First edition of the Desatir, containing large portions printed in a secret language – a fraudulent text of Zoroastrianism

[Dasatir-nama]. Firuz ibn Kavus. The Desatir or Sacred Writings of the Ancient Persian Prophets; in the original tongue; together with the ancient Persian version and commentary of the fifth Sasan; carefully published by Mulla Firuz bin Kaus, who has subjoined a copious glossary of the obsolete and technical Persian terms: to which is added an English translation of the Desatir and commentary.

€ 6,500.00

First edition of the "Desatir", one of several works originating from an Indian milieu of mystic Zoroastrianism which attempted to show that a mystical form of Zoroastrianism preceded the "historical" form. Claiming to date from the Sasanian period, it is in fact a 16th-century work.

According to the preface, the then only known manuscript of this work was purchased in Isfahan "about forty-five years ago, from one Agha Muhammed Taher, a bookseller", by Molla Kavus, father of the publisher Mulla Firuz bin Kaus. This, the first printed edition, claimed the support of Sir William Jones, Jonathan Duncan, late Governor of Bombay, and Sir John Malcolm. Publication gave some credibility and influence in Parsee circles to the spurious work, but subsequent research has shown that it has no connection with the authentic ancient literature of Zoroastrianism. The manuscript is thought to have been fabricated during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar, whose search for an ecumenical religion encouraged religious invention of this kind. The text is written in an ostensibly secret coded language. It is not known whether this was published in misguided belief, or whether it represents an early attempt to increase the commercial value of a dubious manuscript. Rare.