The ''Kitāb al-Bulhān'' (), or ''Book of Wonders'', is a 14th and 15th century mainly
Turkish and some
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...
manuscript,
compiled by Hassan Esfahani (Abd al-Hasan Al-Isfahani) probably bound during the reign of
Jalayirid
The Jalayirid Sultanate was a culturally Persianate, Mongol Jalayir dynasty which ruled over Iraq and western Persia after the breakup of the Mongol khanate of Persia in the 1330s.Bayne Fisher, William. ''The Cambridge History of Iran'', p.3: ...
Sultan Ahmad
Sultan Ahmed Mirza was the eldest son of Abu Sa'id Mirza on whose death he became the Timurid ruler of Samarkand and Bukhara from 1469 until 1494. During his rule, he successfully repelled at least one invasion attempt by the Kara Koyunlu, and f ...
(1382–1410) in
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
. The contents include subjects on
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galax ...
,
astrology
Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...
and
geomancy, including a section of full-page illustrations, with plates dedicated to the discourse topic, e.g. a folktale, a sign of the zodiac, a prophet, etc.
Gallery
File:Book of Wonders folio 33b.jpg, A man, mounted on a camel, killing a dragon with a lance.
File:Book of Wonders folio 35b.jpg, The baths of Tiberius. Men bathing while demons tend the furnace.
File:Book of Wonders folio 36a.jpg, The Lighthouse of Alexandria
File:Book of Wonders folio 38a.jpg, The Great Wall of Gog and Magog
File:Kitab al-Bulhan -- zodiac.jpg, Capricorn or al-Gadī, one of the signs of the Zodiac depicted in the book
File:Book of Wonders folio 13b.jpg, Libra or al-Mīzan, one of the signs of the Zodiac depicted in the book
File:Kitab al-Bulhan - Book of Wonders.jpg, Kitab al-Bulhan
See also
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The Book of Felicity
The ''Book of Felicity'' (''Matali' al-saadet'') is an illuminated manuscript made in the Ottoman Empire in 1582. Commissioned by Sultan Murad III, who ruled the empire from 1574 to 1595, its text was translated from Arabic and all its miniatur ...
References
Citations
Sources
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Islamic illuminated manuscripts
Astrological texts
14th-century illuminated manuscripts
15th-century illuminated manuscripts
Medieval Arabic literature
Arabian mythology
Arabic grimoires
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