General
This
preliminary
report
is
based
on
my
own
research
on
Arabic
and
Persian
manuscripts
at
UCLA,
especially
on
the Minasian Collection
(University
Research
Library:
Special
Collections,
Manuscript
Division,
collection
number
1147)
over
the
past
decade.
In
addition,
I
have
carefully
consulted
the
printed "hand
list" of
the
UCLA
collection
of
Arabic
and
Persian
Manuscripts
prepared
in
1970
by Muḥammad Taqī Danish-Pazhūh
(1).
In
my
publications
over
this
period,
I
have
made
use
of
several
exemplary
manuscripts
from
the
UCLA
collection.
My
research
on
the
manuscripts
has
directly
impacted
two
of
my
recent
books: Shahrazūrī's Commentary
on
the
Philosophy
of
Illumination
(Tehran: Pajuheshkadeh,
1992);
and
The
Book
of
Radiance
(Mazda
Publishers,
1998);
and
I
have
also
made
use
of
other
manuscripts
in
two
of
my
books
in
press: Nūr al-Fuʹād (Mazda,
2001);
and
al-Taʿlīqāt (International
Congress
on
the
Philosophy
of Mullasadra,
2001).
Many
of
my
published
articles,
chapters
in
edited
volumes,
and
papers
presented
at
national
and
international
conferences
have
included
the
results
of
my
research
on
the
manuscript
collection
at
UCLA.
The
Collection
The Minasian Collection
of
manuscripts
is
one
of
the
most
extensive
collections
of
its
kind
in
the U.S. According
to
my
rough
estimate,
the
collection
consists
of
the
following
manuscripts,
more
than
90%
of
which
have
not
been
properly
catalogued
(2):
600
Persian
(disciplines
other
than
medicine),
120
Persian
medical
(a
partial
catalogue
has
been
published),
120
Arabic
medical
(a
fairly
good
catalogue
has
been
published),
2000
Arabic
(disciplines
other
than
medicine),
500
Turkish,
5
Urdu,
1000
Arabic
and
Persian Majmūʿas,
that
is "bound
collections," each
of
which
include
from
3
up
to
34
different
works,
some
in
one
hand,
but
mostly
in
different
scribal
traditions.
These
bound "collections" are
especially
important
to
the
study
of
Iranian
and
Islamic
intellectual
history
in
general
and
to
the
study
of
Arabic
and
Persian
philosophy,
logic,
and
theology
in
particular.
The
major
portion
of
the
manuscripts
dates
from
the
14th
to
the
17th
century,
with
roughly
20
from
the
13th,
a
few
from
the
12th,
and
150
from
the
18th
century
to
the
19th
century.
Most
of
the
manuscripts
have
been
produced,
that
is,
copied,
collated,
and
bound,
in
the
city
of Isfahān in
Iran,
which
from
the
16th
to
the
19th
century
was
the
most
important
center
of
Islamic
learning
in
Iran,
if
not
in
the
Middle
East
in
general.
All
of
the
manuscripts
are
written
in
black
ink,
some
with
headings
in
red
ink,
and
a
considerable
number
with
frontispiece
illuminations,
and
about
12
with
illustrations
(some
of "museum
quality"),
on
hand-made
papers
of
various
types,
thickness
and
sizes.
Many
of
the
manuscripts
are
in
folio
size,
with
carefully
hand-stitched
regular
8/16-folio
quires,
and
many
are
in
the
one-half
folio
size,
and
some
in
quarter
folio
size.
The
majority
of
the
manuscripts
are
well
preserved;
a
few
show
water
damage,
termite
holes,
and
other
types
of
damage.
The
collection
also
includes
a
large
number
of
royal,
government,
and
legal
documents--letters, decrees, and
contracts
of
various
types--that
have
not
been
studied
at
all.
This
part
of
the
collection
may
prove
to
be
of
unique
importance
for
the
study
of
the
social,
religious,
and
political
history
of Iran and Shiism,
and
to
a
lesser
extent,
of
the Middle
East in
general.
In
order
to
impress
upon
you
the
breadth
as
well
as
the
depth
of
this
rather
unique
collection
of
manuscripts
I
will
indicate
some
of
the
main
subjects
covered
in
it
and
describe
in
a
bit
more
detail
the
manuscripts
on
philosophy
and
logic,
which
comprise
perhaps
the
most
significant
side
of
the
collection
for
scholarship.
Finally,
I
will
present
some
highlights
of
19
Persian
medical
manuscripts,
of
which
I
have
prepared
a
catalogue
(3),
all
of
them
written
in
the
19th
century
by
either
one
of
the
European
physicians
practicing
and
teaching
the "new" western
medicine
or
composed
by
their
students.
Subjects
covered
by
the
manuscripts
include
the
following:
1-
Persian
and
Arabic
lexicography:
Several
medieval
general
dictionaries
and
many
technical
ones
that
cover
subjects
such
as
philosophy
and
the
sciences,
and
jurisprudence.
2-
Persian
literature:
Several
Dīvān's
(collected
poetic
works)
of
a
wide
range
of
Persian
poets,
including
a
magnificent
illuminated Dīvān of
the
famous
14th
century
Persian
poet Ḥāfiẓ and
many
other
types
of
literary
compositions
both
in
prose
and
poetry.
This
aspect
of
the
collection
is
of
special
interest
for
the
study
of
Persian
literature.
A
few
of
the
manuscripts
such
as Niẓāmī’s Quintet, Jāmī's Bahāristān,
and ʿAṭṭār's Conference
of
the
Birds,
include
magnificent
illustrations.
Some
of
these
manuscripts
may
rightly
be
designated "museum
pieces."
3-
History:
Several
manuscripts
on
universal
history
mostly
compiled
during
the Safavid period
in Iran.
4-
Shiite
theology
and
jurisprudence:
This
is
one
of
the
strongest
sides
of
the
collection,
and
includes
a
large
number
of
Arabic
as
well
as
a
few
Persian
works.
Most
of
the
manuscripts
were
part
of
the
medieval
scholastic
curriculum
of
the Madrasas.
Such
works
as
Sharāyiʿ al-Islām
by
Hillī,
written
in
the
17th
century,
were
among
the
first
specifically
Shiite
canonical
compilations
of
jurisprudence,
and
were
used
by
the
Safavid
state
to
establish
Shiism
as
a
state
religion—occurring
for
the
first
time
in
Islam.
5-
Practical
arts:
A
unique
feature
of
the
collection
are
a
substantial
number
of
manuscripts
on
subjects
such
as
archery,
equestrian
arts,
cook-books,
manuals
for
teaching
calligraphy,
etc.
6-
Philosophy
and
logic:
The
manuscripts
on
philosophy
and
logic
are
perhaps
the
most
valuable
ones
in
the
collection
for
scholarship.
The
collection
includes
several
unpublished
major
works,
a
number
of
unique
autographs,
and
a
few
Persian
translations
of
major
philosophical
works,
hitherto
unknown.
A
few
examples
are
as
follows:
6.1
Arabic
translations
of
Aristotelian
texts,
mostly
of
parts
of
the
Metaphysics;
and
books
from
the
logical
corpus
of
the
Organon.
6.2
Treatise
and
aphorisms
(usually
no
longer
than
one
or
two
folios)
attributed
to
the "Divine
Plato." It
is
difficult
to
identify
all
of
them,
but
a
few
can
be
shown
to
be
paraphrases
of
texts
such
as
Phædo
and
the
Timaæus.
6.3
Three
of
Averroes'
epitomes,
middle,
or
major
commentaries
on
Aristotelian
texts,
such
as
The
Categories.
6.4
A
large
number
of
philosophical
texts
by
Avicenna,
such
as
his
Shifā and
his
Ishārāt,
plus
Persian
translations
of
the
Arabic
texts.
Many
include "glosses" and "super
glosses" on
the
texts
in
Arabic
and/or
Persian.
This
aspect
of
the
collection
is
of
unique
significance
to
the
study
of
post-Avicennan
philosophical
traditions
in Iran,
a
domain
of
scholarship,
which
remains
mostly
unknown.
6.5
A
large
number
of
Arabic
texts
of
the
post-Avicennan
tradition
of
non-Aristotelian
Islamic
philosophy,
known
as
the "Philosophy
of
Illumination." Works
such
as:
Ḥikmat
al-Ishrāq
and
Talwīḥāt
by
Suhrawardī,
Nuzhat
al-Arwarḥ by
Shahrazūrī,
and
of
singular
significance
Ibn
Kammūnah's
Commentary
on
Suhrawardī's
Talwīḥāt
(a
number
of
these
works
are
being
prepared
for
publication
by
Hossein
Ziai).
6.6
A
large
number
of
manuscripts
on
logic,
many
of
which
were
texts
used
in
the
Schools
for
the
purpose
of
teaching
logic.
Examples
are:
Isagoge
of
Abharī,
Hidāya
of
Abharī,
and
Shamsiyya
of
Qazvīnī.
I
may
add
that
there
are
a
large
number
of
commentaries,
glosses
and
super
glosses
of
these
texts
all
of
which
were
part
of
the
medieval
scholastic
tradition
of
Islamic
philosophy
especially
in Iran.
Persian
Medical
Manuscripts
Finally
a
few
remarks
on
the
19
Persian
medical
manuscripts
I
mentioned:
The
early decades
of
the
nineteenth
century
were an
important
period
for
the
cultural
history
of "modern" Iran.
This
period
marks
the
first
significant
modernization
trends
in Iran similar
to
the
Ottoman
reformist
Tanzīmāt
movement.
Just
as
the
Tanzīmāt
ushered
in
a
new
era
in Turkey with
major
social,
political,
and
scientific
implications,
so
do
the
modernization
trends
in Iran help
form
a
new "modern" attitude
in Iran.
Modernization
was
initiated
in
three
areas:
military,
which
led
to
the
institution
of
a
military
school, foreign
service,
and "scientific." The
first
modern,
secular
and "scientific" school,
the
Dār
al-Funūn
(Academy of Arts and
Sciences)
was
founded
in
this
period.
Perhaps
the
most
significant
curriculum
of
this
school
was
modern
medicine.
At
this
school,
mainly
through
the
teachings
of
two
European
physicians,
Dr.
Polack
and
Dr.
Tholzon,
modern
medicine
was
introduced
in Iran.
Their
many
students
translated
and
compiled
texts
in
Persian
on
modern
medicine
for
the
first
time.
The
social
and
cultural
impact
of
the
new
scientific
attitude,
one
that
had
an
immediate
impact
on
the
very
being
and
behavior
of
the
upper
classes
(initially),
has
never
been
fully
examined.
It
is
safe
to
assume
that
modern
medical
practices
had
an
impact
on
changing
Iranian
humanistic
attitudes,
indeed
opening
a
new
chapter
in
the
cultural
history
of
19th-century Iran.
The
19
Persian
medical
manuscripts
in
the
collection
at
UCLA
form
a
unique
collection
and
fall
within
one
of
the
following
categories:
(1)
Translations:
(from
French)
of
works
taught
by
Polack
or
Tholzon
at
Dār
al-Funūn,
translated
by
one
or
more
of
their
students.
(2)
Compilations:
in
Persian,
of
the
new
medical
curriculums.
(3)
Handbooks:
on
the
new
medicine
for
practicing
physicians.
(4)
One
manuscript
on
Persian
traditional "folk" medicine.
|