Shelfmark: Or.Ms.20
Holding Institution: University of Edinburgh
Title: Jami' al-Tawarikh (World History)
Alternate Title: Compendium of Chronicles
Subset Index: f.3r detail
Creator: Rashid al-Din Ṭabib
Creator Nationality: Iranian
Creator Role: Author

Detail of miniature from the Compendium of Chronicles by Rashid al-Din. Shows a prisoner about to be beheaded with a sword, while the tyrant Zahhak, an evil figure in Iranian Mythology, looks on. The tyrant is surrounded by attendants, while another prisoner can be seen to the right of the image. Scene is representative of the legend that two men were killed each day in order to satisfy the two serpents which were growing from the tyrant's shoulders with human brains.
Arguably the greatest treasure in the library, the Jami' al-Tawarikh, or Compendium of Chronicles, is a world history which encompasses a range of cultures, from China in the East, to Ireland in the West, from the time of Adam. It is written in the Naskh script and contains 70 illustrated folios. Written by the scholar and courtier Rashid al-Din (d.1318), there is some debate as to the exact date of this manuscript, but it was almost certainly completed within the author's lifetime, making it one of the earliest copies in existence. It is one of the three main sources for the life of Genghis Khan and is considered to be one of the most important medieval documents in the world.
Sources: Hukk, M (1925), A descriptive catalogue of the Arabic and Persian manuscripts in Edinburgh University Library, Hertford. Talbot Rice, D. (1976), The Illustrations to the World History of Rashid al-Din, Edinburgh.
Source: Edinburgh University Library