Or Ms 20: جامع التواریخ Jāmiʿ al-tawārīkh (Compendium of Chronicles), 714 A.H. (1314 C.E.)
Scope and Contents
This manuscript, among the most iconic items held by Edinburgh University Library, is one of the supreme masterpieces of Persian book painting and one of the most important medieval manuscripts from either West or East. Jāmiʿ al-tawārīkh was written by the historian and vizier to the Ilkhanid court, Rashīd al-Dīn Faḍl-allāh Ṭabīb Hamadānī (ca. 1247-1318 C.E.), and copied in Tabriz by the author's own scribes and illustrators. This fragment of the manuscript is undated but a separate fragment of the same manuscript (held by the Khalili Collection) is dated 714 AH (1314 C.E.). Created during the author's lifetime, it one of the earliest copies in existence.
This work is a world history which encompasses a range of cultures, from China in the East, to Ireland in the West, from the time of Adam. It is written in the Naskh script and contains 70 illustrated folios.
Dates
- Creation: 714 A.H. (1314 C.E.)
Creator
Language of Materials
Arabic
Conditions Governing Access
The following item: Or.Ms.20; f.42/f.47 (to display f.42.r) is currently on loan to Fondazione Musei Civici Venezia for an exhibition at the Palazzo Ducale, and therefore unavailable for consultation.
Biographical / Historical
While serving as a high-ranking adviser to the Ilkhanid court, the former physician and court historian Rashid al-Din (d. 1318) was commissioned to compile what would become one of the most important historical and artistic documents within Islamic intellectual tradition. The Jami’ al-Tawarikh was to be an illustrated history of the world as it was known to the Mongol court, covering not only the history of the Mongols, but also that of the Chinese, Franks and Indians. Situated in the highly international and multi-cultural city of Tabriz in modern-day Iran, the scriptorium of Rashid al-Din gathered artists from all parts of the Mongol empire and beyond.
Extent
3 boxes
Other Finding Aids
Hukk, Mohammed, A descriptive catalogue of the Arabic and Persian manuscripts in Edinburgh University Library (Hertford: Stephen Austin, 1925), pp. 15-17.
Custodial History
The manuscript was created in the scriptorium of Rashid al-Din in Tabriz. The original manuscript left Iran and eventually passed to the court of the Mughals in India. It was divided into two parts around the mid-1700s, but both sections remained in India until the nineteenth century, when they were acquired by the British. The Edinburgh portion was acquired by Colonel John Baillie(1772–1833) of the East India Company, and together with other Islamic manuscripts, it was donated to Edinburgh University Library in 1876. The other portion was bequeathed to the Royal Asiatic Society and is now in the Khalili Collections.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated to the University of Edinburgh Library by Lieutenant-Colonel John Baillie of Leys' grandson, also named John Baillie, in 1876.
Bibliography
Binding
The volume has been disbound and the quires have been placed in individual folders.
Dimensions
45.09 cm x 33.56 cm
Foliation
150 folios. Fols. 1-2 are missing, and fols. 70-107 are now in the Khalili collections.
Creator
Source
- Baillie, John, of Leys, 1772-1833 (Member of Parliament, and East India Company Official) (Former owner, Person)
- Baillie, Anne, 1809-1847 (Former owner of manuscripts) (Former owner, Person)
- Baillie, John Baillie, of Leys, 1835-1890 (donor of the Oriental Manuscripts Collection) (Donor, Person)
Repository Details
Part of the University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections Repository
Centre for Research Collections
University of Edinburgh Main Library
George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Scotland
+44(0)131 650 8379
heritagecollections@ed.ac.uk