Центральная Азия глазами одного французского эрудита XVIIго века (отрывки). [Бартелеми д’Эрбело де Моленвиля] по французского Алие Акимовой (review)

607 Ab Imperio, 3/2004 scholarship on the Orient. This work is considered important for offering a unique and rare perspective for studying Eastern authors, for which it has won the admiration of many scholars. The original work appeared at a time when Europe itself was about to undergo core changes, and thus helped cast a look at Europe through the eyes of a learned scholar. It appeared at a time when some Western states were planning to send archaeological expeditions to the East. Barthelemy D’ Herbelot de Molainville (1625-1695) was a French Oriental scholar who, after graduating from Paris University, devoted himself to the study of oriental languages . He visited Italy to converse with the oriental visitors who frequented its seaports. In 1661, he was appointed secretary and interpreter of Eastern languages to the court. A few years later he again visited Italy, when the Grand Duke Ferdinand II of Tuscany presented him with a large number of valuable Oriental manuscripts and offered him a place at his court. Herbelot, however, was recalled to France, where, in 1692, he succeeded D’Auvergne at the College de France. He died in Paris on December 8, 1695. His great work, the Oriental Library, which occupied him nearly all his life, was completed in 1697 by A. Galland. It contains citations from a number of Oriental manuscripts, in particular Najam ABBAS Центральная Азия глазами од- ного французского эрудита XVII- го века (отрывки). [Бартелеми д’Эрбело де Моленвиля] / Пер. с французского Алие Акимовой. Ташкент: Французский институт исследований Центральной Азии, 2003. 111 с. The title under review is a brief collection of abstracts selected and translated into Russian from a comprehensive French work first published in 1697 as “Bibilotheque Orientale” [Oriental Library], offering insight into what 17th -century curiosity and intellectual pursuits attempted to explore. It reminds us of the academic climate in Europe at the time, when an urge to learn more about the Orient was gaining strength and was accompanied by efforts to acquire essential skills for improved understanding and contact. In 1692, the author was named the Royal Teacher of Oriental Languages by College de Royal de France. In the 18th century, the Oriental Library was named as the most comprehensive work to offer detailed and rich knowledge about the East. The introduction to the present title, by Henry Laurens, helps the reader appreciate Herbelot de Molainville ’s contribution and ascertain its status in the history of European 608 Рецензии/Reviews 1 Jan Rypka. History of Iranian Literature. Dordrecht, Holland, 1968. Pp. 440-444. the immense Arabic Dictionary of Hadji Khalfah. The Oriental Library is described by the author as “a compendium on everything required to know about the people of the Orient; their history , their legends and traditions; their religions and sects; politics and governments; arts and sciences and theology; morals and etiquettes; wars and revolutions; myths and magic; ethics, medicine, mathematics , natural history, physics, chronology, geography, astronomical observations, grammar and rhetoric, life and contribution of their holy men, scholars, philosophers, historians , and poets” (p. 11). The original French work was reprinted in Maastricht (1776) and the Hague (4 vols., 1777-1799). The latter edition is enriched with the contributions of the Dutch orientalist Johann Jakob Reiske Schultens (1716-1774); a supplement was provided by Visdelow and Galland. Herbelot’s other works, none of which have been published, comprise Oriental Anthology and Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Latin Dictionary. The present volume highlights some important names related to the Oriental Library in addition to Herbelot de Molainville, the major contributor, and Galland, who supported the project’s completion and publication, as well as subsequent reprints. The names of Oriental scholars frequently quoted there are also worth mentioning. It has benefited immensely from the Arabic Dictionary of Hadji Khalfah of Istanbul, and some of its portions were abridged in the translation. The Oriental Library also contains the substance of a vast number of other Persian compilations and manuscripts belonging to Mohammed bin Khawandshah bin Mahmud, commonly called Mirkhwand, more familiar to Europeans under the name of Mirkhond (1433-1498), and his grandson Khondamir, a Persian author , whose full name was Ghiyasud din Muhammad bin Humamud din. A few words on the sources (and their compilers) cited by Herbelot de Molainville. Extensive world histories were written during the reign of Tamerlane’s successors. A new epoch of Persian historical writing...