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Manuscript/Mixed Material Kitāb al-yawāqīt fī maʻrifat al-mawāqīt

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Title

  • Kitāb al-yawāqīt fī maʻrifat al-mawāqīt

Summary

  • Little is known about the author of the present work, al-Ḥusayn ibn Zayd ibn ʻAlī Ibn Jaḥḥāf, apart from what can be inferred from the brief dedicatory note at the beginning of the present manuscript. It states that the work was composed for the Faṭimid caliph al-Ḥākim bi-ʼAmr Allāh, who died during the first quarter of the 11th century. The Kitāb al-Yawāqīt fī maʻrifat al-mawāqīt (The book of the hyacinths in the knowledge of the dates of the year) is composed of 12 calendrical tables, one for each month of the year, which are in turn divided according to the number of the days in each month. Some confusion regarding the order of the months dealt with in the tables appears to have arisen at a certain stage in the transmission of the manuscript, as the title page of each table provides two contrasting indications of the month covered. For example, in the heading of the first table, both January and October are mentioned. This discrepancy continues throughout the manuscript. The treatise provides a significant piece of information for each day on meteorological phenomena, such as the prevalence of a particular wind or the levels of the sea, or on the zodiacal configuration, such as the entrance of the sun in a particular sign of the zodiac. The manuscript concludes with a table codifying the meaning of the appearance of letters of the Arabic alphabet in dreams and two pages from the treatise Kašf al-qināʻ fī rasm al-arbāʻ (The lifting of the veil in the drawing of the lands) on the interpretation of dreams. These last items are dedicated to the ruler of Asia Minor, Muḥammad b. Ḥawwā, here described as malik al-Rūm (Roman emperor). World Digital Library.
  • Manuscript has 12 pages of tables followed by 2 pages of notes from Kashf al-qinaʻ fī rasm al-arbāʻ; this section has pages missing. Note in a second hand on the title page says that the author was [an astronomer?] for the Fatimid Caliph al-Ḥākim bi-ʼAmr Allāh (d. 411 AH/1021 AD).

Names

  • Ibn Jaḥḥāf, al-Ḥusayn ibn Zayd ibn ʻAlī
  • Ibn al-ʻAṭṭār, Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad, active 1426
  • Watarī, Muḥammad ʻAlī ibn Ẓāhir, former owner
  • Mansuri Collection (Library of Congress)

Created / Published

  • [19--?]

Headings

  • -  Ibn al-ʻAṭṭār, Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad,--active 1426.--Kashf al-qināʻ fī rasm al-arbāʻ
  • -  Astronomy, Arab
  • -  Ephemerides
  • -  Manuscripts, Arabic--Washington (D.C.)

Notes

  • -  Binding: new cardboard covered with cloth; leather spine.
  • -  Fol. 1a - 8b.
  • -  Library of Congress. Mansuri Collection, 5-773.
  • -  Manuscript formerly owned by Muḥammad ʻAlī ibn Ẓāhir al-Watarī.
  • -  Ms.
  • -  Naskhī script; 33 lines in written area, 18 x 9 cm.
  • -  Paper: yellowed cream, with watermarks; some leaves repaired, dark stains on edges of paper. Last few leaves missing. Black and red ink on title page; black, red, green and yellow in text. Occasional diacritical marks. Notes on title page and marginal notes. Catchwords on rectos.
  • -  Tables (fol. 1b-7b).
  • -  Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress website.
  • -  Purchase ; Mahmud al-Mansuri ; 1945.
  • -  Arabic.
  • -  Incipit: و هذه البيتين في معرفة كسوف الشمس و خسوف القمر في المنادل (؟) . . .

Medium

  • 8 leaves (33 lines), bound : paper ; 20 x 15 cm.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • QB23 .I1934 1900z

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2008401930

Online Format

  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Ibn Jaḥḥāf, Al-Ḥusayn Ibn Zayd Ibn ʻAlī, Muḥammad Ibn Muḥammad Ibn Al-ʻAṭṭār, Muḥammad ʻAlī Ibn Ẓāhir Watarī, and Mansuri Collection. Kitāb Al-Yawāqīt Fī Maʻrifat Al-Mawāqīt. [19--?] Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2008401930/.

APA citation style:

Ibn Jaḥḥāf, A. I. Z. I. ʻ., Ibn Al-ʻAṭṭār, M. I. M., Watarī, M. ʻ. I. Ẓ. & Mansuri Collection. Kitāb Al-Yawāqīt Fī Maʻrifat Al-Mawāqīt. [19--?] [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2008401930/.

MLA citation style:

Ibn Jaḥḥāf, Al-Ḥusayn Ibn Zayd Ibn ʻAlī, et al. Kitāb Al-Yawāqīt Fī Maʻrifat Al-Mawāqīt. [19--?] Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2008401930/>.