Islamic Manuscripts : ʻAjāʼib al-makhlūqāt

Qazwīnī, Zakarīyā ibn Muḥammad, ca. 1203-1283

Islamic Manuscripts

<p style='text-align: justify;'>A richly illuminated 16th Century [CE] copy of the Persian version of Qazwini's ʻAjāʼib al-makhlūqāt wa-gharāʼib al-mawjūdāt, "The marvels of creation and the oddities of existence", commonly known as "The cosmography of Qazwini"..<br /><br /> The text is structured according to a hierarchical cosmological order, with the <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(27);return false;'>celestial spheres</a>, incorporating the fixed stars, the <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(49);return false;'>12 signs of the Zodiac</a>, stellar constellations and the <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(35);return false;'>surrounding spheres</a>, which make up the observable celestial phenomena, followed by the invisible phenomena, the <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(67);return false;'>"Guardians of the Kingdom of God"</a> and other angels, and the division of time and calendars.<br /><br /> In the second section of the work the elemental division of the sublunar sphere is classified into the four elements fire, <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(100);return false;'>wind</a>, <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(104);return false;'>water</a> and earth. The seas, oceans and islands including their inhabitants, are governed by Water, while Earth contains the mountains, wells, rivers, <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(190);return false;'>minerals</a>, <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(216);return false;'>plants</a> and the <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(267);return false;'>animal kingdom</a>, including human beings and their cultures.<br /><br /> Numerous illustrations of commonly known <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(435);return false;'>mammals</a>, <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(455);return false;'>birds</a>, <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(472);return false;'>insects</a> and <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(476);return false;'>reptiles</a> can be found, along with <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(483);return false;'>strange beings</a>, which conclude the text. </p>