In 2011 I reported on the discovery of Arabic translations of important works by Galen, at the library at Meshed (or Mashhad) in north-eastern Iran. My last post back then mentioned (although I was unclear what the discovery was) the discovery in the same library of what turns out to be the lost books IV to VII of the Arithmetica of Diophantus of Alexandria,
This edition of Books IV to VII of Diophantus’ Arithmetica, which are extant only in a recently discovered Arabic translation, is the outgrowth of a doctoral dissertation submitted to the Brown University Department of the History of Mathematics in May 1975.
Early in 1973, my thesis adviser, Gerald Toomer, learned of the existence of this manuscript in A. Gulchin-i Macani’s just-published catalogue of the mathematical manuscripts in the Mashhad Shrine Library, and secured a photographic copy of it. In September 1973, he proposed that the study of it be the subject of my dissertation. Since limitations of time compelled us to decide on priorities, the first objective was to establish a critical text and to translate it. For this reason, the Arabic text and the English translation appear here virtually as they did in my thesis.
It seems that this library contains copies in Arabic of Greek scientific and mathematical works which are not known to us.
I found myself wondering where this library was, and what could be known about it. To my surprise, it is not exactly an obscure library. Mashhad (which seems to be the favoured spelling online) is a significant city in Iran. The name itself is a word which means “tomb of the martyr”, so there are many “mashhads” in Iran. This one refers to the Imam Reza, the eighth Shia Imam, who is buried in the city, which is therefore a major Shia pilgrimage site. The shrine and the associated buildings form a complex in the city centre, which can be viewed easily on Google Maps.
There is an Encyclopedia Iranica article on “Āstān-e qods-e rażawi” here, which clarifies that Astan Quds Razavi is the name of the complex of buildings around the shrine.
The library of interest to us is the “Central Library of Astan Quds Razavi”, which has a Wikipedia page here. The library itself has a website, an online catalogue and email address: http://www.aqlibrary.org and info@aqlibrary.org (these details from here), although these appear to be currently offline, no doubt because of the ongoing foolishness out there right now.
I confess that looking at the map fills me with a desire to do a coach tour of Iran.
In fact the building itself is modern, although it was built in a traditional style. Internally the building is modern.
As the Amazon blurb indicates, the librarian compiled a catalogue of the manuscripts. His name turns out to be Gulchin Maani, or rather “Golčin Maʿāni, Aḥmad” (d. 2000), and there is an Iranica Online article about him (with photograph, in jacket and tie).
In 1342 Š./1963 he moved to Mašhad, where he served as bibliographer of the manuscript collection of Āstān-e qods-e rażawi (q.v.). He prepared the following catalogues of Persian and Arabic manuscripts of the library:
- volume VII, on history and literature (published in 2 parts, Mašhad, 1346 Š./1967);
- volume VIII, on mathematics (Mašhad, 1350 Š./1971);
- and a list of its Qurʾān manuscripts (Rāhnemā-ye ganjina-ye Qorʾān-e Ketāb-ḵāna-ye Āstān-e qods-e rażawi, Mašhad, 1347 Š./1968).
In addition, he catalogued some of the majmuʿas (miscellanea manuscripts) of the Majles Library (Našriya-ye nosḵahā-ye ḵaṭṭi 5, 1345 Š./1966, pp. 153-203) and the manuscript collection of ʿAbd-al-Ḥosayn Bayāt (Našriya-ye nosḵahā-ye ḵaṭṭi 6, pp. 63-117).
In total, he catalogued 2,360 manuscripts in these works.
Volume VIII of his catalogue, then, was the one which listed the Diophantus. What else might be in there? The variety in transcription spellings makes it very difficult to search for bibliography. Copies of that catalogue must exist in the West, surely?
I imagine all this is old hat, well-known, to real professionals in Arabic and Persian philology, such as Theo Beers. Indeed I don’t even know who the workers in the field are. But it’s interesting stuff. What else might be found in that library, or in that library catalogue?