136 -P>'o/. M. J. de Qoeje's new Edition of Talari. [ Jtjlt, 



whose account came Ao\y\\ through a series o£ narrators to the author. If 

 he has obtained more than one account of a fact, with more or less imjaor- 

 tant modifications, through several series of narrators, he communicates 

 them all to the reader in extenso. Thus we are enabled to consider the 

 facts from more than one point of view and to acquire a vivid and clear 

 notion of them. 



In this style a universal history, from the Creation down to A. D. 915 

 (302 of the Hidjra), was written by Tabari of Bagdad, an author whose 

 veracity, accuracy and stu}3endous learning are justly eulogised by all, whe- 

 ther Moslems or Christians, who consulted his work. The original work 

 was very extensive, so that the author, who was 78 years old on concluding 

 it, resolved to devote the remaining years of his life to its abbreviation for 

 general use. (He died in the beginning of 924.) Still his history re- 

 mained a very bulky work. According to my calculation, it will fill in 

 print twenty large volumes in 8vo. Its great extent rendered compendiums 

 for private circulation necessary ; they were generally employed and hence 

 the original work became rare and only to be found in the great libraries. 

 Of the best known abridgment made in 963 and written in Persian, Dr. H. 

 Zotenberg gave a French translation, which has just been completed. The 

 interest of this jDublication is incontestable, but it is far from indemnifying 

 us for the want of the original work. For the Persian epitomator not only 

 dropped a great m^any very interesting particulars, and modified here and 

 there the facts, but what is most important is wanting : the different ac- 

 counts of an event have been arbitrarily blended into one single narrative, 

 or rather one, and not always the best series of traditions, has been follow- 

 ed, and the acciu'ate statements regarding the transmission of the traditions 

 from the first narrators down to the author have been altogether left 

 out. 



"What the use of abridgments had begun, Timur and the decay of 

 civihsatien all but completed. It is even now doubtful if a single copy of 

 this great work is still in existence out of Europe. Prof. Sprenger was 

 told in 1848 that two complete copies were to be found at Medina. An 

 Indian friend of his, who not long afterwards went on a pilgrimage to 

 Ai'abia undertook to inquire about them. As the libraries are closed in the 

 sacred month, he could not even get sight of the volumes, but was informed 

 that the work really existed. M. Kunik of St. Petersburg tells in his in- 

 teresting Appendix to Dorn's Casj^ia that Gottwaldt induced two hadjis of 

 Kasan to make researches about the existence of a cojiy at Medina. They 

 brought home the vague information that a copy had existed, but as they 

 were told, the volumes had been transported to Constantinople. I think 

 the latter information less trustworthy than the former. To resolve this 

 very important question, M. A. von Kremer of Vienna wrote to Sheikh 



