Gorani Anthology

This material is held atBritish Library Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections

  • Reference
    • GB 59 Or 6444
  • Dates of Creation
    • 1197-98
  • Language of Material
    • Arabic Kurdish Persian
  • Physical Description
    • 1 codex 84 ff Materials : Paper. Dimensions : 230 mm x 80 mm. Foliation : Western; folios have occasionally been assigned page numbers. Ruling : No set text area size; many folios are missing edges that contained text. Script : Naskh. Ink : Main text in black ink, with the occasional usage of red ink for titles, catchwords and illumination. Binding : British Museum binding.

Scope and Content

A poetical anthology in oblong safīna format. The anthology contains 370 poems by various authors, including Shaykh Aḥmad ibn Muṣṭafá, Mawlānā Ḥāfiẓ Farhād and Ḥasan. ff. 1-8r : A masnavi poem about the Prophet Muhammad and the four first Caliphs in Persian. ff. 8v-54v : A collection of poetry in the Gorani language, closely related to Zazaki and sometimes grouped as a dialect of Kurdish. ff. 55a-84b : A devotional tract composed by the poet Hasan, largely as ghazals; ff. 55a-75r are largely in Gorani or Persian; ff. 75v-84v contain fully vocalized Arabic texts. Many folios are missing edges and some texts are incomplete, despite repairs undertaken. Ownership stamps are present on ff. 12v and 51v. The codex was copied in 1197-98 AH (1782-84 CE).

Access Information

Not Public Record(s)

Unrestricted

Acquisition Information

Purchased from Mr. Mirza Said on 14 October 1902.

Bibliography

Many of the poems have been published in the original and in English translation in Anwar Soltani, Anthology of Gorani Kurdish Poetry (London: The Soane Trust for Kurdistan, 1997).