Mirror of Heritage
Year:2020 | Volume:18 | Issue:66|Papers Count:12

In the first decades of the 20th century, which were the heyday of exporting Persian antiques to the Western museums and collectors, forgeries of artworks became a prevalent phenomenon. The items most frequently forged were illustrated manuscripts because they procured higher prices. Forging manuscripts also occurred in classical periods, but it was different in nature from that in modern era. The most significant difference of forgeries in modern era from the classical periods is that in the latter case, the forger deceives his customers(and then the researchers) and tries not to leave any trace of himself, and do his work skillfully enough so that it appears as a genuine antique object. By classifying forgeries of illustrated manuscripts into two groups of “ producing whole manuscripts” and “ manipulating old manuscripts” , this paper addresses the question of how and why manuscripts were forged. Then, with a focus on the manipulation of old manuscripts, it explains various ways of adding miniatures to illustrated and unillustrated books.

One of the forms of granting rewards and tax exemptions to State principal military and civil elements was known as Siyurghā l, which from the late 8th /14 century on, received currency nearly replacing the older expression Iqtā ’ . The use of the term Siyurghā l with its original denotation can be seen in various texts and documents up until Nader Shā h ‘ time. Yet, no comprehensive research has been undertaken in this regard. In addition to presenting a newly found Siyurghā l surviving from Uzun Hssan’ s reign, this study addresses some of the issues related to it, examining several of the most essential aspects of this document. In as much as this Siyurgā l is of the Hoodbari type, the definition of this term and some of the legal expressions and words contained in the Siyurghal are also set forth.

Ebn-e Sarrā j of Demashq (d. 747/1346), judge, Sufi, and literary man, was a native of Shā m (Greater Syria) in the latter half of the 7th and the first half if the 8th /13th century. Of his works, there has remained to date a manuscript of his Tashviq al-Arvā h va al-Qoloob as well as separate manuscripts of the third part of this same book styled Toffā h al-Arvā h va al-Qoloob. The Toffā h al-Arvā h is a hagiographical text on the lives of Sufis chiefly hailing from such geographical regions as Shā m, Iraq and Al-Jazira (northern Mesopotamia). In the present article, a life story of Ebn-e Sarrā j and a list of his masters and works are first presented and, then, his Toffā h al-Arvā h is introduced in some detail. Subsequently, the significance of the book in identifying the Sufis of Shā m is indicated through certain pieces of firsthand information contained in the book, this being implemented first, by locating the graves of those Sufis and, secondly, by redacting and correcting their lives.

The story of Rustam and Suhrā b has already been edited and published numerous times both independently and together with the full text of the Shā hnā meh. However, no clear explanation of the introductory verses of this story has ever been presented. The subject of this preamble, viz., death, has been one of the most interesting topics, thus causing the scribes, readers and even the editors of the Shā hnā meh each group have their own expectations of this preamble. Consequently, based on such expectations, the preamble has been subject to numerous changes, often, in the number of verses. In the present study, after a detailed examination of one of these verses appearing in neither of the two esteemed editions of the Shā hnā meh (Khā leqi-Motlaq and Moscow) and proposing the clear and true recorded form and meaning which are yet undecided, we endeavour to offer an exact depiction of what Firdawsi has said in this preamble, expounding the relations (1) between its components, (2) with the text of the story, and (3) with Firdawsi’ s world-view.

Qutb al-Din Shirazi’ s Ikhtiyā rā t Muzaffari can be considered the most comprehensive hay’ a book in Persian. According to the documents, Shirazi completed it only 4 months after the Nihā yat al-Idrā k fi Dirā yat al-Aflā k in 1281 dedicated to one of the rulers of Kastamonu. Although many sections of the Ikhtiyā rā t are literal translations of Nihā ya, the distribution and presentation of many subjects, especially the non-Ptolemaic planetary models, are completely different. While the language of Ikhtiyā rā t is under the influence ofArabic structure, it maintains some signs of Persian identity. According to the introduction, the word “ Ikhtiyarā t” does not mean “ selection” in astrology, rather it refers to the author’ s “ preferences” or his new models to solve the difficulties of Ptolemaic models. There are some hints in the sources showing that the relationship between Shirazi and his master, Nasir al-Din Tusi, was not very friendly. Some new evidence is found in Nihā ya and Ikhtiyā rā t which may shed new light on the subject.

The Dastoor al-Monajjemin is one of the Nizari Ismā ’ ili works that, based on certain intratextual clues, was written around 500 / 1106. In the final section of the book, there is a biographical account of the Prophet and the Imams of various Shi’ i sects, particularly, the Ismā ’ ili leaders and, above all, Nizā r. This has given the book a special standing in Ismā ’ ili studies. Of the Dastoor al-Monajjemin only one manuscript has been identified, preserved in the Bibliotheque nationale de France, with its facsimile having recently been published. In his notes about the Dastoor al-Monajjemin, Mohammad Qazvini has proposed three hypotheses; they are as follows: forgery by the author of an account attributing therein a hadith to Imam Reza in favour of the Ismā 'ili denomination; adaptation from the book by Ata Malek Juvaini in writing his Tā rikh-e Jahā ngushā i (The History of the World Conqueror); copying the manuscript in question by the author himself at the Alamut Fortress. The present article examines these three hypotheses concerning the text and manuscript of the Dastoor al-Monajjemin and attempts to determine their accuracy or inaccuracy with reference to evidences and clues.

Of the story of Mohā keme-ye Ensā n va Heyvā n (Man and Animal) in the scientific, philosophical, and religious epistles of the Ekhvā n al-Safā (Ekhvā n al-Safā ’ s Epistles), there exist several translations in Persian and some other languages. The present survey is intended to introduce a translation of this story contained in the book Konuz al-Wadi’ a men romuz al-Zari’ a, written by Ebn-e Zā fer of Shiraz, being itself a translation of Al-Zari’ a elā Makā rem al-Shari’ a by Ragheb-e Esfahā ni. Besides introducing this translation and studying the degree of the translator’ s comprehension of the story, the article demonstrates that the translator, in the manner of the original text, has summarized the story and rendered it in an obfuscate language and affected prose, making certain additions or omissions depending on the subject matter.

Sheikh Bahā ’ I’ s poetry has been in focus since his own time and some of his verses have been recorded in certain poets’ biographies and other references. However, the principal sources of the Sheikh’ s actual poetry are his undisputable works, the most important being his Kashkool. The emending of the collection of the Sheikh’ s poetical compositions that have been attempted several times during the recent decades, have hardly been executed according to critical methods, being thus of insignificant credibility. For identifying Sheikh Baha’ i’ s real poetry, if we set his Kashkool as our criterion, the status of a number of the verses ascribed to him will be clear in the best way possible, and will most probably be removed from his collected poems. Then, it is especially important that dealing with the Kashkool be in a critical manner and proceed with the study of the numerous manuscripts of this work. As no scholarly redaction of this valued work has hitherto been undertaken, for ascertaining the Sheikh’ s poems, even those in his Kashkool, reference should be made to its old MSS. In the present study, some of the well-known poems ascribed to Sheikh Baha’ i will be examined and their attribution to his determined.

Garshā sp is one of the greatest antient heroes of Iran whose accounts go back to the period of Indo-Iranian peoples. Numerous references have been made to this great figure’ s life in the Avestā as well as Farsi texts and the echo of some of his mythological heroism can be found in the poems Garshā spnā meh and Sā mnā meh. Notwithstanding Garshā sp’ s reputation and importance in Iran’ s epic literature, this hero has no marked presence and worthy role in the Shahnameh. Attention to this point caused some copyists to gradually versify the accounts about Garshā sp’ s heroic feats and insert them in the manuscripts of the Shā hnā meh. For example, in a manuscript of the Shā hnā meh at the British Library, dated 841/ 1439 and referred thereto in Khā leqi Motlaq’ s edition with the abbreviation sign ل3, wherever he could, the scribe has added to the text verses about Garshā sp, thus highlighting his presence in the Shā hnā meh. In this article, the interpolated verses in the above-mentioned manuscript as well as some other MSS of the Shahnameh and the likely sources of the stories presented in those verses, have been examined.

Nezā ri of Qohestā n is one the acclaimed poets in the history of Persian literature, who has left behind an enormous amount of poetry in a variety of poetical forms including Ghazals, Qasidas (odes), Couplets, Quatrains etc. Over 1, 400 Ghazals of his have been published, but he has other Ghazals that have not yet been printed. Furthermore, of Nezā ri’ s published Ghazals, there appear quite a number of distiches in certain MSS, not found in his published poetry and unnoticed by its editor. The most important of these MSS, mention should be made of the invaluable manuscript at the Sachiko Chazerin Library in Russia (scribed in 837 H. / 1433) and the manuscript (copied in 972 H. /1564) at the library of the Language and Literature Institute of Tajikistan’ s Academy of Science, being both familiar to both codicologists and researchers studying Nezā ri. In the present article, in addition to a brief introduction of the two manuscripts, some of the verses of the poet’ s unpublished Ghazals are quoted from them.

There are several copies of a treatise entitled Jawā hir al-Ṭ ī b al-Mufrada bi Asmā ’ ihā wa Ṣ ifā tihā wa Ma’ ā dinihā attributed to Ibn Masawayh, which have not been mentioned in the old bio-bibliographies. The resemblance between the descriptions of simple aromatics in this work and certain citations? from Ibn Masawayh indicates that since long a book on the subject had been ascribed to Ibn Masawayh, the contents of which have mainly been imported through Khoshshaki’ s book of aromatics. A section of some of the manuscripts of this work contains recipes for compound aromatics. Although we have many citations available from Ibn Masawayh, especially from “ Ibn Masawayh’ s Book” , only one citation can be seen in one of the MSS of the Jawā her al-Ṭ ī b. It may well be that this section of the book has not reached us in its entirety. Some of the recipes in these MSS, have been repeated in other works, with no mention of Ibn Masawayh’ s name, especially in Kindī ’ s book on aromatics, this being probably an indication of the use by these two from common sources.

According to the most well-known conjectures regarding the route of Imam Reza (on whom be peace) from Medina to Marv, he passed through central Iran where there exists most of the evidence and information recorded about the event. One of the places along the route is an old village called Toorā nposht which, besides having many ancient relics from before and after the Islamic epoch, is home to a foothold attributed to Emā m Reza on whom be peace. Notwithstanding its antiquity and the very many remains connected thereto, which have traveled as far as F. Freer’ s Gallery in Washington, this historical place has not received enough attention as yet. Applying a descriptive approach, this article attempts to expound the documents and inscriptions of the Qadamgā h-from the stolen Mehrā b (prayer leader’ s place in a mosque) to the Qur’ an, endowment documents and the inscription recording the process and date of repairing the building. In obtaining information from all these cultural materials, various historical and onomatological analyses have been drown on.