Baillie, John Baillie, of Leys, 1835-1890 (donor of the Oriental Manuscripts Collection)

Scope and Contents A complete manuscript, in good preservation, of the first part of a much celebrated romance. It contains an account of the exploits of Alexander the Great as a conqueror, and was written in admirable verse by the famous Shaykh Jamal al-Dīn Abū Muḥammad Ilyas b. Mu'ayyad Niẓām al-Dīn, "Niẓāmī" of Ganjah, who was born at Qum (Iran), 535 A.H. (1140 C.E.), and probably died 599 A.H. (1203 C.E.), though the dates of his death are variously described, 576-607 A.H. (1180-1210 C.E.). ...

Scope and Contents

Contains short selections from miscellaneous poems. A few of the ghazals, etc., are in Urdū. The most favoured poet seems to be "Walī", who was the first to attempt to write a dīvān in the Urdu language.

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A MS. containing miscellaneous selections made for Colonel John Baillie from numerous Arabic and Persian books, the latter predominating. For a complete list of contents see: Hukk et al. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Arabic and Persian Manuscripts in Edinburgh University Library (Hertford: Stephen Austin & Sons Ltd., 1925) 125-128.

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A selection from the poets, compiled by Tārī-Chand, at the request of, and named after, Colonel John Baillie. The author states in the introduction that this work is based on that of Sulṭan Muḥammad Shāh Ṣafavī (see OR MS 86), and, referring to his patron, he adds that Colonel Baillie composed poems under the nom de plume "John." The present copy is most probably is the original.

Scope and Contents A celebrated poem on the love of Khusraw and Shīrīn, by the famous Shaykh Jamal al-Dīn Abū Muḥammad Ilyas b. Mu'ayyad Niẓām al-Dīn, "Niẓāmī" of Ganjah, who was born at Qum, 535 A.H. (1140 C.E.), and probably died 599 A.H. (1203 C.E.), though the dates of his death are variously described, 576-607 A.H. (1180-1210 C.E.). This work contains eulogies to Sulṭan Sa'īd Tughrul b. Arslān, who ascended the throne in 573 A.H. (1177-1178 C.E.), Atābak Abū Ja'far Muḥammad, and his brother and successor...

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This important work, which deals with the subtilties of style in the composition of both prose and poetry, was compiled in 1145 A.H. (1732-1733 C.E.), by Ranjhūr-Dās (also called Ranchūr-Dās), son of Ranjīt-Rāi, a Kāyath of Jawnpūr.

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The collected poems of Sayyid Muḥammad Afẓal al-Dīn, poetically styled, "Sābit," of Dehli, who was a man of great learning, and died at the city of his birth, 1151 A.H. (1738 C.E.).

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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.

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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."

Scope and Contents An anonymous commentary upon the difficult lines in the qaṣā'id (poems) of the celebrated poet Sayyid Muḥammad Jamāl al-Dīn " 'Urfī " Shīrāzī. 'Urfī came to India, 994 A.H. (1586 C.E.), first proceeded to the Deccan, where he soon entered into the service of Ḥakīm Masīḥ al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ Jīlānī, but subsequently, on the death of his patron, 997 A.H. (1589 C.E.), he went to seek his fortune at Agra. Here he soon rose in the favour of the Khān-i...