Author
Suhrab
Publication Date
15 Rabī‘ I 709 (AH, Hijri)
Subject
1
Type
Book
Language
Arabic
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
Yes
Pages Count
1
Physical Dimensions
310 x 230 mm
Library
Qatar Digital Library
Library Asset ID
Add MS 23379
Record ID
vdc_100027677075.0x000001
Library Location
British Library: Oriental Manuscripts
Date
15 Rabī‘ I 709 (AH, Hijri)
Notes
Treatise on mathematical geography for cartographers by Suhrāb (Sohrab; see f. 3, line 1) composed between between 902 and 945 (see LeStrange, 'Description of Mesopotamia and Baghdād',
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
[1895], p. 2).
The full title as given on the title page (f. 2r) is
Book of the Wonders of the Seven Climes to the Ends of the Inhabited World; How the Cities Are Arranged, the Seas Surround Them and Their Rivers Bifurcate; Knowledge of Their Mountains and Valleys, Roads and Paths by Sea and Land, and All that is beyond the Equator; Longitude and Latitude by Means of the Ruler, Calculation and Enumeration; A Study of All that is Mentioned Clearly
(The Book of the Wonders of the Seven Regions, to the End of Architecture, and how the cities were shaped, and the seas surrounded them, and the division of their rivers, and the knowledge of their mountains and valleys, and their roads and paths in their sea and land, and all that is beyond the equator, and longitude and latitude, with a ruler, and arithmetic, and number, and research on all that was clearly mentioned.)
According to the
colophon
Section at the end of a manuscript text.
(f. 67v, lines 4-8, transcribed below), this copy was made from the copy of a copy of a correct copy that Ibn al-Warraq (Ibn al-Warraq, probably the bibliographer Ibn al-Nadīm [Ibn al-Nadīm], d. ca 995) said was in the handwriting of the Syriac bishop and lexicographer al-Ḥasan ibn Bahlūl (Al-Hasan Ibn Bahlul, called here Ibn Al-Bahlul, better known by his Syriac name Bar Bahlul [ܒܪܒܗܠܘܠ]; fl translator from Syriac into Arabic of the
Kunnāsh
, or medical compendium, of Ibn Serapion (fl. 9th century).
Due to the mention of Ibn Serapion in the
colophon
Section at the end of a manuscript text.
, scholars have often attibuted this work to Ibn Serapion. The
colophon
Section at the end of a manuscript text.
does not, however, mention Ibn Serapion in order to identify the author of the
‘Ajā’ib al-aqālīm al-sab’ah
, but rather to identify Bar Bahlūl. Furthermore, since the physician Ibn Serapion is thought to have written him
Kunnāsh
in 873, while the geographer Suhrāb is thought to have written the
‘Ajā’ib al-aqālīm al-sab’ah
some time between 902 and 945, it is not likely that these two books are the works of the same author (see Ullmann,
This medicine is Islam
[Leiden: Brill, 1970], p. 102 and LeStrange, 'Description of Mesopotamia and Baghdad',
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
[1895], p. 2).
This copy was completed on 15 Rabī‘ I 709/23 August 1309 by an unnamed scribe (see
colophon
Section at the end of a manuscript text.
, f. 67v, line 7, transcribed below). It was the only copy known to the editors of the
‘Ajā’ib al-aqālīm al-sab’ah
, Mžik and LeStrange, who were unaware of Or. 10975.
This copy contains the following diagrams and illustrations:
Table of the latitudes of the seven climes (f. 4r);
Template for the construction of a world map, with graduated borders and the climes labeled (f. 4v);
Template for the plotting of cities and way stations on a map (f. 5r);
Twenty-five tables containing the names of cities with their latitudes and longitudes, arranged by clime (ff. 6r-9v);
Illustration of the Citidel of Sārūs ibn Kandamān (Citadel of Sārūs ibn Kandamān), apparently not drawn by a professional illustrator, but by the scribe who added the rubricated headings and overlinings on ff. 2v-10r.
The text is followed by a poem of eight lines (f. 68v) entitled
The Great Reckoning of Praise, a Poem Written Above the Head of the Prophet
(The account of great praise is a poem written above the head of the Prophet), copied, according to a marginal note, by Murād ibn al-Ḥāj (Murad Ibn al-Hajj).
Begins (f. 2v, lines 2-4):
The best way to begin a speech with regard to every desire, awe, and need is to praise God Almighty
Praise be to God, He is the One who refutes falsehood and refutes what is right for Him who chose Islam as a religion for Himself and so He commanded
He surrounded it, entrusted it with its preservation, and guaranteed its prominence over all religions...
Ends (ff. 67r, line 11-67v, line 3):
...so
The springs and rivers were integrated and healthy from their beginnings, flowing to their last mouths and branching out
Some of it from one another and pouring some of it into another, it has completed its work and is still needed
That is until you start making pictures of the great, famous cities and how each one looks
A city from her, telling her, describing her, calling her, drinking, and deviating from her direction until she comes
On all the cities of the earth, and by God we seek help, and if you want to write after a picture
Every city has its own news, so write it next to or around it, for it is the best and most interesting of what it is
Colophon
Section at the end of a manuscript text.
(f. 67v, lines 4-8):
Quoted from a copy Quoted from a copy Quoted from an authentic copy Ibn al-Warraq mentioned
It is in the handwriting of Ibn al-Bahloul, who corrected Ibn Sarabion’s book and was replaced by another copy, so it was
There is an addition, which is the places where the borders of countries are mentioned, and we wrote them after this
The place was written in the middle of Rabi` al-Awwal of the year seven hundred and ninety-nine
Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, and may His blessings and peace be upon our Master Muhammad, the Prophet, his pure family, companions, and safety
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 1309, pp. 603-04
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
Semi-legible
waqf
seal, no date visible (f. 2r);
Muḥammad ibn Khalīl [rest of name erased] (محمد ابن خليل), his inscription without date (f. 2r);
Muṣṭafá, Secretary to Sulṭan Salīm (مصطفى كاتب سلطان سليم), his inscription dated 1195/1780-1 (this is problematic since the Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid I reigned from 1774 to 1789, after whom Sultan Selim III reigned until 1807) (f. 2r).
Seçilmiş kaynakça
Edition:
Kit
āb ʿaġāʾib al-aḳālīm as-sabʾa des Suhrāb
, edited by H.v. Mžik (Wien: 1930, Leipzig)
Partial edition and English translation:
LeStrange, Guy. 'Description of Mesopotamia and Baghdād, Written About the Year 900 A.D. By Ibn Serapion. The Arabic Text Edited from a MS. In the British Museum Library, with Translation and Notes',
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland
(1895), pp. 1-76 and 255-315
Studies:
Sezgin, Fuat,
Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums
, vol. 13 (Leiden: Brill, 2007), pp. 248-52
Ullmann, Manfred,
Die Medizin im Islam
(Leiden: Brill, 1970), pp. 102-03
