1800. | Defcription 
who governthem.—B.]—** Fifty-fix {mall 
vignettes diftributed on two pages, repre- 
fent the feven planets and the forty-nine 
arts and handicrafts. It deferves to be 
remarked here, that a Qddhy (Cadi, 
Judge,) the executioner, the Sultan, and 
the muficians, are ranged in the fame 
vertical line. On the fix following pages 
we find reprefented the twenty-eight houfes 
of the moon and planets among the con- 
ftellations, one half of each of their em- 
blematical figures being conjoined. This 
explains the origin of the monfters which 
the imaginations of the Egyptians created, 
as, for inftance, the Sphinx, which is mere- 
ly an aftronomical figure, and reprefents 
the figns of the Zodiac under which the 
inundation of the Nile happens.——-A_ kind 
of map of the world or planifphere, which 
follows, conveys a very juft idea of the 
f{cantinefs of geographical knowledge a- 
mong the Turks. The equator paffes 
horizontally through the middle: the 
upper half is indicated to beuninhabitable ; 
the other half is divided into feven climates, 
which however All only three-fourths of 
this half. About twenty fucceeding pages 
contain aftronomical obfervations* in the 
form of tables.”” ; 
[ Among thefe tables there is one which 
contains only the numbers from 980 to 
10513 the horizontal rows running on 
in the natural order; but the vertical al- 
ways increafing by eight. As this work 
was written in the ggoth year of the He- 
gira; it would feem, that this table con- 
tains the years of the Hegira, and that it 
was intended to indicate the day of the 
week on which the year commences. For 
according to the Art de verifier les Dates, 
the years 980, 988, 996, &c. or the firft 
Vertical feries of the table, begin on the 
fourth day of the week; but the years 
1036 and r044beginon Tuefday. Inthe 
firit vertical feries the firft day of the year 
is throughout ftated to be on the firft day 

* This paflage principally excited my curio- 
fity. The mof obvious idea was, that they 
Were aftronomical tables. But that this is 
not the cafe, I can with certainty affert 5 and 
T even greatly doubt, whether they be aftro- 
_Momical obfervations. The divifion of thefe 
pages into feven, or into twelve compartments 
(feven days of the week, and twelve celeftial 
figns) feems rather to favour the fuppofition 
of their being aftrological obfervations. I 
have found very few ciphers in this volume; 
but enough to convince me, that theyemploy- 
ed the decimal fyftem exa@ly as we do.-~2. 
Moxruty Mae. No. 57. 
(Ifmael); Ayoub (Job). 
of Turkifh MSS. 
of the week; in the fecond feries, on the 
third ; in the fifth feries, on the feventh 5 
and in the feventh feries, on the fecond day 
ofthe week. The third, fixth and eighth 
vertical feries have not throughout the fame. 
a day of the commencement of the year. 
If this conjecture be well founded, it would 
feem that the author of this manufcript 
pofieffed no very great knowledge of the 
Turkifh calendar.—B.—] 
“With the ichnography of the temple 
of Mecca, andthe profile of the Ké’abeh, 
begins a new feries of pictures, of which 
the following are particularly worthy of 
notice, viz. the Pure garden of the Ma- 
jefty of the Prophet (Mohammed’s fepul- 
chre at. Medina,) which, according to the 
teftimonyof a muflulman pilgrim, is a genu- 
ine and exaétreprefentation of that fepul- 
chre ;——the phares of Alexandria, witha 
mirror at the top ;*—The mofyue of 
the Ommiades at Damafcus ;—different 
temples of idols;—the Baths of Tibe- 
rias;—the wall of Gog and Magog ;— 
Alexander with two horns—he is walking 
in darknefs, his vizier carries a torch, &c. 
“¢’ The fecond part of this manu{cript 
is entitled Qo77 Dja’afaryeb (Divinations 
[fortes] by Dja’atar) F’lm él qora’i, is ac- 
cording to Hhadjy Khalfab the {cience by 
which we find out the predictions of letters 
with refpeét to future events. This fcience 
is a diminutive of geomancy. But its 
prophecies or predictions are weaker and 
not fo certain as thofe of geomancy. The 
author. gives a lift of feventeen prophets, 
with whofe names horofcopes: may be for- 
med. ‘Thefe feventeen prophets are Chocib 
(Jethro, father-in law to Mofes); }yca 
(Jefus Chrift); Djerdjys (St. George); 
Younes (Jonas) ; Nouahb (Noah) ; Djekerya 
(Zachariah) ; Yabhyra (John the Baptitt); 
Yooucouf (Jofeph) ; Daoud (David) ; Mou- 
ga (Mofes) ; Hhidher and Elyas (Phineas 
and Elijah) ; Yaqoub (Jacob); Solezmam 
(Solomon); lérahims (Abraham) ; i/mail 
At each of the 
names we find an elegant vignette, which 
reprefents the fepulchre of the prophet, or 
fome chapel dedicated tohim. Ifthefe pics 
tures poffefs not the merit of fidelity, or 
even of correét drawing; yet they may at 
leaft ferve to give an idea of monuments 
of this kind among the Ealtern nations, and 
furnifh our artilts with forms, which they 
ee oe 
225 
* ¢¢ This figure does not agree with the de- 
fcription which the Arabian writers give of 
that tower. See Magaz. Encyelop, An. Ve 
Tom. II. p. 384.” 
Gg may. 
