Baillie, John, of Leys, 1772-1833 (Member of Parliament, and East India Company Official)
Dates
- Existence: 1772 - 1833
Biography
Hailing from Inverness, John Baillie of Leys entered the Bengal army of the East India Company in 1790 C.E., reaching the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in 1814. His competence as a linguist led to his appointment as Professor of Arabic and Persian and of “Mohammedan Law” at Fort William College, Calcutta, from 1801-1807, during which time he published a Course of Lectures on Arabic Grammar (1801), and An Entire and Correct Edition of the Five Books upon Arabic Grammar (1802-1805). He also fought during the second Anglo-Maratha War 1803-1805, and held the position of Political Officer at Bundelkhand 1804-1806. In 1807 he was appointed British Resident (Political Agent) at the court of the Sa‘adat ‘Alī Khān, Nawwāb of Awadh (reigned 1798 – 1814), at Lucknow. He held this position for eight years.
On his retirement and return to Britain in 1816 he became a Member of Parliament, first for Heddon in England 1820-1830, and then for Inverness, Scotland, 1830-1833. He was also a Director of the East India Company at various times between 1823 and 1833. When Baillie died in London in 1833 his substantial manuscript collecion was overlooked. It was rediscovered there six years later by Duncan Forbes, Professor of Oriental Languages at King's College London, and subsequently returned to Baillie’s family in Scotland.
His grandson John B. Baillie of Leys bequeathed his grandfather's collection of 166 mainly Arabic and Persian manuscripts to the University Library in 1876. They are also listed in M. Hukk’s A descriptive catalogue of the Arabic and Persian manuscripts in Edinburgh University Library (1925).
Found in 167 Collections and/or Records:
الصّحاح في الّلغة al-Ṣahah fī al-lughah, 667 A.H., 1269 C.E.
A splendid old copy of the famous Arabic Lexicon of Abū Naṣr al-Fārābī, Muslim philosopher and polymath of the 4th century A.H./ 10th century C.E.
الصراح من الصحاح al-Ṣurah min al-ṣaḥah (volume 1), 1227-1230 A.H., 1812-1815 C.E.
A dictionary of Arabic words explained in Persian, being a translation (completed, 681 A.H., 1282 C.E.) of the famous Arabic dictionary entitled al-Ṣaḥah, of Abū Naṣr Ismā'il b. Ḥammād Jawharī, d. 398 A.H., 1007 C.E.), by Abū al-Faz̤l Muḥammad b. 'Umar b. Khālid, commonly called "Jamāl al-Qurashī." The work is across two volumes, Or Ms 139 and 140.
الصراح من الصحاح al-Ṣurah min al-ṣaḥah (volume 2), 1227-1230 A.H., 1812-1815 C.E.
A dictionary of Arabic words explained in Persian, being a translation (completed, 681 A.H., 1282 C.E.) of the famous Arabic dictionary entitled al-Ṣaḥah, of Abū Naṣr Ismā'il b. Ḥammād Jawharī, d. 398 A.H., 1007 C.E.), by Abū al-Faz̤l Muḥammad b. 'Umar b. Khālid, commonly called "Jamāl al-Qurashī." The work is across two volumes, OR MS 139 and 140.
العجب العجاب فیما یفید الکتّاب al-'Ajab al-'ujāb fīmā yufīd al-kuttāb, 1229 A.H., 1813 C.E.
A complete introduction to the art of letter-writing, being a collection of letters upon various subjects, compiled by Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Anṣarī al-Yamanī al-Shirwānī, who died Calcutta in 1227 A.H. (1812 C.E.).
الف لیله (قصّهٔ هزار و یک شب) Alf laylah (qiṣṣah-i Hizar u yik shab), undated
The Alf laylah, on the flyleaf labelled Qiṣṣah-i hizār-u yik shab or the "One Thousand and One Nights" in Persian, translated from the original Arabic, with the omission of the verses by Abū al-Qāsim b. Muḥammad 'Alī Simnānī Sāsānī.
الف لیله و لیله Alf laylah wa-laylah vol. 2, 1229-1233 A.H., 1814 -1818 C.E.
The "Arabian Nights " in the original Arabic; the two volumes (OR MS 58 and 59) contain the stories of 200 nights. The work has been edited by Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Anṣarī al-Yamanī al-Shirwānī, who died Calcutta in 1227 A.H. (1812 C.E.). See Or Ms 55 and 56 for more of his work.
الف لیله و لیله Alf laylah wa-laylah vol.1, 1229-1233 A.H., 1814 -1818 C.E.
The "Arabian Nights " in the original Arabic; the two volumes (OR MS 58 and 59) contain the stories of 200 nights. The work has been edited by Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Anṣarī al-Yamanī al-Shirwānī, who died Calcutta in 1227 A.H. (1812 C.E.). See Or Ms 55 and 56 for more of his work.
الکشکول al-Kashkūl, undated copy (original text composed 16th cent. C.E.)
The well-known Kashkūl, a collection of a variety of poetry and elegant prose, by Shaykh Bahā, al-Dīn Muḥammad 'Āmilī b. Shaykh Ḥusayn, who flourished during the reign of Shāh 'Abbās the Great, and died at Isfahan 1030 or 1031 A.H. (1621 or 1622 C.E.). He wrote under the name Bahā'ī.
الکفایه al-Kifāyah, 1223 A.H., 1808 C.E.
An anonymous treatise in Persian on nouns in the Arabic grammar.
المتداوله لدرس النحو al-Mutadāwilah li dars al-naḥw, undated
An entire and correct edition of five famous books upon Arabic grammar collated with the most ancient Mss. in India by Lieut. (afterwards Col.) John Baillie. The work is in two volumes, Or Ms 39 and 40.