Geographical 'Aǧā'ib in a Neo-Aramaic Manuscript Of

GEOGRAPHICAL ‘AǦĀ’IB IN A NEO-ARAMAIC MANUSCRIPT OF THE LONDON SACHAU COLLECTION

The manuscript Or. 9321 of the British Library, Asia Pacific & Africa Collections (formerly Oriental and India Office Collections) contains a prose text (f. 231b-244a) that derives directly or indirectly from Arabic sources and belongs to a genre very popular in the literatures of the Islam- icate world. It is a collection of short descriptions of wonders (Arabic ‘aǧā’ib) to be found in various regions of the world, including Alexandria, Egypt, al-Andalus, Syria, the Caspian Sea, and a few other places that are difficult to identify. The text is divided into two parts, each consisting of twelve descriptions: the first is about wondrous cities and buildings and the second contains wonders about rivers, wells, and seas. Titles or formulae such as ‘A Wonder’, ‘Another’ or ‘There was in...’, ‘There is in...’ introduce the 24 short notices. Structure and contents of the text and the fact that it is preserved in two languages, Neo-Aramaic on the right-hand pages and Arabic on the left-hand pages, raise a number of questions that must be kept distinct and to which we shall try to give provisional answers, at least as working hypotheses. One is the question whether a text preexisted the copy preserved in this manuscript or it was compiled in this form by the copyist himself, out of his memory or using written sources. Another is what was the language of the Vorlage, its written or oral source(s). Was it Arabic (less probably Persian or Kurdish), Neo-Aramaic or Classical Syriac? Yet a third question is whether the Neo-Aramaic text is the original from which the facing Arabic text was translated or vice versa. However, before addressing nature and contents of the text, a couple of preliminary remarks seem necessary about the multiple-text manuscript in which it has been preserved.

1. Sachau collections of Neo-Aramaic manuscripts

Professor of semitic philology and from 1887 first director of the Semi nar für Orientalische Sprachen in Berlin, in the last two decades of the 19th century Eduard Sachau (1845-1930) expended much effort in pursu- ing manuscripts or obtaining the compilation of new miscellaneous collections of texts to document a variety of Neo-Aramaic dialects. The results of such efforts are two collections of Neo-Aramaic manuscripts

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now preserved at the Berliner Staatsbibliothek – Preußischer Kulturbesitz1 and the British Library, Asia Pacific & Africa Collections in London2. Rifaat Ebied and Nicholas Al-Jeloo published a number of letters addressed to Eduard Sachau by the informant, copyist, translator, and book dealer Jeremiah Shamir, preserved in the ms. London B.L. Or. 93263. Unfortunately, we do not have the letters sent by Sachau. However, the replies of his correspondents in the Near East contain valuable information on the books and manuscripts they were collecting, copying, and translating for the German orientalist. At least as far as Neo-Aramaic is concerned, the letters are nevertheless rather vague on the sources and criteria they used. We have therefore to rely on the manuscripts themselves for a partial reconstruction of Sachau’s methods and criteria in selecting the texts and we do not know with certainty to what extent the texts collected by the copyists reflect his actual requests and wishes or if they are materials circulating among these communities in oral or written form. A survey of the dialects and the genres of both collections confirms the description of the Neo-Aramaic materials that Lidzbarski produced on the basis of the Berlin collection only4. A first concern of Sachau must have been to collect texts that might bear witness to the variety of dialects that characterize the largest portion of the Neo-Aramaic continuum (today South-Eastern Turkey, Northern Iraq, and North-Western Iran). Both collections include texts in Ṭuroyo as well as varieties of what we now know as North Eastern Neo-Aramaic (henceforth NENA). As far as methods are concerned, Neo-Aramaic texts were usually copied for Sachau in Syriac script, serṭo for Ṭuroyo and East-Syriac script for NENA, and provided with an Arabic translation en face or in a separate manuscript. The choice of the Syriac script possibly derives from Sachau’s aware- ness of the existence of an indigenous tradition of writing vernacular texts in the Classical Syriac alphabet (the earliest manuscripts including Neo- Aramaic texts date from the 18th century) and was certainly well-accepted among copyists faithful to their scribal habit and cultural tradition. Never- theless it soon attracted criticism from Western scholars in search of more precise phonetic transcriptions5. As an exception, the Gospel of St John in

1 Lidzbarski, Die neu-aramäischen Handschriften. 2 Mengozzi, Neo-Aramaic Manuscripts. 3 Ebied, Letters to Sachau and Ebied – Al-Jeloo, Letters to Sachau. 4 Lidzbarski, Die neu-aramäischen Handschriften, vol. 1, p. vii-xv. 5 Heinrichs, Written Ṭūrōyo, p. 183; Mengozzi, Neo-Aramaic Manuscripts, p. 460. On the scarce reliability of Sachau NA manuscripts for dialectological investigations, see Mutzafi, Ṭyare Neo-Aramaic.

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the Ṭuroyo translation by Isaiah of Qyllith (London B.L. Or. 9327, dated 1889-90) has a synoptic transcription in Roman script with diacritics. Wolfhart Heinrichs identified an 1877 copy of this Ṭuroyo translation of St. John in a manuscript of the Union Theological Seminary in New York6. Lidzbarski observes that the Ṭuroyo texts “were all copied by Isaiah of Qyllith and they might all have been translated from Arabic. All of them except ms. 245 have the Arabic original included en face”7. Ms. Sachau 245 (= Berlin Kgl. Bibliothek 281) contains the translation of the Gospel of St. John. It is, however, difficult to imagine that Isaiah of Qyllith actually translated Biblical texts, such as Genesis 1-108, Psalms 1-20, Ester and Acts 1-10, from an Arabic original rather than from the Peshiṭṯa. Similarly, an Arabic original can be excluded for most NENA texts, with absolute certainty for those belonging to traditional poetic genres such as songs, hymns, dialogue poems, and metrical fables. For NENA texts, the Arabic translations were probably intended as a helping tool for Western scholars to read the Aramaic original and this was indeed their function in the ground-breaking text edition and lexi- cographic work by Lidzbarski. As far as genres are concerned, Isaiah of Qyllith prepared for Sachau 1) the selection of Biblical texts mentioned above and a number of 2) prose texts, including hagiographic tales, geographical notices on Mesopotamia (in form of questions and answers, most probably from a school book), Ṭur-‘Abdin, Midyat and Christian villages, as well as 3) pieces of wisdom and entertainment literature that apparently were very popular and circulated among Arabic-speaking Christians, Jews9 and Muslims alike: Islamic versions of the Story of Salomon, Story and Proverbs of Aḥiqar and the beginning of a story of Sindbād the Sailor. Lidzbarski published the Story and Proverbs of Aḥiqar and the Arabic Vorlage of the Ṭuroyo text has

6 Heinrichs, Written Ṭūrōyo. 7 “Die jakobitischen Texte sind sämtlich vom Lehrer und Diakon Jesaias aus Qyllith niedergeschrieben. Sie dürften sämtlich aus dem Arabischen übersetzt sein, und ihnen allen, bis auf Cod. 245, ist das arabische Original beigegeben” (Lidzbarski, Die neu-aramäischen Handschriften, vol. 1, p. vii). Before 1877, Isaiah (Eša‘yō) of Qyllith translated the Gospel of John at the request of the American missionaries. Sachau (Reise, p. 420) presents him as the teacher of the school of Qyllith, founded and supported by the American Mission of Mardin. 8 The Ṭuroyo translation of Genesis 1 was published by Gottheil, Salamās, p. 306-310. 9 Small publishers active from 19th-century in Baghdad such as Dangur published along with Biblical texts, such as the Targums and Peshiṭṯa, Judeo-Arabic versions of stories of the Arabian Nights, including the stories of Ḥayqar, Salomon, Sindbād the Sailor, short stories from Hārūn al-Rašīd’s cycle and a whole copy in Judeo-Arabic of the Thousand and One Nights.

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been recognized as one of the three main recensions of the Arabic Ḥayqār10. The oral version recorded and published by Shabo Talay in the Neo-Aramaic dialect of Mlaḥso would also seem to have an Arabic origin11. Biblical texts, hagiography, local history, and sacred geography are rather obvious choices in a Syriac Christian context, whereas the inclusion of the third group of texts may have been elicited by Sachau on the basis of his own literary taste and research interests. In any case we do not know as yet from which Arabic or Garshuni manuscripts Isaiah copied his Ara- bic Salomon, Ḥayqār, and Sindbād and whether those manuscripts had a Christian readership in late 19th-century Ṭur-‘Abdīn or rather belonged to a local node of the Middle-East network of Christian multilingual libraries. Jeremiah Shamir12 was the key figure in collecting NENA texts for Eduard Sachau; he was a copyist, possibly author of the Biblical translations and certainly translator into Arabic of the Neo-Aramaic manuscripts copied by others such as the priest Manṣūr Soro of Alqosh and Fransi Mīri. He also compiled multilingual vocabularies (Arabic, Neo-Aramaic, Kurdish and English), now in Berlin. In 1882 Father Samuel Jamīl13 answered negatively from Mosul to Sachau’s request to find stories in the Neo-Aramaic dialects of Ṭiyare and Jilu (Hakkari mountains)14. The multiple-text ms. London B.L. Or. 9321, the most conspicuous manuscript of the London Sachau collection, was compiled by the Chaldean priest Gabriel Quryaqoza, whose short autobiography is attached, probably as a CV, to the manuscript itself15.

10 Rostagno Giaiero, Ḥayqār, p. 227. 11 Talay, Aḥiqar in Mlaḥsō, p. 696. 12 Jeremiah Shamir of ‘Ankawa (Karemlesh 1821 – Mosul? 1906) offered his services to European scholars such as Wallis Budge and Sachau. “Relations between Shāmīr and Sachau appear to have been very cordial and affectionate during the early years of correspondence. Shāmīr, however, in his later correspondence, expresses his dissatisfaction and frustration and complains to Sachau about the delay in receiving the money and the method of dispatching the books, etc. Relations between the two men appear to have been restored to a good state in the late 1890’s” (Ebied, Letters to Sachau, p. 82-83 and Ebied – Al-Jeloo, Letters to Sachau, p. 5). Jeremiah Shamir accompanied the American missionaries Henry Lobdell and Justin Perkins in their visits to the Mosul region, the Hakkari mountains and Urmia (Tyler, Henry Lobdell, p. 198 and 210; Guest, Kurds, p. 112-121). He eventually became a preacher of the American mission in Mosul (Tyler, Henry Lobdell, p. 179). His sons Nasir and Gabriel Jeremiah also served Western travelers as dragoman and copyist respectively (Guest, Kurds, p. 128 and 148). 13 The priest Shmuel Jamīl (1847–1917) was in 1889 the abbot superior of the Chaldean monasteries in Telkepe. He is author of a Syriac grammar (Assfalg, Syrische Handschrif- ten, p. 110) and was active in the collection and production of Classical Syriac manuscripts (see, e.g., Haddad – Isaac, Syriac Manuscripts, p. 406). 14 Mengozzi, Neo-Aramaic Manuscripts, p. 485. 15 The document (London B.L. Or. 9321, p. 696-695), written in Baghdad in 1897, is entitled Translation of the Life of the priest Gabriel Quryaqoza. Gabriel was born in

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The types of texts collected for Sachau in NENA varieties show remarkable similarities to the Ṭuroyo corpus. As Lidzbarski observed, 1) the chapters of Biblical books translated by Jeremiah Shamir into ‘Fellīḥi’ – i.e., the Christian (from fallāḥ ‘peasant’) Neo-Aramaic varieties of the Mosul plain – are exactly the same translated into Ṭuroyo by Isaiah of Qyllith (see above)16. 2) NENA poetic texts belong to three traditional genres of Christian Neo-Aramaic and Classical Syriac literature: religious hymns (durekyāṯā), the erotic triplets (rāwē) and the dialogue poems17. 3) On the contrary, prose stories may have enjoyed popularity among Aramaic-speaking Christians, but the Neo-Aramaic versions collected for Sachau were probably drawn from Arabic sources or models. They include the Ten Viziers, Kahramaneh and the Prince, and the inevitable Aḥiqar18. It is fairly apparent that the choice reflects a method in collecting texts. Sachau’s agenda included: 1) translations of a specific set of chapters of the Bible, 2) texts that bear witness to local culture and indigenous literary traditions (hagiographical and geographical notices19 in Ṭuroyo and

Telkepe in 1867 and learned Syriac and Sureth as a pupil of Joseph ‘Azzarya in Mosul (on ‘Azzarya, see Mengozzi, Religious Poetry, p. xx; on his school in Telkepe, see, e.g., Assfalg, Syrische Handschriften, p. 109-111). He studied at the Patriarchal Seminary in Mosul where he was ordained a priest in 1893 (see also Braida, Neo-Aramaic Aḥiqar. Introduction, n. 8). Therefore he cannot be identified with Gabriel son of Jeremiah Shamir, as I wrongly did in Mengozzi, 19th Century, p. 55. 16 Lidzbarski, Die neu-aramäischen Handschriften, 1, p. ix, n. 2. 17 On the traditional genres of oral-oriented Christian Neo-Aramaic literature, see Men- gozzi, Traditional Genres; on the Classical Syriac genre of the dialogue soghiyatha and their fortune in Neo-Aramaic, see Mengozzi, Religious Poetry, p. xix-xx, and Mengozzi ‒ Ricossa, The Cherub and the Thief. 18 Braida (Braida, Neo-Aramaic Aḥiqar. Text) published the NENA Aḥiqar from London B.L. Or. 9321, with English translation. Braida (Braida, Neo-Aramaic Aḥiqar. Introduction) hypothesizes that Gabriel Quryaquza translated into Neo-Aramaic one or more Syriac versions of Aḥiqar, which would appear to be linked with the Syriac Aḥiqar partly published by Grünberg (Grünberg, Achikar) and especially with a Syriac version preserved in a 1908 manuscript from Alqosh (version II in Nau, Aḥikar, p. 14). Accord- ing to Nöldeke (Nöldeke, Achikarroman, p. 51-54) the Syriac text published by Grün- berg depends on an Ar. Aḥiqar. The name of the protagonist has the Ar. form Ḥayqār in another Syriac version of the story (version I in Nau, Aḥikar, p. 1, from a 16th-century manuscript). We are possibly dealing with a sub-branch of the tradition, in which late Clas- sical Syriac and 19th-century Neo-Aramaic versions derive from and/or are contaminated with Ar. versions. 19 A fascinating poetic reflex of this kind of texts can be seen in a long lullaby from Qaraqosh (Talia, Lullabies, p. 48-59), where the anonymous poet lets the mother sing to her child blessings linked with churches, shrines, ruins of sacred places, saints and martyrs of Qaraqosh and all the other Christian villages of the Mosul plain. In the mother and her listeners’ hearts hagiography and sacral geography concur in fostering communal Chris- tian identity in a remarkable ecumenical perspective and summons all the saints of the Nineveh heaven to protect the child’s sleep.

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poems of various genres in NENA), and 3) adab-like texts of probable Arabic origin. The latter were probably requested so as to cover a gap in the prevalently oral literary space of Aramaic-speaking Christians, namely the lack of a written tradition of stories and short novels in Neo-Aramaic. Arabic and Garshuni manuscripts containing this kind of stories were produced or circulated among Middle-East Christians for a long time and they played an important role in the shaping of the European editions of the One Thousand and One Nights. These Arabic Christian anthologies, in turn, were possibly influenced by the form that the Arabian Nights had taken between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and the enormous success it had encountered in the West. More than a century before the Neo-Aramaic translations, Sindbād the Sailor had been included in the Mille et une nuits (Paris, 1704-17) by Antoine Galland, while Ḥayqār entered the European corpus of the Arabian Nights as Histoire de Sinka- rib et de ses deux vizirs20. The appeal of the Nights may have oriented Sachau’s choice of these specific texts as prose samples to be translated from Arabic into Neo-Aramaic.

2. Arabic or Neo-Aramaic ‘aǧā’ib?

The language of the right-hand pages is a form of literary Neo-Aramaic (henceforth NA) based on a Christian variety of the Mosul plain. Words such as magenyānā ‘the West’ (20) and kġāmeṭ ‘it sinks’ (14) as well as the Aramaicized forms of Kurdish words such as gamyā, gyānā, zaxmā (see here, below) are described by Maclean as typical of Alqosh21, hence of the poetic koine based on that dialect. Gabriel Quryaqoza was born in a Telkepe family and the dialect of Telkepe is very close to that of Alqosh. Furthermore, he learnt in Mosul with Joseph ‘Azzaryā luġat al-baldah (suraṯ) ‘the local language (Sureth)’22, whereby is probably meant the spoken and occasionally written koine of Mosul23 in its turn not very different from the Alqosh and Telkepe dialect cluster. Against the purist and classicizing attitude of the standard language of Urmia, the text is written in the phonetically oriented spelling of Iraqi NA manuscripts24 and the lexicon, possibly influenced by an Arabic

20 Braida, Neo-Aramaic Aḥiqar. Introduction, p. 41. 21 Maclean, Dictionary. 22 London B.L. Or. 9321, p. 696. See also, above, n. 15. 23 Sachau, Fellichi. 24 Etymological pharyngeal /ḥ/, e.g., is written <ḵ> according to the modern pronunciation as a velar fricative in words as xḏā ‘one, a(n)’, Aramaic etymological /‘/ is pronounced and written <’> as in arbā ‘four’ or ar’ā ‘land’. In (8) ṭarwāṯā probably

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(henceforth Ar.) original or model, is replete with words and roots of for- eign etymology. The wonders are labelled with a NA term of clear Ar. origin (‘eǧubē, pl. ‘eǧbāwāṯa)25, usually paralleled by ‘aǧība in the facing Ar. text, but twice by the closest etymon u‘ǧūba (16 and 23). In the initial rubric and in the titles of wonders (8) and (9) NA ‘eǧubē curiously corresponds to Ar. nādira (pl. nawādir), which suggests that the author of the Ar. text considered nādira and ‘aǧība as synonyms26. Arabisms in the NA text are often paralleled by their etymons in the Ar. text: mḍurrē ‘harmed’ (2); bellur ‘crystal’ (3); marē 27 ‘mirror’ (4); šabah ‘brass’ (5 and 9); d-ḥaḍri (h)wā ‘who were visiting’ (5); maǧrēṯā ‘stream’ and forms of the verb ‘to flow’ from the root ǧry (5 and passim)28; mex ‘ādet-āh – with long ā marked with <’> as in Ar. – is a calque of the facing ka-‘ādati-hi ‘as usual’ (5); the Ar. spelling of long ā also occurs in maṭrān ‘Metropolitan’ (12) and ḥiwān ‘animal’ (14)29; knāqeṣ ‘it decreases’ (15); nefeṭ ‘naphtha’ (17); zē’mut-ēh ‘its offensive smell’ perfectly corresponds to Ar. zuhūmatu-hu (18)30; Ar.-derived ramel follows the Aramaic equivalent xālā ‘sand’31 and kmākennē (< *kmmakkenlē?)32

renders the actual pronunciation of tarwāṯā ‘doors’ with spread of the pharyngealization from r to the initial t. 25 The loan-word has a final –ē, which might be a spelling that tentatively renders Ar. /-a/ (tā’ marbūṭah). The plural has an Aramaic feminine ending (loans are usually treated as feminine in Neo-Aramaic). The term appears in the title of a book published in 1894 by the American Mission Press in Urmia (no extant copy today): ‘eǧbuyāṯā (?) de-kyānā ‘wonders of nature’, a translation of Nature’s Wonders: Sermons to Children on How God’s Works Praise Him by Richard Newton (1812-1887; Malick, The American Mission Press, p. 90). In the Urmi American mission, terms with the same etymology were used to describe wonders of science and technology, such as the telegraph or printed books themselves. For a discussion of ‘the missionary cultivation of wonder (‘ajebuta)’ see Becker, Assyrian Nationalism, p. 73, 86, and 124. 26 See, below, par. 4 for the use of ‘aǧība and nādira in Ar. literature. 27 Note the short a in an open syllable that had probably been closed (< *mar’ē). 28 Final -h in 19. kǧārēh is probably due to confusion with the homophonous verbal ending –(l)ē, that is sometimes written with final <-h> as a historical spelling, especially in Urmi orthography. 29 arxelāt ‘mills’ (6) has the Ar. feminine plural ending -āt that can be used with loanwords. Long ā is marked with ’ and t has the quššāyā which indicates an occlusive pronunciation, as opposed to the fricative pronunciation of the Aramaic feminine plural ending -āṯā. For the term erxē or arxel ‘mill’, see Maclean, Dictionary, p. 20, and Mengozzi, Vernacular Syriac [T.], p. 189. 30 The shift h > ’ at the end of a closed syllable is also attested in a word of Aramaic origin as sē’rē ʻmoons’ < sahrē (9). 31 The pair of synonyms occurs only in the Neo-Aramaic text. Multilingual hendiadys, with Ar. as one of the source languages, is a stylistic device rather frequent in Neo-Aramaic (Mengozzi, Vernacular Syriac, [V.], p. 55-56), as well as in Islamic literary languages other than Ar. (Bausani, Lingue islamiche, p. 9). 32 Note the use of the subject-coreferential dative pronoun –lē to express the middle voice value of yatamakkanu.

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is probably a tentative NA rendering of Ar. yatamakkanu (20); lē-33māǧmo‘ē ‘to collect’ (21); ṭārāfē ‘sides’ and fā’id-ēh ‘its benefits’ (24). Like other terms that indicate materials and substances (crystal, brass, naphtha), NA ezrēqiyon ‘zircon (?)’ is the transliteration of the corresponding Ar. term izriqiyūn (23). The latter probably stems from the misreading of an Arabic source in which the color of the ‘strong vinegar’ mentioned in the context was zarqūn ‘bright red’. Some Arabisms in the NA text do not correspond to the terms and roots used in the Ar. text: brenǧ ‘brass’ (Ar. nuḥās; 5 and passim), muqdār ‘distance’ (Ar. masīr; 7), 8. kursi ‘throne’ (Ar. sarīr; 8), perhaps kġāmeṭ ‘it sinks’34 (Ar. yaġūdu; 14), m‘uǧbā ‘wonderful’ (Ar. ġarīb) and collo- quial ya‘ni ‘that is’ (Classical Ar. ’ay; 18). Kurmanji Kurdish loanwords are also present in the NA text: sānāhi (11) is a Barwari form of asanī ‘ease’35; gyānā ‘self’36; garā ‘cistern’ (17) is equivalent to Persian gird-āb ‘whirlpool’37 and probably derives from 38 39 pool’ ; gamyā ‘ship’ (20) ; zaxmā ‘strong’ (23) derives‘ گه ڔ Kurmanji from Kurdish zexm40. As usual in NA, some of the Arabisms listed above may have entered the NA lexicon via Kurdish. Similarly, most place and sea names of the NA text are of Ar. origin and correspond to those used in the Ar. text en face: e.g., yāmā d-xazar ‘Caspian Sea’ (6); meṣer ‘Egypt’ (9 and 11); andāles ‘al-Andalus’ (10); ḥeǧāz ‘Hejaz’ (22). In sometimes slightly different spellings, NA and Ar. agree in the difficult place names of the second part of the text: bāṭlas (with Ar. spelling of long ā) and bāṭlās (13), pustidār and bustidār (18), maṭlāyā and maṭlāy (21), ṭāṭīq, qātāǧ, ḥazzān (24), the last two with Ar. spelling of long ā in NA. In the description of the last wonder bēṯ dliš (beṯ d-liš?) looks like an Aramaic toponym or so is it interpreted in the NA text. It is bayt dālīš and bayt dālīǧ (probably [da(:)li:ʒ]) in the Ar. text and may be a rendering of Bitlis in eastern Anatolia. The transcription of originally Greek names would appear to be more precise in the Syriac script of the NA text: ālexandros (1) has the Clas- sical Syriac form, against Ar. iskandar, and the river name ēwrikos (15) seems to be better represented in NA script than ūrikūs in Ar.

33 Sic, with long ē. 34 The etymology of this verbal root, well attested in the NA dialect of Alqosh, is uncer- tain. The presence of the sound ġ points to an Ar. origin (Lidzbarski, Die neu-aramäischen Handschriften, vol. 2, p. 434). 35 Chyet, Dictionary, p. 9. 36 Maclean, Dictionary, p. 53. 37 Maclean, Dictionary, p. 55. 38 Chyet, Dictionary, p. 205. 39 Maclean, Dictionary, p. 52. 40 Chyet, Dictionary, p. 688.

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In 22, the Ar. al-taymā’ ‘Tayma’ hardly corresponds to NA daštā ‘plain’41, which may suggest that the translator into NA did not know the Ar. oasis in the North-West of the Arabian peninsula42. If this hypothesis is correct, the Ar. text may very well be one of the Ar. prose samples that Gabriel Quryaqoza translated for Sachau into NA. The relative abun- dance of Ar. toponyms and technical terms for substances and matters also points to an Ar. original and certainly to the use of Ar. sources.

3. Linguistic traits of the Arabic text

The language of the left-hand pages is a form of literary Arabic. It is reasonable to assume that the copyist wrote the NA and the Ar. texts as one project. The notation of short vowels with ḍamma, fatḥa and kasra, tanwīn and hamza are quite accurate and used according to a coherent system. Gabriel Quryaqoza wrote down (some of) the vowels on a couple of words in each sentence, choosing words that can be interpreted in different ways according to the vocalization and aiming at submitting a text as clear as possible to the reader, be it Sachau or anyone else. He almost consistently writes –ā’ with a sequence of madda and hamza ( instead of classical ): e.g., in ‘black (f.)’ (2), ‘building’ (2 and َـاء َـــآء passim), ‘green (f.)’ (9), ‘water’ (17), ‘facing’ (classical bi-izā’, 20), ‘red (f.)’ (23), ‘winter’ (21 passim). The extensive use of this spelling can be interpreted as an orthographic variant of –ā’ rather than a superflu- ous insertion or a hypercorrection43. The spelling of ‘waters (pl.)’ with madda for cl. , found only in (5), and with insertion of ِم َر ٌآءة المياه الميآه -seem to be two instances of hyper (4) مرآة hamza in the classical form corrections. The toponym ‘Tayma’ (for. classical ) has the article, pos- تيماء َالت ْي َمئ sibly under the influence of the preceding al-ḥiǧāz, and the spelling alif maqṣūra + hamza for final –ā’. Scriptio plena is used for non-Ar. toponyms: Bāṭlās (13), Ūrīqūs (15), Būstīdār (18), Fānūr, Dālīš, Dālīǧ, Ṭāṭīq, Qātāǧ (24). Final –ā and –a(t) are written against the classical spelling in Konya’. They probably reflect the‘ (قونية .cl) قونيا Rome’ and‘ (روما .cl) رومة pronunciation of the same a or e vowel in final position.

41 The term daštā is of Persian origin and usually means ‘plain’ or ‘field’ in NA. Persian dašt means ‘desert, plain without water’ and is the name of a district in Khorasan, a town in Azerbaijan and a village near Isfahan (Steingass, Dictionary, p. 526). 42 The Peshiṭṯā rendering of Tayma is taymnā (Isaiah 21:14, Jeremiah 25:23, Job 6:19), also used for ‘South, southern region, Yemen’. 43 Lentin, Normes orthographiques en moyen arabe, p. 227-229.

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Indefiniteness is overtly marked in NA with the grammaticalized forms of the numeral ‘one’ (m. xā, f. xḏā) followed by a noun in the sg. This construction follows a common path of grammaticalization of the numeral ‘one’ into the indefinite article ‘a, an’, well attested across languages44. When the NA text has the indefinite article, the Ar. text displays three Classical Ar. constructions to express indefiniteness. 1) The tanwīn is often explicitly marked. 2) ‘One’ in construct state, followed by a def. pl. noun, is also used: iḥdā al-ǧazā’ir ‘an island’ (1), aḥad al-amākin ‘a place’ (5), aḥad al-bilād ‘a country’ (17, 19)45. 3) Finally, enclitic -mā is used as an indefinite marker46: madīna mā ‘a city’ (8), binā’ mā ‘a building’ (11), firdaws mā (12), nahr mā (13), ṣahrīǧ mā ‘a cistern’ (17), fā’ida mā ‘a benefit’ (24). In accordance with classical usage, the verb kāna ‘to be’ is used as an auxiliary verb in combination with an imperfective (2 passim). This construction is also found in combination with the same verb kāna, meaning ‘to be present, be there’: kānat takūnu ma‘ahum ‘they had with them’ (5). In sentence-initial position, kāna ‘there was’ (3 passim) and yūǧadu ‘there is’ (6 passim) faithfully correspond to the past and present tense respectively of the NA existential pseudo-verb: iṯ (h)wā ‘there was’, iṯ ‘there is’.

4. Genre(s) and textual features

The information provided in the text is given in the form of very short descriptive notices. In the Ar. text, these notices are indicated as nawādir (sg. nādira), ‘rarities, curiosities’ or ‘aǧā’ib (sg. ‘aǧība or u‘ǧūba) ‘wonders’, used as synonyms. In post-classical Ar. literature, the term nawādir generally appears in the titles of works, such as the Nawādir Ǧuḥā or the

44 Rubin, Grammaticalization, p. 18; Gasparini, Grammaticalization, p. 104-105. 45 Mion, Indétermination, p. 227-228, observes that from the 12th century the use of indefinite constructions with wāḥid or aḥad ~ iḥdā’ becomes more frequent than in earlier times in Middle as well as in Classical Arabic texts. This would seem to be the case also in our text: nahr wāḥid ‘a river’, farsanḫ wāḥid ‘a parasang’ (24), but possibly yawman wāḥidan ‘(only) one day’ (16), according to classical usage. 46 Mā al-ibhāmiyya ‘mā expressing vagueness’ in the traditional terminology of Classi- cal Arabic (see Reckendorf, Arabische Syntax, p. 290; Nöldeke, Zur Grammatik, p. 60-61; Wright, Grammar, vol. ii, §136, n. e). On the use of mā in apposition to an indefinite noun, see Pennacchietti, Pronomi arabi, p. 85-86. With al-Astarābāḏī (13th century), Fleisch, Philologie arabe, vol. 2, p. 104-105, speaks of renforcement de l’indétermination. The same construction occurs in the Anatolian Arabic dialect of Hasköy (Talay, Hasköy Arabic). Mion, Indétermination, p. 224, suggests comparing this variety of Anatolian Arabic with Iranian languages which, like Hasköy Arabic, do not have a definite article and exhibit the same syntax (noun followed by an indefinite marker) to express indefiniteness.

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Nawādir by al-Qalyūbī (d. 1659)47, that gather satirical or humoristic anecdotes and short stories (ḥikāyāt) on curiosities of characters or historical figures in anthological form. In these anthologies, nawādir are usually entertaining anecdotes of fictional content. The term nādira is also used in theology, philology, mathematics, astrology, botany, medicine for notices of scientific content48. Nawādir is rarely used49 in geographical literature, where ‘aǧā’ib and ġarā’ib are preferred and often occur in the titles of post-classical works or their chapters dedicated to wonders of land and sea50. It is rather difficult to recognize the NA and Ar. collection of ‘aǧā’ib as an example of a specific genre. Notices of marvelous things, especially those existing in countries far away, may have been and still be part of the repertoire of oral story telling among East Syrians and their Muslim neighbors, but they probably do not belong to a written tradition in NA. A readership for such an improbable written tradition would be hardly conceivable in 19th-century Northern Iraq and South-Eastern Anatolia, when literacy was uncommon among East-Syrians and often confined to a limited ability to read and chant in Classical Syriac for liturgical purposes. Literacy may have been higher in the Urmi region, especially by the end of the 19th century, but so far we have not been able to trace a written NA source. As in the case of adab-like and wisdom literature, Eduard Sachau may have suggested or asked the scribe Gabriel to include examples of

47 Al-Qalyūbī, Nawādir. 48 Pellat, Nādira. On the Nawādir Ǧuḥā, see Marzolph, Jocular Fiction. For a more specific use of the term nawādir, e.g. in relation to humorous anecdotes on dis- agreeable persons, see Sadan, al-Adab al-‘arabī. The 17th-century Ottoman historian and geographer Ḥāǧǧī Ḫalīfa (Kašf al-ẓunūn, vol. 6, p. 385-389, nr. 13997-14013), lists a series of titles containing the term nawādir referring to works of various literary genres as well as many geographical and historical-geographical works (vol. 2, p. 1127-1128), containing ‘aǧā’ib in their titles. This may suggest that, despite their differences, these works are perceived as belonging to a specific genre, in which geographical notices describe both real – as opposed to fabulous – and fantastic mirabilia. 49 Nevertheless, Yāqūt (1179-1229) mentions several nawādir, which are mostly collections of humorous stories, among the sources of his geographical dictionary. 50 The question about the existence of a specific ‘aǧā’ib genre is controversial. Von Hees, ‘Aǧā’ib literature, p. 103-106, emphasizes that Ar. geographical literature conveys a complex system that combines mirabilia belonging to the “medieval” categories of the fantastic or the supernatural marvel with more scientific contents. Zadeh, ‘Aǧā’ib, p. 22, states that in the Islamicate context ‘the category of ‘aǧā’ib as a discursive device for mapping the world is fully present, for instance, in the earliest descriptive geographies of the ‘Abbāsid period, deployed as an organizing principle for such topics as the location of the Seven Sleepers (aṣḥāb al-kahf), the wall of Gog and Magog, Khiḍr’s jour- ney to the fountain of life (all of which intersect with Qur’ānic material), along with accounts concerning such man-made marvels as the pyramids of Egypt and the palace at Ctesiphon’.

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prose geographical notices and wonders in his collection of NENA texts on the basis of his own research interests51. McCollum does not mention works of this genre in his survey of ‘Phi- losophy, Science, and Belles-lettres in Syriac and Christian Arabic Litera- ture’52. Fabulous mirabilia (teḏmrāṯā or tmihāṯā) can be found in two folios of a collection of Classical Syriac manuscript fragments of the 18th century (Berlin 86, Sachau 118, f. 7-8). Sachau’s catalogue gives the text of the first wonder53: ‘Among the eastern islands there is an island called Karnāš, where there are dog men54. Their males are like dogs. When enemies arrive, they enter and swim in a river that is there and roll down on the sand. No arrow, spear or sword can pierce them. If somebody of mankind copulates with their females as in a coition, he immediately dies.’ and summarizes the others: an island of wondrous births in the river of sin; the tree of Ba(q)qāwās, on which men and birds grow and are then devoured by a beast coming from the sea55; a man who married a woman in Baghdad, went to Ṭūs, where she got pregnant, her pregnancy lasted 24 months and the child had teeth when he was born. In f. 8a a certain priest Cyriacus of Mosul is mentioned as story-teller. To the best of our knowledge, neither do the NA and Ar. ‘aǧā’ib of the London Sachau collection find any direct parallel in any published Ar. work. The absence of a comprehensive geographical or narrative framework and the fragmentary outlook of a collection in which few short paragraphs, consisting of brief and simple sentences, are arranged in two series of twelve notices are reminiscent of the late collections of nawādir. Their

51 Sachau’s interest in Ar. erudition comes to the fore, among other publications, in his edition and translation of important works by the polymath al-Bīrūnī (973-1050), such as K. al-āṯār al-bāqiya and K. taḥqīq al-Hind. 52 McCollum, Belles-lettres in Syriac. 53 Sachau, Verzeichniss, vol. 1, p. 318. 54 Dog-headed or dog-faced people inhabiting eastern islands/lands are rather common in Arabic geographical works and travel accounts. For instance, al-Qazwīnī, ‘Aǧā’ib al-maḫlūqāt, p. x, describes the inhabitants of the Saksār island (ǧazīrat al-saksār, from Persian sag ‘dog’ and sar ‘head’) in the Black Sea (baḥr al-Zanǧ) as having dog heads and human bodies. In this connection, Zadeh (Mapping Frontiers, p. 99) points out a different, but equally significant, episode quoted by Ibn ‘Abd al-Ḥakam, Futūḥ Miṣr, p. 38- 39, starring Ḏū l-Qarnayn at the wondrous barrier against Gog and Magog: Ḏū l-Qarnayn encountered there a nation (umma) whose faces were like those of dogs (wujūh al-kilāb, i.e. κυνοκέφαλοι), and who fought against Gog and Magog. Pygmies (ummat qiṣār, i.e. πυγμαίοι) battled with the dog-headed monsters, and were, in turn, at war with a nation of cranes (gharānīq, i.e. γέρανοι). Dog-headed creatures are a feature of Gog and Magog narratives that links the Greek tradition of Cynocephali with episodes transmitted in Mus- lim and Christian versions of the story of Alexander (Doufikar-Aerts, Gog and Magog, p. 45-46). 55 Probably reminiscent of the Wāq-wāq tree described in many Arabic (Toowara, Wâq al-wâq) and Persian (Bacqué-Grammont, L’arbre du Waqwaq) geographical works.

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form and content, however, differ from Ar. nawādir and ‘aǧā’ib in a number of significant points. Our NA and Ar. ‘aǧā’ib do not have the chain of transmitters (isnād) that confirm the authority of an account in Ar. scientific literature, including the ‘aǧā’ib, and in the Sunnah (ḥadīṯ literature). A partial remarkable exception is the account in which a Greek of Konya is mentioned (12), which is conveyed on the authority of Joseph brother of Mar ‘Abdisho‘ Metropolitan of Elam56. Although the latter is not a geographer, his name clearly places the production and/or transmission of the Vorlage of the text or one of its sources in a Christian, more specifically East-Syrian, context. The reference to the cult practice of the ḥnānā (18)57 is the only other Christian element in the text and points to the same East-Syrian milieu. The accounts almost exclusively concern inhabited lands. The author or compiler seems to be especially interested in some of the marvelous buildings and monuments considered in all sources among the mirabilia of ancient times58. As the title ‘wonders found in cities, seas and islands’ suggests, the first part contains notices about Egypt, al-Andalus, and possibly Anatolia (1-12). The second part is devoted to ‘rivers and wells’ of Syria, Anatolia, and the Arabian Peninsula (13-24). Notices rather consistently follow a West to East orientation, as is customary in Ar. geographical works. The author of the Ar. text or his sources use common geographical terms indicating place names and appropriately distinguish between arḍ

56 It is not easy to identify the personage mentioned by the author in this very short isnād. A Mar ‘Abdisho‘, Metropolitan of Elam (Gondeshapur) is mentioned by Assemani (Bibliotheca Orientalis, vol. 2, p. 453) as a witness of the election or an elector of the Patriarch Sabrisho‘ in the year 1222. ‘Chaldean authorities’ ascribe to him a mêmrā On Mysteries which belongs to the corpus of Narsai’s homilies (Baumstark, Geschichte, p. 112 and 120, n. 3; Burkitt, Mss. of Narsai). According to Brock, Narsai’s Homilies, p. 39, n. 42, ‘on the basis of linguistic usage this Homily must date from slightly later than Narsai’s time’. The East Syriac mystic Joseph Hazzaya (8th cent.) wrote most of his works under the name of his brother ‘Abdisho‘ (Chabot, Livre de la chasteté, §125; Argárate, Joseph Ḥazzāyā) and might in turn be confused with Joseph Huzaya (active around the end of the 5th and the first half of the 6th cent.), that is Joseph ‘of Beth Huzaye (=Elam)’. On Gondeshapur as a Christian and Muslim academic center, see Fiori, Jundīshāpūr. 57 The Syriac term ḥnānā literally means ‘mercy’ and is here rendered as iḥnān in Ara- bic. It indicates a ‘compound of oil, dust and water, mixed with the relics of saints or with earth of holy places’ (Payne Smith, Dictionary, p. 149), used by East Syrians at weddings, monk consecrations, priest ordinations, or for anointing the sick (more details in Payne Smith, Thesaurus, col. 1315-16). The ‘sacred dust’ is used also on Mar Qardagh’s prepara- tions for holy war (Walker, The Legend of Mar Qardagh, p. 50 and 151, with further bibliographic references on the use of ḥnānā in East-Syrian milieu). 58 On similar interests in Islamic medieval culture, see Marzolph, Mirabilia.

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‘land’ (9, 11), balad (pl. bilād, which may be translated as ‘country’ [17, 19, 21, 24] or even ‘town’ [17, 21, 24]59, and the plural aqṭār (sg. quṭr) ‘regions, districts’ (18, 22, 23). NA terminology seems to be poorer: arḍ corresponds to NA ar‘ā, whereas NA aṯrā (pl. aṯrāwāṯā) correspond to both balad and quṭr. Even though the initial rubric refers to seas and islands, the author or compiler of the text does not appear to be much interested in the mari- time world. The Caspian Sea (baḥr al-Ḫazar; 7, 21) occurs twice, the sea of Syria (7) and the Red Sea (14), only once, the latter possibly confused with the Dead Sea. The Mediterranean or the Ocean, which are rather popular objects of description in Ar. geography, are not mentioned at all. The Sea of Syria (baḥr Sūriyā) and the Red Sea (al-baḥr al-aḥmar) are designated with their modern names, little used in Ar. geographical literature, where baḥr al-Šām and baḥr al-Qulzum are the commonest forms. The only island which is mentioned is one where Alexander built a city (1). No other real or imaginary island is mentioned. Similarly, the text does not contain reference to the land or sea animals, aquatic creatures, exotic birds or plants that populate Ar. geographical and cosmographical works. Finally, there is no reference to the Ptolemaic division into seven ‘climates’ (iqlīm, pl. aqālīm) standard in all Ar. geographical works of the classical and post-classical periods. The NA and Ar. text has no scientific value or ambition nor does it aim at exhaustiveness. Only a few places are covered and it is not indicated where some of the mirabilia are actually located. Distances are given in day- or month-walks (1, 7), measurements in parasang (6) and cubits (15), and they seem to be used so as to stress the marvelous character of the objects and places described rather than to provide factual information. Nevertheless, figures and measurements are often those we find in the Ar. sources and the equivalence ‘every three miles is a parasang’ (6) is rather accurate60.

5. Arabic sources

Even though genre and structure of the NA and Ar. collection of ‘aǧā’ib are not clearly definable, the information and details provided in the single notices are all recognizable as topics or pieces of information

59 Ar. bilād al-Rūm / NA aṯrā d-r(h)omāyē (21) may indicate the Byzantine empire or ‘(the Christian population of) Anatolia’. On the meanings of the term r(h)omāyē in Clas- sical Syriac, NA and beyond, see Pennacchietti, Romano. 60 As was already known to Herodotus, the Persian parasang was equivalent to 30 stades, corresponding to 5.35 km or 3.3 English miles.

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well attested in Ar. sources, partly belonging to the narrative cycles on Alexander the Great or, more probably, to Alexander traditions that have entered the vast corpus of geographical literature. Ar. geographical sources often help clarify the descriptions that appear rather enigmatic and ellipti- cal in the abridged form of our text61. The cosmography by Ibn Rustah (d. ca. 903), Kitāb al-a‘lāq al-nafīsa, contains a chapter ‘on wonders of the earth’ (min ‘aǧā’ib al-arḍ) – largely dependent upon Ibn Ḫurdāḏbah (d. 912) – which includes mirabilia com- parable to those of the NA and Ar. text (1-5, 9-11). However, some notices are missing in our bilingual text and, throughout his description, Ibn Rus- tah refers to marvelous animals that are absent here. The wonders described in the first part of the text recall well-known accounts on Alexandria and its eponymous founder Alexander the Great circulating in Ar. literature62. The foundation of Alexandria, the description of the Pharos63 and other marvelous buildings, as well as the description of intermittent rivers in the second part of the text, all find telling parallels in the stories about Alexander, e.g. in the Pseudo-Callisthenes tradition, but they are not inserted here in a continuous narrative. Rather they are given as bits and pieces in the form of short, fragmentary and incomplete accounts. The wording often suggests that the author did not know directly – and he certainly did not refer explicitly to – the Pseudo-Callisthenes Alexander romance. More probably he collected sparse notices from intermediary historical and geographical Ar. sources that mirror the narrative texts on Alexander and heavily draw from them64. The Kitāb al-buldān by 10th-century Ibn al-Faqīh includes stories about Alexander that ‘appear to be fragments of a text that mirror Pseudo- Callisthenes’65 and seems to have been one of the sources from which

61 On Syriac geography and its relationships with Greek and Arabic sources, see Ducène, La géographie chez les auteurs syriaques. References to Ar. sources that are not mentioned and discussed in this paragraph can be found in the notes to the English translation. 62 Doufikar-Aerts, Founder of Alexandria, mainly focusing on al-Mas‘ūdī, Murūǧ al-ḏahab. 63 Literature on the Pharos of Alexandria in Ar. sources is massive: see, e.g., Sadan ‒ Fraenkel, Manāra; Thiersch, Pharos; Doufikar-Aerts, Pharos of Alexandria; Behrens- Abouseif, Lighthouse of Alexandria. 64 According to Doufikar-Aerts, Alexander Magnus Arabicus, the narrative framework of the Pseudo-Callisthenes romance includes a series of seventeen episodes, which inspired various later traditions found in Ar. historical and geographical works. Doufikar-Aerts (Alexander Magnus Arabicus, p. 21-34) deals with works by Dinawarī (d. 895), Ya‘qūbī (d. 897), Ibn al-Faqīh (d. ca. 903), al-Ṭabarī (d. 923), Eutychius (d. 940), al-Mas‘ūdī (d. 956), Mubaššir ibn Fātik (d. ca. 1100), Ibn al-Aṯīr (d. 1234), al-Maqrīzī (d. 1442), and with the Pseudo-Aṣmā‘ī’s Nihāyat al-Arab. On this last work, see Doufikar-Aerts, Alex- ander Magnus Arabicus, p. 29-30. 65 Doufikar-Aerts, Alexander Magnus Arabicus, p. 28.

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the author of the NA and Ar. mirabilia directly or indirectly drew inspi- ration. Ibn al-Faqīh gives details that we find scattered in the notices (4-5) and (10), in precisely the same order: ‘Whoever sat under it [the Pharos], could see the people in Constantinople although between them stretches out the sea66, and in the land of Andalus a copper horse with a copper rider on horseback, who extends his hand with a windlass on which is written: ‘to the rear of me is no path and nobody sets foot on this land or else ants will swallow him’ and a manāra of copper with on top of it a copper rider in the land of ‘Ād (…)’67. The Pharos of Alexandria is undoubtedly one of the most famous mirabilia quoted in the text68. In several Ar. writings, the lighthouse (3) and the mirror hanging on its top that enabled to watch the ships coming from Constantinople (4) were considered two of the four or five wondrous buildings of the ancient world. Most narrative and descriptive details, such as the presence of ‘treasures’ in the city (of Alexandria?) built by Alexander (1), the construction of Alexandria (and Rome) in ‘three hundred years’ (2), their great ‘whiteness’ (2), and the presence of many ‘Jews’ therein (3) can be found in Ar. geographical literature. The geographers Ibn Ḫurdāḏbah and Ibn al-Faqīh inform about the great ‘white light’ emanating from Alexandria. They also refer that Alexandria, like Rome, was built ‘in three hundred years’. In the same chapter ‘on the wonders of the buildings’ (min ‘aǧā’ib al-bunyān), Ibn Ḫurdāḏbah states that in the city of Alexandria ‘six hundred thousand Jews’ were living, while (only) ‘six thousand’ are mentioned in the text (3)69. This apparent transmission error, with the dropping of ‘hundred’ from the original figure, suggests that the author knew the geographical account or was copying it from a corrupt intermediary source. A number of other motifs in the NA-Ar. text would seem to come from another cycle of narratives on Alexander the Great, the so-called Ḏū l-Qarnayn tradition70, even though the name of Alexander is never mentioned explicitly, neither in its Arabized form (al)-Iskandar nor in the Islamized Ḏū l-Qarnayn. These accounts are devoid of any apocalyptic

66 See also Ibn Rustah, K. al-a‘lāq al-nafīsa, p. 78. Yāqūt, Mu‘ǧam al-buldān, vol. 1, nr. 629, p. 221 and 222, adds ‘from the Franks (Afranǧa) and Constantinople’. 67 Ibn al-Faqīh, Muḫtaṣar K. al-buldān, p. 72. 68 Doufikar-Aerts, Pharos of Alexandria, p. 191-202, esp. 193. 69 Al-Maqrīzī, al-Mawā‘iẓ wa-l-i‘tibār, vol. 1, p. 274 (from Ibn Ḫurdāḏbah); Yāqūt, Mu‘ǧam al-buldān, vol. 1, nr. 629, p. 221 speaks of a population of ‘forty thousand Jews’ in Alexandria. 70 ‘The Dhū ‘l-Qarnayn tradition is named after the prophetic figure, whose name first appears – as far as we know – in the Qur’ān (18:82)’ (Doufikar-Aerts, Alexander Mag- nus Arabicus, p. 136).

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representations and they lack the eschatological context of the source texts. Rather they fall into the category of stories that ‘can be reduced to the notion of reaching and making the extremities’71. In a chapter on the frontiers of the Islamic world (ṯuġūr al-islām), Ibn Ḫurdāḏbah describes ‘a wall (sūr) extending from the Sea of Syria (baḥr al-Šām) to the Caspian Sea, a four-day-walk long’72. In giving this notice, the text (7) may also refer to the well-known wall of Alexander, a legendary barrier supposedly built by Alexander in the Caspian Sea to contain the destructive force of Gog and Magog (Cor. 18: 93-95)73. The description of the river ‘of dry sand with no water’, that stops flowing on Saturday (20) again combines information from different sources. It recalls the River of Sand and the Sabbath River widely known from various recensions of the Pseudo-Callisthenes Alexander romance, the Jewish Sambation legend and Ar. geographical literature depending on these literary sources. Moreover, the text refers that one has to look west- ward to see it and Abū Ḥamīd al-Andalusī al-Ġarnāṭī (12th century) places the Sabbath River in the West, at the entrance to the Land of Darkness74. The two equestrian statues may also originate from the Ḏū l-Qarnayn tradition. Ibn Faqīh and Yāqūt describe an equestrian brass statue (5) built by Alexander at the extremities of the world. Like in (10), al-Ġarnāṭī and Ibn al-Faqīh locate a brass statue in the West or in al-Andalus. Many geographers consider the equestrian statue built by Alexander at the extreme boundaries of al-Andalus one of wonders of the world75. Ibn al-Faqīh and Yāqūt relate an account, apparently echoed in (10), according to which Alexander ‘reached a place where no one had gone before. He molded (ṣawwara) a horse, on which there was a knight of brass, who has his left hand on the reins of the horse, and stretched out his right hand, on which is written: ‘Behind me there is no way!’76’. The city described in (8) is probably Memphis, Manf in Ar. The Ar. text may have been copied from a Vorlage in which there was mā instead of manf. After the description of Alexandria, Ibn al-Faqīh gives a few

71 Doufikar-Aerts, Alexander Magnus Arabicus, p. 187. 72 Ibn Ḫurdāḏbah, al-Masālik, p. 256; see also Yāqūt, Mu‘ǧam al-buldān, vol. 3, p. 98, s.v. al-Rūm. 73 Doufikar-Aerts, Gog and Magog; Kleiber, Caspian Wall; van Donzel – Schmidt, Gog and Magog. 74 Al-Ġarnāṭī, al-Mu‘rib. 75 See, e.g., Ibn Rustah, K. al-a‘lāq al-nafīsa, p. 78. Doufikar-Aerts, Pharos of Alex- andria, p. 196, suggests that ‘Alexander places a statue on a top of a manāra as a symbol of demarcation… in a number of cases Alexander indicates the farthest point reachable on land with the erection of a statue or column’. 76 Ibn al-Faqīh, Muḫtaṣar K. al-buldān, p. 73.

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notices on Memphis, ‘city of the Pharaoh’77, that largely correspond to the details given in (8). The city has seventy gates – seven in our text –, its walls are made of iron – brass and iron in our text. It is also said that four rivers flow in the city from under the king’s throne. A few Ar. geographical sources say that it was Alexander who built the Egyptian pyramids, ubiquitously considered the most famous wonders of the ancient world. In (9) the correspondence between Ar. haram ‘pyramid’ (pl. ahrām) with NA esṭonā ‘column’ (pl. esṭonē) is problem- atic in this connection, since it is difficult to imagine that the author did not understand the term haram as occurring in his Ar. sources or that he had difficulties in finding an Aramaic equivalent78. A closer intertextual analysis shows that the NA text almost literally quotes an Ar. geographical source in which the etymological parallel of NA esṭonā is used: Ibn Ḫurdāḏbah says that in ‘Ayn Šams (Egypt) there are asāṭīn ‘columns’ (sg. usṭuwāna) surmounted by copper rings (aṭwāq ‘circles’, in our Ar. text aqmār ‘moons’), from where water flows79. It is perhaps reasonable to assume that Gabriel Quryaqoza wrongly translated NA esṭonā with Ar. haram, given the Egyptian location of notice (9)80. The building described in (11) is probably a pyramid. Ar. geographers81 give the same size (‘four hundred cubits’) for pyramids and Ibn Rustah refers that ‘the two pyramids’ (of Giza, in all probability) have an inscrip- tion similar to that reported in our text: ‘I built them! Anyone who claims to have the power in his kingdom, let him demolish them! Yet it is easier to destroy than to build. According to calculations, the land tax of the whole universe would not suffice to cover the costs of demolition’82. Moreover, the expression echoed as ‘every king who has power (qudra; NA adds ‘in himself’)’ in our text probably conceals a misreading of Ar. sources in which ancient kings are said to have their qubūr ‘tombs’ (sg. qabr) in the pyramids83. The second part of the text, on rivers and wells, is also a puzzling combination of notices, drawn from Ar. geographical literature and presented in abridged form. Hydronyms and other details, however, do not appear to

77 Ibn al-Faqīh, Muḫtaṣar K. al-buldān, p. 71; Yāqūt, Mu‘ǧam al-buldān, vol. 1, nr. 629, p. 219. 78 The Greek-derived puramidās occurs in Barhebraeus’ Chronicle (Brockelmann, Lexicon, p. 598b). 79 Ibn Ḫurdāḏbah, al-Masālik, p. 161. 80 On ancient Egyptian monuments in Arabic sources, see also Ferrand, Monuments; Fodor, Pyramids; Hamarneh, Monuments of Alexandria. 81 Al-Iṣṭaḫrī, al-Masālik, p. 51; Ḥudūd al-‘ālam, p. 178; al-Bakrī, al-Masālik, vol. 2, nr. 898, p. 543; Yāqūt, Mu‘ǧam al-buldān, vol. 5, p. 400; Ibn Rustah, K. al-a‘lāq al-nafīsa, p. 80; al-Qazwīnī, Āṯār al-bilād, p. 268. 82 Ibn Rustah, K. al-a‘lāq al-nafīsa, p. 80. 83 See, e.g., Yāqūt, Mu‘ǧam al-buldān, vol. 5, p. 399, s.v. al-haramān.

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have direct parallels in Ar. sources. So far, we have not been able to identify Bāṭlās (13) and Ēwrikos (Ūrikūs in Ar. script, 15) with river names known from Ar. sources. Like the unnamed Syrian river described in (16) and the unnamed and not localized river of (19), they are intermittent and recall the river of sand of the Alexander romance, that flows three days with water and three days with sand84. Equally difficult to identify are the unnamed rivers of (23) and (24) as well as the names of the districts where they flow. The description of the town where it always rains may ultimately derive from Ibn Rustah, who speaks of ‘a city called Mustaṭīla in which it rains incessantly in summer and winter, so that its inhabitants can neither thresh nor winnow their grain; they pile the sheaves in their homes; then, as and when they need, they take a certain amount of corn, rub it in their hands to extract the grains, which they grind and cook’85. Malatya in eastern Anatolia is a less probable interpretation, but it may have influenced the strange spellings found in the text (Ar. maṭlāy, NA maṭlāyā).

6. Neo-Aramaic and Arabic Mirabilia

ܵ ܿ ܲ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܿ ܵ ܵ ]231b[ ܓ ܸܟܪܬܐ ܒܥܘܢ �ܕܐܠܗܐ �ܒܟ ܼܬ ܼܒ ܼܘ ܼܟ �ܼܟܟܡܐ ]232a[ ًايضا بعون الله نكتب بعض النوادر ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ ̈ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ̈ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܀ܐܬܼ ܝܪ̈ܙܸ ܓܒܘܸ ܐܬܼ ܡܝܒܘܸ ܐܬܼ ܢܝܼ ܕܡܼ ܒܸ ܬܼ ܝܐܕܼ ܐܬܼ ܘܒܓ̰ ܘܥܼ الموجودة في بعض ُاﻟﻤ ُﺪن وا َبحر والجزائر ܿ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ݇ ܲ ܵ 1 ܐ ܸܠ ܼܟ �ܣ ܼܢܕܪܘܣ ܹܒܢ ܹܝܠܗ ܼܡܕ ܼܝܢܬܐ ܸܒ ܼܟܕܐ ܼܓܙܪܬܐ ܼܕܝܠܗ ً ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܿ ابتنى اسكندر مدينة في احدى الجزائر ܗܘܓܒ ܗܠܝܹ ܪܹ ܕܘܸ .ܐܟܪܹ̈ ܝܲ� ܐܐܒܪܐܕ� ܐܟܪܼ ܘܐܼ ܐܬܩܘܚܼ ܖ ̈ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܿ ܵ ܵ ݇ ܵ ܲ ܿ ܵ ݇ ܵ ܿ ܵ ُب ْع ُدها مسير اربعة اشهر َو َو َض َع فيها ُك ُن ًوزا ܐܬܐܫܘܹ ܗܠܝ ܐܬܼ ܒܪ� ܐܬܢܝܼ ܕܡܼ ܝܼ ܕܼ ܐܘ .ܐܬܪܼ̈ ܝܼ ܒܟ� ܐܬܼ ܢܙܘܼ ܟܼ ܵ ܿ ܲ ܵ ܿ ܲ . ُ ݇ܝܠܗ �ܘܠܬܗ �ܬ ܹ̈ܪܥܐ܀ كثيرة وهذه المدينة هي ًغاية في الك ْب ِر ّومُملسة وليس لها ابواب܀ ̈ ̈ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܿ ݇ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ 2 ܸܦܫܠܗ ܼܒܢܝ ܼܬܐ ܐ ܹܠ ܼܟ �ܣ ܼܢܕܪܝܐ ܘܪܗܘ ܹܡܐ ܸܒܬܠ ܼܬܐ ܸܐ ܸܡܐ ܸܫ ܸܢܐ ِ ܲ ܵ ܲ ݇ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܿ ش ْي َدت مدينة الا ّسكندرية ورومة في مدة ܕܘܟܼ ܐܠܐܸ ܐܡܘܝܒܵ ܝܗܝܝܼ ܘ� ܓܒ ܐܫܟܪܼ ܠܸ ܐܫܹ ܢܐ ܝܒ� ܘܬܼ ܠܘ� ܲ ܿ ̈ ܵ ܿ ̈ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܿ ̈ ܵ ثلثمائة سنة ولم يكن يقدر احد من الناس ܝܫܝܼ ܦܹ ܐܠܕ ܐܡܹ ܘܟ ܐܬܼ ܝܼ ܠܟܸܼ ܕܘܸ ܓܒ ܐܝܣܹ ܘܼ ܟܡ ܝܗܝܼ ܢܝ� ܐܹ ܿ ܲ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܵ ̈ ܿ ̈ ً ܡܨ ܼܘ ܹ̈ܪܐ �ܡܟܒ ܼܝ ܼܪܘ ܼܬܐ ܸܕ ܼܟܘ ܼܪܘ ܼܬܐ ܸܘܨܡ ܹܚܐ ܸܘܒ ܹܗ̈ܪܐ ܸܘܣܩ ܹܠܐ يتمشى فيهما ًنهارا الا وعينيه مبرقعة ببراقع ܵ ݇ ܲ ܵ ܵ ]232b[ ܸܘܒܢܝܢܐ �ܕ ܼܡܕ ܼܝܢܬܐ܀ َس ْو َدآء حتى لا تنضرب من كثرة َالب َياض والاشعة والانوار والنيرنات ]233a[ والبنآء التى كانت َح ُائزتها تلك المدينة .. ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܿ ܲ ܵ ܵ ݇ ܵ ݇ ܐܘܘܕ ܐܕܼ ܟܼ ܐܬܪܼ ܢܡ� ܐܝܪܼ ܕܢܣ� ܟܼ ܠܸ ܐܕ ܐܬܢܝܼ ܕܡܼ ܒܸ ܐܘ̣ ܗ ܬܼ ܝܐܘܼ 3 ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ كان في مدينة الا ّسكندرية ٌمنارة كانت ܝܼ ܕܼ ܐܒ ܐܘܬܼ ܐܸ ܡܗܘ� .ܪܘܠܼ ܒܕܸ ܐܟܼ ܐܖܘܛܼ ܕܠܸ ܐܸ ܐܬܼ ܝܢܒܼ ݇ ܵ ܵ ܲ ̈ ܵ ̈ ܲ ̈ ̈ ܵ َمب ِن ٌيَّة على َر ْب َو ٍة من ّالبلور وكان ًايضا في ܼܡܕ ܼܝܢܬܐ ܸܐܫܬܐ �ܐ ܹܠܦܐ ܼܐܝ ܼܗܘ ܼܕ ܹܝܐ ܸܓܪ �ܡܥ ܹܡܡܐ ܸܟ ܸܢܐ ܕܠܐ ْ ܸܡ ܵܢܝ ܵܢܐ܀ هذه المدينة ُستة آلآف نفس من اليهود عدا الشعوب اخر الكثيرة العدد܀

84 See Pennacchietti, Fiumi intermittenti, on the proliferation of legendary intermittent rivers, such as Ammorrus, Strangas and Sabbation. 85 Ibn Rustah, K. al-a‘lāq al-nafīsa, p. 79. See also Ibn Ḫurdāḏbah, al-Masālik, p. 156, with a different wording.

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ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܿ ܲ ܵ ܵ ݇ ܵ ݇ 4 ܼܘܐܝ ܼܬ ܗ ̣ܘܐ ܸܒ ܼܡܕ ܼܝܢܬܐ ܕܐ ܸܠ ܼܟ �ܣܢܕ ܼܪܝܐ �ܡ ܹܪܐ ܼܟ ܼܕܐ ܕܘܘܐ ِ ٌ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܲ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ كان في مدينة الا ّسكندرية م َر ٌآءة ُم َعلَّقة في ܐܘܒܼ ܘܼ ܬܐܕ ܝܢܼ ܡ ܠܘܼ ܟܘ ܐܬܪܼ ܢܡ� ܕ� ܐܫܪܒܹ ܐܬܩܠ� ܘܥܡܼ ܿ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ݇ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܿ راس َم َن ٍارة ّفكل من كان يجلس تحتها كان ܠܘܼ ܟܠܘܸ ܐܝܢܼ ܝܛܢܼ ܛܣ� ܘܩܕܼ ܐܬܢܝܼ ܕܡܼ ܠܸ ܗܠ ܐܘܝܙܹ ܟܼ ܗܬܼ ܘܟܼ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܲ �ܡܪܟ ܼܒܐ ܕܢ ܸܦܩܘܐ ܸܡܢܗ ܵܒܝܡܐ܀ َي َرى مدينة ّالقوسطنطينىة ّوكل ٍسفينة تخرج منها الى البحر܀ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ݇ ܠܐܠܸ ܘܸ ܓܢ̰ ܪܸ ܒܕܸ ܐܕܼ ܟܼ ܐܬܪܼ ܢܡ� ܐܟܘܕܼ ܐܕܼ ܟܼ ܒܸ ܐܘܗܬܼ ܐܸ 5 ܵ ܿ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܲ ܿ ܿ ܵ ܲ كان في احد الأماكن ُمنارة ُن َحاس وفوقها ܝܗܝܼ ܕܝܐ� ܥܕܹ ܐܡܘܝܒܘܸ .ܗܒ� ܫܕ� ܐܟܼ ܐܒܼ ܟܪ� ܗܫܪܡܹ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ فارس من َالشبه في يوم عيدهم كانت تنبع ]233b[ ܕܢܘ ܼܐܝܘܐ ܡ ܵܝܐ ܼܡܢ ܹܕܐܝ �ܡܢ ܼܪܬܐ. ܘܫܬܘܐ ٌ َ ]234a[ ܲ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ݇ ܵ ܲ ܲ ܿ ܸܡ ܵܢܗ ܼܟܘ �ܠ ܼܝܗܝ �ܒܢ ̈ܝ ܵܢܫܐ. ܵܕܚ ܿܨ ܼܪܝ ܗܘܐ ܬܡܐ �ܘܡ �ܫܬܝ الميآه من تلك المنارة وكافة الناس ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ̈ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ݇ ܗܘܐ ܸܠܩܢܝ �ܢ ܼܝܗܝ ܘܡܠܘܐ ܼܟܘ �ܠܝ ܣܦ ܹܩܐ ܕܗܘܘܐ ܸܐ �ܡ ܼܝܗܝ كانت تشرب منها الذين كانوا يحضرون ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ ̈ ܿ ܐܬܝܼ ܪܹ ܓ̰ ܡ� ܐܘܐܐܛܩ� ܐܕܐܼ ܥܹ ܪܬܸ ܒܘ .ܐܡܬܕ ܝܠ� ܘܟܼ ܐܕܹ ܘܼ ܓܠܘܸ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ الى هناك ويسقون َد ّوابـهم ويملأون جميع ܀ܗܬܕܐܸ ܥ ܟܝܡܸ ܐܘܝܪܓ̰� ܐܠ ܐܬܪܟܗܸ ܓܘ� .ܐܝܡܕ الاوعية التي كانت تكون معهم ُوالق َرب التي كانت هناك وبعد ْالعيد ينقطع َم ْج َرى الميآه ولا تجرى بعد ذلك كعادته܀ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܵ ݇ ܝܘܼ ܓܠ ܐܟܼ ܐܢܹ ܪ̈ܘܫܼ ܐܐܒܼ ܫ� ܗܬܐܕܸ ܐܕܼ ܟܼ ܐܬܢܝܼ ܕܡܼ ܬܼ ܝܐܼ 6 ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܿ ܿ ܵ ܵ يوجد مدينة لها سبعة اسوار الواحد داخل ܐܬܼ ܠܛ ܠܘܟܘ ܐܠܹ ܝܡܼ̈ ܐܐܒܼ ܫ� ܐܖܘܫܠܼ ܐܖܘܫܼ ܢܝܒܘܹ .ܐܟܡܼ ̈ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ الآخر. وبين ٍمسور الى ُم ٍسور آخر سبعة ܐܣܝܹ ܕܪܸ̈ ܦ� ܐܖܘܫܠܼ ܐܖܘܫܼ ܬܼ ܢܝܒܘܹ .ܐܟܣܪܼ ܦ� ܐܟܼ ܐܠܹ ܝܡܼ . ܿ ܵ ܲ ܵ ̈ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܸܘܢܗ̈ܪܘ ܼܬܐ �ܘܟ̈ܪܡ ܹܢܐ ܸܘܫܩ ܵܝ ܼܬܐ �ܘܐ ܹܪܟܠܐܬ.. اميال ّوكل ثلاثة يساوى فرسخ واحد وبين ُم ٍسور الى ُم ٍسور آخر فراديس وانـهر وكروم وسواقي َو ًرحى܀ ܲ ܲ ܵ ܵ ̈ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ 7 ܼܐܝ ܼܬ ܼܫܘܖܐ ܸܕܟܡܒܢ ܹܠܗ �ܡ ܹܠܟܐ ]234b[ ܡܝܡܐ �ܼܕܟ �ܙܪ ُ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܿ ܵ ̈ ويوجد ًايضا ٌمسور َب َن ُاه الملوك هو من بحر ..ܐܡܘܹ ܝܵ ܐܝܢܵ ܡܬܕܸ ܪܕܩܘܡܼ ܐܝܪܼܵ ܘܣܕ ܐܡܝܵ ܠܘܗܘܼ ]235a[ الخزر الى بحر ّسوريا مسير ثمانية ّايام܀ ܿ ܐܒܹ ܘܓܼ ܥܸ 8 ݇ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ݇ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܲ ܵ ٌنادرة 86 ܐܐܒܫ� ܗܬܐܘܸ .ܐܬܼ ܒܖ ܐܬܢܝܼ ܕܡܼ ܗܠܝܐܘܼ ܐܕܼ ܟܼ ܐܬܢܝܼ ܕܡܼ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ݇ ܵ ܵ ٌمدينة ما وهي مدينة كبيرة لها سبعة ܢܡܘܼ ܐܘܘܸ ܓܢ̰ ܪܒܸ ܡܸ ܐܬܢܝܼ ܕܡܼ ܝܼ ܕܼ ܐܕ ܐܢܝܢܒܘܸ ܐܬܼ ܘܪ̈ܛ� ܵ ܲ ܵ ܲ ܿ ܲ ܿ ܵ ܸܦܪܙܠܐ ܸܘܟ �ܦ ܼܠܛܝ ܼܡܢ ܼܟܘ ܸܬܕ ܼܟܘ ܼܪܣܝ �ܕܡܠܟܐ �ܐܪܒܐ ابواب وبنآء المدينة كان النحاس ومن ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ < �ܐܪܒܐ> ܸܢܗ̈ܪܘ ܼ ܐܬ ̈ܪ ܹܒܐ܆ الحديد وكانت من تحت سرير الملك اربعة <اربعة> انـهر كبار ܿ ܐܒܹ ܘܓܼ ܥܸ 9 ܵ ܲ ܵ ܿ ̈ ܿ ܵ ܿ ܵ نادرة ܐܢܘܛܣܼ ܐܸ ܠܘܼ ܟܕ ܐܫܪܹ ܒܘܸ ܐܢܹ ܘܛܣܐܸ ܪܨܸ ܡܕܸ ܐܐܪܐܒ� ܐܘܬܼ ܐܸ ܲ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ ̈ يوجد في ارض مصر اهرام وفي راس ّكل َهرم ܹܣ ܹܐ̈ܪܐ �ܕܫ �ܒܗ ܘܢ ܼܛܦܝܘܐ ܡ ܵܝܐ ܡܕ ܼܘܟ ܹܢܐ ܹܕܣ ܹܐ̈ܪܐ ܼܗܘܠ َ ٍ ܲ ܵ ܿ ܿ ܿ ܿ ܲ �ܦ ܸܠܓܕ ܸܕܐܣܛܘ ܵܢܐ ܘܠܐ ܹܦܝܬ ܼܝ ܵܘܐ ܡ ܵܝܐ �ܡܦ ܸܠܓܕ ܸܐ ܼܣܛܘ ܵܢܐ اقمار من َالش َبه وكانت امواه تنضح من ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܿ ܿ ܨܘܒ ܹܠܬ ܼܝܟ. ܘܠܐ �ܩ ܼܛܐܝܘܐ ܸܢܛܘܦܝ ܼܬܐ ]235b[ ܠܐ َم َحال الأقمار ًجارية الى نصف الهرم ولم ܆ܝܠܝܲ ܐܩܘܪ̈ܝܵ ܐܝܵ ܡܵ ܢܝܢܲ ܐܕܵ ܐܢ̈ ܟܵ ܘܕܘ ܐܡܘܵ ܝܒܵ ܐܠܘܵ ܐܠܝܠܒ ܹ ܹ ܼ ܹ � ܼ ܹ � تكن تتجاوز المياه من نصف الهرم الى ِاسفله. ولم تكن تنقطع قطرات الامواه لا ًليلا ]236a[ ولا َن َه ًارا. ومواضع تلك ܀ الامواه هي َخ ْض َرآء

86 ,’Memphis‘ منف Mā al-ibhāmiyya (see, above, n. 46) or, perhaps, a corruption of that is probably the city described in (8).

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ܿ ܐܒܹ ܘܓܼ ܥܸ 10 ܵ ܲ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ عجيبة ܐܒܼ ܝܟܪܼ ܐܘܘܕܸ ܓܢ̰ ܪܒܸ ܕܸ ܐܟܼ ܐܒܟܪ� .ܣܠܸ ܕܢܐܕ� ܐܐܪܐܒ� ܐܘܬܼ ܐܸ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ كان في ارض الاندلس ٌفارس من ٍنحاس ܐܘܐܕ ܪܟܝܹ ܕܹ ܟܼ ܐܬܛܝܫܦܼ ܗܕܹ ܝܐܘܼ .ܓܢ̰ ܪܒܸ ܕܸ ܐܣܘܣܼ ܕܠܸ ܐܸ . ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܕܖ ܸܡܙܘܐ ܪܡܙܐ ܸܘܟܐ ܸܡܪ ܼܕܡܢ �ܕܗܐ ܘܙ ܹܠܗ ܹܠ ܼܝܬ ܼܕܘܟܐ راكب على ِح َصان من النحاس َوي ُد ُه ܵ ܵ ܲ ܿ ܿ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܬܐ ܥܡܖܐ. ܼܘܟܘܠ ܡ ܼܢܝ ܸܕܟܦ ܸܝܬ ܸܐ ܸܠܕ ܐܘ �ܪܟܒܐ ٌممدودة ّكانه يشير ًاشارة ويقول ّفانه من ܵ ܵ ̈ ܵ ܿ ܲ ..ܐܡܬ ܬܼ ܝܐܕܼ ܐܢܹ ܘܟܫܸ ܗܠܹ ܝܐܠܼ ܒܟ� الآن َوص ًاعدا لا ّمحل بعد الاستيطان ّوكل من كان يجتاز على ذلك الفارس كانت تبتلعه النمل الموجودة هناك: ܿ 11 ܸܥ ܼܓܘ ܹܒܐ عجيبة ܵ ̈ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܐܐܹ ܖܕ ܐܡܹ ܐܸ ܐܒܪܐ� ܗܟܪܹ ܘܝܕܼ ܐܢܝܢܒܸ ܐܟܼ ܪܨܸ ܡܕܸ ܐܐܪܐܒ� ܬܼ ܝܐܘܼ ܲ ܲ ܵ ̈ ܵ يوجد في ارض مصر بنآء ما ُطوله اربعمائة .ܗܠܹ ܝ݇ ܐܐܹ ܖܕ ܐܡܹ ܐܸ ܐܒܪܐ� ܡܗ� ܗܬܹ ܘܘܼ ܬܼ ܦܘܸ ܗܠܹ ܝ݇ . ܲ ܲ ܲ ܵ ܿ ܸܘܟ ܼܬ ܼܝ ܼܒ ܹܠܗ ܸܠܐܠ ܸܡ ܹܢܗ ]236b[ �ܕܐ ܼܟ ܼܢܝ ܹܒܢ �ܝܠܢ �ܐ ܼܕ ذراع ِوع ْر ُض ُه اربعمائة ذراع ًايضا وقد ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܸܒܢܝܢܐ. ܼܘܟܘܠ �ܡܠܟܐ ܼܕܐܝ ܼܬ ܒܓ ܹܘܗ ܼܹܟܝܠܐ ܼܫܘܕ ُكتب فوقه ّاننا نحن ]237a[ قد َش ْيَّدنا هذا ܲ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܝܠ� ܘܼ ܟܘ .ܐܝܵ ܢܒܡܸ ܗܠܹ ܝܗܼ ܢܣ ܫܒܸ ܐܐܠܫܘܸ .ܗܠܝܹ ܠܐܹ ܫ� َالبنآء. ّفكل ٍملك ُله قدرة فليستأصله والهدم ܆ܗܒܖܵ ܟܠ ܝܨܲ ܡܵ ܐܠ ܐܡܠܵ ܥܕܵ ܐܟܿ ܠ̈ ܡܲ . ܹ ܼ ܸ � ܹ ܹ � اسهل من ُالب ْن َيان فكافة الملوك لم يقدروا على َه ْد ِم ِه: ܿ : ܐܒܹ ܘܓܼ ܥܸ 12 ܿ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܿ ܲ ܵ عجيبة ܢܐܖܛܡ� ܥܘܫܝܕܼ ܒܼ ܥ� ܝܪܡܕ ܐܢܘܟܼ ܐ ܦܣܘܹ ܝܵ ܗܠܝܹ ܢܹ ܘܼ ܬܡ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܿ ܵ ݇ ܵ ܿ حكى يوسف اخو ماري عبد يشوع مطران ܘܐܘ .ܐܬܢܝܼ ܕܡܼ ܐܝܢܘܩܒ ܐܖܒܼ ܓ� ܐܟܼ ܗܠܝܹ ܙܹ ܟܼ ܕܸ .ܡܠܝܥܕܼ . . ̈ ܲ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ݇ ܵ ܲ �ܓ ܼܒܖܐ ܪܗܘܡ ܵܝܐ ܹܘܝܘܐ. ܸܘܐ ܼܬܘܐ ܹܠܗ �ܫ ܼܒܐܐ �ܐ ܹܠܦܐ ِع َيلام انه َر َاى ًرجلا في مدينة قونيا وذلك ܿ ܵ ̈ ̈ 87 ܲ �ܦ ܹ̈ܪܕ ܹܝܣܐ ܼܙܒ ܼܝ ܹܢܐ ܼܒܙܘ ܹܙܐ ܼܕܝ ܹܝܗ ܼܘܐܬ ܹܝܐ ܸܐ ܹܠܗ ܡܒ ܹܒܗ الرجل كان روميًّا. وكان له سبعة آلآف ܿ ܲ ܵ ܵ ُ ܐܖܝܼ ܕܼ ܟܼ ܘܸ ܗܠܸ ܐܸ ܗܢܸ ܡܸ ܗܪܹ ܘܫܼ ܐܣܝܕܪܹ ܦ� ܠܘܼ ܟܘ .ܗܡܹ ܝܘܸ ܵ ܵ بستان ُم ْب َتاعة ِب َم ِاله وآتيته اليه بالورث من ܸܐ ܹܠܗ ܘܠܐ ܼܟܟ ܹܘ ܼܟ ]237b[ َ أ َب َويه. ّوكل بستان ُم ُسور ُه منه ِواليه محتاط َح َو َال ِيه بدون ان يختلط ٌفردوس َما ِب َغ ْي ِر ِه ]238a[

ܵ ܐܠܕ ܥܓܘ ܿܒܐ ܲܕܢ ܿܒ ̈ܘܐܐ ܘܢܗ̈ܪ ܵܘ ܵܬܐ ُ ܸ ܸ ܸ ܼ ܹ � ܼ ܹ ܹ ܼ في عجيبة الينابيع والأ ْن ُهر: ܵ ܲ ܵ ܿ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ 13 ܼܐܝ ܼܬ ܼܟܐ ܸܢܗܖܐ ܸܕܟܦ ܹܝܫ ܸܩܪܝܐ ܒ �ܐܛܠܣ ܼܕܟ ̰ܓ �ܪܝ ܡ ܹܝܗ يوجد نهر ما يسمَّى ب َاطلاس َتنصبُّ مياهه ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ̈ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ̈ ܵ ܵ َ ْ ٌ ُ َ َ ْ َ ُ ُ 88 ܐܬܼ ܝܐܫ ܬܼ ܠ� ܛܘܸ .ܐܡܘܝܕ ܐܬܝܼ ܪܹ ܫܡ ܐܬܼ ܝܐܫ ܬܼ ܠ� ܛܸ ܐܡܝܠ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܲ ܵ في البحر ّمدة ثلاث ساعات من بداية ܀ܐܬܝܼ ܪܹ ܓ̰ ܡܕ� ܐܬܼ ܟܘܕܼ ܐܫܒܼ ܝܲ� ܟܘܸ ܐܬܝܼ ܪܹ ܓ̰ ܡ� ܐܬܼ ܝܠܟܼ ܐܫܝܦܟܹ النهار. وينقطع ُمجراه ثلاث ساعات ًايضا ܀ فيبقى َي ِاب ًسا موضع المـ ْجرى ܵ َ َ 14 : ܸܟ ܼܪܬܐ : عجيبة ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܝܡܐ ܣܡܘ ܼܩܬܐ ܟ ܼܘܕ ܟܢ ܹܦܠ ܒܓܘܗ �ܒܪܢܫܐ ܐܘ ܼܚܝܘܐܢ َ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ البحر الأحمر اذا وقع فيه انسان او حيوان �ܡܩܐ ܼܕܝ ܹܠܗ ܼܒܝ ܼܟ ܹܝܐ ܼܘܐܝ ܼܬ ܒܓ ܹܘܗ ܵܓܝ ܵܢܐ ܵܟܛ ܸܝܦ ܸܠܐܠ ْ َ َ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܡܡ ܵܝܐ ܼܘܟܘܕ ܟܡ ܹܝ ܼܬ ܼܟܓ ܸܡܛ ܒܡ ܵܝܐ܀ فما َد َامت فيه الحيوة ويوجد فيه نفس يطوف فوق المياه واذا مات َي ُغ ُوض في المياه܀

87 The ms. has ܐܢܹ ܝܹ ܒܙܼ . 88 .مذ The ms. has

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ܿ 15 ܸܥ ܼܓܘ ܹܒܐ عجيبة ܿ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܣܘܩܝܪܘܼ ܐܹ ܐܬܼ ܝܪܩܼ ܐܫܝܦܹ ܟܕܸ ܐܬܼ ܟܘܕܼ ܐܕܟܼ ܐܡܝܒ ܬܼ ܝܐܼ ܲ ܵ ܿ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܲ ܵ̈ ܵ يوجد في البحر مكان ُي َدعى ُاوريقوس ܐܬܼ ܗܓ� ܬܼ ܠ� ܛܸ ܐܡܘܝܒ ܐܐܛܩ� ܟܘܸ ]238b[ ܐܝܪܓܟ̰� 89 ]239a[ ܵ ̈ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܲ �ܘܡ ̰ܓ ܹܪ ܹܝܬܗ ܹܟܦܝܫܐ ܸܚܡܠܬܐ ܸܛ �ܠ ܼܬ ܫܐ ܵܝ ܼܬܐ. يجرى وتنقطع في النهار ثلاث ܵ ܵ ܵ ̈ ܵ ܲ ܿ ܵ ܼܘܥܘ ܼܡܩܘ ܼܬܗ �ܼܟܡܫܐ ܸܐ ܸܐܡ ܕ̈ܪ ܹܐܐ ܘܒ ܸܬ ܸܖܕ ܼܝܟ ܟܢ ܸܩܨ ܼܗܘܠ َد ْفعات وايقاف ُمجراه يكون ّمدة ثلاث ܿ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ َ ܆ܐܬܫܝܼ ܒܼ ܝܑܼ ܐܐܪܐ� ܐܬܠܐܕܸ ܐܫܝܦܹ ܟܕܸ ساعات َوغ ْو ُر ُه هو خمسمائة ِذ َر ًاعا وبعد : ذلك ينقص حتى ّتتبين الارض يابسة ܐܒܵ ܘܼ ܓ̰ ܥܸ 16 ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܲ ܵ اعجوبة ܐܝܵ ܡ ܐܪܹ ܓ̰ ܡ� ܟܕܸ ܐܖܗܢܸ ܐܟܼ ܐܝܪܼܵ ܘܣܕ ܐܬܼ ܘܪ̈ܬܼ ܐܒ� ܬܼ ܝܐܼ ܲ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ̈ ܵ ܵ ̈ يوجد في بلاد ُس ِوريَّا نهر واحد َيصبُّ َمياه ُه �ܒܫܒ ܼܬܐ ܼܟܐ ܝܘܡܐ ܸܘܟ ܹܙ ܼܝܕܝ ܡ ܹܝܗ. ܸܘܒܫܬܐ ܼܝܘܡ ܼܬܐ ܸܟ ܹܢܐ ٌ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܹܟܦ ܼܝܫܝ ܼ̈ܩܛܝ ܹܐܐ ܡ ܵܝܐ ܼܗܘܠ �ܕܐܪܐܐ ܹܟܦܝܫܐ ܼܟ ܼܙܝ ܼܬܐ ّكل اسبوع ًيوما ًواحدا وتزداد ِم َي ُاه ُه وفي الايام ܵ ُ ܼܝܒ ܼܝܫܬܐ܀ الستة الأ َخر تنقطع حتى ُت ْن َظر الارض يابسة ܀ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܐܟܠܼ ܡܘܸ ܐܝܡ ܐܛܠܦܡ� ܟܕܸ ܐܕܼ ܟܼ ܐܖܒܹ ܐܟܼ ܐܐܪܬܼ ܐܒ� ܬܼ ܝܐܼ 17 ܿ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܲ يوجد في احد البلاد بئر ُي ْخرج ًمآء ِوم ًلحا ܝܪ� ܓܟ̰ ܐܖܓ� ܐܟܒܼ ܐܝܵ ܡ ܐܐܹ ܝܛܩܼ̈ ܝܫܝܼ ܦܟܹ ܕܘܟܘܼ ܛܦܸ ܢܘܸ ܵ ܵ ̈ ܿ ܲ ܵ ܵ َون ْف ًطا ولـما تعتزل المياه ًمنقطعة الى ܡ ܵܝܐ ܡ ܼܠܘ ܹܟܐ ]239b[ ܸܘܟ ܵܗ �ܘܝ ܸܡ ܼܠܟܐ �ܲܚ ܼܠܘ ܼܬܐ ّ ܵ ܲ ܿ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܸܘ ܼܟܘܪܬܐ ܘܠܐ ܟܗ ܹܘܐ ܒܓܘܗ ܸܛܡܐ ܸܕܢ ܸܦܛ. �ܘܗܡ ܠܐ َصهريج ما تسبل المياه ِاﻟﻤﺎل َحة وتصير ܿ ܿ ܵ ܿ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܼܪܝ ܼܟܐ ܸܕܢ ܸܦܛ ܟܦ ܹܝܫ ܼܒܕܘܟܗ ܸܘܒܓ ܸܘܕ ܸܢ ܸܦܛ ܹܠ ܼܝܬ ]240a[ ًملحا ًحلوا وابيض بدون ان يكون ..ܐܟܠܵ ܡܕ ܐܡܥܵ ܛܲ � ܸ ܼ ِفيه طعم نفط ولا يبقى في ِموضعه رائحة نفط ًايضا ولا في النفط طعم الملح ًايضا܀ ܵ ܐܒܵ ܓ̰ ܘܥܡܼ ܐܠܘܫܼ 18 ܲ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܲ شيء غريب ܐܪܹ ܓ̰ ܡ� ܟܕܸ ܐܦܐܟܹ ܐܟܒܼ ܐܢܝܐܹ ܬܼ ܝܐܼ ܪܕܝܼ ܬܫܘܦܕܼ ܐܖܬܼ ܐܒ� ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ في اقطار َبوستيدار َعي ٌن في ٍصخرة يجري ܸܕܡܐ. ܹܘܪ ܹܝܟܗ ܸܘܛ ܹܡܗ ܹܘܙ ܼܐܡܘ ܹܬܗ ܸܡ ܼܟܘ ܸܬܕ ܸܕܡܐ ܸܘܟ ̰ܓ ܹܪܐ ْ . . ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܿ ܸܘܟ ܵܝ ܹܒܫ ܸܘܟܗ ܹܘܐ ܼܐܘܦܖܐ ܣܡܘܩܐ ܼܟܘܕ ܹܠ ܼܝܬ ܸܛܡܐ ܘܠܐ منها ٌدم ُرائحت ُه ُوطعم ُه ُوزهومت ُه كالدم ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ̈ ܵ ݇ ܲ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܼܪܝ ܼܟܐ ܸܕܕܡܐ. ܸܘܟ �ܫ ܼܩܠܝ ܸܡ ܸܢܗ ܐܢ ܹܫܐ ܚܢܢܐ �ܝ ܼܥܢܝ ܼܐܘܦܖܐ فيجرى وييبس ويكون ُترابا َأحمر حيث لا ܿ ܿ ܵ َ ً ْ َ :ܐܬܼ ܟܪܘܼ ܒܕ يوجد فيه لا طعم دم ولا ُرائحت ُه وانام تلك البلاد يأخذون منه الاحنان اي تراب البركة܀ ܵ ܐܬܪܟܸ 19 ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܿ ܵ غيرها ܐܬܒܫܕ� ܐܡܘܝܒܵ ܗܪܹ ܓ̰ ܟܕܸ ܐܖܗܢܸ ܬܼ ܝܐܼ ܐܬܼ ܘܪ̈ܬܼ ܐܡ� ܐܟܒܼ ܲ ܵ ̈ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ في احد البلاد َنهر يسبل يوم السبت �ܘܬ ܸܡܡܬܐ ܼܕܝܘܡ ܼܬܐ ܟܦ ܹܝܫ ܼܩܛܝܐܐ: ْ ٌ ܀ ّوبقية ا ّيام ينقطع ܲ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܲ ܵ ܵ 240b[ 20[ ܼܐܝ ܼܬ ܸܢܗܖܐ ܼܟܐ ܸܕ �ܡ ̰ܓ ܹܪܗ ܟ ݈ܠܗ ܼܟܠܐ �ܘܪ ܸܡܠ ]241a[ ٌ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ يوجد ٌنهر يجري منه رمل يابس بدون ܢܐܘܝܚܸ ܐܠܘ ܐܫܢܪܒ� ܗܢܸ ܟܸ ܡܟ ܐܠܘ .ܐܝܵ ܡ ܐܠܕ ܐܫܝܼ ܒܝܼ ܵ ܲ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܿ ܵ ܲ ܿ ܵ ܵ مآء. ولا يتمكن الانسان او الحيوان او السفينة ܐܫܝܦܟܹ ܐܬܒܫܕ� ܐܡܘܝܒܘܸ .ܗܘܹ ܓܒ ܐܬܝܵ ܦܠܸ ܐܝܡܼܵ ܓ� ܐܠܘ . ܲ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܼܟܠܝ ܼܬܐ �ܡ ̰ܓ ܹܪܝܬܐ ܼܕܝ ܹܝܗ ܸܘܟܕ ܼܐܠܝ ܼܕܘܟ ܼܬܐ �ܕܡ ̰ܓ ܹܪ ܹܝܬܗ من العبور فيه ونـهار السبت يقف ُمجراه ܵ ܲ ܲ �ܒ ܼܪܩܘܠ �ܡ ܸܓ ܵܢܝܢܐ܀ والناس ينظرون موضع مجراه بازآء المغرب܀ ܿ ܐܒܹ ܘܼ ܓ̰ ܥܸ 21 ܲ ܵ ݇ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܿ ܵ عجيبة ܫܝܹ ܦܟܕܸ ܐܖܬܼ ܐ� ܪܙܟܕ� ܐܡܝܵ ܕܠܸ ܐܸ ܐܝܹ ܡܘܗܪ̈ܕ ܖܐ ܬܼ ܐܒ� ܬܼ ܝܐܼ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ يوجد في بلاد الروم على جانب بحر الخزر ܐܠ ܐܖܛܡܸ ܗܢܸ ܡܸ ܐܐܝܛܩܼ ܫܝܹ ܦܟ ܐܠ .ܐܝܵ ܠܛܡ� ܐܝܪܵ ܩܸ ܿ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܲ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܲ �ܣܬܘܐ ܘܠܐ �ܩ ܵܝܛܐ �ܘܗܡ ܠܐ ܼܘܐܝ �ܒܝ ܹܠ ̰ܡܓܡܘ ܹܥܐ َب َل ٌد ُي َسمَّى َالمـ ْط َلاي لا ينقطع منه مطر لا ̈ܿ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܲ �ܕ ܼܟܠܐ. ܸܐܠܐ ܠܓ ܼܘܝ ܡܒ ܹܬܐ. ًشتآء ولا َص ْي ًفا ولا يقدرون ًايضا الناس ان يجمعوا َغلاَّت. ا ّلا داخل البيوت܀

89 .in 238a وينقطع The ms. has

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ܵ ܿ 22 ܸܥ ̰ܓ ܼܘ ܹܒܐ ܸܟܪܬܐ ُ ܲ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܿ عجيبة أ ْخ َرى ܗܠܹ ܘܼ ܟ ]241b[ ܐܘܹ ܗܟ .ܙܐܓ̰ ܚܸ ܕܘܸ ܐܬܫܕܕ� ܐܖܬܼ ܐܒ� ܵ ܿ ܿ ܵ في اقطار َالتيمئ والحجاز الصيف ّكل ُه يكون ܹܩ ܵܝܛܐ ܸܡܛܖܐ ܸܘܒ ܸܣܬܘܐ ܵܟܗ ܹܘܐ ܹܩ ܵܝܛܐ܀ ْ َ . ]242a[ . َم َط ًرا وفي الشتآء يكون ًصيفا ܿ ܐܒܹ ܘܼ ܓ̰ ܥܸ 23 ܵ ݇ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ اعجوبة ܐܬܼ ܝܪܩܼ ܐܫܝܦܹ ܟܕܸ ܐܬܢܝܼ ܕܡܼ ܐܕܼ ܟܼ ܫܝܠܕܼ ܬܝܼ ܒܒܹ ܬܼ ܝܐܼ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܲ يوجد في اقطار بيت َداليش مدينة ُت َدعى ܗܪܹ ܓ̰ ܡ� ܟܕܸ ܐܡܝܕܵ ܐܬܦܼ ܣܸ ܕܠܸ ܐܸ ܐܖܘܙ ܐܐܘܒܼ ܢ ܐܟܼ ܣܡܥ� : ܵ ܲ ܵ ܵ ܵ ̈ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܡܝܐ ܣܡܘ ܹܩܐ ܼܘܟ ܼܡܘ ܹ̈ܨܐ ܸܡ ܼܝܟ ܼܟܠܐ �ܙ ܼܟܡܐ ܼܘܐܝ ܼܬ ܸܒܛ ܸܡܗ َعمَّاس هناك ينبوع صغير الى شاطي البحر ܲ ܵ ܿ ܿ ܿ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܼܟ ܼܪܝ ܼܦܘ ܼܬܐ ܘܓܘ ܹܢܗ ܼܟ ܸܕ ܸܝܟܕ ܸܕ ܸܙܪ ܼܝܩܝܘܢ ܼܐܝ ܹܠܗ ܸܘܟ ̰ܓ �ܪܝ يجري منه اموآه حمرآء ِوحامضة مثل َخلٍّ ܵ ̈ ̈ ܿ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܿ ܐܢܹ ܦܐܟܹ ܐܩܹ ܘܡܣ ܐܝܵ ܡ ܝܢ� ܐ ܝܫܝܼ ܦܹ ܟܘܸ ܐܖܗܢܒܸ ܝܠܦܼ ܢܵ ܟܘܸ ̈ قويٍّ وفي ِطعمه ّحد ٌة ُولون ُه نظير لون . ܀ܐܩܙܹ ܒܘܸ إِ ّزريقيون فتجري وتقع في َالن ْه ِر فتصير تلك الامواه الحمرآء حجارة َوح ًصى ܿ 24 ܸܥ ̰ܓ ܼܘ ܹܒܐ عجيبة ܿ ܵ ܲ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܲ ܬܝܼ ܒܠܹ ܢܐܙܚ� ܬܝܼ ܒܹ ܪܘܢܦ ܐܝܪܵ ܩܸ ܫܝܹ ܦܟܕܸ ܐܖܬܼ ܐܒ� ܬܼ ܝܐܼ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ في ٍبلاد ُتسمَّى فانور بيت حزَّان بجانب بيت ܼܕܠܝܫ ܼܟܐ ܼܛܘܖܐ ܼܡܫܘ ܼܟܬܐ ܹܕܪ ܹܫܗ ܼܟܐ ]242b[ َ َ ܲ ܵ ܿ ܲ ܵ ̈ ܿ ܵ ܲ ̈ ܵ ܵ ܲ ܵ ̈ ٌ . �ܦ ܸܪ ܼܣܟܐ. ܸܘܐ ܸܬܗ �ܡܣܩ ܹܢܐ ܸܡܬܖ �ܘ ܼܝܗܝ ܸܕܦܢ ܼܬܐ �ܘܡ ܸܢ ܼܟ ܼܬ ܹܢܐ داليش َج َبل َم َس َاح ُة ُق ِمَّت ِه فرسخ واحد ܲ ܲ ܵ ܿ ܵ ݇ ܲ ܿ ܵ ܵ ]243a[ َ ܸܕܬ �ܪܘ ܼܬ �ܢ ܼܝܗܝ ܸܡܝܟ ܢܒ ܼܘܐܐ ܝ �ܠܝ ܸܘܟܢ ܸܦܩ ܸܡ ܹܢܗ ܸܢܗܖܐ. ُوله َمَعارج من ِك َلا َطَرَف ِيه وأ َس ِافل ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܲ ܿ . . ܢܣܝܢܕܼ ܐܫܪܡܹ ܐܪܹ ܫܡܟܸ .ܐܖܘܛܕܼ ܐܦܹ ܪ̈ܛܡ ܐܟܠܼ ܐܬܫܹ ܡ� ܟܘܸ ܿ ܵ ܿ ܲ ܿ ܲ ܿ ܲ ܵ ِك َلاهما ُه َما مثل ينبوع ّيتكون ُمنه َن ْه ٌر ܐܖܬܼ ܐܠ� ܫܝܠܕܼ ܬܝܼ ܒܕܹ ܦܪ� ܛܠ� ܲ ܐܬܫܹ ܡ� ܟܘܸ ܛܠܸ ܦܟܘܸ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܲ ܲ ܿ ܵ ܵ ُويسقي احد َط َر َفي الجبل فيبتديء من بداية ܗܠܹ ܘܟܼ ܐܛܝܩܹ ܐܢܟܸܼ ܦܪ�ܛ� ܘܐܘ .ܩܝܛܼ ܛ ܐܝܪܩܸ ܫܝܹ ܦܟܕܸ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܟ ܹܐ ܼܝܩܝ ܸܡܨܗܘܐ. ܸܘ ܹܡܪܫܐ ܹ̰ܕܓ ܼܪܝ ܟܦ ܹܝܫ ܼܩܛܝܐܐ ܸܢܗܖܐ شهر نيسان فيخرج َوي ْسقي جهة بيت داليج ܿ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܿܵ ܲܲܿ ܵ ܵ ُ ܸܘܟܝ ܸܒܫ ܢܒ ܼܘ ܹܐܗ. ܸܘܟܦܹܠ ܛ �ܒܛ�ܪܦ ܸܟܢ ܐ ܼܕܛܘܖ ܐ ٌبلاد ُتسمَّى طاطيق. ومن الجهة الأخرى. ܿ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ ُ ܸܒܬ ܼܟ ܼܘܡܐ �ܕܚܙܐܢ �ܒܐ ܼܬܖܐ ܸܕܟܦ ܹܝܫ ܸܩܪܝܐ ܩܐܬ ̰ܓ ܸܘܟ ̰ܓ ܹܪܗ ُ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܵ ݁ ܵ ܿ ܵ الصيف ك ُلُّه ّتشتد عليهم الضيقة من العطش ܝܠܼ ܬܼ ܡܸ ܡܟܘ .ܗܕܹ ܝܐܹ ܦ ܐܕܟܼ ܗܢܸ ܡܸ ܐܪܹ ܒܟ ܐܠܘ .ܐܘܬܣܸ ܗܠܟ݈ ܵ ݇ ̈ ܲ ܵ ܲ ܵ ܿ ܲ فينقطع النهر من ُغرَّة شهر تشرين وينشف .ܝܪܡܼ ܐ� ܟܘܹ ]243b[ ܐܠܬܼ ܡ� ܐܖܬܼ ܐܕ� ܐܫܹ ܢܵ ܐ ܗܘܹ ܓܒ ܵ ܵ ܵ ܿ ܵ ܵ ܵ . ُ ܸܕܢܨܚܢܐ ܒܛ ܼܛܝܩ ܼܸܘܟܣܪܘܢܐ ܒܩܐܬ ̰ܓ܀ ُينبوع ُه فيخرج من الجهة الأخرى في الجبل . في حدود َحزَّان في َن ِاح َي ٍة ُت َسمَّى قاتاج ْفيج ِرى ّكل الشتآء فلا ينتج منه فائدة ما. واهل تلك البلاد يمثلون به َم َث ًلا ويقولون ]244a[ الفائدة في طاطيق والخسارة في قاتاج܀

7. English translation Again, with God’s help, we shall write some wonders found in [Ar.: some] cities, seas and islands. 1. Alexander built a city on an island that is a four-month walk away and he put many treasures in it90. This city is [Ar.: extraordinarily] big and smooth. It has no gates91.

90 Various traditions have that under the lighthouse of Alexandria there were many ‘treasures’ (kunūz), which, however, no one has ever found. See al-Ṯa‘ālibī, Ṯimār al-qulūb, p. 523-524, nr. 859; Yāqūt, Mu‘ǧam al-buldān, vol. 1, nr. 629, p. 219-220. Al-Bakrī (al-Masālik, vol. 2, nr. 1069, p. 640) adds that ‘all [Alexandria] is [full of] hidden treasures (dafā’in) and treasures (kunūz)’. 91 Ibn al-Faqīh, Muḫtaṣar K. al-buldān, p. 89-91, refers to a city (Madīnat al-Baht) without gates.

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2. The cities of Alexandria and Rome92 were built in [Ar.: a period of] three hundred years93. No one could walk in them by day unless he had his eyes veiled by black veils, so as not to be harmed by the great whiteness94, the rays, lights, fires and buildings of the [Ar.: that] city. 3. In the city of Alexandria, there was a lighthouse built on an elevated place of glass95. In this city, there were also six thousand Jews besides innumerable other peoples. 4. In the city of Alexandria, there was a mirror hanging on the top of a lighthouse. Whoever sat under it could see Constantinople and every ship that came from it into the sea. 5. In a place, there was a brass [Ar.: copper] lighthouse, on the top of which there was a knight of copper. In their feast days, water sprang up from the lighthouse and all people who were visiting there drank from it and watered their cattle. They filled up all the jars they had with them and all the waterskins that were there96. After the feast, the water stream stopped and it did not flow any longer as it used to. 6. There is a city that has seven walls97, one within the other. Between one wall and the other, there are seven miles. Every three miles is a parasang [Ar.: three miles are equivalent to a parasang]. Between wall and wall, there are gardens, rivers, vineyards, brooks and mills98. 7. There is a wall built by the kings from the Caspian to the Syrian sea, measur- ing a distance of eight days. 8. A Wonder – A city, which is a big city and has seven gates, the buildings of this city were of brass [Ar.: copper] and iron. Four large rivers issue from beneath the king’s throne.

92 ‘There are also ... some who believe that he who built Rome was the same who built the city of Alexandria, its lighthouse and the pyramids in Egypt’ (al-Mas‘ūdī, Murūǧ al-ḏahab, vol. 2, p. 105, nr. 836). 93 Ibn Ḫurdāḏbah, al-Masālik, p. 160, nr. 125; Ibn al-Faqīh, Muḫtaṣar K. al-buldān; p. 70; al-Maqrīzī, al-Mawā‘iẓ wa-l-i‘tibār, vol. 1, p. 274. 94 Ibn al-Faqīh, Muḫtaṣar K. al-buldān, p. 70, and 71-72; al-Bakrī, al-Masālik, vol. 2, nr. 1052, p. 631; al-Maqrīzī, al-Mawā‘iẓ wa-l-i‘tibār, vol. 1, p. 274. 95 According to Yāqūt, Mu‘ǧam al-buldān, vol. 1, p. 220, Alexander wished to choose the most durable material to build the Pharos. He found that glass stayed unaffected by water and used this material to build the foundation of the Pharos. This account alludes to the descriptions of the crab-shaped columns of glass that support the lighthouse. See, e.g., Ibn al-Faqīh, Muḫtaṣar K. al-buldān, p. 71, and al-Mas‘ūdī, Murūǧ al-ḏahab, vol. 2, p. 108, nr. 841. 96 Ibn Rustah, K. al-a‘lāq al-nafīsa, p. 78, describes a similar lighthouse, from which it is possible to drink water. Al-Bakrī, al-Masālik, vol. 1, p. 96, tells that in the lands of ‘Ād water flows under the lighthouse in the blessed month. 97 Al-Bakrī (al-Masālik, vol. 2, nr. 1035, p. 631), al-Qazwīnī (Āṯār al-bilād, p. 144; from al-Mas‘ūdī) and al-Maqrīzī (al-Mawā‘iẓ wa-l-i‘tibār, vol. 1, p. 280) say that Alexandria has ‘seven city walls’ made of different stones of different colors. According to al-Zuhrī, K. al-ǧuġrāfiyā, p. 73-74, Constantinople ‘has seven gates’ built one inside the other. 98 Al-Ḥimyarī, al-Rawḍ al-mi‘ṭār, p. 54, says that between the various city walls of Alexandria there are ditches.

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9. A Wonder – In the land of Egypt, there were columns [Ar.: pyramids] and on the top of each column brass moons. Water dropped from places of the moons until half way down the column [Ar.: pyramid], but the water did not pass below the half of the column [Ar.: pyramid]. Drops did not stop day and night and the places where that water flows are green. 10. A Wonder – In the land of al-Andalus, there was a copper knight, who was riding a copper horse. His hand was stretched out, as if he was beckoning and saying: ‘From now on, there is no place to dwell in. The ants that are there swallow everyone who passes by that knight [Ar.: past tense]’. 11. A Wonder – In the land of Egypt, there is a building, whose length is four hundred cubits. Its width too is four hundred cubits. It is written on it: ‘We built this building. Every king who has the power in himself let him uproot it! It is easier to destroy than to build. All the kings of the world will not be able to demolish it.’ 12. A Wonder – Joseph brother of Mar ‘Abdisho‘ Metropolitan of Elam told that he had seen a man in the city of Konia and that man was a Greek and had seven thousand gardens, bought with his money and inherited [NA, lit.: come (pl.) to him] from his father and mother [Ar.: his parents]. Each garden has its own wall [NA, lit.: its wall from it to it] around it and it does not overlap with another [lit., it does not mix (Ar.: with another)]. On the Wonder of Wells and Rivers 13. There is a river that is called Bāṭlās, whose waters flow to the sea three hours from the beginning of the day. The water-stream then stands still three hours and the riverbed dries up. 14. Another [Ar.: A Wonder] – The Red Sea, when a man or an animal falls into it, as long as life remains in him and as there is breath in him, he floats upon the water, but when he dies, he sinks into the water. 15. A Wonder – In the sea, there is a place called Eurikos. It flows and it stops three times a day and its water-stream stands still three hours. Its depth is five hundred cubits and it decreases afterwards until dry land can be seen. 16. A Wonder – In Syria, there is a river that lets the water flow only one day per week, and then the water level increases. On the other six days the water- stream stops until dry land can be seen99. 17. In a country, there is a well that puts out water, salt and naphtha. When the water stops flowing in a pool, salted water flows and the salt is sweet and white [NA, lit.: sweetness and whiteness are salt (?); Ar. lit. When the water of the well is separated, and it is no longer provided by the well, the salt water becomes sweet salt of pleasant taste] and there is no taste of naphtha in it nor does the smell of naphtha remain in the river bed [Ar.: in its place]. Naphtha does not taste salty100.

99 According to al-Qazwīnī, ‘Aǧā’ib al-maḫlūqāt, p. 223, a river with the same char- acteristics is located in the country of the Slavs (in Ar. Saqāliba). 100 In a chapter on the different types of salt, al-‘Umarī, Masālik al-abṣār, vol. 22, p. 337, has a similar notice. Numerous works of geography and cosmography describe water sources or wells that deposit (or bring to the surface) different materials, including naphtha.

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18. A Wonderful Thing – In the land of Pushtidar,101 there is a source in a stone that puts out blood. It smells, tastes and stinks like blood. It flows, stops and becomes a red dust that does not [NA, lit.: while it does not] taste or smell like blood. People take it to make the ḥnānā, which is dust for blessing. 19. Another – In a country, there is a river that flows on Saturday and stops flowing on the remaining days. 20. There is a river that flows dry sand with no water. Neither man, nor animal, nor ship can pass through it. On Saturday, its stream stops flowing. People see where it flows facing West. 21. A Wonder – In the Byzantine Empire, on the Caspian sea, there is a country called Maṭlāy where it never stops raining, neither in winter nor in summer, so that they cannot even store corn [Ar.: crops] but within the houses. 22. Another Wonder – In the country of Taima [NA: the plain] and Hejaz it is raining all the summer and it is summer in the winter102. 23. A Wonder – In Beth Dlish [Ar.: Bayt Dālīsh] there is a city that is called ‘Ammās. [Ar.: there is] a small well on the seashore that puts out water that is red and sour like strong vinegar. [...?] It tastes pungent and its color is like [Ar.: the color of] zircon [bright red?]. That red water flows, falls in a/the [?] river and becomes cobbles and pebbles. 24. A Wonder – There is in a country called Pānor [Ar.: Fānūr] Beth Ḥazzān103 to [?] Beth Dlish [Ar.: near Dālīš], a mountain104 whose top [Ar.: the surface of whose top] measures a parasang. It has slopes upwards on both sides and both their slopes downwards are like a well from which a river comes out and irrigates one of the sides of the mountain. From the beginning of Nisan it starts coming out to irrigate the side of Beth Dlish [Ar.: Bayt Dālīǧ], the country called Ṭāṭīq, while [on] the other side they are afflicted by thirst the whole summer. From the beginning of Teshrin the river stops flowing and its well dries up. It comes out on the other side of the mountain in the district of Ḥazzān, in the country called Qātāǧ, and it flows the whole winter, but it does not have any of its benefits [Ar.: without any benefits (for them)]. This is why they have a proverb in that country which says: ‘Victory [Ar.: benefit] in Ṭāṭīq and loss in Qātāǧ’.

8. A Patchwork of Arabic geographical notices

External and internal evidence suggests that the collection of NA and Ar. mirabilia preserved in the ms. London B.L. Or. 9321 derives from a so far unidentified patchwork of geographical notices drawn from classical Arabic sources.

101 Persian pusht ‘back’ is a town in Khorasan and a district near Nishapur. The compound pusht dār means ‘prop, thick clothing, propped’ (Steingass, Dictionary, p. 251-252). 102 ‘The people of Ḥiǧāz and Yemen shower with rain (yamṭurūna) all the summer’ (Ibn Ḫurdāḏbah, al-Masālik, p. 156). 103 A misreading of Ḥarrān in a source written in Ar. script? In the same area of eastern Anatolia, there is a mountain Arzan. 104 If Beth Dlish (23-24) is Bitlis, this might be to the Mountain Arzan, in eastern Anatolia.

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As for other prose texts preserved in the Berlin and London Sachau collections of NA manuscripts (e.g., the Ṭuroyo version of an Ar. Ḥayqār story), Sachau probably asked Gabriel Quryaqoza, perhaps via Father Shmuel Jamīl, to translate into his own NA dialect Ar. texts dealing with genres and contents that reflect the intellectual and literary interests of the German scholar. A perusal of the genres attested in both Sachau collections shows that this choice was part of his method in collecting NA texts. Both for Ṭuroyo and NENA dialects, he asked: 1) the NA translation, probably from Classical Syriac, of a specific set of Biblical texts; 2) copies of NA texts belonging to local literary traditions and provided at his request with an Ar. working translation; 3) the NA translation of samples of Ar. prose. The collection of ‘aǧā’ib probably belongs to the third group. The Vorlage used for the geographical mirabilia was probably a Chris- tian Arabic text, written or transmitted in East Syrian milieu, as the short isnād (12) and the ḥnānā ‘dust of blessing’ (18) demonstrate. It is not clear whether the scribe Gabriel Quryaqoza copied or abridged an Ar. Vorlage before translating it into NA. However, it is less probable that he copied the NA version of an Ar. text and then translated it back into Ar. It is difficult to think of a NA readership for this kind of text in 19th century Northern Iraq. Furthermore he uses a NA vocabulary rich in terms of Ar. etymology, which is not surprising in a Christian Iraqi NA text, but here they often correspond to roots and words occurring in the facing Ar. text. In (22) it is easier to imagine that he translated al-taymā’ wa-l-ḥiǧāz ‘Tayma and Hejaz’ with NA (d-) daštā we-(d-) ḥeǧāz ‘plain and Hejaz’ than the reverse. He apparently copied and literally translated a number of mistakes belonging to the Ar. Vorlage and its sources. The first words of (8) seem to derive from a corrupt Ar. text, but Gabriel reproduced them in his NA translation. Ar. madīnatun mā is probably the corruption of a source speaking about madīnat Manf ‘the city of Memphis’ and it is interpreted as the enclitic – mā expressing indefiniteness, followed by the circum- stantial wa-clause wa-hiya madīna kabīra ‘a certain city, being a big city, it has seven gates’. In the NA text the w- is repeated after the circum- stantial clause: mdittā xḏā w-ilāh mdittā rabṯā w-ettāh šav’ā ṭarwāṯā ‘a city, being a big city, and it has seven gates’. In the following lines the numeral ‘four’ is twice copied in Ar. and twice translated in NA. A number of other oddities or mistakes were probably present in the Vorlage, as the product of a long chain of mistakes in reading and copying: qudra ‘power’ instead of qubūr ‘tombs’ (11), izriqiyyūn ‘zircon (?)’ instead of zarqūn ‘bright red’ (23) and perhaps Ḥazzān instead of Ḥarrān (24).

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Curiously, in (9) it is the NA text that faithfully reproduces an Ar. source on columns surmounted by metal, probably moon-shaped, rings from where water flows. The Ar. text en face, instead, speaks of pyramids with the same wondrous features. Here Gabriel was clearly not translating the Ar. text into NA. The Egyptian location of the whole notice may have induced him to write pyramids instead of columns in the Ar. page, whereas a more faithful translation of the Vorlage is probably found in NA. It is always possible to find Ar. sources providing the data and kinds of information that are given in the Ar. and NA mirabilia in abridged, sometimes barely recognizable, forms. They are works of geographers of the first centuries of Islam, such as Ibn Rustah, Ibn Ḫurdāḏbah, Ibn al-Faqīh, etc., and the author of the Vorlage would appear to have been especially interested in the geographical notices that, in those works or their later epigones, described wondrous buildings and intermittent rivers, as mentioned in the epic narratives on Alexander the Great.

Bibliography

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University of Turin Francesca Bellino Department of Humanities Alessandro Mengozzi105 Asian and African Studies Via Giulia di Barolo 3/A 10124 Torino, Italy [email protected] [email protected]

Abstract ‒ A collection of Neo-Aramaic and Arabic mirabilia, preserved in the ms. London British Library Or. 9321, is here published with introduction and English translation. The first part of the collection contains short descriptions of wondrous buildings and monuments that are found in various regions of the world, including Alexandria, Egypt, al-Andalus, Syria, and the Caspian Sea. The second part describes wondrous rivers, wells and water streams in Syria, Anatolia, and the Arabian Peninsula. It is always possible to find Arabic geographical sources providing the data and kinds of information that this collection gives in abridged forms. The author of the collection or its Vorlage would appear to have been especially interested in the geographical notices that, in the works of classical Arabic geographers such as Ibn Rustah, Ibn Ḫurdāḏbah, Ibn al-Faqīh, or their later epigones, described wondrous buildings and intermittent rivers, as mentioned in the epic narratives about Alex- ander the Great. As for other prose texts preserved in the Berlin and London Sachau collections of Neo-Aramaic manuscripts, Sachau probably asked his informant to translate into his own Aramaic dialect Arabic texts that may reflect the literary and scientific interests of the German scholar.

105 Francesca Bellino is the author of paragraphs 3-5, the edition and translation of the Arabic text, and most footnotes to the English translation. Alessandro Mengozzi is the author of the introduction, paragraphs 1-2 and 8, edition and translation of the Neo-Aramaic text. The authors are grateful to Faustina Doufikar-Aerts, Jérôme Lentin and Fabrizio A. Pennacchietti for their valuable suggestions.

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