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Vol. 21, No. 4 (59)
Winter 2024

Journal based in 2004
Issued quarterly

Full text as a *.PDF file

PUBLICATIONS
HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, PHILOLOGY

Vladimir P. IVANOV. The Vijñāna-bhairava-tantra. Translation, exegetical notes. Part 1 — 5

This publication presents a translation of the first part (the opening 64 stanzas) of the Vijñānabhairava Tantra, one of the most important sources on the Indian practice of tantric yoga in the tradition of monistic Kashmir Śaivism. This text contains a summary of practical methods to achieve the ultimate goal of tantra practice—the realization of unity with the absolute, all-pervasive divine consciousness, personified in tantra by the figure of Śiva-Bhairava. This text can be considered an encyclopaedia of tantra-yogic methods presented in their essential form, abstracted from the ritual context. The translation is provided with exegetical notes necessary for understanding the text, based on traditional Sanskrit commentaries by Kṣemarāja, Shivopadhyāya and a number of other texts.
Keywords: the Vijñānabhairava Tantra, Kashmir Shaivism, yoga, tantra, Indian religious praxeology.

Aleksandr A. ILIUKHOV. Qing History through the Eyes of a Standard Bearer in the Manuscript Titled Emu tangū orin sakda-i gisun sarkiyan — 22

This article presents a translation of the first chapter from the manuscript Emu Tangū Orin Sakda-i Gisun by the Mongol bannerman Sungyun (1752–1835), with introduction and comments. This chapter is concerned with the history of the Qing dynasty, listing the deeds of Manchu emperors, with the emphasis on the merits of the living Qianlong emperor, most of which comprise the so-called “ten military achievements”. The author intended to prove the validity of the claims of the Qing emperors to the eternal rule of their dynasty. Besides, according to both the norms of Confucian morality and the Manchu way of life, the key to the upholding of the “great peace” (taiping 太平) is the education of the younger generation of standard bearers. The result of such education would be a faithful service to the dynasty by the later generations of bannermen.
Keywords: : Sungyun, Emu tangū orin sakda-i gisun sarkiyan, Eight banners, De, Qing history.

RESEARCH WORKS
HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, PHILOLOGY

Matvei D. LOPATIN. Locusts in Cuneiform Script: On the Interpretation of the Combination BURU5v.mušen in the Fragment Sm.2073 of an “Assyrian Dream-Book” — 37

In the fragment Sm.2073 of an “Assyrian Dream-Book”, a certain animal is mentioned as an ingredient in a list of various soups, written in cuneiform with the combination BURU5v.mušen, using the graphic variant BURU5v (ḪU.ERIM) instead of BURU5 (NAM.ERIM) and the determinative of a bird or flying creature .mušen. Three interpretations of this Sumerogram are possible: Akk. iṣṣūru “(small) bird”, erbu “locust”, or āribu “crow, raven”. The analysis of the contexts in which this combination was used in cuneiform texts of the 1st millennium B.C. shows that the use of one or another graphic variant of the sign or the presence of a determinative does not speak in favor of any of the variants. In this connection, the interpretation of BURU5v.mušen as Akk. erbu “locust” seems to be the most acceptable, since this animal, unlike āribu, is widely attested as a foodstuff, while iṣṣūru in similar contexts is written with another Sumerogram.
Keywords: “Assyrian Dream-Book”, cuneiform, Sumerograms, lexical lists, animal names, locust.

Nigora S. KHAMIDOVA. Gravestones from Ḳārat al-Ṣanāhiǧa as Epigraphic Monuments of Late Medieval Hadramawt — 47

This article is devoted to a set of epigraphic monuments of the Hadramawt of the late Medieval period, being published for the first time. These monuments are gravestones, photographed in the vicinity of the settlement of Qārat al-Ṣanāhiǧa during the field works of the Soviet-Yemeni Complex Expedition in 1988. The publication of tombstones from Qārat al-Ṣanāhiǧa is a valuable source on genealogy. As part of our research, we have prepared their Arabic text, Russian translation and necessary commentaries, which include descriptions of social relations as well as various cultural and historical aspects of the Hadrami society. As a result of analysis of the paleography and text of the epitaphs, we came to the conclusion that this group of tombstones represents a local type of decoration. Due to the uniformly standard language of epitaphs, some poorly preserved inscriptions can be restored to the last word.
Keywords: Yemen, Hadramawt, Qārat al-Ṣanāhiǧa settlement, epigraphy, tombstones, Soviet-Yemeni Complex Expedition.

HISTORY AND HISTORIOGRAPHY
TEXTOLOGY, CODICOLOGY, PALEOGRAPHY, ARCHEOGRAPHY

Eva P. LEKAREVA. The Caryāpada, an Ancient Bengali Literary Text: The History of Its Scholarly Research and Perspectives — 67

The article presents a brief overview of the history of scholarly research into the ancient Bengali literary text Caryāpada from its discovery in the early 20th century to the present day. While examining the subject, the author tries to characterize the main approaches to analyses of the manuscript implemented by the researchers. An attempt has been made to fill the existing gaps in its research, and to outline the possible prospects and directions for further study that could be of interest to the students of Bengali literature, who have only recently begun a comprehensive study of the text.
Keywords: the Caryāpada, ancient Bengali literature, early Vajrayana literature.

Irina K. PAVLOVA. Khorasan, the Eastern Province of Safavid Iran in the 1630s — 84

The province of Khorasan, which was a part of Iran since the Sassanids (224–651), has been the scene of conflict between Persians, Uzbeks and Moguls over its territory for several centuries. A new wave of aggravation of this internecine struggle occurred during the reign of Shah Safi (1629–1642). Shah Safi I is associated with the weakening of the central authority in Iran and the loss of a number of territories that had previously been part of the Safavid State. The information about it is given in the Khulasat al-Siyar by the Shah’s court historiographer Muhammad Ma‘sum (1586/87–1647). As far as we know, this is the only manuscript of the period written in Persian and covering all thirteen years of Shah Safi’s reign. Analyzing the data of this source, one can follow the course of military clashes in the province of Khorasan, as well as find out the circumstances of the loss by the Persians of the city Kandahar (1638), reveal the names of local rulers, both those who were loyal to the Shah and those, who “put on the robe of betrayal”. Muhammad Maʻsum’s information about this period of the Safavid dynasty’s history (1501–1736) remains unclaimed by modern scholars and investigators.
Keywords: a Persian manuscript of the 17th century, the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, the Safavids, Khorasan, the Ashtarkhanides, the Great Mogols.

COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES

Mark A. KOZINTCEV. The First Ottoman Capital as Seen by a Russian Officer: Lieutenant Alexander L. Kalusovsky’s Report on a Trip to Brusa in 1904 — 96

In 1904, Lieutenant Alexander L. Kalusovsky (1871–1908), a student of the Officer Courses in Oriental languages at the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire, was sent on a study trip to the Ottoman Empire. The trip, which lasted from May to October, was aimed at practicing the Turkish language and improvement of knowledge about the country. Most of the business trip took place in the city of Brusa (now Bursa, Turkey). As a result, a detailed report was compiled by Kalusovsky, including both military information, and descriptions of various aspects of the life of the city of Brusa and the Hüdavendigâr Vilayet. Currently, this report is housed at the Archives of the Orientalists of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The value of this source, which contains numerous specific data on the state of the region in the early 20th century, inspired its publication in this article.
Keywords: a Turkish city of the early 20th century, Bursa, the Hüdavendigâr Vilayet, Russian military travelers.

Damir V. MUKHETDINOV, Ilyas R. SADULIN. Khusain Faizkhanov’s Collection in the Funds of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences (an 1854 Archive) — 117

This article is the first to offer a consolidated list and a brief description of manuscripts and printed works from the collection of Khusain Faizkhanov (1854) housed in the funds of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The source base of the study consists of catalogues of Oriental manuscripts of the 19th and 20th centuries in three languages (Russian, German and French) and a list of works mentioned in the receipt dated October 26, 1854, from the archive of Orientalists of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The array of analyzed sources consisting of 26 manuscripts attributed to the collection of Kh. Faizkhanov made it possible to identify a total of 35 works in Arabic, Persian and Turkic (Ottoman and Turkic) languages. In conclusion, a consolidated list of works included in the identified manuscripts is given, and the results of correlating the identified works with the names from the above-mentioned list dated 1854 are presented.
Keywords: Khusain Faizkhanov, Russian Oriental studies, Faizkhanov studies, calligraphy, manuscripts, archive materials, IOM, RAS.

ACADEMIC LIFE

Irina V. KULGANEK. The 7th St. Petersburg Conference on Mongolian Studies–2024 (St. Petersburg, October 2–3, 2024) — 136
Keywords: philology, history, source studies, Mongolian, manuscript, Mongolia, Central Asia.

REVIEWS

SHEN Yaming 沈亚明: Zhong Xing He Li Li: Shen Zhongzhang He Tade Pengyoumen 众星何历历: 沈仲章和他的朋友们 (Why Are the Stars So Bright: Shen Zhongzhang and His Friends). Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2022. 464 pp. (in Chinese) (Hartmut WALRAVENS) — 141
Keywords: Shen Zhongzhang (1905–1987) — biography, Vincenz Hundhausen (1878–1955), Richard Wilhelm (1873–1930), Sven Hedin (1865–1952).

KOVALEVSKY O.M. The History of Mongols. Preparation for publication, preface, comments, appendix: I.V. Kulganek, V.Yu. Zhukov; executive editor: I.F. Popova; introductory words: I.F. Popova, R.M. Valeev. St. Petersburg: Nestor-Istoriia, 2024. 644 pp. (in Russian) (Tatiana V. ERMAKOVA, Helena P. OSTROVSKAIA) — 147
Keywords: O.M. Kovalevsky, Genghis Khan, the history of Mongols, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, Mongolian studies, Orientalists’ Archives at IOM, RAS.