The Dedanite-Minaean text R 3695 (= M 356) has received no treatment in extenso since the rendering initially proposed by Jaussen and Savignac, which in the light of present knowledge must be considered wholly unsatisfactory.

Of the various appellations by which ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib is known, none has evoked more interest and controversy than that of ‘Abū (al-)Turāb’. This by-name is attested in early sources, both Muslim and non-Muslim; an example for the latter is the letter allegedly sent by the Byzantine Emperor Leo III (717–40) to ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-’Azīz (99–101/717–20), in which ‘Abū Turāb’ appears twice.

Over and over again, the question has been raised as to whether it is worth while studying Manchu. It can no longer be considered a short cut to mastering the difficulties of Chinese, and so the only Tungus written language seems to have been left entirely to the attention of linguists and, maybe, anthropologists. On the other hand, the growing interest of Chinese and Japanese scholars in the Manchu archives proves that there is much valuable information for the historian. A large number of Manchu books are buried in libraries and are hardly known and available even to Manchu specialists who deal with a limited number of well-known texts, classics, dictionaries, grammars, the Chin-p'ing-mei, and the Liao-chai chih-i. It is not that these materials do not offer interesting problems, but it is often overlooked that they only constitute a part of Manchu literature the scope of which is much wider, as systematic research in libraries all over the world has proved. Therefore the most pressing problem in Manchu studies is to gain bibliographical control over the existing texts and make them available to the researcher.

The Gobi desert has played a vital part in the history of the Burmans, as in that of many other peoples of Asia and Europe. Winds blow continuously between Paris and Peking—from east to west for half the year, from west to east for the other half. Surface soil, once broken (as in the early Neolithic), is loth to settle. Wind-blown soil, or loess, chokes all the rivers and prevents their exit to the seas. Fresh-water lakes go saline and undrinkable. And soon a vast country, from the centre outwards, becomes uninhabitable by man. The problem is still acute. With three of our four continents still desert-eroded, it remains a question whether our planet can be saved from going the way of Mars.

A detailed though somewhat unsophisticated account of Dóngola is that of Armbruster (1960). During 1975–6 I had the opportunity of working for short periods with a speaker of Dóngola, Mr. Ibrahim Abdel Karim, and there was little doubt that his speech was the dialect described by Armbruster. I paid particular attention to the possessive pronouns and found that both my observations and my interpretation differed in some important ways from those of Armbruster.

In my review of Dr. Shaban's book Islamic history: a new interpretation. 2. A.D. 750–1055 (A.H. 132–448) in BSOAS, XL, 3, 1977, 622, I stated that the rule of ‘Aḍud al-Dawla was not mentioned by Dr. Shaban. He has drawn my attention to the fact that he devoted three pages (183–6) to the reign of Fanā Khusraw (‘Aḍud al-Dawla), to which, in fact, I referred in my review. My apologies for this mistake are due to Dr. Shaban.