[Haft Awrang, 969, i.e. 1562].

Elegant (though acephalous and incomplete) copy of the seven mas̲navīs of Jāmī (d.1492) collected under the title Haft awrang. Text mainly continues from central written area into the ruled margins of each opening (in certain sections additional catchwords are visible). Descriptive contributions from Sarah Mirza.Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Library, Isl. Ms. 326Origin: As appears in colophons on p.143, 198 and 237, daftars of Silsilat al-ẕahab copied by Ghāzī Qulī Arghūn with transcription completed in Sunbul [?] (بلدۀ سنبل) on the 2nd, 21st and 30th of Shawwāl 969 [ca. 5th June, 24th June, 3rd July 1562]. This copyist may have also executed the final mas̲navī (Khiradnāmah-i Iskandarī). As appears in colophons on p.296 and 605, Tuḥfat al-Aḥrār and Yūsuf va Zulaykhā copied by Abū Aḥmad ibn ʻAbd Allāh al-Qāḍī al-Farāhī with transcription of Tuḥfat al-Aḥrār completed 14 Ramaḍān 969 [ca. 18 May 1562] and transcription of Yūsuf va Zulaykhā completed 7 Rabīʻ I 970 [?] [ca. 4 November 1562]. Much of the decoration in the sections executed by these two copyists is similar and was perhaps accomplished by the same craftsman. Transcription of other mas̲navīs likely completed around the same time, though possibly by still a different copyist.Former shelfmark: "152 T. De M. [i.e. Tammaro De Marinis]" inscribed in pencil on verso of front flyleaf.Binding: Pasteboards covered in painted lacquerwork with dark brown (to black) leather over spine ; Type III binding (without flap), two piece binding (seam of overlapping flanges visible at spine) ; doublures fine painted lacquerwork with paintings of a tall narcissus-like plant with leaves in shades of green and flowers and buds in yellow with pink accents at the head of a central stalk, flanked by leaves and smaller pink flowers, all on a red ground with border in black with gold accents (composition of upper doublure mirrors that of lower doublure) ; upper and lower covers carry paintings of nearly identical composition in mirror image to one another on an emerald green background, namely a central cluster of peonies, poppies, tulips, roses, irises, etc. with additional buds and floral forms filling the main panel all in shades of pink, light blue, lavender, yellow and white with leaves in various shades of green, and surrounded by a border of floral motifs in shades of blue, red and white on a red ground defined by bands of black with repeating vegetal patterns in bronze-gold ; sewn in blue thread, two stations ; worked chevron endbands in blue and magenta, good condition (partially protected by tabs of extended spine leather) ; overall in fair condition with some cracking and chipping of lacquer, minor delamination at board corners, abrasion of spine leather, etc. ; likely not original to codex ; housed in box for protection.Support: non-European (likely Persian) laid paper of at least two main types ; one type (at the opening and close of the transcript) with roughly 8 laid lines per cm. (horizontal or vertical, somewhat indistinct) and no chain lines plainly visible, thin and transluscent, dark cream in color, well-burnished ; another type with roughly 9 laid lines per cm. (mainly vertical, quite indistinct) and no chain lines plainly visible, dense and sturdy (much thicker than the other type and far less transluscent), dark cream in color, well-burnished ; added leaves at opening and close of codex in Wove paper with grayish hue ; endpapers in European laid paper (three hats, i.e. top hats with feathers, watermark visible in back flyleaf, "A" visible in front flyleaf, compare Eineder no.708), surface dyed a yellow-orange and gold or silver-flecked.Decoration: Elegant illuminated headpiece (ʻunwān / sarlawḥ) appears at opening of each section (each mas̲navī and daftars of Silsilat al-ẕahab, pp.146, 200, 240, 398, 480, 608, 732) mainly consisting of rectangular pieces with floral vegetal compositions (in lapis, gold, turquoise, pink, lavender, and white with some interlace and white banding with black crosses) but varying widely ; further illuminated decorations (typically with floral vegetal motifs) appear in the ruled margins. headings typically rubricated or chrysographed but occasionally in blue ; written area throughout (and divisions within, including ruled margins) surrounded by gold frame defined by black fillets with outermost blue (and through p.478 additional red) rule.Script: Nastaʻlīq ; at least three main hands ; hands of the two copyists are quite similar, each in an elegant, medium line, characteristically serifless with gentle effect of words descending to baseline, elongation and contrasting thickness of horizontal strokes, pointing in distinct dots ; a third central hand (see pp.298-478) is more delicate, in a narrower line, less compact with even greater effect of elongation.Layout: Written in roughly 49 lines per page with 17 lines in central written area divided to two columns and 32 lines on the diagonal in the ruled margins ; frame-ruled (impression of ruling board evident).Collation: i, IV +1 (9), IV-2 (15), 8 IV (79), III (85), 3 IV (109), IV + 2 (119), 3 IV (143), III-1 (148), III (154), 4 IV (186), III (192), 5 IV (232), III + 1 (239), III + 1 (246), 6 IV (294), IV + 1 (303), 5 IV (343), III (349), 2 IV (365), 2 II (373), 3 IV (397), IV-4+4 (405), i ; chiefly quaternions ; middle of the quire marks in the form of oblique strokes in black ink appear in the upper outer corner of the right-hand leaf and lower outer corner of the left-hand leaf ; catchwords present ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during cataloguing.Explicit: [Silsilat al-ẕahab] "باتمام رسید کتاب سلسله الذهب روز جمعه بتاریخ سلخ شهر شوال فی تسعه ستین تسعمایه کتبه غازی قلی ارغون تم تم" ; [Tuḥfat al-Aḥrār] "... اتمام انتظام این تحفه در ماه تسبیح وشهر تراویح رابع عشر رمضان المبارک سنه تسع وستین وتسعمایة بر دست ناسخ این نسخه کرامی احقر عباد الله ابو احمد ابن عبد الله القاضی سمت تحریر یافت ...""Incipit: "سر تعریف آنکه بشتابی تا کمال شناخت دریابی ..."Title supplied by cataloguer from edge title.Ms. composite codex.18. p.803-810 : [added leaves ruled but left blank].17. p.732-p.802 : [Khiradnāmah-i Iskandarī].16. p.731 : [blank apart from title statement].15. p.608-p.730 : [Majnūn va Laylá].14. p.606-607 : [blank apart from ownership statements and title statement].13. p.480-p.605 : [Yūsuf va Zulaykhā].12. p.479 : [blank except for title statement].11. p.298-p.377 : [Salāmān va Absāl, on the margins].10. p.298-p.478 : [Subḥat al-abrār].9. p.297 : [blank apart from title statement].8. p.240-p.296 : [Tuḥfat al-Aḥrār].7. p.238-p.239 : [blank apart from title statement].6. p.200-p.237 : [Silsilat al-ẕahab, daftar-i sivum].5. p. 199 : [blank apart from title statement].4. p.146-p.198 : [Silsilat al-ẕahab, daftar-i duvvum].3. p.144-p.145 : [blank apart from ownership and title statements].2. p.19-p.143 : [Silsilat al-ẕahab, daftar-i avval].1. p.1-p.18 : [added leaves with excerpts on opening leaf, otherwise ruled but left blank].Eineder, Georg. The ancient paper-mills of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire and their watermarks. Monumenta Chartae Papyraceae, vol. 8. Hilversum, Holland: Paper Publications Society, 1960.Cat. Pers. MSS. Brit. Mus.,Elegant (though acephalous and incomplete) copy of the seven mas̲navīs of Jāmī (d.1492) collected under the title Haft awrang. Text mainly continues from central written area into the ruled margins of each opening (in certain sections additional catchwords are visible). Descriptive contributions from Sarah Mirza.Mode of access: Internet.Acquired by purchase (funds donated by Horace Rackham).On verso of front flyleaf, oval seal impression containing inscription "ان الله يحب المحسنين" ; an excerpt from another selection of poetry has been mounted in the opening of the added leaves (see pp.1-2) ; appearing at the close of virtually every mas̲navī (and daftars of Silsilat al-ẕahab) on pp.144, 198, 237, 296, 478, 606, and 730, an ownership statement in the name of Ḥasan ibn Ḥusayn al-Mūsavī [Mūsawī] (حسن بن حسین الموسوی) ; appearing on the 'title page' for every mas̲navī (and daftars of Silsilat al-ẕahab) on pp.145, 199, 239, 297, 479, 607, and 731, an added title / author statement one of which is dated 1261 [1845] ; on pp.606-607 ownership statements reading "مالک این کتاب محب علی محب علی مالک این کتاب" and "محب علی مالک این کتاب مالک این کتاب محب علی" ; effaced rectangular seal impression on several 'title pages' ; on p.803, partially effaced oval seal impression with "كريم ..." ; occasional glosses and marginal corrections

The Mamlukization of the Mamluk Sultanate? State Formation and the History of Fifteenth Century Egypt and Syria: Part I—Old Problems and New Trends

This is the first of two connected articles that aim to offer a new perspective on the history of late medieval Egypt and Syria, on 15th-century political history of the so-called Mamluk Sultanate in particular. Informed by a comparative look at a selection of wider relevant scholarship, we propose to reconsider 15th-century Syro-Egyptian political actionwithin the particular framework of a complex process of state formation. This perspective, defined as ‘ Mamlukization’ , may help to better account for change, and for contemporary laments that “ things aren’ t what they used to be.” In “ Part I — Old problems and new trends” , we begin by examining the state of the field of 15th-century Mamluk political history, before laying out the new perspective of ‘ Mamlukization’ in Part II. Part I explains how Mamluk scholarship has only recently managed to overcome a traditional tendency to view the sultanate’ s political history as a long process of divergence from an idealized system based on military slavery, raising new difficulties. We conclude that there remains a need to replace this decline paradigm with a more useful conceptual framework. If something profound indeed was taking place in the 15th century, something that is not usefully considered decline,” then what was it