Fonds LJ - Aja'ib al Tabaqat by Muhammad Tahir b. Abul Qasim translated by Sir Legrand Jacob

The 'Aja'ib al Tabaqat' (Wonders of the Universe) is a Persian text that was purchased by Sir Alexander Burnes in the Bazar of Bukhara 1832. This translation lists the author of the 'Aja'ib al Tabaqat' as 'Muhammad Tahir, son of Abul Qasim.' The 'Aja'ib al Tabaqat' is part of the 'aja'ib' genre in medieval Islamic literature, 'aja'ib' meaning 'marvelous, strange or unusual.' The 'aja'ib' genre consists of discussions on the marvels of the world and often contain cosmographical content. The 'Aja'ib al Tabaqat' includes a creation story, accounts of Islamic prophets and descriptions of various countries and cities. Sir Legrand's translation states the original text by Muhammad Tahir son of Abul Qasim, was written in 1819.

The text consists of one hardbound volume of handwritten text. It is an incomplete manuscript in that Sir Legrand Jacob has omitted various sections in his translation, indicating where he has done so. The pastedowns include text in another language.
The volume contains a pencil drawing of a temple titled 'A temple near […]' At the beginning of the text is a handwritten letter from Sir Legrand Jacob, dated 'Kutch, June 20 1853' which states that in his opinion, the text was not worth translating but he reluctantly complied to the request from the Oriental Translation Committee and translated it. This letter mentions Sir Gore Ouseley.

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