The autumnal Durgā Pūjā, the ten-lunar-day worship of the goddess Durgā, also known as Caṇḍī or Caṇḍīkā, is one of the most important festivals in East India and Nepal. Throughout villages and cities in Bengal, Orissa, Assam and the Kathmandu Valley the occasion is marked by pomp and circumstance. In Bengal especially, this worship is a reflection of a culture that has given goddesses a privileged position over male deities from at least the time of the Pālas.2 However, despite the availability of material from the eighteenth century to the present day, the worship of the goddess prior to the colonial presence still remains to a great extent terra incognita. Sanskrit paddhatis (ritual manuals) from the medieval era are among the few records available from Bengal that shed light on the pedagogical and performative context of the rite. The purpose of this article is to provide a synchronic sketch of the medieval ceremony based on the influential and widely cited medieval manual, the Durgāpūjātattva (“The truth concerning the rite of Durgā”, henceforth DPT) of Raghunandana Bhaṭṭācārya (1520–1575 ce)3 supported by parallel accounts of the rite contained in related literature. The sketch will be used as a broad framework to illustrate the manner in which the ceremony was performed or could have been performed in Bengal during the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries ce.

Published in 1879 in the Tahzīb ul-Akhlāq as well as in book form, Maulana Altaf Husain Hali's Musaddas on the Ebb and Flow of Islam (better known as Musaddas-e Hālī) is a unique text. The poem, which recalls a glorious Islamic past and mourns its decline in India, both drew on the Urdu shahr āshob tradition that had developed since the eighteenth century as well as innovatively developed a very Arabic “flavour” and style that was uncommon at the time. While C. Shackle and J. Majeed have analysed Hali's use of typical Arabic literary devices in their excellent study and edition of the Musaddas, they conceded that “the overt influence of Arabic poetry is less easy to establish”. However, new evidence from the Aligarh Institute Gazette of 1878 brings another piece to the puzzle and enables us to situate Hali's Musaddas in its broader historical and literary context: indeed, two articles written by Sayyid Ahmad Khan in January of that year show that Hali's masterpiece was in fact conceived as an Urdu re-adaptation of an Arabic classic, al-Rundi's famous Lament for the fall of Seville.

The obelisk of Maṭara has long been known to bear the oldest Ethiopic inscription extant. Maṭara is a small village near Senafe, in the province of Akkele Guzay, on the frontier between Eritrea and Ethiopia, and the obelisk stands on one of the most majestic sites of the Abyssinian highlands. When Littmann visited Maṭara at the beginning of this century he found the obelisk, broken into two parts, lying on the ground. The Italian Administration later had the broken monument repaired by means of two iron bars (see Photograph I) and set upright again in what was (wrongly !) believed to be its original position.

The following notes are taken from an account of his journey to Spain, written by an Ambassador of Muley Ismail, a copy of which is preserved in a library at Lisbon: the MS. ends abruptly, and does not contain the author's name. From the narrative it appears that the Ambassador came to treat of the exchange of prisoners, and to ask for some of the Arabic works preserved at the Escurial: he appears, however, to have imagined that these were remnants of the libraries of Cordoba, whereas they proceeded from the library of a former Emperor of Marocco, which was captured at sea whilst being transported from one port to another. The Ambassador was told that the books had been destroyed by the fire which took place about twenty years before in the Escurial, where, in fact, the greater part of the Sultan's library was burned; but about two thousand were saved, of which nothing was said to the Ambassador, and these form the actual collection of Arabic works preserved in the Escurial. M. Chenier, in his Histoire du Maroc (Paris, 1787), states that Muley Ismail took L'Arrash from the Spaniards in 1689, and that the Spanish garrison of that place was exchanged at the rate of ten Moors for each Christian: he also states that, in 1681, Hajy Themim, Governor of Tetuan, and Cassem Menino, brother of the Governor of Sallee, went to Paris in the end of December as Ambassadors, so that it is possible one of these was also employed in this Embassy ten years later.

The attempt of the Dutch to develop trade with Arabia in the seventeenth century occasioned several journeys in the Yemen which are ignored in the histories of Arabian exploration. The earliest of the travellers, Pieter van den Broecke, wrote an account of his voyages, well known in his own century, which included a description of his visit to Ta'iz and San'a. For our knowledge of his successors we depend principally on the records of the Dutch East India Company and enough of these have now been published to show the nature and extent of Dutch enterprise.

I have attempted, in the lists which accompany this paper, to collect and classify all discoveries of Roman coins made in India during the last century and a half, which have been regularly recorded in English scientific publications; adding to them some remarks on finds which, though not so published, it is impossible for me to ignore, since they came under my own observation. It is perhaps hardly necessary for me to enter on an elaborate explanation of the reasons why such tabulated information may be held to be of value, seeing that obviously, if the lists are accurate and exhaustive, a classification such as this assumes the nature of an index to a volume, or, as in the present case, to a very large number of volumes.

This article provides new perspectives in interpreting the sartorial codes present in Orientalist portraits of European subjects. Art historians have traditionally implicated these works in the European imperialist project of appropriating, manipulating, and gaining mastery over the Orient. More recently, as part of a wider effort to challenge conventional portrayals of colonial encounters in purely confrontational, monolithic terms, portraits of Europeans in exotic dress have been seen as visual proof that certain Europeans may have ‘crossed-over’ or ‘gone-native’. This article advances a third perspective. Analysing several portraits of Europeans with Indian connections during the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it demonstrates the importance of analysing portraiture as an act of public performance. It shows that, in many cases, the performance of both artist and sitter alike were not intended for the colonial population, but for the spectators of colonialism situated ‘back home’ in Europe. Applying this new analytical approach to such an important and extensive genre of sources has far reaching implications both within the field of art history as well as within the broader domains of colonial history and contemporary East–West cultural studies. The interpretation of Western portrayals of the Orient – both visual and literary, both historical and contemporary – as active participants in an imperialist ideology must not eclipse the other, potentially less-charged, varied, and complex motivations of their participants.

The following errata are to be made in the article “On the Representation of Tones in Oriental Languages” appearing in the Journal for October, 1920:—p. 455, footnote, 1. 2, for “Anthropus” read “Anthropos”. p. 465, wherever the word “Quocangu” occurs, correct it to “Quocangu”.

Buddhism, first officially adopted by Tibetan royalty in the seventh century, remained confined to court circles and was not widely accepted during the reign of the Tibetan kings between the seventh and ninth centuries. After a dark period of persecution during the late imperial period, the so-called “Second Diffusion” of Buddhism in Tibet began towards the end of the tenth century.

The Land-revenue system described in the Āīn-i-Akbari differs widely from that which British administrators took over in the eighteenth century, and students of history or economics require to know when and how the changes took place. I cannot find any literature dealing with this subject, and I attempt in this paper to estimate the changes which took place during the reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan.

In this article I suggest that, although many Jews perished during the wars between the Mamluks and the Franks during the thirteenth century's second half, and others migrated to different Jewish communities in the Middle East and Europe, some Jews migrated to Safed, Jerusalem, and perhaps to Gaza as well. A significant number of the Jews who lived in Safed and Jerusalem during the early decades of the fourteenth century were of a Western European origin but were not newcomers from Europe. I suggest that some of these were Jews who previously lived in Acre and Tyre and migrated to Safed and Jerusalem either shortly before the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem got its coup de grâce, or afterwards.

This article explores the engagement of the Pakistani Jamaʿat-i Islami (JI) with the Iranian Revolution. I argue that the Islamist JI was drawn to the events because it reflected a core concern and signature idea of Abu ’l-Aʿla Maududi, namely to establish the sovereignty of God (hakimiyya) on earth. My analysis of various travelogues and JI publications from the 1980s demonstrates that JI observers were deeply familiar with internal revolutionary dynamics and Iran's Shiʿi identity. The prospect of seeing a proper Islamic system in action, with potentially global consequences for their cause, initially crowded out any sectarian concerns for the JI. At the same time, certain JI leaders began to voice criticism of what they perceived as rash revolutionary policies that differed from Maududi's careful, irenic understanding of a proper Islamic revolution. They also took note of sectarian messages that damaged Iran's ecumenical outreach. It was, however, the more general geopolitical climate in the Middle East and South Asia which forced the JI to publicly downplay its ties with Iran. By the late 1980s, being accused of harbouring affinities for the ‘deviant Islam’ of Shiʿism was a charge that had to be avoided at all costs in Pakistan and beyond.

The only complete manuscript of this Chronicle of the Bohemians which is known to exist is a folio paper volume written partly in the fourteenth and partly in the early fifteenth century. My efforts to see the MS. itself have so far been unsuccessful, and the following extracts are translated from the text printed by Gelasius Dobner in his Monumenta Historica, Boemiœ nusquam antehac edita, etc., 6 tom. 4to, Pragæ, 1764…85. The Chronicle is in tom, ii, 1768, pp. 79–282. It is entitled Chronicon Reverendissimi Joannis dicti de Marignolis de Florentia Ordinis Minorum Bysinianensis Episcopi …, and begins: Incipit Processus in Cronicum Boemorum, ending, on p. 282, Et sic est finis hujus Cronice Boemorum. The MS., it should be said, was formerly in thelibrary of the Church S. Crucis majoris at Prag, and is now in the University Library in that city.

Whatever difference of opinion may exist as to the introduction of Chess into Europe, its Asiatic origin is undoubted, although the question of its birth-place is still open to discussion, and will be adverted to in this essay. Its more immediate design, however, is to illustrate the principles and practice of the game itself from such Oriental sources as have hitherto escaped observation, and, especially, to introduce to particular notice a variety of Chess which may, on fair grounds, be considered more ancient than that which is now generally played, and lead to a theory which, if it should be established, would materially affect our present opinions on its history.

Muqeyer, in Arabic, signifies “bitumined,” or “covered with bitumen,” its root being . The Arabs of the country about Baghdad, Suk süh Shuyükh, and Busrah, universally give the Arabic (Qaf) the sound of the English g, and muqeyer then with them becomes mugeyer. This corrupt pronunciation has led foreign travellers astray as to the real meaning of the word, which they have interpreted “overturned;” “changed,” spelling the name of the ruins Megheyer, Megkalir, and sometimes also Umgheir. The reason for its present name, which is modern, is obvious to the visitor, as everywhere are to be seen large pieces of bitumen, and remains of masonry, formed by kiln burnt bricks, imbedded in the same material. The ruins are situated sixteen miles N.W. by N. from Sük ush Shuyükh, and six miles due west from the northern end of Arjé village, on the right bank of the Euphrates. Muqeyer itself is buílt upon a slight elevation; the country all about it is, however, so low, that, during the annual flood of the Euphrates, the whole becomes a marsh, and the ruins themselves an island in the middle. Seven miles west of Muqeyer is, a long, low range of sand hills (abounding in sand stones and pebbles), which bounds the district known by the Arabs as the Hejerra, and which terminates about eight miles N.W. of Semaweli. Between the ruins and this ridge the ground gradually descends for five miles; it then as gradually ascends for two, up to the summit of the ridge. At the other side is the valley or hollow of Abu Shahrezer. This ridge is called the Hazem. The plan will, I hope, convey a good idea of the general shape of the ruins and of the mounds composing them, together with the spots at which excavations were made. Plate 1 is a sketch of the principal building from the northern face. This is not, I must observe, exact in detail, and was only made to give an idea of the building as it at present exists. To these (and Plate 2, which is a sketch of a part of the same building) I shall refer, to elucidate my report, and to point out the different spots where the most interesting relics were discovered.

Among the relics brought home by Mr. Layard, and deposited in the British Museum, the visitors to our national repository may notice a series of bronze lions, of good workmanship and graduated magnitude, from one to several inches in length,—the largest weighing above 40 lbs., the smallest barely 2 oz. There are also several marble ducks, with cuneiform inscriptions upon them, of Babylonian rather than Assyrian characters. These appear to have been the commercial weights used by the people of Assyria and Babylonia. They were distinguished by cuneiform inscriptions on the back, which must have been originally well engraved, although they are now a good deal defaced, and in some cases so much obliterated as to leave scarcely the slightest trace.

1. Great was the reputation of Aristotle in the Middle Ages. His sway was undisputed, and whatever bore his name was sure to be treated as the expression of the highest wisdom. But that fame rested mostly on Arabic translations and interpretations of his philosophical writings. Along with the genuine writings, however, also other treatises were circulated which were ascribed to Aristotle, with what justification has not yet been settled, but probably because some of the ideas put into his mouth seem to have been culled from his genuine writings and others reflected, more or less accurately, views and opinions contained in his writings. Among such pseudo-Aristotelian writings, none enjoyed wider circulation than obtained by the treatise which claimed to represent the “Politeia” of Aristotle.