Walters Ms. W.593, Wonders of creation ʿAjāyib al-makhlūqāt va-gharāyib al-mawjūdāt عجايب المخلوقات وغرايب الموجودات <note type="title" xml:id="n235.046212">Persian version of the famous ʿAjā’ib al-makhlūqāt (Wonders of creation) by Zakariyāʾ al-Qazwīnī (d. 682 AH / 1283 CE), composed in 555 AH / 1160 CE (fol. 3b); title given on fols. 1b-2a in the opening double-page illuminated frontispiece reading: Kitāb ʿAjā’ib al-makhlūqāt wa-gharāʾib al-mawjūdāt fī dhikr qudrat Allāh tabāraka wa-taʿālá ʿamma nawāluh wa-jalla jalāluh wa-aẓuma shaʾnuh</note> Ṭūsī, Muḥammad ibn Maḥmūd, 12th cent. Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Maḥmūd ibn Aḥmad al-Salmānī al-Ṭūsī شمس الدين محمد بن محمود بن احمد السلمانى الطوسى The author's name is given in the roundels on fols. 1a and 3b. He lived in the sixth century AH / twelfth CE. Principal cataloger Gacek, Adam Cataloger Landau, Amy Cataloger Smith, Sita Copy editor Bockrath, Diane Contributor Barrera, Christina Contributor Emery, Doug Contributor Herbert, Lynley Contributor Noel, William Contributor Simpson, Shreve Contributor Tabritha, Ariel Contributor Toth, Michael B. Contributor Valle, Chiara Conservator Jewell, Stephanie Conservator Quandt, Abigail The Walters Art Museum

Licensed for use under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Access Rights, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcode. It is requested that copies of any published articles based on the information in this data set be sent to the curator of manuscripts, The Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles Street, Baltimore MD 21201.

 This is an illuminated and illustrated copy of a Persian version of the famous ʿAjā’ib al-makhlūqāt (Wonders of creation) by Zakariyāʾ al-Qazwīnī (d. 682 AH / 1283 CE), composed by Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad al-Ṭūsī (fl. sixth century AH / twelfth CE). The text, in black nastaʿlīq script, may have been written by an Iranian scribe in the tenth century AH / sixteenth CE in Ottoman Turkey. It opens with an illuminated medallion inscribed with the author's name (fol. 1a), followed by a double-page illuminated incipit (fols. 1b-2a). The text is illustrated with one hundred eighty-one paintings of different sizes that offer an interesting iconography for Ṭūsī manuscripts. The red leather binding is not contemporary with the manuscript and probably dates to the thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE. Baltimore The Walters Art Museum W.593 The primary language in this manuscript is Persian. The secondary language of this manuscript is Arabic. fols. 1b - 232a ʿAjāyib al-makhlūqāt va-gharāyib al-mawjūdāt عجايب المخلوقات وغرايب الموجودات <note type="title" xml:id="n235.046277">Persian version of the famous ʿAjā’ib al-makhlūqāt (Wonders of creation) by Zakariyāʾ al-Qazwīnī (d. 682 AH / 1283 CE), composed in 555 AH / 1160 CE (fol. 3b); title given on fols. 1b-2a in the opening double-page illuminated frontispiece reading: Kitāb ʿAjā’ib al-makhlūqāt wa-gharāʾib al-mawjūdāt fī dhikr qudrat Allāh tabāraka wa-taʿālá ʿamma nawāluh wa-jalla jalāluh wa-aẓuma shaʾnuh</note> بسم الله...حمد بيحد خالقى را كه عجايب مخلوقات... Main chapter headings and some quotations in Arabic

Thick laid paper

 Foliation: ii+232+ii36.0 23.5 22.5 13.0

Written obliquely on versos

Framing lines in gold and blue Written in nastaʿlīq script in black, red, and gold ink One hundred eighty-one illustrations; double-page illuminated incipit; illuminated medallion inscribed with author's name; framing lines in gold and blue Illuminated medallion inscribed with author's name Frontispiece; Medallion This illuminated medallion is inscribed with the author's name, Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Maḥmūd ibn Aḥmad al-Salmānī al-Ṭūsī. Double-page illuminated incipit Incipit This is the right side of a double-page illuminated incipit inscribed with the title of the manuscript and the first lines of the preface. Double-page illuminated incipit Incipit This is the left side of a double-page illuminated incipit inscribed with the title of the manuscript and the first lines of the preface. The prophet Abraham and the four birds he brought to life Illustration Four angels carrying the throne of God (the orbit) Illustration The angel Isrāfīl with his trumpet Illustration Two angels Illustration Two angels Illustration An angel looks at a dead man lying on the ground Illustration The sun depicted as a king Illustration The moon represented by two angels embracing each other Illustration Saturn with several attributes, including a dragon, a simurgh, and jugs Illustration Jupiter as a king enthroned Illustration Mars with many attributes Illustration Venus accompanied by six women Illustration Mercury as a prince Illustration Aries and Taurus Illustration Gemini Illustration Cancer and Leo (and the sun combined) Illustration Virgo and Libra Illustration Scorpio Illustration Sagittarius and Capricorn Illustration Aquarius Illustration Pisces; an old woman under a tree and a child jumping from the tree Illustration The Prophet Muhammad’s ascension into heaven Illustration A fabulous creature in Sind that appears at a fire-temple Illustration Siyāvush on horseback Illustration Zoroaster visits Rustam Illustration A rainbow with the faces of the sun and moon Illustration A man on a headless horse Illustration Demons riding a boar and a bear Illustration A battle of Amir of Khurasan against the Turks Illustration A large, winged fish Illustration Enthroned Caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd and an old Arab who brought him water from the desert Illustration Nūshīrvān sleeping on the throne he built on top of the dam in the land of the Khazars Illustration The killing of Afrāsiyāb is discovered in the lake of Khanjast Illustration An idol on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea Illustration A man lowers an inscribed tablet from the bridge on the river Sabḥān to calm its waters Illustration Kay Khusraw watches fabulous creatures in Lake Zarah Illustration Divers return jewels thrown into Lake Shīrah to a king Illustration Divers in the Sea of ʿUmān save themselves by feeding the fish and monsters Illustration Two men in a boat watch sirens and a large turtle at the Sea of Qusṭanṭinīyah Illustration An angel warning the prophet Khiz̤r not to explore the depths of the Sea of Harkand Illustration An idol in the River Andalus warns people not to continue their journey Illustration Alexander the Great, his soldiers, and the prophets Khiḍr and Elijah at the Fountain of Life Illustration A king on horseback at a spring near Bāmiyān Illustration A naked woman exposes her private parts in front of an idol, a demon, and two men with a dog Illustration First half of a map of the world Illustration Second half of a map of the world Illustration Birds brought from Arabia Illustration Alexander the Great on horseback and two angels holding Mount Qāf Illustration Warriors on horseback fight enormous ants at Jabal al-aḥmar Illustration Lighthouses with a cat, a monkey, and the heads of animals and humans Illustration Two men watch a dragon and white vultures eating meat with diamonds sticking to it Illustration A woman, accompanied by a child, leads a bull with a demon lying at its feet Illustration Two young men shooting at snakes in a tree in the presence of a demon Illustration A civet cat in a cage Illustration A king enthroned during the feast of Nawrūz Illustration A dragon guards the treasure found by Anūshīrvān and his vizier Būzurjmihr Illustration The Caliph Muḥammad Amīn and a winged horse coming out of a pool into which his ring had fallen Illustration Bahrām Gūr hunting while Fitnah plays a harp Illustration The mosque compound in Mecca with the kaʿbah in the center Illustration A fight at the mosque in Medina to protect the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad Illustration Five men watch flames appear once every year in the Temple of David in Jerusalem Illustration King Solomon enthroned in the company of animals, humans, and demons Illustration The hanging of a man believed to be Jesus Illustration Jesus and a dragon with a tree growing from its mouth Illustration Three tombs of the prophets Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph in Bethlehem Illustration A lion and a ram tied to a post to delineate the boundary of the city of Baghdad Illustration Two thieves collect fruit in the garden of Solomon Illustration Queen Sheba enthroned with a number of men paying her homage Illustration Alexander the Great meets two harpies perched on top of two pillars in the town of Jābalasā Illustration An idol defends the fortress of Jāriyah with a bow and arrows Illustration A rooster made of copper puts pears into glass bowls Illustration A widow of a deceased king of Ceylon strikes his coffin with a sword Illustration Alexander the Great watches the wall being built between Gog and Magog Illustration Minaret in the town of Sarīrah Illustration One of two brothers sits on the wall on the river Nile Illustration Running lions near the town of Ṭabarīyah Illustration A large fish with four legs, known as Saqanqūr, at Fusṭāṭ Illustration White squirrels on trees in Kāshghar Illustration Moses removes a large stone from a well to water his sheep Illustration Three men worship an idol of Mūltān Illustration The devil copulates with a pig with his offspring on the right side Illustration The interior of a mosque in Haramān Illustration A warrior on horseback with two other men in front of a fortress in Yemen Illustration People turned into stone in a city in Ḥaḍramawt Illustration King Solomon, enthroned, speaks to the king of the Fortress of Qaṭrān Illustration A tree on Mount Lābīs with the heads of humans and animals growing from it Illustration The devil, a man killing a lion, and the vine Illustration A man being saved by clinging to the feet of a bird and a dog pulling out mandrakes with female heads Illustration ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib on horseback killing a dragon with the Prophet Muhammad and Bilāl looking on Illustration Three depictions of idols and worshipers from India and Andalusia Illustration Three depictions of idol worship Illustration Four depictions of idol worship Illustration Two depictions of idol worship Illustration Two men touch a nude statue Illustration Anūshīrvān’s veiled body lying on a throne, visited by the Caliph al-Maʾmūn and another man Illustration A man watches a fantastic animal Illustration An official shows Alexander the Great treasure hidden in large jars Illustration A man fights a lion Illustration A man, watched by a lion and a jackal, tries to catch a monkey in a tree Illustration A man, watched by an ape, tries to milk a lioness Illustration An angel leads a demon who told a story to King Solomon Illustration A group of women beat a man whom they mistook for an intruder Illustration Three kings of the people of ʿĀd tossed up into the air for mocking Moses Illustration Giant women, who later became part of Alexander the Great’s army, battle warriors on horseback Illustration Alexander the Great and his men meet a giant near Bābil Illustration A warrior, hidden behind a rock, watches a man-like creature Illustration Demon warriors slaughtered in battle Illustration A man watches two hunters follow an animal with a human head Illustration A sculpture of a man on horseback venerated by people of North Africa Illustration A king pierces himself with a sword in front of an idol Illustration Garshāsf bends an iron bow in the presence of the king of Rūm and his daughter Illustration ʿAlī, on horseback, kills a lion to save his friend Salmān Illustration Galen, in the presence of Hippocrates, tries to remove a worm from the head of a Roman king Illustration An amir of Khurasan is surprised at the figure of a man Illustration A king of Khurasan has his leg treated by a physician Illustration A king and a man, brought to a fortress by a bird, fall from the building while wrestling Illustration A woman brings a bowl of milk on her head Illustration A vizier speaks with a king of Iṣṭakhr Illustration Old holy men in a cave in India Illustration Two men carry the coffin of Alexander the Great Illustration A lover of one of the wives of Nūshīrvān is brought before him and Būzurjmihr Illustration A man kneels before a man-eating monk Illustration The demon Halhāl with an animal head and feet Illustration A king watches a demon copulating with his donkey Illustration A man visits the enthroned devil Illustration The demon Akvān carries Rustam sleeping on a rock Illustration Three men carry three other men with weak legs Illustration A woman-demon falls off the horse of a man Illustration A king watches strange creatures (people of the sea) Illustration A man and woman make love Illustration A young man and a girl with a baby in her arms appear before the throne of King Solomon Illustration A sīmurgh fights a dragon Illustration Two ostriches with camel heads kill a wolf Illustration Seven cranes with swords in their bills and flames shooting up Illustration King Solomon questions an owl sitting on a grave Illustration Two storks attack another stork and a crow with a snake around its neck Illustration A bird like a peacock with a lion’s head Illustration A man watches a strange animal from behind a cart Illustration An elephant Illustration A sea-cow Illustration A sea-horse with large wings Illustration A man with wings and feet like a horse and two other men eating Illustration An angel, the prophet Ezra, and his donkey Illustration The Prophet Muhammad on horseback kills Abū Khalaf at Badr Illustration ʿUmūrīyah, a daughter of King Faylaqūs, milks a goat Illustration A rhinoceros fights an elephant Illustration A lion kills ʿUtbah ibn Abī Lahab Illustration A tiger and a lion in combat Illustration Abraham in the fire with the angels Gabriel and Michael on the left Illustration A hyena places its foot on a dog’s shadow, forcing it to come down from a building Illustration The Seven Sleepers and their dog Illustration Dogs fighting beavers and a fish with a moon face (representing Sirius) in its mouth Illustration Musicians make noise with their instruments to force a bear out of a ruined mill Illustration An enthroned king watches copulating donkeys and pigs with two lions (above) in wait for their prey Illustration A dog kills a fox in the presence of a gesticulating man Illustration A prophet on horseback (representing the people of Israel) fights two warriors Illustration Two women beat a civet cat in a cage to make it produce its distinctive musk Illustration Two men approach the prophet Jonah Illustration Various types of fish in the water Illustration Two men with bows and arrows shoot at each other while trying to kill lions; two saqanqūrs in the water Illustration Isfandiyār ibn Garshāsb fights a dragon Illustration A king in front of a man on a cow with scorpions; a man, with his hands tied, about to be executed with a sword Illustration A man watches two oversized locusts from behind a hill Illustration The Prophet Muhammad and Abū Bakr hide in a cave on their way to Medina, with the help of a spider Illustration King Solomon, with his entourage of angels, demons, and birds, talks to the king of the ants Illustration A man who put himself in the place of a donkey is led by a rope by the donkey’s owner Illustration A woman, trying to prevent her lover leaving the house, lies to her husband about the man’s identity Illustration A robber ties up a cloth merchant while his companions clean out the house Illustration A man fights the devil Illustration King Solomon enthroned in the presence of a prophet, angels, demons, animals, and birds Illustration

Probably thirteenth century AH / nineteenth CE; red leather with flap; blind-tooled central oval

 10th century AH / 16th CE Turkey Old shelf mark in Hindu-Arabic numerals 1834 inscribed on the tail-edge and below an erased seal on fol. 1a Ex libris Henry Walters on the upper board inside Relevant Works Storey, C. A. Persian Literature: A Bio-Bibliographical Survey, Vol. 2. (London: Luzac, 1927- ), 121-2. Rührdanz, Karin. “An Ottoman Illustrated Version of Muhammad al-Tusi’s Aja’ib al-Makhluqat.” Arab Historical Review for Ottoman Studies 19/20 (1999): 455-475. Richard, Francis. Splendeurs persanes: manuscrits du XIIe au XVIIe siècle. (Paris: Bibliothèque nationale, 1997), no. 33. Art Medicine Museum Poetry Script Muhammad, the Prophet Kashmiri Horses Walters Art Museum Document Astrology Devotion History Legal Literature -- Poetry Literature -- Prose Liturgy Philosophy Science Science -- Medicine Scripture Sufism Theology Mineralogy Logic Geography Geomancy Cosmology Cartography Fortune-telling Koran Qur`an Firman Palimpsest Prayer Bible Gospels Psalter Missal Lectionary Book of Hours Antiphonary Homilary Processional Horologion Breviary Hymnal Chronicle Maghreb Sub-Saharan (West) Africa Turkey Afghanistan Central Asia Egypt England India Iran Iraq Pakistan Germany France Austria Netherlands Ethiopia Armenia Flanders Greece Mamluk Mughal Ottoman Ottonian Armenian Byzantine Abbasid Qajar Rajput Christian Arabic Austrian Dutch Egyptian Fatimid German Indian Islamic Persian Safavid Timurid Turkish Umayyad English French Flemish Ethiopian Carolingian Calligraphy Colophon Headpiece Illumination Illustration Medallion Miniature Ornament Painting Early Abbasid script Ragini Romanesque Gothic Watermark Grotesques Historiated initial Inhabited initial White-vine lettering Textura Batarda Humanistic Uncial Accordion book Album Book Codex Manuscript Heraldry Saint's Life Drawing Grisaille Binding New Abbasid style Musical notation Russia Romania Charter Russian Genealogy Mass book Prayer book Gospel Lectionary Psalter-Hours Treatise Grammar Gloss Pontifical Private devotional text Gradual Protective scroll Scroll 10th century 11th century 12th century 13th century 14th century 15th century 16th century 17th century 18th century 19th century 20th century 8th century 9th century Block book Caroline minuscule Central Arab lands (Near East) Chart English secretary hand Kufic Gothic book hand Original binding Treasure binding Gospel Book Liturgical Devotional Scriptural Theological Legal Historical Scientific Scientific -- Medical Literary -- Prose Literary -- Poetry Philosophical Astrological Sufi English Book Codex Cosmology Illumination Illustration Iran Islamic Manuscript Persian Turkey Walters Art Museum