Asian and African studies blog

Anyone who has been in the vicinity of the Brunei Gallery SOAS during the last few weeks could hardly have failed to notice the frenzied activity in preparation for ‘The Everlasting Flame: Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination’ which opened last Friday (see also my earlier post on this subject). Put together by Sarah Stewart, Lecturer in Zoroastrianism in the Department of the Study of Religions, SOAS, together with Pheroza Godrej, Almut Hintze, Firoza Mistree and myself, it is a first in almost every sense. Not only has the theme, Zoroastrianism from the 2nd millenium until the present date, never been presented in this way before, but the majority of the over 200 exhibits have never been on public view.


Bishop Eznik Kolbac‘i wrote this Refutation of the Sects around 440 AD. His criticism of Zoroastrianism was directed principally against the various forms of dualism. His work is valuable as a contemporary account of the religion at a time when the scriptures were still transmitted orally, a fact which Eznik mentions himself as a reason for the existence of so many conflicting views. The frontispiece of this first edition, published in Smyrna in 1762, shows Eznik instructing his pupils (British Library 17026.b.14)


I first met Sarah almost 30 years ago when we were students together in an elementary Pahlavi (a Middle-Iranian language) class at SOAS! Since then we have often discussed her dream of mounting an exhibition. The more familiar I became with the Zoroastrian material in the British Library, the more impressed I was with the incredibly wide range of materials we had. The Library's unique collection of Zoroastrian sacred texts, collected from the 17th century onwards, had been left untouched since the 19th century and I worked closely with our conservation department to restore them, hoping to get the opportunity to be able to exhibit them! The final choice of what to include was difficult, but I’m glad to say the British Library has made a significant contribution with over 30 major loans.


A 12th or 13th century copy of the Babylonian Talmud. The Talmudic period in Babylonia largely overlapped with the Sasanian empire (224-651 AD) and during this period the Babylonian rabbis shared numerous intellectual and cultural concerns with their neighbours, the Zoroastrian priests at Ctesiphon, capital of the Sasanian empire. These affected matters of civil and criminal law, private law, theology, and even ritual (British Library, Harley 5508, ff.69v-70r)


Several people have asked me what my ‘favourite’ exhibits are! The 7th century BC cuneiform tablet from Nineveh, thought to contain the name of the principal Zoroastrian deity, Ahura Mazda (‘Wise Lord’), and a 4th century Achaemenid document from northern Afghanistan attesting the earliest use of the Zoroastrian day names and offerings for the Farvardin (spirits of the dead) must be amongst the most significant items. Equally impressive are the stunning ossuaries from 7th century Sogdiana and the beautiful Parsi portraits and textiles dating from the 19th century, the result of flourishing trade with China. A gallery on the top floor also includes works by the modern artists Fereydoun Ave, Mehran Zirak and Bijan Saffari. I mentioned a few British Library favourites in a previous post (The Everlasting Flame: Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination). Here are a few more:


The concept of Zoroaster as a magician or philosopher from the East is widespread in European literature, particularly after the Renaissance with its increased awareness of Greek and Hellenistic literature. This Italian translation by Bono Giamboni of Li Livres dou Trésor by Brunetto Latini (1230–94) dates from 1425. Of Zoroaster he writes: ‘And at that time a master called Canoaster [i.e. Zoroaster] discovered the magic art of spells and other wicked words and wicked things. These and many other things happened during the first two ages of the era that finished in the time of Abraham.’ (British Library, Yates Thompson 28, f. 51r)



‘The woman who didn’t obey her husband’. This engraving, dating from 1798, from the Persian Arda Viraf Nameh (the visionary journey of Viraf the Just to heaven and hell), is displayed in the exhibition alongside the original which is now part of the John Rylands Collection, Manchester (British Library, SV 400, vol. 2 part 3, facing p. 318)


The exhibition is free and open until 15 December, Tuesday- Saturday 10.30 - 17.00 (late night Thursday until 20.00, special Sunday opening on 15 December). For more details, follow these links to the exhibition website and facebook page.

The exhibition catalogue, edited by Sarah Stewart, includes 8 essays and photographs of every item in the exhibition. It is available from the publishers I.B. Tauris and from the SOAS bookshop (at a special discount price of £17).

Ursula Sims-Williams, Asian and African Studies

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 The legend of Phra Malai, a Buddhist monk of the Theravada tradition said to have attained supernatural powers through his accumulated merit and meditation, is the main text in a nineteenth-century Thai folding book (samut khoi) held in the Thai, Lao and Cambodian Collections (Or. 16101). Phra Malai figures prominently in Thai art, religious treatises, and rituals associated with the afterlife, and the story is one of the most popular subjects of nineteenth-century illustrated Thai manuscripts. The earliest  surviving examples of Phra Malai manuscripts date back to the late eighteenth century, although it is assumed that the story is much older, being based on a Pali text. The legend also has some parallels with the Ksitigarbha Sutra.

The Thai text in this manuscript is combined with extracts in Pali from the Abhidhammapitaka, Vinayapitaka, Suttantapitaka, Sahassanaya, and illustrations from the Last Ten Birth Tales of the Buddha (Thai thotsachat). Altogether, the manuscript has 95 folios with illustrations on 17 folios. It was very common to combine these or similar texts in one manuscript, with Phra Malai forming the main part. These texts are written in Khom script, a variant of Khmer script often used in Central Thai religious manuscripts. Although Khom script, which was regarded as sacred, was normally used for texts in Pali, in the Thai manuscript tradition, the story of Phra Malai is always presented in Thai. Because Khmer script was not designed for a tonal language like Thai, tone markers and certain vowels that do not exist in Khmer script have been adopted in Khom script to support the proper Thai pronunciation and intonation.

Vidura and Vessantara Jatakas (Or 16101, folio 6)

Most of the text is in black ink on paper made from the bark of the khoi tree (streblus asper). However, the text accompanying the illustrations of the Last Ten Birth Tales is written in gold ink on blackened khoi paper, emphasizing the importance of these Jatakas symbolising the ten virtues of the Buddha. Gold ink, as well lavish gilt and lacquered covers, added value and prestige to the manuscript, which was commissioned on occasion of a funeral service. The commission and production of funeral presentation volumes was regarded as a way of earning merit on behalf of the deceased. 

Other miniature paintings depict the Buddha in meditation, scenes from the life of Phra Malai, as well as genre scenes of lay people. According to a colophon in Thai script on the first folio, the manuscript is dated 2437 BE (AD 1894).

Phra Malai visiting hell (Or 16101, folio 8)

During his visits to hell (naraka), Phra Malai is said to bestow mercy on the creatures suffering there. They implore him to warn their relatives on earth of the horrors of hell and how they can escape it through making merit on behalf of the deceased, meditation and by following Buddhist precepts.

Although the subject of hell is mentioned in the Pali canon (for example, in the Nimi Jataka, the Lohakumbhi Jataka, the Samkicca Jataka, the Devaduta Sutta, the Balapanditta Sutta, the Peta-vatthu etc.) the legend of Phra Malai is thought to have contributed significantly to the idea of hell in Thai society.

Back in the human realm, the monk receives an offering of eight lotus flowers from a poor woodcutter, which he eventually offers at the Chulamani Chedi, a heavenly stupa believed to contain a relic of the Buddha. In Tavatimsa heaven, Phra Malai converses with the god Indra and the Buddha-to-come, Metteyya, who reveals to the monk insights about the future of mankind.

Lotus offering scene, Or 16101, folio 28

Through recitations of Phra Malai the karmic effects of human actions were taught to the faithful at funerals and other merit-making occasions. Following Buddhist precepts, obtaining merit, and attending performances of the Vessantara Jataka all counted as virtues that increased the chances of a favourable rebirth, or Nirvana in the end.

Illustrated folding books were produced for a range of different purposes in Thai Buddhist monasteries and at royal and local courts. They served as handbooks and chanting manuals for Buddhist monks and novices. Producing folding books or sponsoring them was regarded as especially meritorious. They often, therefore, functioned as presentation volumes in honor of the deceased. It comes as no surprise that this manuscript contains an illustration of a lavishly decorated coffin attended by two Buddhist monks who are trying to fend off two ‘fake’ monks.

Funeral scene (Or 16101, folio 92)

Traditionally, Thai monks reciting the legend of Phra Malai would embellish and dramatise their performances, contrary to their strict behavioural rules. By the end of the nineteenth century, monks were officially banned from such performances. As a result, retired or ‘fake’ monks often delivered the popular performances, unconstrained by the rules of the Sangha.

A full text digital copy of Or 16101 can be viewed online at British Library Digitised Manuscripts.

Lacquered front cover with gilt flower ornaments (Or 16101)

Further reading

There is an excellent translation from Thai into English of the entire legend of Phra Malai by Bonnie Pacala Brereton, which is included in her book Thai Tellings of Phra Malai – texts and rituals concerning a Buddhist Saint. Tempe, Arizona: Arizona State University, 1995

Chawalit, Maenmas (ed.): Samut khoi. Bangkok: Khrongkan suepsan moradok watthanatham Thai, 1999
Ginsburg, Henry: Thai art and culture: historic manuscripts from Western Collections. London: British Library, 2000
Ginsburg, Henry: Thai manuscript painting. London: British Library, 1989
Igunma, Jana: ʻAksoon Khoom - Khmer heritage in Thai and Lao manuscript cultures.ʼ In: Tai Culture Vol. 23. Berlin : SEACOM, 2013
Igunma, Jana: ʻPhra Malai - A Buddhist Saint’s Journeys to Heaven and Hell.ʼ 
Peltier, Anatole: ʻIconographie de la légende de Braḥ Mālay.ʼ BEFEO, Tome LXXI (1982), pp. 63-76
Wenk, Klaus: Thailändische Miniaturmalererien nach einer Handschrift der Indischen Kunstabteilung der Staatlichen Museen Berlin. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner, 1965
Zwalf, W. (ed.): Buddhism: art and faith. London: British Museum Publications, 1985

Jana Igunma, Asian and African Studies

Founded by Mani in Mesopotamia in the 3rd century AD, Manichaeism was for a time one of the most widespread religions in the world. Under the protection of the Sasanian emperor Shapur I (r.241–72), Mani preached a fundamental dualism based on light (good) and darkness (evil), the world being a contamination of the two (this idea is seen in the Zoroastrian creation myth, see my recent post ‘Zoroaster’s Egg’). God had given the same message to the Buddha, Zoroaster and Jesus, but it had become distorted over time through oral misrepresentation. Mani therefore stressed the importance of the written text and also the use of paintings to illustrate his teachings. His religion was strongly influenced by Christianity and Zoroastrianism but came to be regarded as heretical by both.

The British Library is lucky enough to have some of the most important Manichaean texts in its collections, and recently we hosted a special viewing to celebrate the 8th International Conference of the International Association of Manichaean Studies, held at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). It was a momentous occasion, probably the first time that such important works had ever been looked at together, and certainly too good an opportunity to miss to write about them! 

Manichaean scholars examining two Chinese scrolls: on the left the Manichaean Hymn Scroll (Or.8210/S.2659) and on the right the Compendium of the teachings of Mani, the Buddha of Light, dated AD 731 (Or.8210/S.3969)


Some of the oldest and most valuable sources on Manichaeism are in fact Christian anti-Manichaean writings, written only a century after Mani’s death (AD 274 or 277). The best-known are perhaps the Confessions, written in Latin in AD 397-8, of St. Augustine of Hippo who was himself a Manichaean before converting to Christianity.  One of the most important sources in the British Library is the Syriac manuscript Add.12150 which contains the treatise Against the Manicheans by Titus (d. 378) of Bostra (Bosra, now in Syria), translated from Greek. This codex is additionally important, being the oldest known dated Syriac manuscript, in near perfect condition, and copied in Edessa in the year 723 of the Seleucid era (AD 411).


The final page of Titus of Bostra’s treatise Against the Manicheans. Vellum, dated AD 411 (Add.12150, f.156r)


Equally important are Add.14574 and Add.14623, both parts of the only surviving copy of the Prose Refutations of Mani, Marcion, and Bardaisan by Saint Ephrem (c. 306–373). This 6th century codex had at some point been broken up. 88 leaves (Add.14623) were washed and scrubbed to obliterate the original text, and then re-used in Egypt in 823 by a monk, Aaron, originally from Dara in Mesopotamia. Ironically, part of the original manuscript containing Ephrem’s Discourse on Virginity, apparently thought fit to preserve, was copied into the new manuscript before being erased. Fortunately the first 19 leaves (Add.14574) escaped the treatment and both parts are now in the Library's collection. Add. 14754 was acquired by the British Museum from a monastery in the Wadi Natrun in Egypt (as was Add.12150) by Archdeacon Tattam in the 19th century (for an account of how the Museum came to acquire them, see pp. xi-xiv of W. Wright’s Catalogue of the Syriac Manuscripts in the British Museum, vol. 3).
 

Folios 6v-7r of the 9th century palimpsest Add.14623



Detail of the bottom of folio 7r, turned upside down, showing Ephrem’s work underneath

It required the painstaking efforts of Charles Mitchell, a Canadian Syriac scholar teaching at Merchant Taylors’ School, London, to decipher the concealed text. From 1905 until the First World War he devoted his leisure time to reading what he could of the palimpsest which was extra problematic on account of the skin it was written on. “Worst of all” he wrote in the introduction to his edition (Mitchell 1912),  “only one side of the leaves could be read, except in two or three cases, though there was evidence that the writing was lurking in obscurity below.” Mitchell also complained that “Accurate deciphering is only possible under a good sunlight” and the London weather had held him back further.
 

The Rev. Charles Wand Mitchell, frontispiece to vol. 2 (Mitchell 1921)


Mitchell's patience and perseverance led, Dr. Barnett, then Keeper of Oriental Manuscripts at the Museum, in 1908 to apply a “re-agent” to the illegible part of the palimpsest. This had the effect of revealing the underwriting so clearly that it became possible to transcribe almost the entire contents. Mitchell was also able to reconstruct the original order of the leaves and quires. I’m not sure what this “re-agent” would have been, but judging from the present illegibilty of the palimpsest, I think this manuscript would be a good candidate for some form of investigative photography!

Unfortunately, Charles Mitchell was fatally wounded in action in France in 1917 during the First World War, while helping a doctor to bandage the wounded near the firing line. Volume 1 of his edition and translation had been published in 1912, and vol 2 was published posthumously in 1921.

We also have important Manichaean texts from Central Asia in Middle Persian, Sogdian, Turkish and Chinese. I’ll be writing about them on another occasion.

Further reading

Good articles on Mani and Manichaeism can be found in Encyclopædia Iranica online, especially Werner Sundermann’s “Mani”  and “Manicheism i: general survey”
A good online introduction is also:
P.O. Skjærvø, An Introduction to Manicheism, 2006
An edition and translation of St. Ephrem’s Prose Refutations is also available online:
C.W. Mitchell, S. Ephraim’s Prose Refutations of Mani, Marcion, and Bardaisan, vol.1 (1912) and vol. 2 (1921)
For an article about Titus of Bostra, see:
Nils Arne Pedersen, "Titus of Bostra in Syriac Literature" in Laval théologique et philosophique, vol. 62/2 (2006), pp. 359-367.

Ursula Sims-Williams, Asian and African Studies

Postscript by Christina Duffy, British Library Imaging Scientist

USW:  Many of us have been wondering about the miraculous "re-agent" applied under Dr. Barnett's auspices to St. Ephrem's Prose Refutations of Mani, Marcion, and Bardaisan in 1908. I asked Christina Duffy, Imaging Scientist at the British Library if she could say anything about the process and this is her reply. The good news is that the Library is planning to get new equipment later this year which may be able to read the undertext of the palimpsest and perhaps even improve on Mitchell's readings. We'll report on this in due course.   

She writes:

Sadly the result of chemicals used to make indecipherable script legible is seen in many of our manuscripts here at the BL. While the treatments initially enhanced the faded text greatly it was only a matter of time before the entire passage was left in a much worse state!

In 1969 Restaurator reprinted a report of the St Gallen Conference on the Conservation of Manuscripts from 1898 which listed gallic acid, thiocyanate, ammonium sulphide, sodium sulphide, potassium ferrocyanide and tannin solution as chemicals used to recover text. Essentially the reagents were attempting to balance the ink formulation. By "reagent" we mean a substance or compound used to bring about a chemical reaction.

There is mention of the use of chemical reinforcements as early as the 17th century but it wasn't until the 19th century when chemistry was more understood that lots of reactions were tried out. For iron-gall ink, a good stable black ink is formed by a black iron-gall ink complex. If the ink production for whatever reason is imperfect, ink can become illegible overtime i.e. fade. Imperfect ink is generally missing one of the essential compounds in the ink ingredient list (such as iron sulphide or gallic acid) so it makes sense that applying these missing chemicals will allow the reaction to take place and the text to become clear again! Which is what they did, but alas the aftermath was less pleasing! 

The oldest known recipe for text recovery uses gallic acid. One article suggests making an extract of gall-nuts in white wine and wetting the missing text with a sponge to recover the text. However it isn't mentioned that the gall-nut extract goes brown itself after a few years and wherever the liquid was applied turns dark brown so nothing is legible!

Other treatments include hepar suplhuris, toning letters blue by reacting iron ions with potassium hexacyanoferrates or placing the text briefly in hydrochloric acid. Some manuscripts treated in this way are now covered in blue dye and completely illegible...which is why using imaging techniques is a much better idea!

There is a good article explaining all this including the chemical formulas by Robert Fuchs, “The history of chemical reinforcement of texts in manuscripts – What should we do now?” in Care and Conservation of Manuscripts 7 (2003): 159–170.

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Ovum Zoroastræum: 'Zoroaster's egg'

This may seem a rather esoteric title for an Asian Studies blog, but it is hardly surprising in the context of the post-renaissance scholar Athanasius Kircher (1601/2–1680). Kircher, based in Rome from 1635, where he officially taught mathematics at the Jesuit Collegio Romano, was famous as an inventor of the most complex mechanical devices and wrote altogether more than 40 books on mechanics, optics, acoustics, geology, engineering and languages, in particular Coptic and the languages of ancient Egypt.

Oedipus/Kircher solves the sphynx’s riddle. The frontispiece of the first volume of Oedipus Ægyptiacus, Rome, 1652-54 [1655]  (British Library 581.l.21)

Encouraged by the Society of Jesus to search for a universal language which could be used for teaching the Gospel, Kircher turned to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs as a possible solution, and devoted the third volume of his three-volume encyclopedia Oedipus Ægyptiacus exclusively to the subject. Kircher believed that Egyptian hieroglyphic obelisks preserved the ancient wisdom of Hermes Trismegistus, and using an immense number of different sources, he thought he had cracked the code. In fact it was it was not until the early 19th century that it was fully deciphered by Jean-François Champollion through his study of the Rosetta stone.

The obelisk of Veranus, Rome. Engraving from Joannes Blaeu, Civitatum Et Admirandorvm Italiæ Pars Altera in qua Vrbis Romæ Admiranda Æevi veteris & hujus seculi continentur, Amsterdam, 1663, facing p. 201 (British Library 176.h.3)

Kircher had a high regard for Zoroaster, whom he equated with Noah’s son Ham. Zoroaster’s oracles ‘effata’ (a collection of Greek verses probably composed by Julian the Theurgist in the 2nd century AD) were, he wrote, very ancient and full of hieroglyphic explanations.

In the context of his interpretation of the Veranus or Barberinus obelisk (now in the Piazzale del Pincio, Rome) Kircher refers to the world as ‘ovum Zoroastræum,’ i.e., Zoroaster's egg. This idea, as Kircher acknowledged, was based on Plutarch’s account of the Zoroastrian creation myth given in chapters 46 and 47 of De Iside et Osiride, in which Orimazes (Ohrmazd/Ahura Mazda), born from the purest light, created 6 gods, and Arimanius (Ahriman/Angra Mainyu), born from darkness, an equal number of rivals. Ohrmazd then created 24 other gods and put them into an egg. Ahriman similarly created 24 opposing gods who pierced the egg, and so it came about that good and evil became mixed together.

Ovum Zoroastræum, i.e., Zoroaster's egg, from Oedipus Ægyptiacus, vol. 3, p 275 (British Library 581.l.21)

Plutarch's account of the Zoroastrian creation myth is unique in classical literature, listing Ohrmazd's six gods as good will, truth, good order, wisdom, wealth, and the creator of pleasures in recompense for virtues. They partly correspond to the six ‘Beneficent Immortals’ (Amesha Spentas) who play such an important role in the Avesta (the corpus of sacred Zoroastrian texts). The Avesta also includes a reference to the earth as an egg, in a passage in which the sky covers and surrounds it as a bird its egg.

‘Zoroaster’s egg’ and other similar items will be on display in the forthcoming exhibition ‘The Everlasting Flame: Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination’ at the Brunei Gallery, School of Oriental and African Studies London. For more information see my recent post or follow these links to the exhibition website  and facebook page.

Ursula Sims-Williams, Asian and African Studies

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The Everlasting Flame: Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination

Earlier this week, my colleague Nur Sobers Khan (Iran Heritage Foundation Curator of Persian Manuscripts) wrote about the emperor Aurangzeb pondering the afterlife.  She discussed a little known manuscript commissioned by the emperor entitled 'The Book of Traditions on the Hereafter'.  This blog and a previous one on Islamic jurisprudence refers to Aurangzeb's religious orthodoxy. This period in history was a great challenge for local artists. In fact, his views on Islam is one of the contributing factors that led to a decline in the Mughal painting tradition. Today's blog will look at depictions of Aurangzeb painted during his lifetime from 1619-1707.

Illustrated histories of the Mughal emperors are a starting point to look for portraits of the princes and the ruling elite. The Padshahnama, the official account of Aurangzeb's father Shah Jahan's reign, was written by the historian Muhammad Lahori. Shah Jahan ruled from 1627-58. The illustrated version in the royal collection at Windsor is the only surviving contemporary version. The manuscript, however, only corresponds to Lahori’s first volume and the first ten years of Shah Jahan’s reign. From a cursory overview, the manuscript casts light on the nuances of Shah Jahan’s relationship with Aurangzeb. As compared to his siblings, Aurangzeb was less frequently painted.

Shah Jahan receives his three eldest sons and Asaf Khan during his accession ceremonies on 8 March 1628. Painted by Bichitr, c. 1630-5. Royal Collection. Wikimedia Commons

In the Padshahnama, artists document the milestones and personal achievements of the princes. In the above scene, Shah Jahan embraces his eldest and favourite son Dara Shikoh. His two younger sons, Shah Shuja (dressed in yellow) and Aurangzeb (dressed in green) appear on the left waiting for their turns. They are accompanied by their grandfather Asaf Khan. In this scene, Aurangzeb is only 9 years old. Other key events featuring Aurangzeb include the prince facing a maddening elephant named Sudhakar in June 1633 and his father Shah Jahan honouring him at his wedding on 19 May 1637. 
Prince Aurangzeb reports to Shah Jahan in durbar at Lahore in 1649. Mughal, 1650-55. British Library, Add.Or.3853

Another painting which related to the official history written by Muhammad Lahori, but prepared for a later (now dispersed) illustrated volume of the Padshahnama, features Aurangzeb reporting to Shah Jahan in 1649 (above). In this imperial durbar (official assembly) scene, Shah Jahan is seated in the jharoka (balcony for official ceremonies) inside the Divan-i 'Am or Hall of Public Audiences. This building is located in the Mughal fortress and complex in Lahore. Aurangzeb is picture standing on the left, next to other courtiers, though with his arm raised in salute to his father. Less than ten years after this event, Aurangzeb imprisoned his father in the Agra Fort, outmanoeuvred his brothers and arranged for their deaths in order to become emperor. Aurangzeb's eldest brother Dara Shikoh was the heir-apparent and favourite son. Aurangzeb claimed the throne in 1658. His father died in prison in 1666.

An exceptional military commander, Aurangzeb drastically expanded the geographic boundaries of the empire to include the Deccan plateau in central India. State revenues prospered, but constant wars to retain control of his territories gravely damaged the state finances. During his lifetime, Aurangzeb was often represented in one of two ways: either as a warrior for Islam or as a devout Muslim ruler reading a Qu'ran. As compared to the lavish paintings of Shah Jahan's period, the artistic style radically changed. Artists tended to paint simple individual portrait studies. The paintings were often painted in the nim-qalam (tinted drawing) technique with hints of and gold. Artists seemed to steer away from the developed backgrounds landscape settings. In fact, it was exceptionally rare for artists to paint historic scenes. Contemporary accounts do not offer a precise explanation for the decline in the painting traditions. Contributing factors may have included Aurangzeb’s curtailing of state expenditure, banning histories in praise of the emperor, forbidding music and dancing for pleasure at the court, and increased religiosity.

Equestrian portrait of Aurangzeb. Mughal, c. 1660-70. British Library, Johnson Album, 3.4.

In this equestrian portrait, Aurangzeb is depicted symbolically as an austere ghazi or warrior for Islam. He is dressed in full armour and holds a gold lance. His rearing horse is ready for battle and covered with chain-mail. From his belt hang a quiver of arrows and a push dagger called a katar.

Aurangzeb in his old age. Mughal, c.1700. British Library Johnson Album 2,2.

Aurangzeb left northern India for the Deccan in 1681, never to return. An increasingly orthodox Muslim, he re-instated the poll-tax levied on non-Muslims, revived the power of Muslim clerics, and fostered a political and social divide based on religion. The last portrait of Aurangzeb pictures the devout Muslim ruler in profile, with a downward gaze at a manuscript held in his hands, most likely to be the Qur’an. Dressed in stark white garments, his appearance is in sharp contrast to the golden radiance of the halo, the floral patterned bolster and the luxurious carpet hung on the window ledge. For Aurangzeb, there was no greater personal accomplishment than to memorise every verse and chapter of the Qur’an. Having committed to memory the entire text, he wrote two copies of the Qur’an in perfect calligraphy. This style of portraiture, featuring Aurangzeb in his old age and hunched over a manuscript, was commonly produced and suggests that artists felt that this was the most appropriate type of pictorial format to depict the elderly ruler.

Further reading:

M. Beach, E. Koch and W. Thackston, King of the World: The Padshahnama, Azimuth, London, 1997

Saqi Mustaʻidd Khan, Maāsir-i-ʿĀlamgiri: A history of the Emperor Aurangzib-ʿĀlamgir (reign 1658-1707 A.D.), translated into English and annotated by Sir Jadunath Sarkar. Calcutta: Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1947

J.P. Losty and M. Roy, Mughal India: Art, Culture and Empire, British Library, 2012

Malini Roy, Visual Arts Curator

Malini Roy, Visual Arts Curator - See more at: http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/asian-and-african/2013/07/book-of-affairs-of-love.html#sthash.5Ng6wrIM.dpuf

Picking up the thread of previous blogs examining the patronage of legal compendia and mathematical translations at the Mughal court under Aurangzeb (r. 1658-1707), today’s entry deals with a little-known manuscript commissioned by the emperor himself. The manuscript in question is Delhi Persian 44, entitled Kitāb Akhbār al-Ma‘ād (The Book of Traditions on the Hereafter), which consists of a compilation of ḥadīth dealing with the topic of death and the afterlife, from funerals to the end of the world and the day of judgment. The ḥadīth (traditions spoken by the Prophet Muhammad and recorded by his companions and followers) are in Arabic, with a careful Persian-language exegesis that offers not only a translation and explanation of the content but also the correct pronunciation of the Arabic wording.
 

Aurangzeb in his old age reading the Qur’an.  Mughal, c.1700 (Johnson Album 2, 2)


The author, Ghulām Muḥammad al-Satirkhī, names himself in the preface. He appears to have been a minor scholar who also contributed to the monumental Fatāwā ‘Alamgiriyyah (Nadvī, 98). The Kitāb Akhbār al-Ma‘ād seems to be a unique selection of ḥadīth made by the author, rather than a Persian translation of a previously existing Arabic-language compilation. In fact, several compilations of ḥadīth on the afterlife exist, but none seem to closely resemble the work at hand. For instance, the famous 15th-century scholar of Islamic law, Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī, compiled ḥadīth relating to the obligatory prayers and rituals surrounding death and the state of the body in the grave, in a work entitled Bushrā al-Ka’īb bi-Liqā’ al-Ḥabīb and in a further work, the Sharḥ al-Ṣudūr fī Sharḥ Ḥāl al-Mawtā fī al-Qubūr. Al-Suyūṭī authored a separate work that focused on eschatological concerns; however, these ḥadīth are gathered in a separate volume unconnected with the previous ones, called al-Budūr al-Sāfirah. We shall see that this approach to separating ḥadīth on funerary practice from ḥadīth on the apocalypse and day of judgement is entirely different to the approach taken by Ghulām Muḥammad al-Satirkhī in his work.
 

Part of the table of contents of the Kitāb Akhbār al-Ma‘ād by Ghulām Muḥammad al-Satirkhī (Delhi Persian 44, f 3r)

The Kitāb Akhbār al-Ma‘ād, in contrast to other ḥadīth compilations on similar topics, is much wider in scope. In addition to encompassing ḥadīth on rituals, funerary prayers, and the body in the grave, it also addresses questions on the apocalypse and last judgement. The author rarely cites the source of his ḥadīth, but when he does, it is typically one of the canonical Sunni ḥadīth collections (the six canonical ḥadīth collections and the musānid). While he gives the name of the first transmitter from among the companions of the prophet, he does not provide a full isnād (chain of tranmission). The work opens with the well-known ḥadīth that (among other things) it is obligatory for the Muslim to walk in the funeral procession of another Muslim, and continues to discuss how the body should be washed and wrapped in the shroud, along with similar issues of religious practice and legal requirement.

However, what is interesting about the Kitāb Akhbār al-Ma‘ād is that it expands into more esoteric topics in the second half of the work, attempting a universal scope when dealing with the hereafter. It addresses not just the obligatory actions and prayers of the Muslim surrounding death but also includes ḥadīth on barzakh, the liminal area between this world and the next, and numerous ḥadīth and tales associated with the apocalypse and end of days in the Islamic tradition. After the detailed description of the apocalypse - including the appearance of the anti-Christ (the Dajjāl) and Gog and Magog (Jūj and Mājūj) - the author presents several ḥadīth on how humans will be judged, and describes the characteristics of those who will dwell in heaven or hell.

Beyond its status as a manuscript of royal patronage that has previously not received scholarly attention, the work is of note for its wide selection of ḥadīth on all aspects of eschatology. It remains to be established whether the work represents a truly unique approach to the topic of the afterlife, or whether the author based his work in part on previous compilations. While it has been established that the author did not rely on al-Suyūṭī’s many compilations, a detailed study of the numerous ḥadīth collections on the afterlife would be required before drawing any firm conclusions (I am writing an article on this manuscript and its comparison with similar compilations – so watch this space for more information!). However, if we take the preface and conclusion of the manuscript at face value, in which the author claims that he was ordered by Aurangzeb to construct this compilation, we should ask why the emperor was interested in an all-embracing approach to everything dealing with death and the afterlife, from the wrapping of the corpse in the shroud until the final trumpet heralding the last judgement, and why, for that matter, he saw fit to order not only the compilation of this material, but also its translation and exegesis in Persian.
 

The Arabic introduction to Kitāb Akhbār al-Ma‘ād, mentioning the patronage of the Emperor Aurangzeb (Delhi Persian 44, f 2v)


The manuscript is dated 1089 AH/ 1678 AD, the same year that al-Satirkhī completed the work, so Aurangzeb (born in 1618 AD), would have been sixty years old when it was written. Based on pure speculation, could impending old age have spurred a greater interest in the afterlife, causing Aurangzeb to commission such a work? The author, in the preface, states that Aurangzeb's wish was to lead those who were negligent in their religion back to the staight path - so perhaps the extremely educated and pious emperor intended this work for a general audience rather than his own private reading.  Or perhaps he had a particular person in mind, a relative he viewed as 'straying from the path' and wanted to frighten back into line with a book about threats of torture in the afterlife. For the moment, it remains a mystery, but watch this blog for more akhbār of the ma‘ād.

Further reading
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī. Bushrā al-Ka’īb bi-Liqā al-Ḥabīb ed. Mashhūr Ḥasan Maḥmūd Sulaymān (Jordan: Maktabat al-Manār, 1988)
Jane Idleman Smith and Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad. The Islamic Understanding of Death and Resurrection (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002)
Mujībullāh Nadvī. Fatāva-yi ʻĀlamgīrī ke muʾallifīn (Lāhaur: Markaz-i Taḥqīq-i Diyāl Singh Ṭrasṭ Lāʾibrerī, [1988])

Nur Sobers-Khan, Asian and African Studies

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An exciting project I’ve been working on during the last few months is ‘The Everlasting Flame: Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination’ a new exhibition opening this autumn at the Brunei Gallery, School of Oriental and African Studies London.

One of the world’s oldest religions, Zoroastrianism originated amongst the Iranian peoples in Central Asia during the second millennium BC spreading east along the Silk Road as far as China and south-west to Iran where it was the religion of the Achaemenid kings (550-330 BC) and their successors until the Arab conquest in the mid-seventh century AD. The Zoroastrian sacred texts were composed in the Avestan (Old Iranian) language, but were transmitted orally and were not written down until the late Sasanian period (c. 224-651 AD). Even after that Zoroastrianism remained essentially oral in character with the earliest surviving manuscripts dating from the late 13th century. Central to the religion is the belief in Ahura Mazda (‘wise lord’), his spokesman Zarathustra (Zoroaster) and the dichotomy between good and evil.


One of the holiest Zoroastrian prayers, the Ashem Vohu, discovered at Dunhuang by Aurel Stein in 1917. Transcribed into Sogdian (a medieval Iranian language) script, this fragment dates from around the ninth century AD, about four centuries earlier than any other surviving Zoroastrian text (British Library Or.8212/84)

This exhibition will be the first to provide a visual narrative of the history of Zoroastrianism and its rich cultural heritage. It will include sections on the spread of Zoroastrianism along the Silk Road, the Judaeo-Christian heritage, and Zoroastrianism in Iran from the Achaemenid empire up to and including the Islamic period. Further sections are devoted to Zoroastrianism in India, the Parsis and the Parsi diaspora. In addition to texts, paintings and textiles the exhibition will include a walk-in fire temple and a 10-metre glass etching based on the cast of the western staircase from the palace of Darius at Persepolis from the British Museum.

The exhibition is being curated by Sarah Stewart (lead curator) together with Pheroza Godrej, Almut Hintze, Firoza Mistree  and myself. As you can imagine, we have been having a wonderful time sourcing material to include. Not surprisingly — since I have been involved  — the exhibition will include a large number of loans from the British Library, which is fortunate in posessing one of the most important collections of Zoroastrian manuscripts. It will run from 11 October to 15 December 2013. A catalogue will be published by IB Tauris and there will be a two-day conference associated with the exhibition, ‘Looking Back: The Formation of Zoroastrian Identity Through Rediscovery of the Past’, on 11 and 12 October 2013.

During the next few months I’ll be writing about several of the exhibits, but meanwhile here are a few select items:

An illustrated copy of the Avestan Videvdad Sadeh, the longest of all the Zoroastrian liturgies. Copied in Yazd, Iran, in 1647 (British Library RSPA 230, ff. 151v–152r)

The martyrdom of the lady Tarbo, her sister and her servant who died during the reign of the Sasanian ruler Shapur II (r. 309-379). While the historicity of martyrologies such as this is questionable, they nevertheless represent a literary tradition of the early Christian community which is based on the realities of intermittent persecution under Sasanian rule. This very early Syriac manuscript dates from the fifth or sixth century AD (British Library Add.14654, ff. 13v-14r)

Zoroaster, founder of the seven liberal arts, as portrayed in the French world chronicle, Le Trésor des histoires. Medieval Christian interpretations of Zoroastrianism, based on classical literature, often focussed on the figure Zoroaster who came to be regarded as a master of magic, a philosopher, and an astrologer, especially after the Renaissance, with its increased awareness of Greek and Hellenistic literature. Depicted here at his desk, Zoroaster is described as the founder of necromancy and the seven liberal arts. This copy dates from c.1475–80 (British Library Cotton Augustus V, f. 25v)




Parsis at prayer, the shoreline of Bombay in the distance. Early 19th-century oil painting by Horace Van Ruith (1839–1923) who visited Bombay between 1879 and 1884 and is known to have established a studio there (British Library Foster 953, detail) Images online

For more details, follow these links to the exhibition website and facebook page.

Ursula Sims-Williams, Asian and African Studies

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This volume, which opens with an ornate rococo illuminated heading, is the original handwritten handlist of the manuscripts of Mustafa Paşa, preserved in the Mosque of Hasan Paşa. Neither the former owner nor the mosque is more specifically identified. According to an inscription, in 1230/1814-15 the library’s holdings were scrutinized under the supervision of Devletlü (His Excellency) Haccı ‘Ali Paşa. Of the 230 volumes, 135 were found to be present and 95 on loan to students. Many are common textbooks on the religious sciences.

Defter-i kütüb-i Mustafa Paşa fī Cami‘ Hasan Paşa, undated (late 18th-early 19th c.).  Original hand (f. 2v-5v, 11v-19v) is clear nesih; later additions in untidy rıkʼa. Text frames: black, gold, black, red. Thick off-white laid paper; watermarks: stylized coronet above letters BVC (C below); smaller coronet above letters CSC; stylized lion rampant. 22 folios, plus 79 blank but for ruling. 271 x 157 mm; ruled area 224 x 116 mm (British Library Or.14878)

This defter is unusually concise. Each page has a grid of 18 squares, each entry stating only the short title (or a generic description such as ‘Treatise on Sufism’) or author (but rarely both) and the number of volumes; this is often insufficient to identify the text unequivocally. In some squares, the word mevcud (‘present’) has been added in red ink. The compilers exhibit a lower level of linguistic knowledge than one might expect. The defter contains entries on folios 2v-7v; blank ruled squares on 8r-10v; then 69 folios that are blank apart from the ruled gilt text frames (not counted in foliation, following British Library practice); then further entries from f. 11v to the top row of 20r; then ten more folios with only text frames.

It is curious that the written contents comprise two sequences, both with later additions, separated by so many blank pages. The handwriting of the best-written folios – 2v-5v and 11v-19v – is all by the same individual, although the contents of the two sequences differ. The volume may have been ordered to a fixed size and format, to accommodate future acquisitions.  There is an explanation. Examination of the second sequence shows that it represents the original writer’s attempt to re-order the entries by subject, beginning with Qur’anic literature before proceeding to Ḥadīth (Prophetic traditions), Fiqh (jurisprudence), and so on. Thus the Defter of the Mustafa Paşa Library, for all its deficiencies, reflects the care taken to maintain records of the holdings of a modest Ottoman mosque library.


Muhammad Isa Waley, Asian and African Studies

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