Abstract
There is in the British Museum a Persian MS., Or. 5,849, which is a translation of an Arabic treatise by Albīrūnī. It is a small quarto containing 175 folios, and at one time belonged to one of the Oude royal libraries, and has several red impressions of seals. It was picked up by me in Lakhnau, in 1899. The MS. is a materia medica, and contains accounts of drugs, vegetable and mineral, in alphabetical order. Its title is Kitāb-i-ṣaidanah, and the translator discusses at some length the origin of this name. Albīrūnī was inclined to derive it from the Indian chandan and the Persian chandal, sandalwood, but this etymology is rejected by the translator. There is a long preface by the translator, and as it is in very high-flown language, and as the MS. is much worm-eaten, it is not very easy to understand his meaning. However, we learn from p. 2b that the translator's name was Abū-bakr, son of ‘Ali, son of Us̤mān Asfaru’l-kāsānī, and further on we find that he came to India in the beginning of amsu-d-dīn Īltatmi's reign, or in the last year of his predecessor and father-in-law, Qut̤bu-d-dīn Aibak, and consequently about 607 A.H. (1211 A.D.). He speaks of staying in Dihlī for eighteen months.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
