Safina-yi Tabriz - Overview of Some of The Articles

Overview of Some of The Articles

The compendium constitutes about 209 eclectic articles spanning numerous subjects and topics. All the articles are written in Persian and Arabic although Fahlaviyyat poetry and sayings are seen in some of the articles.

Article 114, in Persian, is about the history of Tabriz. It mentions the building of Tabriz in the hands of Wahsudan, the Rawadid ruler. Article 134 contains the dictionary Lughat-i Fors (lexicon of the Persian language) of Asadi Tusi. The Persian articles 138 and 139 deal with the moral and philosophical topics presented by the Sassanid Vizir Bozorgmehr.

Articles 77, 79 and 80 are in Arabic and from Avicenna. They touch upon the question of destiny vs free will among other philosophical topics. The questioner is the famous Persian poet Abusa'id Abolkhayr.

Article 84, in Persian, is a philosophical work of Nasir al-Din Tusi titled: "Aghaaz o Anjaam" (The beginning and the end).

Article 90, also in Persian, deals with how to find the moon in the current Zodiac without using a calendar. This article is taken from Nasir al-Din Tusi.

Article 92 contains tables of the position of stars and astronomical calculations.

Article 97 deals with mathematics. It contains three sections and each section is composed of two subsections.

Article 99 also in Persian deals with medicine and the benefits and harm of various fruits, plants and breads.

Articles 112 and 113 list the date of birth of Prophets, Caliphs, important scholars, pre-Islamic kings of Persia as well as post-Islamic kings, and the birth of important philosophers like those of Aristotle and Jamasp, the companion of Zoroaster. Relative to his own time, the author places Adam at 6700 years before and Noah at 4900 years before.

Article 114 (in Persian) is about the history of Tabriz. It mentions the building of Tabriz in the hands of Wahsudan, the Rawadid ruler.

Article 134 contains the dictionary Lughat-i Fors (lexicon of the Persian language) of Asadi Tusi.

Articles 138 and 139 (in Persian) deal with the moral and philosophical topics presented by the Sassanid Vizir Bozorgmehr.

Article 145, which is composed of three sections, is about music and is written by Ajab ol-Zaman Mohammad ibn Mahmud Nishapuri.

Article 163 in Persian deals with the health benefits of perfumes and good smelling medicine.

Article 165 in Persian is titled: "The reason for snow and rain" and has 20 sections.

Article 166, in Persian, is about geography and deals with the regions and cities of the world.

Article 196, in Persian, is about knowledge and logic.

Article 205 titled: "A short report on the Bani Ummayad" is in Arabic and gives a brief history of the Umayyad dynasty from Muawiyah all the way to the last Ummayyads of Spain.