[Untitled] almanac, 1091 AH, 1680 CE
Scope and Contents
An untitled almanac, showing conversion tables and diagrams (including a volvelle and an image of the Kaʿbah) for calculating days of the week, multiannual cycles, the months of the Syrian (Christian) calendar, and the months of the Islamic lunar (Hijri) calendar in conjunction with twelve astrological phases for calculating the solar year. The reader is guided by densely written quotations attributed to a certain Şeyh Vefa (Shaykh Vafāʾ) focussed on calculations for the nawrūz-i sulṭānī.
The volume is not dated, though a dated note suggests it antedates 1091 [1680 CE].
Illumination and coloured rulings throughout.
There is an existing foliation sequence in Arabic numerals running from the end to the beginning, that is, in reverse order.
Dates
- Creation: 1091 AH
- Creation: 1680 CE
Language of Materials
Ottoman Turkish (Script: Arabic)
Conditions Governing Access
Open. Please contact the repository in advance.
Full Extent
1 booklet (In a small white envelope.)
Custodial History
Probably Ottoman, but exact place of production unknown. The manuscript was formerly in the collection of the Swiss industrialist Henry W. Schaefer, and was then in a private collection in Germany before being acquired by Edinburgh University.
Previous reference
This item was briefly assigned the reference "Coll-2022" before being moved to the Or Ms sequence in September 2022.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased in February 2021. Accession no. SC-Acc-2021-0022.
Physical Description
8vo (115 x 160 mm). 16 pages on 9 folios. Includes 8 coloured discs (one with moving parts). All pages within gilt and ruled borders. Modern brown cloth with marbled covers. A few insignificant blemishes around edges, otherwise fair condition.
Processing Information
Previously catalogued in October 2021 by Aline Brodin and Paul Barnaby, using information from the seller and from Jaakko Hämeen-Anttila, Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Edinburgh. Recatalogued 2025, SB.
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
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