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A long-standing European fascination with Asia, from the Middle East to China and Japan, came more sharply into focus during the early modern period, as voyages of exploration gave rise to commercial enterprises such as the East India companies and their attendant colonial activities. This series is a collaborative venture between the Cambridge Library Collection and the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, founded in 1823. The series reissues works from the Royal Asiatic Society's extensive library of rare books and sponsored publications that shed light on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European responses to the cultures of the Middle East and Asia. The selection covers Asian languages, literature, religions, philosophy, historiography, law, mathematics and science, as studied and translated by Europeans and presented for Western readers.

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103 results in Cambridge Library Collection - Perspectives from the Royal Asiatic Society

Page 3 of 6

The Works of Sir William Jones
  • With the Life of the Author by Lord Teignmouth
  • Volume 5
  • William Jones
  • Edited by Lord Teignmouth
  • Published online:
    05 July 2014
    Print publication:
    28 March 2013
    First published in:
    1807
  • A renowned Enlightenment polymath, Sir William Jones (1746–94) was a lawyer, translator and poet who wrote authoritatively on politics, comparative linguistics and oriental literature. Known initially for his Persian translations and political radicalism, Jones became further celebrated for his study and translation of ancient Sanskrit texts following his appointment to the supreme court in Calcutta in 1783. He spent the next eleven years introducing Europe to the mysticism and rationality of Hinduism through works such as his nine 'Hymns' to Hindu deities and his translation of the Sanskrit classic Sacontalá, influencing Romantic writers from William Blake to August Wilhelm Schlegel. Volume 5 of his thirteen-volume works, published in 1807, contains Jones' researches into Indian botany - including the comparative 'Botanical Observations on Select Indian Plants' - coupled with his groundbreaking Grammar of the Persian Language (1771), the work which established Jones as one of the eighteenth century's greatest orientalists.

The Hedaya, or Guide
  • A Commentary on the Mussulman Laws
  • Volume 3
  • Translated by Charles Hamilton
  • Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani
  • Published online:
    05 July 2014
    Print publication:
    28 February 2013
    First published in:
    1791
  • Composed in the twelfth century by the leading Muslim jurist Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani (1135–97), the original Arabic al-Hidāyah remains a central text of Islamic personal law. This English translation, from a Persian version of the work, was prepared by the orientalist Charles Hamilton (c.1752–92) for the East India Company in 1791. Although since superseded, it remains a fascinating document in the history of colonial jurisprudence. The legal system was central to the entrenchment of British rule in India, providing the framework for active control of civil administration and the courts. Translations of Islamic texts were intended to remove the language barrier for colonial officials, and blurred British and native law for the first time. Volume 3 contains sections on agency, claims, laws of business, deposits, loans, gifts, the hiring of slaves, freed slaves, and disputed land sales.

The History of India, as Told by its Own Historians
  • The Muhammadan Period
  • Volume 8
  • Henry Miers Elliot
  • Edited by John Dowson
  • Published online:
    05 July 2014
    Print publication:
    21 March 2013
    First published in:
    1877
  • This extensive eight-volume work was first published between 1867 and 1877 by the linguist John Dowson (1820–81) from the manuscripts of the colonial administrator and scholar Sir Henry Miers Elliot (1808–53). Before his death, hoping to bolster British colonial ideology, Elliot had intended to evaluate scores of Arabic and Persian historians of India, believing that his translations would demonstrate the violence of the Muslim rulers and 'make our native subjects more sensible of the immense advantages accruing to them under the mildness and the equity of our rule'. Volume 8 addresses criticism of the previously published volumes, and includes additions and corrections to them. The volume also contains extracts of numerous additional histories covering the end of the Mughal Empire from Muhammad Shah (1702–1748) to the establishment of British political and military dominance in India in the mid-nineteenth century.

History of the Indian Archipelago
  • Containing an Account of the Manners, Art, Languages, Religions, Institutions, and Commerce of its Inhabitants
  • Volume 3
  • John Crawfurd
  • Published online:
    05 July 2014
    Print publication:
    28 March 2013
    First published in:
    1820
  • Trained as a doctor, John Crawfurd (1783–1868) went on to have a distinguished career in colonial administration with the East India Company. He held senior posts in Java from 1811 to 1816, including that of resident at the court of Yogyakarta. A talented linguist and ethnologist, Crawfurd acquired a sound knowledge of ancient Kawi and contemporary Javanese. Upon his return to Britain in 1817, he became a fellow of the Royal Society and published this three-volume work on the Indonesian islands, principally Java, to great acclaim. Following further service abroad, he published accounts of his various missions in south-east Asia and an encyclopaedic sequel to the present work (all of which are reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection). Volume 3 examines political institutions and commerce, covering major exports and imports along with demographics, public revenue and laws.

The Works of Sir William Jones
  • With the Life of the Author by Lord Teignmouth
  • Volume 10
  • William Jones
  • Edited by Lord Teignmouth
  • Published online:
    05 July 2014
    Print publication:
    28 March 2013
    First published in:
    1807
  • A renowned Enlightenment polymath, Sir William Jones (1746–94) was a lawyer, translator and poet who wrote authoritatively on politics, comparative linguistics and oriental literature. Known initially for his Persian translations and political radicalism, Jones became further celebrated for his study and translation of ancient Sanskrit texts following his appointment to the supreme court in Calcutta in 1783. He spent the next eleven years introducing Europe to the mysticism and rationality of Hinduism through works such as his nine 'Hymns' to Hindu deities and his translation of the Sanskrit classic Sacontalá, influencing Romantic writers from William Blake to August Wilhelm Schlegel. Volume 10 of his thirteen-volume works, published in 1807, contains Jones' important pre-India poetry and essays. These include his essays 'On the Arts, Commonly Called Imitative' and 'On the Poetry of the Eastern Nations' (1772), which anticipate Romantic themes of the sublime, as well as his Alcaic 'Odes', which establish Jones' radical political identity.

The Works of Sir William Jones
  • With the Life of the Author by Lord Teignmouth
  • Volume 3
  • William Jones
  • Edited by Lord Teignmouth
  • Published online:
    05 July 2014
    Print publication:
    28 March 2013
    First published in:
    1807
  • A renowned Enlightenment polymath, Sir William Jones (1746–94) was a lawyer, translator and poet who wrote authoritatively on politics, comparative linguistics and oriental literature. Known initially for his Persian translations and political radicalism, Jones became further celebrated for his study and translation of ancient Sanskrit texts following his appointment to the supreme court in Calcutta in 1783. He spent the next eleven years introducing Europe to the mysticism and rationality of Hinduism through works such as his nine 'Hymns' to Hindu deities and his translation of the Sanskrit classic Sacontalá, influencing Romantic writers from William Blake to August Wilhelm Schlegel. Volume 3 of his thirteen-volume works, published in 1807, contains Jones' 'Anniversary Discourses' (1784–94) addressed to the Asiatick Society as its president - including 'On the Hindus' (1786), a seminal work of comparative linguistics. It also contains his landmark essay of cultural comparison, 'On the Gods of Greece, Italy, and India' (1784).

The Hedaya, or Guide
  • A Commentary on the Mussulman Laws
  • Volume 4
  • Translated by Charles Hamilton
  • Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani
  • Published online:
    05 July 2014
    Print publication:
    28 February 2013
    First published in:
    1791
  • Composed in the twelfth century by the leading Muslim jurist Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani (1135–97), the original Arabic al-Hidāyah remains a central text of Islamic personal law. This English translation, from a Persian version of the work, was prepared by the orientalist Charles Hamilton (c.1752–92) for the East India Company in 1791. Although since superseded, it remains a fascinating document in the history of colonial jurisprudence. The legal system was central to the entrenchment of British rule in India, providing the framework for active control of civil administration and the courts. Translations of Islamic texts were intended to remove the language barrier for colonial officials, and blurred British and native law for the first time. Volume 4 contains sections on the partition of property, the eating of meat, sacrifice, abominations, the cultivation of wasteland, prohibited drinks, hunting, pawning, crimes against the person, fines, wills, and hermaphrodites.

The Hedaya, or Guide
  • A Commentary on the Mussulman Laws
  • Volume 1
  • Translated by Charles Hamilton
  • Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani
  • Published online:
    05 July 2014
    Print publication:
    28 February 2013
    First published in:
    1791
  • Composed in the twelfth century by the leading Muslim jurist Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani (1135–97), the original Arabic al-Hidāyah remains a central text of Islamic personal law. This English translation, from a Persian version of the work, was prepared by the orientalist Charles Hamilton (c.1752–92) for the East India Company in 1791. Although since superseded, it remains a fascinating document in the history of colonial jurisprudence. The legal system was central to the entrenchment of British rule in India, providing the framework for active control of civil administration and the courts. Translations of Islamic texts were intended to remove the language barrier for colonial officials, and blurred British and native law for the first time. Hamilton's text is one such, and its dedication to Warren Hastings and lengthy preliminary section outline its purpose and composition. Volume 1 contains sections on zakat (alms), marriage, fosterage, divorce, slavery, and vows.

The History of Ceylon from the Earliest Period to the Present Time
  • With an Appendix, Containing an Account of its Present Condition
  • William Knighton
  • Published online:
    05 July 2014
    Print publication:
    28 March 2013
    First published in:
    1845
  • William Knighton (d.1900) published this history of Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) in 1845. He spent most of his career there and in India, and published a number of vivid accounts of his experiences. This book surveys the ancient past of the island up to Knighton's own day, covering its many rulers and invaders as well as its shifting eras of unity and fracture into competing kingdoms. It gives an account of the first settlement, the establishment of Buddhism, the growth of the ancient capital Anuradhapura, the reign of Queen Anula (the first female ruler in Asia), the emergence of early Christianity, the development of the caste system, the medieval wars after the forming of the Jaffna Kingdom, the arrival of the Portuguese, the Dutch, and later the British invasion. Covering law, agriculture, arts, religion and language, this learned work remains relevant to students of Sri Lankan history and culture.

History of the Afghans
  • Translated from the Persian of Neamet Ullah
  • Haravi Nimat Allah
  • Translated by Bernhard Dorn
  • Published online:
    05 July 2014
    Print publication:
    06 June 2013
    First published in:
    1829
  • History of the Afghans was compiled by Nimat Allah (fl.1613–30) at the court of the Mughal emperor Jahangir (1569–1627). Drawing on various manuscript sources, it contains both mythical and historical accounts of the Afghan people. The wide coverage includes discussion of the Pashtun and their origins, the prophet Yakub (Jacob), King Talut (Saul) and the Afghan migration to Ghor, the late medieval sultans Bahlul, Sikandar and Ibrahim of the Lodi dynasty, and the lives of saints. The work also features the genealogy of Afghan tribes as well as reports of miracles. The German orientalist Bernhard Dorn (1805–81) published this English translation from the original Persian between 1829 and 1836. This reissue incorporates the separately published parts in one volume. Dorn's respected translation of this important text remains of interest to scholars of Asiatic history and tradition.

A New Account of the East Indies
  • Being the Observations and Remarks of Capt. Alexander Hamilton
  • Volume 1
  • Alexander Hamilton
  • Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    18 April 2013
    First published in:
    1727
  • Little is known of Captain Alexander Hamilton other than what he tells us in this work, first published in 1727. Written during his retirement, it is both an invaluable source of information on south-east Asia at the time and a lively travelogue of Hamilton's adventurous seafaring life in the service of the East India Company and independently between 1688 and 1723. An engaging storyteller, Hamilton writes of encounters with pirates, the Portuguese, and of a poisoning in Malacca, as well as providing vivid descriptions of the countries he visited - from Africa to Japan via India, Sumatra and China - and their social customs, religions, trade and commerce. His idiosyncratic maps and illustrations enhance his narrative despite his admission that he makes 'but little use of the pencil'. Volume 1 takes the reader up the east coast of Africa to the Middle East, and round the coast of India to Ceylon.

The History of India, as Told by its Own Historians
  • The Muhammadan Period
  • Volume 2
  • Henry Miers Elliot
  • Edited by John Dowson
  • Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    21 March 2013
    First published in:
    1869
  • This extensive eight-volume work was first published between 1867 and 1877 by the linguist John Dowson (1820–81) from the manuscripts of the colonial administrator and scholar Sir Henry Miers Elliot (1808–53). Before his death, hoping to bolster British colonial ideology, Elliot had intended to evaluate scores of Arabic and Persian historians of India, believing that his translations would demonstrate the violence of the Muslim rulers and 'make our native subjects more sensible of the immense advantages accruing to them under the mildness and the equity of our rule'. Volume 2 begins with accounts of the earliest inroads of the Ghaznivid conquerors, tracing the rise to power of the Muslims in India. It includes History of the World Conqueror by Ata-Malik Jovayni (1226–83), one of the main sources on the rapid sweep of Genghis Khan's armies through Asia. The volume closes in 1257 during the reign of Nasir-ud-din Mahmud (1246–66).

The History of India, as Told by its Own Historians
  • The Muhammadan Period
  • Volume 3
  • Henry Miers Elliot
  • Edited by John Dowson
  • Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    21 March 2013
    First published in:
    1871
  • This extensive eight-volume work was first published between 1867 and 1877 by the linguist John Dowson (1820–81) from the manuscripts of the colonial administrator and scholar Sir Henry Miers Elliot (1808–53). Before his death, hoping to bolster British colonial ideology, Elliot had intended to evaluate scores of Arabic and Persian historians of India, believing that his translations would demonstrate the violence of the Muslim rulers and 'make our native subjects more sensible of the immense advantages accruing to them under the mildness and the equity of our rule'. Volume 3 covers the period from the death of Nasir-ud-din Mahmud (1246–66) to the rise to power of Timur (1336–1405) at the end of the fourteenth century. It includes Timur's purported autobiography and the fifteenth-century Zafarnama of Sharafuddin Ali Yazdi, a history of the Timurid dynasty. The appendices contain studies of contemporaneous texts, including poetry and the Travels of Ibn Battuta.

Algebra, with Arithmetic and Mensuration
  • From the Sanscrit of Brahmegupta and Bhascara
  • Brahmagupta
  • Translated by H. T. Colebrooke
  • Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    18 April 2013
    First published in:
    1817
  • The scholar and East India Company administrator Henry Thomas Colebrooke (1765–1837) brought India's rich mathematical heritage to the attention of the wider world with the publication of this book in 1817. Based on Sanskrit texts, it contains English translations of classic works by the Indian mathematicians and astronomers Brahmagupta (598–668) and Bhascara (1114–85), who were instrumental thinkers in the development of algebra. Included here are translations of chapters 12 and 18 of Brahmagupta's best-known work, Brahmasphutasiddhanta, focusing on arithmetic and algebra respectively. Also included in this book are translations of two of the greatest works by Bhascara: Lilavati, his treatise on arithmetic, and Bijaganita, on algebra. Furthermore, Colebrooke's introduction aims to position the Indian advancement of algebra in relation to its development by the Greeks and Arabs.

The History of India, as Told by its Own Historians
  • The Muhammadan Period
  • Volume 4
  • Henry Miers Elliot
  • Edited by John Dowson
  • Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    21 March 2013
    First published in:
    1872
  • This extensive eight-volume work was first published between 1867 and 1877 by the linguist John Dowson (1820–81) from the manuscripts of the colonial administrator and scholar Sir Henry Miers Elliot (1808–53). Before his death, hoping to bolster British colonial ideology, Elliot had intended to evaluate scores of Arabic and Persian historians of India, believing that his translations would demonstrate the violence of the Muslim rulers and 'make our native subjects more sensible of the immense advantages accruing to them under the mildness and the equity of our rule'. Volume 4 covers the death of Timur in 1405 and continues to Akbar (1542–1605), including the autobiography of Babur (1483–1530), the Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi (1580), and the Tarikh-i-Daudi, covering the fall of the Karrani dynasty of Bengal and the rise of Akbar. The appendices discuss further anecdotal and related literature of the age.

The Annals of the College of Fort William
  • From the Period of its Foundation to the Present Time
  • Compiled by Thomas Roebuck
  • Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    18 April 2013
    First published in:
    1819
  • Fort William College was an academy established in Calcutta in 1800 by the British colonial administrator Richard Wellesley (1760–1842). Its purpose was to train British officials in numerous oriental languages, which resulted in the publication of several pioneering reference works and thousands of translated texts. First published in 1819, this book was compiled by Thomas Roebuck (1781–1819), assistant secretary to the college's council, as a tribute to Lord Wellesley's work. It contains records of all the memorable events that had taken place at the college since its establishment; Roebuck believed this would help new students in learning the principles on which the college was founded, and how former students had benefited accordingly. Drawing on official documents and containing writings by Wellesley himself, the work offers historians and linguists a valuable insight into a highly influential institution in British India.

The History of India, as Told by its Own Historians
  • The Muhammadan Period
  • Volume 6
  • Henry Miers Elliot
  • Edited by John Dowson
  • Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    21 March 2013
    First published in:
    1875
  • This extensive eight-volume work was first published between 1867 and 1877 by the linguist John Dowson (1820–81) from the manuscripts of the colonial administrator and scholar Sir Henry Miers Elliot (1808–53). Before his death, hoping to bolster British colonial ideology, Elliot had intended to evaluate scores of Arabic and Persian historians of India, believing that his translations would demonstrate the violence of the Muslim rulers and 'make our native subjects more sensible of the immense advantages accruing to them under the mildness and the equity of our rule'. Volume 6 covers the death of Akbar in 1605 and includes extracts from the Akbarnama of Abul Fazl (1551–1602), the emperor's vizier and court historian. It also covers the reign of Jahangir (1569–1627) with extracts from the Jahangirnama, his own memoirs. The appendices include a translation of the introduction to Ferishta's early seventeenth-century history.

The History of India, as Told by its Own Historians
  • The Muhammadan Period
  • Volume 7
  • Henry Miers Elliot
  • Edited by John Dowson
  • Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    21 March 2013
    First published in:
    1877
  • This extensive eight-volume work was first published between 1867 and 1877 by the linguist John Dowson (1820–81) from the manuscripts of the colonial administrator and scholar Sir Henry Miers Elliot (1808–53). Before his death, hoping to bolster British colonial ideology, Elliot had intended to evaluate scores of Arabic and Persian historians of India, believing that his translations would demonstrate the violence of the Muslim rulers and 'make our native subjects more sensible of the immense advantages accruing to them under the mildness and the equity of our rule'. Volume 7 covers the period from Shah Jahan (1592–1666) to the early reign of Muhammad Shah (1702–48). It includes various Padshahnama, the works comprising the official visual history of Shah Jahan's reign, most notably that of Abdul Hamid Lahori (d.1654). Also included are substantial extracts from the Muntakhab-ul-Lubab of Khafi Khan, covering the long reign of Aurangzeb (1618–1707).

The History of India, as Told by its Own Historians
  • The Muhammadan Period
  • Volume 5
  • Henry Miers Elliot
  • Edited by John Dowson
  • Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    21 March 2013
    First published in:
    1873
  • This extensive eight-volume work was first published between 1867 and 1877 by the linguist John Dowson (1820–81) from the manuscripts of the colonial administrator and scholar Sir Henry Miers Elliot (1808–53). Before his death, hoping to bolster British colonial ideology, Elliot had intended to evaluate scores of Arabic and Persian historians of India, believing that his translations would demonstrate the violence of the Muslim rulers and 'make our native subjects more sensible of the immense advantages accruing to them under the mildness and the equity of our rule'. Volume 5 charts the end of the Afghan dynasty in 1526 and most of the reign of Akbar, as frankly recounted in Abd-ul-Qadir Bada'uni's Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh (1595). It also includes chronicles of the rule of the second Mughal emperor, Humayun (1508–56), and the Tarikh-i-Akbari. The appendices contain Elliot's notes on aspects of Indian culture.

Ulfáz Udwiyeh, or the Materia Medica
  • In the Arabic, Persian, and Hindevy Languages
  • Compiled by Noureddeen Mohammed Abdullah al-Shirazi
  • Translated by Francis Gladwin
  • Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    28 March 2013
    First published in:
    1793
  • This materia medica - a book of collected knowledge about medicines and their properties - was originally written in Persian by Noureddeen Mohammed Abdullah al-Shirazi (fl.1625–40), physician to the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, to whom it was dedicated. This 1793 publication contains entries in Persian, Arabic and Hindi, with English translations by Francis Gladwin (1744–1812), an employee of the East India Company and professor of Persian at Fort William College. The work begins by giving traditional Arabic evaluations of each type of medicine in terms of its power on a scale of 1 to 4, before presenting the dictionary of over 1,400 medicines, some with notes on their properties and usage. Providing an insight into healing practices in India in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, this work remains of interest to scholars in the history of medicine.

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