A two-volume manuscript on Furusiyya, on horsemanship and farriery, Egypt, Mamluk, 14th century

Arabic manuscript on paper in 2 volumes, 64 leaves, plus 2 flyleaves (vol.I), 45 leaves plus 2 flyleaves (vol.II), 21 lines to the page, written in naskh script in black ink, titles and keywords in red, catchwords, margins ruled in red, 1 volume with replacement final folio, each in modern green binding, with flap

In fair overall condition, the margins trimmed and overall clean with occasional later annotations, worm-holes which have occasionally been repaired, paper and transparent tape repairs throughout, marginal notes at the end of each volume, water-staining and other various minor stains, rebound, as viewed.
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These two volumes are interesting examples of the continuous interest in horses which developed in Arabic literature in Abbasid period and continued until today.

A later added title on f.1a in Vol.I states that this manuscript title is Kitab al-furusiyya wa’l-baitara. According to David Alexander, the oldest surviving Arabic text on horses and their veterinary treatment, Kitab al-furusiyya wa’l-baitara was composed by Muhammad ibn Yaqub al-Khuttuli (d.865 AD) in the early Abbasid period. It has been noted that his text became the model for all future texts on horsemanship (Alexander 1996, p.110). 

Several other texts dealing with furusiyya are recorded in the British library among which two are worth noting, as they are attributed to Muhammad ibn Yaqub ibn Akhi Hizam al-Khatli (or also know known as al-Khuttuli, Brockelmann, GAL I.7 suppl. I. 432 – 433) respectively titled Kitab al-furusyya wa-shiyat al-khayl and  Kitab al-Furusiyah, and dated to the fourteenth and  seventeenth century (Subject-Guide to the Arabic Manuscripts in The British library, London, 2001, pp.393-94).

Volume I is divided into two parts: part I (from f.1b to f.33a) deals with horsemanship and the martial arts discussing the fitness of the horseman and the use of weapons, such as maces, spears and swords and different types of shields. A further section is dedicated to archery, and is closely related to a treatise by al-Tabari (see inv.no.817 in the British Library). 

Part II (from f.34a to the end) deals with different equines’ ailments and their treatment including  lice, bloating and winter and summer fevers. An extensive Arabic inscription on the last page, copied by Muhammad ibn al-Qalqashendi al-Shafi’i in which it is mentioned the name of Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Ha'im al-Shafi’i and Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Hanafi and Egypt.

Volume II is a supplement to the two treatises in the first volume, listing the various colours of the horses, the defects and physical features relating to the mouth, the tail and the eyes, and concludes with the symptoms of various ailments.  The text also mentions other famous authors who contributed to the study of horsemanship, such as Abd Allah ibn al-Abbas (listed in the British Library catalogue, p.394), Muhammad ibn Muhammad Jabadi, Ali ibn Harb al-Musali and Bastam ibn Jafar al-Azdi. An Arabic inscription on the last folio of volume II gives details of a medical recipe of a servant to the Ottoman sultan Selim III (r.1789-1807).