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رسالهٔ زراعت Risālah-i zirā'at, undated

 Item
Identifier: Or Ms 144

Scope and Contents

A short treatise on agriculture. In the introduction the author, who does not wish to disclose his name, states that he undertook the work at the desire of some person unnamed, and at the time of writing he was reduced to extreme poverty, so much so that he could not afford to obtain proper paper to write upon. Further, he laments the state of misgovernment into which his country has fallen, and attributes it to the appointment of princes to various provinces, who, entrusting their duties to the hands of untrustworthy persons, neglect their own responsibilities, and have brought about the decay. This work is divided into nine sections, and the references are chiefly to the affairs of Bengal proper.

  1. The soil and its varieties.
  2. The crops.
  3. Ryots or cultivators.
  4. Method of employing labourers.
  5. Sources of revenue.
  6. Expenses in country districts.
  7. Mufuṣṣil (country districts).
  8. Rules binding upon tenants.
  9. Customs of the Naẓīms, or administrators, of former times.

Dates

  • Creation: undated

Language of Materials

Persian (Script: nasta'līq)

Conditions Governing Access

Open. Please contact the repository in advance.

Full Extent

1 volume

Other Finding Aids

Hukk, Mohammed Ashraful; Ethé, Hermann; and Robertson, Edward, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Arabic and Persian Manuscripts in Edinburgh University Library (Hertford: Stephen Austin & Sons Ltd., 1925).

Custodial History

Bears the seal of James Graham (Arabic script) dated 1200 A.H. (1785 C.E.).

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.

Processing Information

Annotation uses legacy data from Mohammed Hukk et al. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Arabic and Persian Manuscripts in Edinburgh University Library.

Repository Details

Part of the University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections Repository

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