The Edinburgh manuscript (Or. ms. 161) of al-Biruni’s Chronology (الاثار الباقية عن القرون الخالية), is not only one of the earliest witnesses of the work, with a date of 1307 CE, but is also probably the most beautiful, bearing numerous illustrations and tables rendered in fine calligraphy. It is now digitized in its entirety and available to view online through the University of Edinburgh’s library. For some lectures concerning the most recent work on the Chronology, particularly by François de Blois, see this page, part of a major UCL project on ancient and medieval calendars. For more on the Edinburgh manuscript itself and the context of its production, see “The Edinburgh Biruni Manuscript: A Mirror of Its Time?” by Robert Hillenbrand.

Al-Biruni, of course, cites a number of terms in Chorasmian, his native tongue, as well as in Sogdian, another Middle Iranian language he was very familiar with. Due to the high quality of the Edinburgh manuscript, the Chorasmian and Sogdian terms are quite clear. Here, I thought it worth showing two folios in particular.