The famous "Ajurrumiyya", with praise by Pietro della Valle

Ibn Adjurrum, Muhammad ibn Muhammad (Sanhagius) / Obicini, Tommaso (ed.). Grammatica arabica [al-ajurrumiyya] Agrumia appellata. Cum versione latina, ac dilucida expositione.

€ 7,500.00

Extremely rare: the fourth edition altogether of this early native grammar by the Moroccan scholar Sanhagius (Abu 'Abdallah Muhammad Ibn Daud as-Sanhadji Ibn Adjurrum, 1273-1323), following those by the Medicean Press (1592, only 24 pages), of Kirsten (1610), and Erpenius (1617). "This [publication is] still in the handy small octavo size similar to [...] that of the 'Alphabeta'. The [editor] warns the reader against irregularities in the text, owing to the difficulties of printing Arabic texts, and the new type [...] The attrative 24pt types are identical with Granjon's 'arabe du Kitab al-Bustan', first used by Basa in 1585, and afterwards rarely used. On the second leaf, a rather unusual 'approbatio' is printed, by Pietro della Valle, dated 'ex Musaeo', April 1630. In 18 lines a very laudatory account of the work is given, preceded and followed by the official imprimatur of the Church authorities" (Smitskamp). It is edited by Tommaso Obicini da Novara (1585-1632), "one of the figures at the background of the Propaganda Press, abbot of the Franciscan convent at Aleppo from 1613-16 and 1619-20, and in 1620 elected Custode di Terra Santa e Commissario Apostolico per tutto l’Oriente. In 1621 he returned to Rome, and became the first lector of Arabic in the St. Peter Convent at Rome" (ibid.).