accounts, &.c., of the british musecrt. 1^ 



Department of Oriental Manuscripts. 



I. — Arrangement and Cataloguing. 



The descriptive list of the MSS. acquired in 1883 has been completed and transcribed 

 for the use of readers. The same MSS. have been entered into the Oriental Register 

 and the Oriental Inventory. 



The MSS. acquired during the year 1884 have been shortly described in continuation of 

 the above list, and some more fully for the special catalogues. 



The descriptive list of Oriental MSS. included in the Additional Series has been 

 carried on from Add. 12,346 to Add. 19,719. 



The Oriental portion of the Stowe Collection has been classed, and descriptions of 

 the MSS. have been drawn up. 



Titles of works have been added to some of the numerical lists in the Oriental Inventory. 



One hundred and ninety-four MSS. have been described in full for the Turkish 

 Catalogue, and twenty-two for the Hebrew Catalogue. 



The description of the Biblical MSS. in the Hebrew Collection has been completed. 



One hundred and seventy MSS. have been labelled, folio'd, and bound. 



II. — Acquisitions. 



The number of MSS. acquired during the year was 114, viz., three by donation and 

 111 by purchase. Thirty-four Oriental MSS. belonging to the Stowe Collection, and 

 incorporated in 1884, raised the above total to 148, viz. : — 



Arabic ---------32 



Persian --___-. -23 



Hindi - - - - - - . - - 23 



Hebrew ..-_-_.-_ 16 



Tamil .--------13 



Sanskrit ___- .__6 



Pali - 6 



Pashtoo .--.___-5 



Turkish -__--. --5 



Cingalese --------4 



Burmese - - - - - -- - 4 



Armenian __-.._--3 

 Konkani _._--_--2 

 Syriac ---------1 



Telugoo - - - -_- - - - 1 



Chinese .___-_. -1 



Shan -.-------1 



Miscellaneous -_-__--2 



Total - - - 148 



The following are the most important of the above acquisitions : — 



A richly illuminated volume, written in Shiraz, a.d. 1398, and containing four poems 

 in the metre of the Shahnamah of Firdausi, viz., Garshasp Namah by Asadi Tusi, 

 Shahinshah Namah, a history in verse of Gengizkhan and of the Mogols of Persia, 

 composed for Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan by Ahmad, of Tabriz, and completed a.h. 738 ; 

 Bahman Namah and Kush Namah, two poems connected with the epic legend of Persia, 

 and written about a.h, 500, for Sultan Muhammad B. Malikshah Saljuki. 



The historical work of Hamzah Isfahan!; a fine copy written for Sultan Baisunghar, 

 A.H. 834. 



The first volume of the universal history of Hafiz Abru, compiled for Sultan Baisun- 

 ghar, A.H. 820. 



The history of Taberistan by Ibn Isfandiyar, brought down to a.h. 750. 



A history of Bukhara abridged by Muhammad B. Zofar, a.h. 574, from an Arabic 

 work dated a.h. 332. 



Ihya ul-Muluk, a history of Seistan from the earliest times to A.H. 1027, by Shah 

 Husain B. Malik Ghiyas ud-Din, a descendant of the Kings of Seistan. 



Darab Namah, the romance of Alexander and Darius, in Persian j^rose, ascribed to Abu 

 Tahir Tarsusi. 



(The above seven MSS. were purchased at the sale of Comte de Gobineau's Library.) 

 0.73. B 4 Kitab 



