
Preface and introduction, discussing prophetic sayings relating to archery (ff. 2v-10r);
Ghunyat al-Murāmī wa-ghāyat al-marām lil-maʻānī
(Ghaniyat al-Marami wa Ghayat al-Marami l-Ma'ani, ff. 10v-19r, title at f. 12r, line 4). A treatise on archery in the form of a 149-verse
qasīdah
in
rajaz
meter;
Chapter two:
A commentary on what needs explanation in the [preceding] verses
(Chapter Two, explaining what verses should be explained; ff. 19r-109r); consisting of detailed descriptions of equipment, techniques, and actions relating to archery, including mounted archery; physiology of the archer, and history and theory of archery;
Section on miscellaneous theoretical subjects relating to archery (ff. 109v-129r);
Section on miscellaneous subjects unrelated to archery (ff. 129r-138r).
Begins (f. 2v, lines 2-4):
Praise be to God, who is just and has taught us His comprehensive wisdom and His power
The brilliant proof is the protector of his friends, their capital, and the expulsion of his enemies
And he defeated them
Ends (f. 138r, lines 1-4):
...and lowers his right hand to the ground and bends his right knee until it reaches
His hand is for whatever he wants to carry, whether an arrow, a spear, a spear, or a spear, even if it is stuck
Something from the left side directs it to the right side, and it clings wherever it can
It was easier for him to be wise, and God knows best what is right [...]
Colophon
Section at the end of a manuscript text.
(f. 138r, lines 5-9):
The blessed book was completed by [his hand...and] God forgave him and his parents
To whom wrote it and who [...]
May God’s blessings and peace be upon our Master Muhammad, the illiterate Prophet
And upon his family, companions and followers
God is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs
Erişim Koşulları
Unrestricted
Bulma Yardımcıları
Cureton, William and Charles Rieu,
Catalogus codicum manuscriptorum orientalium qui in Museo Britannico asservantur. Pars secunda, codices arabicos amplectens
(London: The British Museum, 1846-71), Item 1464, pp. 667-68
Edinme Kaynağı
Purchased from Mrs Taylor, widow of Colonel Robert Taylor (1788-1852),
Political Resident
A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency.
in Baghdad (1828-43), 14 April 1860
Köken
Colonel Robert Taylor (1788-1852),
Political Resident
A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency.
in Baghdad (1828-43): his seal, undated, with legend عبده تيلر (f. 2r);
ʻAbd al-Laṭīf ibn ʻAbd al-Qādir (عبد اللطيف ابن عبد القادر): his ownership inscription, with date 1085/1674-75 (f. 138v);
ʻAbd al-Laṭīf ibn ʻAbd al-Qādir al-Ḥanafī al-Qādirī al-Baghdādī (عبد اللطيف ابن عبد القادر الحنفي مذهبًا والقادري طريقًا والبغدادي أصلًا ومسكنًا): his partially-erased inscription and seal, with date 1 Rabīʻ I [year erased] (f. 2r);
Abū al-Wafāʼ Muṣṭafá ibn Ḥamzah al-Baghdādī [...] al-Qādirī (أبو الوفاء مصطفى بن حمزة البغدادي [...] القادري): his inscription with date 1 Jumādá I 1082/5 September 1671 (f. 2r);
Muṣṭafá (مصطفى): his seal (f. 1r);
Alfī Qānī Bik al-Sharīfī (ألفي قاني بك الشريفي): his inscription (f. 138v);
Muḥammad Āghā, known as al-Kamānkish al-Filibawī (محمد آغا الشهير بالكمانكش الفلبوي): his ownership note and stamp (f. 2r);
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān [illegible] (محمد بن عبد الرحمن): his partially-erased ownership inscription with date Rajab 3[..] [erased] (f. 2r);
Illegible inscription and seal (f. 2r).
Seçilmiş kaynakça
Translation and study:
Latham, J. D., and Paterson, W. F., Saracen Archery:
An English Version and Exposition of a Mameluke Work on Archery
(London: The Holland Press, 1970)
