Persian Manuscripts : An undated, illustrated miscellany collectively entitled Fīlnāmah (Book of Elephants).

Persian Manuscripts

<p style='text-align: justify;'> This popular illustrated miscellany, probably completed in India in the late 18th century, features three works. The first, <i>Kursīnāmah-'i Mahāwat-garī</i> (Genealogy of Elephant-keeping), relates a mythical history of elephant-keepers, or <i>mahouts</i>, posed as a series of questions and answers. The author, Sayyid Aḥmad Kabīr, claims he descends from the Prophet Noah, whom he describes as the first mahout. </p><p style='text-align: justify;'> A second, anonymous text comprises the bulk of the volume, here entitled <i>Savāniḥāt-i Afyāl</i> (Mishaps of Elephants); however, it often appears under the title <i>Mu‘ālajāt-i Afyāl</i> (Remedies for Elephants) in other surviving copies. It discusses elephant husbandry together with various diseases and remedies in seventeen chapters. </p><p style='text-align: justify;'> Finally, a brief, multilingual veterinary glossary of Arabic and Persian terms with Hindustani equivalents appends the manuscript. </p>