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

Zone d'identification

Cote

GB 891 LJ

Titre

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

Date(s)

  • 20th June 1853 (Création/Production)
  • 1852 (Création/Production)

Niveau de description

Fonds

Étendue matérielle et support

1 bound volume handwritten

Zone du contexte

Nom du producteur

Notice biographique

Major General George Legrand Jacob (24 April 1805-1881) was an army officer in the East India Company. At the age of fifteen he began learning languages under Dr John Borthwick Gilchrist. He became fluent in Hindi, Persian, Marathi and Sanksrit. He was in the Grenadier Regiment Bombay Native Infantry and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1823 and to Major General in 1861. He is perhaps most known for suppressing the Indian Rebellion of 1857, involving a mutiny in the 27th Bombay Native Infantry. He was one of the earliest copiers of the Asoka Inscriptions. In addition to publishing many papers on Indian history, archaeology and topography, he wrote a book titled 'Western India before and during the Mutiny' which was published in 1871. He died in London on 27 January 1881 and was buried in Brockwood Cemetery in Surrey.

Histoire archivistique

The volume was sent by Sir Legrand Jacob to the Oriental Translation Committee.

Source immédiate d'acquisition ou de transfert

The Oriental Translation Committee requested the translation of the Ajaib al Tabaqat from Sir Legrand Jacob who sent his translation contained in this volume to them.

Zone du contenu et de la structure

Portée et contenu

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.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

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Conditions d’accès

Open. Please contact the archivist. Details can be found here : https://royalasiaticarchives.org/. The archive is open on Tuesdays and Fridays 10-5, and Thursdays 2-5. Access is to any researcher without appointment but it will help if an appointment is made via phone or email. Please bring photo ID.

Conditions governing reproduction

Digital photography (without flash) for research purposes may be permitted upon completion of a copyright declaration form, and with respect to current UK copyright law.

Language of material

  • anglais

Script of material

    Language and script notes

    Caractéristiques matérielle et contraintes techniques

    Finding aids

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    Existence and location of originals

    Existence and location of copies

    Related units of description

    The original Persian text purchased by Sir Alexander Burnes and translated by Sir Legrand Jacob is held in the RAS Collections as 'Persian 179.' Details can be found here.

    Descriptions associées

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    Identifiant de la description

    gb891-lj

    Identifiant du service d'archives

    Rules and/or conventions used

    Statut

    Niveau de détail

    Dates of creation revision deletion

    Langue(s)

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        Sources

        Archivist's note

        These papers archived in July 2022 by Amina Khan, RAS Archive volunteer under the supervision of RAS Archivist, Nancy Charley.

        Accession area