Manuscript
Berlin, Staatsbibliothek. Petermann II 509
title
Book on Falconry, the Inspection of Birds of Prey, their Medical Treatment and their Diseases
Title (Arabic)
كتاب البزدرة في تربية سباع الطيور وعلاجها وأمراضها مما ألفوه الحكماء للملك الاسكندر
Kitāb al-bazdara fī tarbiyyat sibāʿ al-ṭuyūr wa-ʿilājihā wa-amrāḍihā mimmā allafūhu al-ḥukamāʾ li’l-malik al-Iskandar
Place/s of Origin
No information
Introduction
All versions of the book of Adham and al-Ghiṭrīf begin with an anecdotal introduction that positions falconry and scholarly exercises connected with falconry at courts. In the case of the Iskandar version, the interest is medical and the court is that of Alexander the Great. In the case of the al-Ḥajjāj version, the interest is antiquarian (i.e., the history of falconry literature) and the court is the late Umayyad/early Abbasid court. The beginning of the actual text is historical/literary and deals with the first who hunted with birds of prey. There are a classification of birds of prey and issues of training, but the bulk of the text is medical. The individual chapters follow the same structure. The title identifies the disease, the corresponding chapter begins with diagnosis and continues with one or several treatments.
Contents
This manuscript contains an Iskandar version of the book of Adham and al-Ghiṭrīf. This is one of the most widely attested medieval Arabic texts on falconry.
Author
This manuscript contains a copy of the Iskandar version of the book of Adham and al-Ghiṭrīf. Both men are credited with a role in the history of the book. The actual author or compiler of this book is unknown.
Patron of text
Unknown. The Abbasid caliph al-Mahdī (reg. 158/775-169/785) may have played a role.
Patron of manuscript
No information
Description of physical object
60 folios. According to Ahlwardt, the folios measure 15.5 x 10.5 cm.
Bibliography
Arabic edition of the text based on different manuscripts: Abū Bakr ibn Yūsuf al-Qāsimī (attr.), Kitāb al-jawāriḥ wa-ʿulūm al-bazdara, ed. Muḥammad Yāsir Zakkūr (Beirut: Dār al-kutub al-ʿilmiyya, 2016).W. Ahlwardt, Verzeichniss der arabischen Handschriften der Königlichen Bibliothek zu Berlin, Fünfter Band (IX.-XIV. Buch) (Berlin, 1893), 480.Detlef Möller, Studien zur mittelalterlichen arabischen Falknereiliteratur (Berlin, 1965), 40-43, 41.Al Ġiṭrīf ibn Qudāma al-Ġassānī, Die Beizvögel (Kitāb ḍawārī aṭ-ṭayr). Ein arabisches Falknereibuch des 8. Jahrhunderts, Deutsche Übersetzung von Detlef Möller und François Viré (Hildesheim, 1988), 51.Al Ġiṭrīf ibn Qudāma al-Ġassānī, Traité des oiseaux de vol (Kitāb ḍawārī aṭ-ṭayr), Le plus ancien traité de fauconnerie arabe, Traduit, introduit et annoté par François Viré et Detlef Möller, Ouvrage préparé pour l’édition par Baudouin van den Abeele (Nogent-le-Roi, 2002), 40.
Provenance
This manuscript was acquired from Julius Heinrich Petermann (1801-1876). Petermann was a professor of Oriental Studies in Berlin as well as a Prussian diplomat. He travelled extensively in the Middle East, including modern-day Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Egypt. His travels were supported by the Prussian king who tasked the diplomat with the acquisition of manuscripts. The Staatsbibliothek acquired a first set in 1853-57 and a second set in 1870.
Location of manuscript
Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
File names
Original file names are retained
Additional Information
https://ksfactumarte-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/teresa_casado_factumfoundation_org/ESdDTZieYOxOvplLQqG9tY4Bw7MwyTnhmMDDZQUeALPe3Q?e=F0uDgK
