Book of Wonders

Cancer or al-Saratan, one of the signs of the Zodiac depicted in the book

The Kitāb al-Bulhān (Arabic: كتاب البلهان), or Book of Wonders, is a 14th and 15th century Arabic manuscript, compiled by Hassan Esfahani (Abd al-Hasan Al-Isfahani) probably bound during the reign of Jalayirid Sultan Ahmad (1382–1410) in Baghdad. The contents include subjects on astronomy, astrology and geomancy, including a section of full-page illustrations, with plates dedicated to the discourse topic, e.g. a folktale, a sign of the zodiac, a prophet, etc.

Gallery

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  A man, mounted on a camel, killing a snake with a lance.
• 
  The baths of Tiberius. Men bathing while demons tend the furnace.
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  The Lighthouse of Alexandria.
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  The Great Wall of Gog and Magog.
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  Capricorn or al-Gadī, one of the signs of the Zodiac depicted in the book.
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  Libra or al-Mīzan, one of the signs of the Zodiac depicted in the book.
• 
  The Devil or Iblis, surrounded by lesser demons.

See also

• The Book of Felicity

References

Sources

• Carboni, Stefano (2007), Venice and the Islamic world, Yale University Press, ISBN 9780300124309
• Al-Isfahani, Abd al-Hasan (1390), Kitab Al-Bulhan (MS) (in Arabic), Baghdad: International Exhibition of Persian Art London 1931, p. 367

External Resources

• Kitab ul-Bulhan (folios with identifications and details of illustrations)