A Compendium of Safi Al-Din Al-Urmawi (d.1294), Al-Sharafiyyah fi'l-nasab al-Ta'lifiyyah; kitab al Adwar; Three commentaries on Al-Urmawi including two by Abd Al-Qadir Al-Maraghi, dated 952 AH/1545 AD and Muhammad Ibn Mahmoud Al-Samarqandi, dated 954 AH/1547 AD, Persia and Near East, 16th century

Arabic and Persian Manuscript on different polished papers, 338 leaves plus a flyleaf, 25 lines to the page and fewer, written in nasta'liq script in black ink, some keywords and glosses picked out in red, catchwords, various diagrams, charts and tables in red and black ink, modern brown leather binding

In good overall condition, some paper repairs to opening leaves, a few minor stains, pages generally clean and ink strong, as viewed.
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inscriptions

The round seal of a certain Haydar.

The present manuscript contains the following works and commentaries relating to Safi al-Din Abu 'l-Mafakhir 'Abd al-Mu'min Ibn Yusuf Ibn Fakhir al-Urmawi:

1. Safi Al-Din Al-Urmawi, Al-sharafiyyah fi'l-nasab al-ta'lifiyyah, 'The Sharafian Treatise on Musical Proportions'
2. (a) Safi Al-Din Al-Urmawi, Kitab al-adwar, 'The Book of Musical Modes', (b) a marginal commentary on kitab al-adwar by Abd al-Qadir al-Maraghi, copied by Abdullah Ibn Shams al-Din, dated 952 AH/1545 AD
3. A commentary by Qutb Al-Din Shirazi, Persia, 16th century 
4. A commentary on kitab al-adwar, by Muhammad Ibn Mahmoud Al-Samarqandi, copied by Abdullah Ibn Shams al-Din, dated 954 AH/1547 AD
5. A further commentary in Persian, probably relating to no.1, al-sharafiyyah fi'l-nasab al-ta'lifiyyah.

There is a copy of the second work in the above list in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, entitled Al-Adwar fi'l-Musiqi, a treatise on musical modes. The manuscript is illustrated with diagrams and is undated but is catalogued as fifteenth century (see A. Arberry, A Handlist of the Arabic Manuscripts, volume V, Dublin 1962, p.82, no.4264). Also see C. Brockelmann, Geschichte der Arabischen Litteratur, Leiden, 1996, i.495, Suppl.i. pp.906-7. The full name of the author is the same as that given by Arberry but Brockelmann adds al-Bagdadi at the end.

A more exhaustive list of manuscripts of kitab al-adwar can be found in A. Shiloah, The Theory of Music in Arabic Writings (c.900-1900), Répertoire international des sources musicales: B X, Munich: Henle, 1979, 309-12. This work lists a total of twenty-one copies that exist in Baghdad, Cairo, Leningrad, Madras, Mashad, Rampur, Tehran, Vienna, Dublin, Paris, London, Oxford, Istanbul and Yale. Brockelmann also lists the two main works in this manuscript, nos.1 and 2 in the aforementioned list, although the dates of kitab al-adwar go unmentioned. The British Library's two copies appear as follows: 'Abd al-Mu'min Ibn Yusuf al-Urmawi, Kitab Adwar al-Iqa' (OR 136), dated 792 AH/1390 AD, and a further (OR 2361/3), dated 1073-74 AH/1662-63 AD, see C.Baker (ed.), Subject Guide to the Arabic Manuscripts in the British Library, London, 2001, p.293.

Extant copies of Al-sharafiyyah fi'l-nasab al-ta'lifiyyah are only listed in Paris, the Vatican and Rampur. For further reading see H.G. Farmer, The Arabic Musical Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, London, 1925.

Safi Al-Din Al-Urmawi (born c.613 AH/1216 AD) is one of the most important figures in the history and theory of Middle Eastern music. His contribution in this field is of paramount importance in the chain of works on Arabic music, beginning with Al-Kindi. Al-Urmawi is also credited with inventing two stringed instruments (the nuzha and the mughni, see H.G. Farmer, Studies in Oriental Musical Instruments, First Series, London, 1931). Al-Urmawi was well-educated and gained his reputation initially as a calligrapher, with both Yaqut Al-Mustasimi and Shams Al-Din Ahmad Al-Suhrawardi counted amongst his disciples. Only later on in his life did Al-Urmawi become renowned as a musician and gifted lute player, and he gained generous patrons whose support enabled him to lead a luxurious life. Brockelmann notes in a short biography in German that Al-Urmawi was the court musician and librarian in the service of the last 'Abbasid Caliph Al-Musta'sim (r.1242-58 AD). After the conquest of Baghdad by the Mongols he became tutor to the son of the vizier Muhammad Shamsaddin Ibn Muhammad al-Guwaini and Head of the Diwan al-Insha', to Baghdad.

Al-Urmawi's two main works, Al-sharafiyyah fi'l-nasab al-ta'lifiyyah and the kitab al-adwar ensured his long-lasting fame. Both treatises were the sources for many subsequent authors who wrote about the theory of music, including Qutb Al-Din Shirazi (d.1310 AD) and Abd Al-Qadir Ibn Ghaybi Al-Maraghi (d.1435), whose commentaries can be found in the present manuscript. The first work was written circa 665 AH/1267 AD, and it is dedicated to his student and (later on) patron, Sharaf Al-Din Djuwayni, through whom the author was in contact with the great polymath Nasr Al-Din Tusi (d.1274 AD). The kitab al-adwar was written whilst Al-Urmawi was still working in the library of the Caliph Al-Mustasim in Baghdad (who himself is known to be have been addicted to music). The work centres on scientific music theory after the writings of Ibn Sina and, having been translated into both Persian and Turkish, became the influential and important book on music for centuries. The earliest known copy of this manuscript is in the Nuruosmaniye Library, Istanbul (MS 3653), dated 633/1235-6 AD.

Later on in his life, after the demise of his wealthy patrons, Al-Urmawi fell into destitution and debt, and died in Baghdad in 693 AH/1294 AD. 

Further Reading:

E. Nuebauer, 'Safi Al-Din Al-Urmawi', in C.E. Bosworth et al (eds), The Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition, Vol.VIII, Leiden, 1995, pp.805-7.
O. Wright, A Preliminary Version of the 'kitab al-adwar', Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol.58, no.3 (1995), pp.455-478.
Dr. F. Arslan, Safi Al-Din Al-Urmawi and the Theory of Music: Al-Risala al-sharafiyya fi al-nisab al-ta'lifiyya, Content, Analysis, and Influences, Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation, Manchester, March 2007.