Author
the mathematician Euclid of Alexandria
Publication Date
Dhū al-Ḥijjah 1048 (AH, Hijri)
Publication Place
Isfahan -
Type
Book
Language
Arabic
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
Yes
Pages Count
1
Physical Dimensions
220 x 135 mm
Library
Qatar Digital Library
Library Asset ID
Add MS 21952
Record ID
vdc_100035300716.0x000001
Library Location
British Library: Oriental Manuscripts
Date
Dhū al-Ḥijjah 1048 (AH, Hijri)
Notes
Arabic version of the fundamental introduction to geomentry, the
Elements
(Στοιχεῖα; Origins) by the mathematician Euclid of Alexandria (Εὐκλείδης, Euclid; fl. 300 BC), in the annotated edition (edited) of Naṣīr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ṭūsī (Naseer al-Din Muhammad bin Muhammad al-Tusi; d. 1274).
The text is divided into fifteen books (articles) and contains numerous diagrams. The last two books (Books 14 and 15) are correctly said not to have been written by Euclid, and al-Ṭūsī attributes both to the astronomer and mathematician Hypsicles of Alexandria (Ὑψικλῆς, Epsiclaus; fl. first half of 2nd century BC).
Contents:
Book One (Article One, ff. 2r-30v);
Book Two (Article Two, ff. 30v-36v);
Book Three (Article Three, ff. 36v-49r);
Book Four (Article Four, ff. 49r-56r);
Book Five (Article Five, ff. 56r-63v);
Book Six (Article Six, ff. 63v-76v);
Book Seven (Article Seven, ff. 76v-84r);
Book Eight (Article Eight, ff. 84r-89v);
Book Nine (Article IX, ff. 89v-95r);
Book Ten (Article Ten, ff. 95r-114v);
Book Eleven (Article Eleven, ff. 114v-126v);
Book Twelve (Article XII, ff. 126v-134v);
Book Thirteen (Article Thirteen, ff. 134v-143v);
Book Fourteen (Article Fourteen, ff. 143v-147v);
Book Fifteen (Article XV, ff. 147v-149r).
The text is followed (ff. 149v-153r) by a further two (?) propositions introduced by the words 'found in some copies of Euclid after the end of Book Fifteen' (f. 149v, line 1).
The copy was completed on Thursday during the first ten days of Dhū al-Ḥijjah 1048/April 1639 at the Madrasah of the Shaykh al-Islām in Isfahan by Ibn ‘Abd al-Ghanī ‘Abd al-Karīm (Ibn Abd al-Ghani Abd al-Karim; see
colophon
Section at the end of a manuscript text.
, transcribed below).
Begins (f. 2v, lines 2-4):
Praise be to God, from whom is the beginning and to whom is the end, and with whom are the truths of the information
And in His hand is the kingdom of things, and His blessings be upon Muhammad and his pure family and beyond
When I finished editing Almagest, I decided to edit the book Fundamentals of Geometry
Ends (f. 149r, lines 4-5):
...And if God Almighty grants me success
In writing this book according to what I intended, let me conclude by praising Him that He is the best, successor and helper
Colophon
Section at the end of a manuscript text.
(f. 149r, lines 6-15):
The emptiness of completing and refining him as a minister (?) came at the hands of the slave drowning in the deep sea of disobedience.
The one who seeks forgiveness from all of this and the one who seeks protection from God for every fault is the poorest and most needy of servants
To his Lord, the All-Knowing, Ibn Abdul-Ghani Abdul-Karim
Al-Rashti (?) Al-Jalali, may God improve and multiply their condition
In the afterlife, their deeds will be repented and their children will be forgiven
And bring them back on Thursday
The first ten days of the month of Lahjah al-Haram
Year 1048
From immigration
Prophetic
Ali (?) Tariq Al-Hadat in Al-Masama School, Sheikh Al-Islam School
In the house of the Sultanate of Isfahan, may God protect it from him
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 974, p. 443
Edinme Kaynağı
Presented by Major Gen. Thomas Perronet Thompson (1783-1869), 13 April 1857
Köken
Owner's note (probably in the hand of Thomas Perronet Thompson), without date, in English stating that the manuscript was bought at Ahmedabad (India) in September 1817 for 25
rupees
Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf.
, which the note tells us was at that time equivalent to about £3; the note also states that the manuscript was rebound at Bombay (f. 1r);
Owner's note (probably also in the hand of Thomas Perronet Thompson?), without date, in English estimating the total word count of the manuscript and calculating, based on this word count, the price of having the manuscript copied in London and comparing that to the price of having it copied in India (f. 1v);
Ibn ‘Abd al-Ghanī ‘Abd al-Karīm (ابن عبد الغني عبد الكريم): his inscription, without date (f. 2r, upper left corner);
Nūr al-Dīn Muḥammad (نور الدين محمد): his seal, dated 1127/1715 or 1227/1812-13 (f. 2r, centre left);
Shaykh Nūr al-Dīn Muḥammad Ṣāliḥ (شيخ نور الدين محمد صالح): his seal, dated 1205/1790-91 (f. 2r, lower left).
Seçilmiş kaynakça
Edition of original Greek text:
Euclidis Opera Omnia
, Johan Ludvig Heiberg (ed.), vols. 1-4, (Lipsiae: Teubner, 1883-85)
Study:
Sezgin, Fuat,
Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums
, vol. 5 (Leiden: Brill, 1974). pp. 111-13
Turner, Michael J, 'Thompson, Thomas Perronet', in
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/27280?docPos=1 [accessed 30 August 2016]
