Where is Qutb al-din al-Shirazi’s work “Durrat al-taj li-ghurrat al-Dibaj” kept?

 In 1957, the Institute was named after the great medieval scholar and encyclopaedist Abu Rayhan al-Biruni (973 – 1050). Nowadays, the depository keeps several collections.

Various Encyclopedias of the natural sciences covering both one subject and multidisciplinary issues were composed along with works on specific subjects. An example of such literature is”Jami’ al-’ulum” (The Collection of Sciences) by the aforementioned Fakhr al-din al-Razi. This encyclopedia contains information on mathematics, astronomy, astrology, chemistry, mineralogy, and other sciences and it was dedicated to the Khorezmshah Ala al-din Muhammad (1200 – 1220). There are three copies in this collection dating to the 18th – 19th centuries and two copies of an expanded edition of this work by the same author. 

The artistically illuminated copy dating to 1309 of the work by Qutb al-din al-Shirazi “Durrat al-taj li-ghurrat al-Dibaj” (Pearls of the Crown to Adorn Dibaj) with fine diagrams should be noted as the copy of the author’s lifetime. An encyclopedia on philosophy in Arabic “Hikmat al-’ayn” (Philosophy of the Source) by Nasir al-din al-Tusi’s close associate, Najm al-din ‘Ali al-Qazwini, (d. 1276) enjoyed broad popularity in the Oriental countries. The collection of the Institute keeps more than 40 copies of this work including copies that are calligraphically made and decorated with ‘unwans (decorative introductory panels).

You can learn more about this topic in the book-album “The Collection of the Al-Biruni Institute of Oriental studies, the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan” (part two, “Miniature and Calligraphy”) (Volume XXII) from the series "Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections".

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