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:
دیوان حافظ Dīvān-i Ḥāfiẓ, undated copy (original text composed 14th cent. C.E.)
A collection of poems by the celebrated Persian lyric poet Shams-al-Dīn Muḥammad "Ḥāfiẓ" of Shiraz (ca. 715-792 A.H. /1315-1390 C.E.). This volume, probably copied in the 11th century A.H. (broadly, 17th cent. CE), is richly illuminated and includes twelve highly finished miniatures in Indian style.
دیوان شهاب الدین الموسی Dīwān Shihāb al-Dīn al-Mūsá, 1139 A.H., 1726 C.E.
The collected poetry of Shihāb al-Dīn al-Mūsá (d.1087 A.H, 1676 C.E.), arranged by his son after his death.
دیوان وحشت Dīvān-i Waḥshat, undated copy (original text composed 17th-18th cent. C.E.)
The collected ghazals of Shaykh 'Abd al-Wāḥid Thānīsarī, who claimed his descent from the celebrated Imām Ghazālī. He flourished during the reign of the Mughal Emperor 'Ālamgīr, and poetically styled himself "Waḥshat."
رسالة باسیفین Risālat bā-sayfayn, 1229 A.H., 1813 C.E.
A treatise on religious controversy between Christians and Muslims, by Jawwād Sabāt Bā-Sayfayn, who dedicated it to the Wazīr As'ad Pāshā, son of Sulaymān Pāshā, Governor of Baghdad.
رسالة في علم الاعراب Risālat fī 'ilm al-i'rāb, 1225 A.H., 1810 C.E.
It is stated in the introduction that in Hindustan some learned grammarian had written a work based on the grammar of al-Shaykh al-'Allāmah lbn al-Ḥajib (d. 646 A.H., 1248 C.E.), and because this manuscript was getting much injured through age, the present copy was made. The work treats etymology and syntax, in good readable style.
رسالهٔ ارثماطیقی (یعنی خواص اعداد) Risālah-i irs̲māṭīqī (ya'nī khavāṣ-i a'dād), undated
This is only the third fann, or part, of apparently a large work on arithmetic. The author's name is not given. In its present form it treats with that branch of the Theory of Numbers which is called Zawju al-Zawj), it is illustrated by numerous tables.
رسالهٔ زراعت Risālah-i zirā'at, undated
روضة الصفاء Rawz̤at al-ṣafāʼ, 1057 A.H., 1647 C.E.
An excellent copy (seven volumes bound in one) in good preservation of the famous work on general history, composed around the turn of the 16th century C.E., by Muḥammad b. Khāvandshāh b. Maḥmūd, “Mīrkhānd”.
سفرنامهٔ میر عزّت الله Safar-nāmah-i Mīr 'Izzat-allāh, undated copy (original text composed 19th cent. C.E.)
سقط الزّند Saqṭ al-Zand, undated copy (original text composed 11th cent. C.E.)
The first diwān of the free-thinker and pessimist, Abū al-'Alā Aḥmad bin 'Abdallāh bin Sulaymān al-Tanūkhī al-Ma'arrī (363-449 A.H / 973-1057 C.E.), in which he collected the lyrics of his youth.
The present copy has innumerable glosses, both marginal and interlinear; it is somewhat worm-eaten throughout.