Codex Marshall 691 (abbreviated Marsh. 691) is a Mandaic manuscript currently held at the Bodleian Library, Oxford. It is the oldest Mandaic manuscript that is currently held at a European institutional library. The contents of the manuscript remain unpublished. Its colophons have been studied in detail by Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley.[1]
| Codex Marshall 691 | |
|---|---|
| Bodleian Library | |
| Also known as | Marsh. 691 |
| Type | Codex |
| Date | September 5, 1529 |
| Place of origin | Huwayza, Safavid Iran |
| Language(s) | Mandaic |
| Scribe(s) | Adam Zihrun, son of Bihram Šitlan |
| Material | Leatherbound |
| Size | 4 × 5 inches |
| Script | Mandaic |
| Contents | Mandaean prayers |
Description edit
Codex Marshall 691 is a small leatherbound codex with 116 pages[2] that measures approximately 4 inches by 5 inches.[1]: 55 As a prayerbook ("Qolasta"), it contains various Mandaean prayers. According to its colophons, it was copied in September 5, 1529 A.D., in Huwayza[3]: 70 by Adam Zihrun, son of Bihram Šitlan.
Thomas Marshall's servant had donated the book (obtained by Marshall via Dutch merchants) to the Bodleian Library in 1689 or 1690, after Marshall's death.[2]
The codex contains three colophons. In the third colophon of the codex, a blessing is given to Sayyid (Sultan) Badran (whose rule began in 1514) and his family, the Musha'sha' Shi'ite/Ghulat ruler of Khuzestan during the Safavid dynasty. Blessings given to Muslim rulers are rarely found in Mandaean colophons.[1]: 56
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2023). 1800 Years of Encounters with Mandaeans. Gorgias Mandaean Studies. Vol. 5. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press. ISBN 978-1-4632-4132-2. ISSN 1935-441X.
- ^ a b Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2010). The great stem of souls: reconstructing Mandaean history. Piscataway, N.J: Gorgias Press. ISBN 978-1-59333-621-9.
- ^ van Bladel, Kevin (2017). From Sasanian Mandaeans to Ṣābians of the Marshes. Leiden: Brill. doi:10.1163/9789004339460. ISBN 978-90-04-33943-9.