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Selections of Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Calligraphy
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Persian Royal Order granted to James L. Merrick
AUTHOR/CREATOR
Calligrapher: unknown
CREATED/PUBLISHED
1255/1839
NOTES
Dimensions of Written Surface: 18 (w) x 25 (h) cm
Script: nasta'liq
This Persian royal decree grants the Reverend James Lyman Merrick the right to establish a school in the city of Tabriz in northwestern Persia (Iran). The decree was issued by prince (shahzadah) Malik Qasim Mirza (d. 1859), one of the members of the royal Qajar family and the governor-general of Urumiya and Azarbaijan from 1829-1849.
The firman includes a note in English in the upper left corner, which reads as follows: "A Firman or Order, of Muhammad Shah, the present King of Persia, authorizing Rev. J.L. Merrick to open a school in Tabriz in 18(3)9." At the top center appears the royal seal of Muhammad Shah (r. 1834-1848), topped by an invocation to God in red ink. Below the seal impression, a bismillah in red ink initiates the main text of the decree, which gives the Rev. Mr. Merrick permission to open a school to teach children and youngsters (ta'lim-i aftal wa javanan) various sciences ('ulum) such as geography and accounting ('ilm-i hisab). The last line of the decree states it was written (tahrir) on 21 Rabi' I, 1255 or 5 June, 1839.
James Lyman Merrick (d. 1866) was an American Presbyterian missionary in Iran from 1834 to 1845. He studied at the Princeton and Columbia theological seminaries. In 1834 he was ordained as a Presbyterian evangelist at Charleston and was immediately sent on a mission to Iran. He stayed in the cities of Tabriz, Shiraz and Urumiya until 1845. Upon his return to the United States he was in charge of a Congregationalist church in South Amherst (1849-1864) and taught "oriental" literature at Amherst College (1852-1857). He wrote a number of books on Islam and the Prophet Muhammad, which were translated into Persian at the end of the 19th century.
In the 34th volume of the Missionary Herald, a journal dedicated to American foreign mission, James Merrick made a note of the opening of his school (p. 236). He states that Prince Malik Qasim Mirza wanted him to spend the winter with him as his tutor. However, he was uncertain whether he would stay in Iran as the school was not in a "flourishing condition." He does not elaborate any further on the subject. This note and the firman provide valuable evidence of some of the earliest American missionary efforts in Iran around the middle of the 19th century, which included attempts at establishing schools for young students and even tutoring members of the royal family.
For a further discussion of James L. Merrick and early American missionaries in the Middle East see: Timothy Marr, "Drying Up the Euphrates: Muslims, Millennialism, and the Early American Missionary Enterprise", in The United States & the Middle East: Cultural Encounters, eds. Abbas Amanat and Magnus T. Bernhardsson (New Haven: Yale Center for International and Area Studies, 2002, pp. 130-149.
SUBJECT
Islamic manuscripts
Arabic calligraphy
Arabic script calligraphy
Illuminated Islamic manuscripts
Islamic calligraphy
Nasta'liq
MEDIUM
32.3 (w) x 41.4 (h) cm
CALL NUMBER
Qajar Firman
REPOSITORY
Library of Congress, African and Middle Eastern Division, Washington, D.C. 20540
DIGITAL ID
ascs 258
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.amed/ascs.258
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