The talks presented here explore the Ilkhanid vizier Rashid al-Din (1247-1318) and his Jamiʿ al-Tawarikh (Compendium of Chronicles), a substantial fragment of which is held in the University of Edinburgh’s Heritage Collections (Or Ms 20). Dating to the early 14th century CE, it is a richly illustrated work of world history. It was most likely produced in Rashid al-Din’s kitabkhana (book atelier / scriptorium) in Tabriz, and it is one of only four extant fragments of this work that date to the author’s lifetime. Comprising 151 folios, the Edinburgh University Library fragment is the largest surviving portion of the Arabic rendition of the work dating to this period, and the seventy paintings contained within it are considered among the most important and best-preserved examples of early Islamic book arts in Iran. Further information about the manuscript is available here.
