An Eleventh-Century Egyptian Guide to the Universe: The Book of Curiosities trans. and ed. by Yossef Rapoport and Emilie Savage-Smith

Abstract

Reviewed by: An Eleventh-Century Egyptian Guide to the Universe: The Book of Curiosities trans. and ed. by Yossef Rapoport and Emilie Savage-Smith Ismail K. Poonawala An Eleventh-Century Egyptian Guide to the Universe: The Book of Curiosities by Yossef Rapoport and Emilie Savage-Smith (eds and trans), 2014. Leiden and Boston: Brill, xii + 698 pp., + facsimile of Bodleian MS Arab c. 90, fol. 1A-fol. 49A ( 92 pp.), £188.25. ISBN: 9789004255647 (hbk). This thick volume of over 700 pages is a detailed account of the heavens and earth, illustrated by an unparalleled series of maps and astronomical diagrams. With topics ranging from comets to the island of Sicily, from lunar mansions to the sources of the Nile, it represents the extent of geographical, astronomical and astrological knowledge of the eleventh century. It is lavishly and aesthetically produced with a colour facsimile of the unique manuscript and numerous maps, including two of the world, one rectangular and the other circular. In addition, it includes maps of the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean and Caspian Seas, Sicily, Cyprus, the Bays of Byzantium, the sources of the Nile, as well as river maps of the Nile, the Euphrates, the Tigris, the Indus and the Oxus. This authoritative and critical edition of An Eleventh-Century Egyptian Guide to the Universe, with annotated translation, is of high scholarly quality. It opens a unique window on the worldview of medieval Islam and represents the extent of the geographical, astronomical and astrological knowledge of the time. It is a welcome addition, particularly, to the list of Muslim contributions to cosmological science and cartography. Both Yossef Rapoport and Emilie Savage-Smith should be congratulated for their valuable efforts. The project for the preparation of this book extended over a decade. We do not know the history of this highly illustrated manuscript of a hitherto-unknown Arabic cosmological treatise, nor where it was [End Page 359] discovered, or how. What we do know is that on 10 October 2000 Christie's, a prestigious auction house in London, offered it for sale and Sam Fogg, a well-known London dealer in rare books and manuscripts, bought it. Later, it was discovered that eight other copies of the entire text, or portions of it, without most of the illustrations, were preserved in manuscripts dating from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries that had gone unnoticed by scholars due to the work's anonymity. Fogg, thereafter, offered the manuscript to the Bodleian Library at a price well under its true market value. Following an extensive fundraising effort, in June 2002 the Bodleian acquired it. The manuscript contains a remarkable series of early maps and astronomical diagrams, most of which are unparalleled in any Greek, Latin or Arabic sources known to be preserved today. Both its illustrations and the Arabic text preserve material gathered from Muslim astronomers, historians, scholars and travellers during the ninth to eleventh centuries whose works are now either totally lost or only partially preserved in fragments in later sources. The Arabic title of the book is Kitāb Gharā'ib al-funūn wamulaḥ al-'uyūn (The Book of Curiosities of the Sciences and Marvels for the Eyes). It has been recognized as one of the most important discoveries in the history of cartography during recent decades. The manuscript copy is without colophon, that is, unsigned and undated. However, from the appearance of the paper, ink and script, the editors presume a possible dating to the end of the twelfth century. Unfortunately, the author's name is unknown. What is known is that it was composed in Egypt during the reign of the Fatimids, but the name of the reigning caliph is not mentioned. Following the basmala, ḥamdala and taṣliya, the introduction simply states 'And [may the prayers of God be] on the leaders of the community from among his [Muhammad's] descendants, the virtuous chosen ones, the good caliphs.'1 The book begins with a response to a plea for information from a fellow scholar. The author states: You have asked me … to write a volume encompassing the principles of the raised-up roof [i.e. the sky] and the laid-down bed [i.e...