XXXVI INTRODUCTIO. INTRODUCTIO.
1880 not only th e second p a rt of th e first volume, bu t also
th e first half-volume of th e second and th ird series, will be
published.
In a former notice I sta ted th a t we had selected for our
edition th e types employed a t Beyroot. Accordingly Mess”
Brill procured these types, apd the compositors trie d hard ,
and no t with o u t success, to ma ste r th e ir many difficulties.
However, p a rtly the troublesome correction which we foresaw,
b u t still more tb e fear le st th e types should wear very
soon, made us change our plan and determine to employ
tb e usual Leiden types, which are favourably known for
th e ir clearness and neatness, a lth o u g h th e y may be inferior
to some o th e r types in elegance.
A few weeks a fter th e publication of my second notice.
Prof. Dozy found in an old notebook of his a note th a t a
volume of T ab a ri was preserved a t Tunis. In order to a scerta
in w h e th e r th is was still tb e case, I wrote to M. P. V.
C arletti, who resided a t th a t time in Tunis, and was soon
rejoiced by th e h appy news, th a t a volume b e a rin g th e name
of T ab a ri existed in th e lib ra ry of th e g re a t mosque, th e
Jam P cz-Zeytoone. M. Carletti had th e kindness to send me
a table of th e contents of th is volume, which proved it to
co n tain th e first p a rt of th e Annals, and promised me his
assistance in g e ttin g it for our use. By his advice I ad dressed
myself to tb e General Mobammed El-Baccouche, who
re tu rn e d a most obliging an swer, and by his influence obta
in ed for us th e loan of th e manuscript, which, as will be
seen in th e now published p a rt, has been of invaluable s e rvice.
A t th e close of 1878, Prof. A h lw a rd t of Greifswald
discovered a volume of T ab a ri in tb e E o y a l L ib ra ry of
Berlin (P e te rm an n I I , 6 3 5 ), co n ta in in g th e period A. H.
66—85, and a p p a re n tly of g re a t value. From two q u a rte rs
I received notice of tb e ex isten c e in Constantinople of five
volumes of Tabari, besides those of th e Kopriilu-library. I t
has no t y e t been possible to examine them, bu t th e kindness
of His E xcellency Munif Efendi and th e in te re st which this
enlightened Minister takes in tb e publication of th e Annals,
make us hope th a t it will be possible to g e t access to them.
Dr. Spitta, Director of th e Khédivial lib ra ry in Cairo, thinks
th a t he has discovered th e tra c e of a t least one volume of
Tabari. The opening of these prospects did not ten d to accelerate
tbe p rin tin g , as tb e acquisition of new manuscripts is,
a t least for some p a rts of tb e work, of th e g re a te st importance
for tho re sto ra tio n of th e text.
I t had been resolved th a t Prof. Loth and M. Guyard
should go to Constantinople in th e e a rly spring, th e former
to collate th e manuscripts con tain in g th e life of Mohammed
and th e four »righteous” khalifes, tb e la tte r to make tbe
necessary collations for the h isto ry of tb e Abbasides. M.
Guyard, however, being obliged by indisposition to give up
this plan, M. E itte rsb au sen , of th e Dutch Embassy in Constantinople,
to whom Prof. P rym alread y owed a very accurate
collation of a portion of Tabari, kindly offered to supply
bis place ; and Prof. Loth preferred to go in th e autumn,
to which th e re was no objection. In th e mean time, the
number of collaborators un d erwen t some change. Dr. G rü n e rt
had finished his copy and ju s t made a b eg in n in g with the
preparation of tbe te x t, when indisposition caused him to
give up th e task, In his place Dr. M. Th. Houtsma, Adjutor
In te rp re tis leg a ti W a rn e ria n i a t Leiden, has been charged
with ed itin g the first p a rt of tb e Abbasides. Baron V. Eosen
of St, P e te rsb u rg has tak en upon h imself th e prep aratio n of
an o th e r p a rt of tb e th ird series. Lastly, the portion allotted
to Prof. Thorbecke being too extensive, tbe la tte r p a rt of
it has been confided to Dr. F rän k o l of Strassburg.
Though our appeal for subscriptions has n o t been invain,
we tru s t th a t th e lis t of subscribers, which we will publish
with th e second p a rt of th e first volume, will be g re a tly
augmented now th a t tho first half-volume has made its ap-
peareiice. From le tte rs of tbe late Prof. Blocbmann to myself.