Central talismanic section of the Alexandrian Treasury, with planetary seals and love fumigations

Muhammad Baqir. Zakhira-ye Eskandarani (al-Dhakhira al-Iskandaraniyya) / Dhakhirat al-Iskandar al-Malik ibn Filiqs Dhi al-Qarnayn.

Auf Anfrage

An occult compendium widely circulated in Islamic learned culture, preserving the central talismanic complex known as the Alexandrian Treasury. The work opens with a Persian preface that sets out the rationale and circumstances of its translation and explicitly names Muhammad Baqir al-Munajjim al-Thani as the figure associated with this recension, followed by the legendary Hermetic-Iskandari proem in Arabic familiar from texts linked to Maslama al-Majriti (d. 1007 CE). The treatise is organized into ten disciplines, beginning with principles and preliminaries and moving through elixirs and the preparation of alchemical substances, detailed discussions of poisons and their antidotes, and medical-ritual operations prescribing amulets and talismans for difficult illnesses. The extant portion concentrates on the planetary seals of the seven planets and related talismanic arts, continuing with practical sections on incenses and fumigations for the cultivation of attraction or enmity, together with notices on the natural properties of plants and animals that ground the operative recipes. Figures, tables, and sigils are executed by hand in the characteristic graphic idiom of the genre, coordinating schematic diagrams with tabular instructions to regulate timing, ingredients, and ritual conditions.

As a witness to the Alexandrian Treasury tradition across Arabic and Persian scholarly milieus, the work is a significant source for the practical talismanic sciences and their transmission between linguistic communities.