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FROM THE SULTAN TO THE COMMONER: THE CIRCLE OF INFORMANTS ABURAYKHON BERUNI'S "MINERALOGY"

Avtors

Boboev Y.A.

Abstract

The article collects information from informants involved in Aburaykhon Beruni's "Mineralogy." It emphasizes that, aside from isolated mentions, this topic has remained largely unnoticed by researchers. The purpose of this work is to analyze and identify the significance of informants' information on precious stones and minerals, metals, and their alloys in the writing of "Mineralogy." It is noted that the range of informants in "Mineralogy" is extremely broad and includes the sultan, nobles, ambassadors, scholars, people associated with gem processing, jewelers, lapidaries, miners, merchants, travelers, and sailors. The reports of all these categories of informants are presented and examined, and the main issues related to their information are identified. Particular attention is paid to the extensive and diverse information provided by Biruni's main informants, the brothers Hasan and Husayn, jewelers from the city of Rayy. Biruni's particular attitude toward dubious accounts is noted, and methods for verifying their veracity are described.

Keywords

Aburaykhon Beruni; "Mineralogy"; minerals; precious stones; metals and alloy materials; informants; brothers Hasan and Hussein from Rey;sultan; jewelers; graver

References

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