دره التاج

Incipit: Durrat al-tāj ʻibārāt-i sharīf ... amma baʻd, bandah ba-ikhlāṣ-i dūdmān-i khilāfat-i nishān-i vilāyat-i tavāmān-i Safavī Ibn Rustam Khān Ṣafī Qulī maʻrūz̤-i ḥijāb-i bār-kāh malāyik-i sipāh mī-kardand ....

Binding is referred to as "chahargusheh" or a frame binding around a Kashmiri shawl from the first half of the 1700's (circa 1740's)..

Fol. 6a: Ibn Rustam Khān Ṣafī Qulī..

Folios 1a-37b..

Lacks colophon..

Library of Congress manuscript, Persian Cage 249 (122)..

Manuscript..

Naskhī script; 9 lines in written area 14 x 7 cm..

Paper: thick, cream colored polished Middle Eastern style, without distinctive chain or laid lines, and no water mark, with profuse decoration out side of the written area, black ink with gold decorations between lines and around lined borders of written area; rubricated..

Probably written in Kufah, Iraq or Iran..

Title "Durrat al-tāj" written in heavy dark ink by a later hand on fol. 1a; folio 21a has barely legible date 1246 (1830/1831 C.E.)..

Title from folio 1a..

Persian and Arabic..

Shiite prayer book; consists of prayers to be said on the visitation of Caliph ʻAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib's tomb..

This manuscript of Durrat al-tāj (The crown jewel) is a Shiite prayer book, consisting of prayers to be said when making a visitation to the tomb of Caliph ʻAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (circa 601-61). 'Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib is one of the most revered religious and holy figures of Islam. His honorary name, Amīr al-Mu'minīn, translates from Persian as the "prince of the believers." Written works by 'Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib and sayings attributed to him are sacred to the Shiite faithful, particularly among Persian speakers. The manuscript was probably written in Iran, possibly in the 17th century. The paper is of a thick, cream-colored polished Middle Eastern style, without distinctive chain or laid lines, and no watermark. The text is written in black ink in naskhī script, nine lines on each page, with gold decorations between lines. The borders of the written area are lined with black ink, with profuse decoration outside of the written area. The text is rubricated. The title was added by a later hand. There is no colophon. The binding is referred to as chahargusheh, meaning a frame binding made around a Kashmiri shawl dating from the first half of the 1700s (circa 1740s)..