Arabic medical treatise, adapted into Persian
Tibb-i Akbari [Medicine of Akbar].
4to (164 x 244 mm). Persian manuscript on polished but unsophisticated laid paper. 352 leaves (misnumbered 347, numerous errors in pagination, but complete). 21 lines of black and occasional red Nast'aliq within blue and double red rules; a pretty gilt, red and lapislazuli 'unwan headpiece on the first page. Some marginal glosses throughout, likewise in black and red ink. 19th century Western-style codex binding with leather spine and cloth edges, using the original red morocco covers.
€ 8,500.00
An amplified Persian adaptation of the Arabic medical treatise "Sharh al-asbab" (completed in 1424) by the Persian physician Burhan addin Nafis ibn 'Iwaz al-Kirmani (d. ca. 1449), itself a commentary on Najib addin al-Samarqandi's (d. 619/1222) "Kitab al-asbab wa'l-'alamat". This medical compendium, later translated into Urdu and Sindhi, covers the symptoms and treatment of diseases specific to particular parts as well as general diseases.
The Indian medical writer Mohammad Akbar Arzani composed several works in Persian which circulated also through various Urdu translations and thus gained considerable diffusion among later physicians. "According to his own statement in the 'Tibb-i akbari', he had been a recluse in a convent (zawia), later on he studied the religious doctrines and finally dedicated himself to the study of medicine. He probably took part in the Mughal military campaign in the Deccan under Awrangzeb" (Encyclopedia Iranica, online).
Inherently brittle and fragile throughout with numerous edge tears, chips, marginal worming and other minor flaws, several paper breaks due to ink corrosion along the rules. Two leaves show traces of old tape repairs, professionally restored. Foliation erratic; leaf 196 (recte: 206) transposed before 194, but complete.
Cf. GAL I, 491 & S I, 895 (for Nafis ibn 'Iwaz al-Kirmani's commentary).
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