Arabic Fragments Research Articles

A new Arabic fragment of Jacob of Serugh’s homily On Epiphany

This contribution presents a new Arabic fragment of Jacob of Serugh’s homily On the Baptism of Our Saviour in the Jordan (On Epiphany). It has been preserved through secondary use in the back cover of MS Sinai, St Catherine's Monastery, Ar. 516 and can be attributed palaeographically to the Sinaitic scribe Thomas of Fustat. The translation belongs to the oldest translations of Jacob's works into Arabic. The text was previously only known from two other short fragments. The new fragment doubles the amount of known text of this translation. It is contextualised in detail here and the text is reproduced in a diplomatic edition and English translation.

Islamic dogmatic texts in Pyotr Tolstoy’s translation of «The History of the Present State of the Ottoman Empire»: the first fixation of adhan in Russian literature

The article discusses supposedly the first fixation of the text of the adhan in Russian literature, which is found in the Russian translation of Paul Ricaut's treatise entitled «The History of the Present State of the Ottoman Empire». This translation was made from the Italian version by Pyotr Tolstoy during his stay in the Ottoman Empire in 1702–1714. Already in the English edition of the treatise of 1686 there are errors in the transliteration of the Arabic text of adhan, and its meaning is not fully conveyed. For the English reader, only takbir and shahada were translated, that are the most characteristic dogmatic formulae that Europeans could be familiar with from the other sources. The number of transliteration errors has increased in French and Italian translations. In the Polish translation, transliteration errors were corrected, but the gap in the transmission of content was not filled. Pyotr Tolstoy, not being an orientalist, did not make an attempt to critically comprehend the distorted transmission of Arabic fragments in the Italian translation of Historia and did not fill in the missing readings in the translation, for example, by attracting informants who knew the language and basic tenets of Islam. This is also not done during the re-preparation of the Russian translation for publication in 1741, and the Polish translation, which was partly used at that time for verification, was not referred in this case. Previous experiences of transmitting basic Islamic formulae also remain unfamiliar to Tolstoy, which is not surprising, given their fragmentation and occasional nature.

A fragment of the Gospel of John preserved in the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Collection

The Princeton Geniza Project (PGP) website reports the discovery of an Arabic fragment of the Gospel of John with the shelfmark TS Misc. 27.4.24b, which is preserved in PGP from this year 2022. In this paper, we offer the edition and the study of both fragments.

Did the Arabic Tradition Know a More Complete Version of Alexander’s Commentary on Aristotle’s Topics? The Evidence from Ps-Jābir’s

This paper discusses two passages from Alexander of Aphrodisias’s commentary on Aristotle’s Topics that are transmitted in Ps-Jābir’s Kitāb al-Nukhab. It argues that the Arabic translation of Alexander’s commentary may have been made from a fuller version than what came down to us in Greek. Especially since the author(s) of the Jābir-corpus form a tradition different from the school of Ḥunayn b. Isḥāq (d. 873) and authors associated to the ‘Baghdad school’, whose earliest figure is Abū Bishr Mattā b. Yūnus (d. 940), the Arabic fragments of Alexander’s commentary preserved in the Kitāb al-Nukhab promise to shed more light on the early reception of the Topics and the different contexts in which Aristotelian dialectic was studied in the Islamic world.

Judeo-Arabic Literature from the Abraham Firkovich Collection of the National Library of Russia in St. Petersburg

This paper surveys the Judeo Arabic manuscripts of the Abraham Firkovich Collection of the National Library of Russia. The published catalogue was composed by Victor Vladimirovich Lebedev. His work later has been clarified later. This paper particularly draws attention to the Judeo Arabic fragments of the Qur’an, texts on philosophy, Sufism, and folk literature. Particular emphasis in this regard is given to some fragments of the anonymous and unique sources.

Extract from the “Diwan” of Al-Makzoun Al-Sinjari (Beginning of the 13th Century)

The presenting appeal to the poetic heritage of the medieval mystic poet, emir, sheikh al- Makzoun al-Sinjari (c. 1188–1240) is undertaken for the first time in Russian oriental studies. The proposed translation from the Arabic fragment of his poetic work “Divan” is supplied with an introductory article giving an idea of the degree of study in world science of the literary and theological work of this Nusayri figure. Based on the analysis of the specific terms, a conclusion is made about the deep Sufi roots of the poetry of Makzoun. In the poem, the central concept is loving intimacy to God - a connection or coupling (wasl, wisal) with a clear erotic connotation. This meaning approach it to the biblical book “Song of Songs”, where the deep love relationship of the human soul and God is also clothed in an erotic form rich in metaphors. Makzoun relied in his poetry on samples of Arabic love lyrics transferring them to the realm of God-seeking. As a representative of Sufism, Makzoun uses words in special meanings, for example, the designation of the “parts” of the heart or soul – qalb, fu’ad. Some concepts (sabr, hizn, wajd, qabd, bast), in addition to the basic meanings, can denote “stations” (makamat) on the spiritual path of a Sufi. The religious meaning of the love qasida is revealed for one practicing in a mystical Muslim way, acquiring a special religious content. Fragments from Makzoun 's “Divan” may have been performed at Sufi musical festive gatherings or may have been part of a Nusayri religious practice.

L’ usage des fragments arabes (Le Caire, Taymūr Pāšā 290 aḫlāq) dans l’ édition arabo-latine de la Summa Alexandrinorum

Résumé Following the work of Dunlop (1974) and Badawī (1979), this study aims to prepare the way for a new edition of the Arabic fragments of the Iḫtiṣār al-Iskandarāniyyīn, which are preserved in Cairo manuscript Taymūr Pāšā 290 aḫlāq. This second phase of the project concerns a precise comparison between these Arabic fragments and the corresponding passages in the Arabo-Latin translation of the Summa Alexandrinorum, which was completed by Hermann the German in 1243 and will soon be published in a new edition. Comparing the Arabic fragments with the corresponding passages in Latin makes it possible: 1) to enhance earlier attempts to compile a glossary of Arabic and Latin terms as used by Hermann in his translations; 2) to evaluate how these Arabic fragments can properly be used for the new edition of the Arabo-Latin version of the Summa Alexandrinorum; 3) to draw some conclusions about the status of these Arabic fragments and Hermann’s methods, as well as Hermann’s underlying aims. The paper concludes by offering a methodological perspective on the forthcoming edition of the Summa Alexandrinorum in its Arabo-Latin version.

The Fragmentary Ninth/Tenth Century Andalusi Arabic Translation of the Epistle to the Galatians Revisited (Vat. lat. 12900, olim Seguntinus 150 BC Sigüenza)

Abstract This article offers a new edition of the surviving fragment of the Epistle to the Galatians, currently in the Vatican Library (Vat. Lat. 12900), with the aim of correcting the mistakes of the former edition. We also offer a complete translation and analysis of the Arabic fragment to identify the techniques and strategies used by the translator. The text preserved in Vat. lat. 12900 was revised later. From this review process two witnesses have survived, MS BNM 4971 and MS Marciana Gr. Z. 11 (379), which we have used for a comparative analysis of the three texts to show the changes made in the two processes of revision exhibited by BNM 4971 and MS Marciana Gr. Z. 11 (379). As a result of this comparative analysis we propose a hypothesis according to which the fragment could be dated as early as in the ninth century, and more specifically at the end of the century from both the comparative analaysis and the information provided by the Visigothic writing of the Latin column.

The Enigma of Arabic and Hebrew Palladius

This article reassesses the attribution of the Aphorisms commentary preserved in the Haddad Memorial Library (MS Ḥaddād) to Palladius. Where the evidence for the commentary in Greek sources is virtually non-existent, Arabic testimonia are more numerous. We discuss Arabic fragments in Muḥammad ibn Zakarīyā al-Rāzī’s Comprehensive Book (al-Kitāb al-Ḥāwī) and Arabic commentaries on the Hippocratic Aphorisms. These fragments demonstrate that Palladius wrote a commentary on the Aphorisms. Analysis of MS Ḥaddād, however, reveals that the commentary it preserves cannot be a translation of Palladius’ Greek text. Philological evidence occasions the conclusion that MS Ḥaddād contains an anonymous Arabic Aphorisms commentary written in the early ʿAbbāsid period. We discuss two Hebrew manuscripts that purport to be translations of Palladius’ commentary. Although more work on the Hebrew Palladius is needed, it is clear that the Hebrew commentaries are different translations of the anonymous Aphorisms commentary in MS Ḥaddād.

PROCLUS ON PLATO'S TIMAEUS 89e3–90c7

AbstractAlthough the existence of an Arabic translation of a section of Proclus' commentary on Plato's Timaeus lost in the Greek has been known since long, this text has not yet enjoyed a modern edition. The present article aims to consummate this desideratum by offering a critical edition of the Arabic fragment accompanied by an annotated English translation. The attached study of the contents and structure of the extant fragment shows that it displays all typical formal elements of Proclus' commentaries, whereas its conciseness and shortcomings raise certain doubts about its completeness. As a parergon, the article includes an analysis of a hitherto neglected letter by Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq, which is attached to the fragment in the manuscript transmission. In addition to providing some insight into the origins of the Proclian fragment, this letter sheds some light on the Syriac and Arabic reception of some works by Hippocrates and Galen, especially Hippocrates' On Regimen in Acute Diseases and the history of its Arabic translation.

Eusebius of Caesarea, Gospel Problems and Solutions Quaestiones ad Stephanum et Marinum (review)

Reviewed by: Eusebius of Caesarea, Gospel Problems and Solutions Quaestiones ad Stephanum et Marinum Claudio Zamagni Eusebius of Caesarea, Gospel Problems and Solutions Quaestiones ad Stephanum et MarinumTranslated by David J. D. Miller, Adam C. McCollum, Carol Downer, et al.Ancient Texts in Translation, 1 Ipswich: Chieftain Publishing, 2010. This work edited by Roger Pearse fills a true gap. It makes readily available the subsisting traditions of the Questions and Answers on the Gospelsby Eusebius, publishing their original text together with their first English translation. This is a relatively unknown work by the famous bishop of Caesarea: it concerns the exegesis of the gospels and is probably the very first Christian book written in a questions-and-answers form. Eusebius briefly asks questions on problematic sections of the gospels and then gives ample and documented answers to solve such problems. The first part of this book deals mainly with the two genealogies of Jesus, which greatly differ between Matthew and Luke. The second part of the work discusses the contradictions among the four gospels in the narratives of Jesus' resurrection. Although the original form of Questions and Answers as written by Eusebius is lost, we still have many textual remains of it. There is, first of all, a Greek "abridged selection" of this book. We have further some very important Greek fragments preserved in the catenaon Luke by Nicetas of Herakleia, containing many sections of the text otherwise lost. Finally, we have some other minor textual traditions, either in Greek or in other ancient languages. Before the publication of this book (which in fact appeared in June 2011), all these fragmentary traditions were published in several books or journals and were not easily available. Roger Pearse has collected all the testimonies that exist in printed form, reprinting their original texts together with an English translation. For some of the testimonies here edited, this is even the first translation ever made in any modern language. This book tries also to do something more than merely collect and translate the known sources: it proposes dozens of corrections to the Greek texts (by David Miller) and identifies a possible new Greek fragment (Pearse actually proposes thirteen additional fragments, but they were already known [except p. 168 n. 23]). The corrections proposed to the Greek are always interesting, although they may represent a step back in the textual criticism of this text, as they sometimes adopt a lectio facilior(an example, p. 77 n. 56) or even mix different textual traditions (this goes in both senses between the "selection" and Nicetas, cf. p. 21 n. 6 or 147 n. 8). Concerning the fragments in other languages, this volume translates the well-known Latin allusions from Jerome and Ambrose (not a true textual tradition for me). It translates then three oriental versions of this text: Syriac, Coptic, and Arabic. The Syriac tradition is well known and has been reprinted here only in its major manuscript, an appendix to the Syriac catenaon the gospels by Severus of Antioch, which has also been vocalized by Adam McCollum. Furthermore, two new Syriac fragments have been published (n. 13-14, p. 344-48). The Coptic and Arabic fragments represent one of the more interesting contributions of this volume, as both of these textual traditions have [End Page 649]not been taken into account up to now in studies devoted Eusebius's Questions(although Caubet Iturbe, the editor of the Arabic version, correctly indicated this source already in 1970). The Arabic is a thirteenth-century translation of the Coptic text, which is itself a translation from a Greek catenaor, perhaps more correctly, from a Monophysite dogmatic florilegium (on this point one can refer to the article by G. Dorival in Studia Patristica15 [1984]). All twenty-two new fragments attributed to Eusebius from these two versions are edited and translated here (Carol Downer and others for the Coptic, and Adam McCollum for the Arabic, here unvocalized), but only five of them are actually from the Questions: Coptic 1 (= Arabic 1), 4, and 6 (= Arabic 5). This book is unfortunately not informative about all these different textual traditions, their status, and their historical development. It even...

Natural Earth Pigments From Roman and Arabic Wall Paintings Revealed by Spectroscopic Techniques

ABSTRACT Full identification of pigments used in wall paintings by Romans and Arabs that were recently discovered was achieved by the combined application of several spectroscopy methods. Identification of pigments was provided by the use of micro-Raman and FT-IR spectroscopy, while UV-Visible spectroscopy and chromatic studies permitted the authors to identify slight variations of hue attributed to mixtures of pigments. Natural earths and minerals were detected as the main pigments employed by both civilizations, although some differences were found between them. Red ochre, vermilion, yellow ochre, Egyptian blue, green earth, calcite, carbon, and possibly ivory blacks were identified in the Roman paintings. Only hematite and calcite were observed in the Arabic fragments.

Analytical study of Roman and Arabic wall paintings in the Patio De Banderas of Reales Alcazares’ Palace using non-destructive XRD/XRF and complementary techniques

A portable XRD/XRF system and complementary laboratory techniques were employed to improve the knowledge of the procedures used to create Roman and Arabic wall paintings. Integrated physico-chemical investigations were conducted on fragments of artworks collected from the archaeological excavation of the Patio de Banderas in the Reales Alcazares’ Palace of Seville (Spain), and a comparative study on the pigments from both historical periods was performed. As a result, pigments such as vermilion, red ochre, yellow ochre, green earth, Egyptian blue, carbon and phosphor-based black pigments were detected in Roman samples; however, in the Arabic fragments, only haematite was observed. In addition, the size and shape of the particles of the wall paintings were studied with an XRD 2-dimensional detector and SEM-EDX.

PLOTINUS ARABUS RIDES AGAIN

AbstractThe extant texts of the Arabic Plotinus contain material fromEnneadsIV-VI without, however, covering the Plotinian treatises in their entirety, nor preserving their traditional order – a circumstance which raises questions about scope and structure of the original Arabic Plotinus source. This article aims to contribute to the discussion by presenting newly discovered fragments of an Arabic translation ofEnneadIV.6 (On sense-perception and memory), one of the ten treatises that are not represented in the Arabic Plotinus corpus as it is currently known. Section I of the article introduces the text within which the new fragments are found:MaqālaI ofKitāb al-Ḥiss wa-al-maḥsūs, the Arabic adaptation of Aristotle'sParva Naturalia. In Section II the Arabic fragments are presented in comparison with their Greek counterparts. Section III addresses the question whether these new fragments stem from the same original translation as the other fragments of the Arabic Plotinus. Section IV discusses the implications which the appearance of the new fragments may have for our views on the Arabic Plotinus as well as on the genesis ofKitāb al-Ḥiss wa-al-maḥsūs.

Long Commentary on the De Anima of Aristotle (review)

Reviewed by: Long Commentary on theDe Anima of Aristotle Kara Richardson Averroes (Ibn Rushd) of Cordoba. Long Commentary on the De Animaof Aristotle. Translated with an introduction and notes by Richard C. Taylor, with Thérèse-Anne Druart, sub-editor. Yale Library of Medieval Philosophy. New Haven-London: Yale University Press, 2009. Pp. cix + 498. Cloth, $85.00. The Andalusian philosopher Ibn Rushd (d. 1198) had two names in the medieval Latin West: 'the Commentator', and 'Averroes'. The first of these underscores his importance as an interpreter of Aristotle ('the Philosopher'). The second was modified at least once by the adjective 'accursed' (in Duns Scotus's Ordinatio, bk. 4, d. 43, q. 2). 'That accursed Averroes' refers to the person who held that there exists only one human intellect. Averroes defends this view—typically called the unicity doctrine—in his Long Commentary on Aristotle'sDe Anima. Richard C. Taylor's translation of the Long Commentaryis based on Crawford's 1953 edition of the medieval Latin text (the original Arabic text is extant only in fragments). Brief portions of this commentary, which relate directly to the controversial and influential unicity doctrine, have previously been translated into English. Taylor's complete translation makes available in English for the first time the whole account of the soul and its powers, of which the unicity doctrine is a part. The translation will benefit graduate or advanced undergraduate students of the history of philosophy, as well as non-specialist scholars who want to understand what all the fuss was about. Taylor also provides extensive notes, which contain, among other things, Averroes' sources, extant Arabic fragments corresponding to the Latin, and explanations of technical terms and dense argumentation. For these reasons alone, Taylor's work must be considered a significant contribution to scholarship in the history of philosophy. There is also a lengthy introduction that presents the state of research on Averroes' psychology. Readers of Aristotle are familiar with his distinction, in De Anima3.5, between intellect in its passive role as a receiver of intelligibles and intellect in its active role as a maker of intelligibles. Averroes' unicity doctrine is remarkable as an interpretation of the passiveintellect, which is called the "material intellect" by analogy with prime matter (like prime matter, the material intellect can, in its own way, receive any form). To advocate the unicity of the activeintellect is not so remarkable. The latter view was standard in the Arabic tradition, which inherited it from Greek commentators on Aristotle. Those who affirm the unicity of the active intellect may hold the material intellect to be a power for receiving intelligibles [End Page 398]that is ultimately brain-based. Or they may hold the material intellect to be the supreme cognitive power of incorporeal human souls, which are multiplied in accordance with the number of human bodies. Averroes' defense of the unicity of the material intellect in the Long Commentaryinvolves a principled rejection of each of these alternative views, as well as a novel account of the role of intellect in human cognition. Taylor's introduction treats the development of Averroes' unicity doctrine and adjudicates a dispute about the dating of his Middleand Longcommentaries on the De Anima. Based in part on a comparison of portions of the Long Commentaryidentical to portions of the Middle Commentary, Taylor argues that the Long Commentaryis most likely the later work. These passages are identified in the notes to the translation. The introduction also provides a brief exegesis of the Long Commentary. This section explains the reasons behind the unicity doctrine, but misses the opportunity to highlight other points of interest in Averroes' psychology. Moreover, it leaves unaddressed certain questions likely to be pressing for newcomers to the text. For example, the unicity doctrine entails the denial that intellect is the seat of individual consciousness; so how would Averroes explain individual consciousness? What role, if any, does consciousness play in his account of cognition? Finally, Taylor's introduction includes a useful survey of Averroes' sources and a brief account of the influence of the Long Commentary, especially in the Latin West, which puts to rest the...

Take a Lame and Decrepit Female Hyena…: A Genizah Study of Two Additional Fragments of Sābūr Ibn Sahl's al-Aqrābādhīn al-Saghīr

Săbŭr ibn Sahl's al-Aqrăbdădhĭn al-saghĭr is the earliest Arabic pharmacopoeia known to have survived. Finding fragments of Săbŭr's pharmacopoeia in the Cairo Genizah shows that it was used by the medical practitioners of the Jewish community of Cairo, possibly long after it is supposed to have been superceded by other works. We present here a synoptic edition of two Arabic fragments, T-S Ar. 40.5 and Ar. 41.90. These fragments overlap to a large extent, but are not exactly the same. We suggest that one (T-S Ar. 41.90) may be the work of a professional scribe, while the other (T-S Ar. 40.5) was copied by a practitioner for his personal use.

Christian Books in Jewish Libraries: Fragments of Christian Arabic Writings from the Cairo Genizah

This paper contributes new information about Jewish-Christian contacts in the Islamic world by drawing attention to a small group of Christian Arabic fragments preserved in the Cairo Genizah

Du syriaque au latin par l'intermédiaire de l'arabe: le Kunnāš de Yūḥannā ibn Sarābiyūn

This treatise of medicine by Yühannā ibn Sarābiyūn, written in Syriac in the 8th century, translated into Arabic in the 10th century and then into Latin in the 12th century, is a typical example of the transmission of Hippocratic medicine from the Arabic East to the Latin West in the Middle Ages. However, while the complete Latin translation of Gerard of Cremona has reached us, we have only fragments of the Arabic text, dispersed in five manuscripts preserved in four European libraries.In the first part we shall try to establish the biographical information about the author and the four translators of his treatise from Syriac to Arabic. In the second part we shall study the Arabic fragments of the Paris manuscript and the two Escorial manuscripts, first by examining their language, and then by comparing them to the Latin translation.

A Note on an Arabic Fragment of Ibn Buṭlān's The Physicians' Dinner Party from the Cairo Genizah

Among the Arabic fragments within the Taylor–Schechter Genizah Collection in the Cambridge University Library, I came upon a piece from Ibn Buṭlān's The Physicians' Dinner Party (Da‘wat al-’aṭibbā’): one of the earliest examples of the Arabic maqāmah. Although the Jews of Arab lands were acquainted with Arabic literature mainly in the form of scientific and philosophical texts, the discovery of our fragment from the Cairo Genizah provides further evidence that they also had some familiarity with Arabic belleslettres.

A Further Fragment on Astrology from the Genizah

IN Vol. XLVII, pp. 302-310, I published a small Arabic fragment coming from the Genizah, dealing with astrology. I shall not repeat what I said there (p. 304) concerning the value of studying what may seem to be the absurdity of the foolish. The whole subject, since I wrote my previous article, has been discussed with much consequent illumination by Professor Alexander Marx, in the Hebrew Union College Annual, Vol. 3, pp. 311 et seq. I have gone to the trouble of having certain leaves photographed which are the remnant of another work on astrology, and which are to be found in Bodleian MS. Heb. D. 36. Even among these leaves a few pages are missing. The script is good, square Hebrew; the language, of course, Arabic. These pages are probably part of a larger work. The letters AX of the article are in nearly every case written as one character. Occasionally a point is used, to mark off a sentence, and a small circle in which is a dot, to mark off a paragraph. The Arabic is not always classic; and, at times, one wonders at the manner in which Arabic words and forms are transcribed;