PROBABLY IRAQ, SECOND HALF 12TH/FIRST HALF 13TH CENTURY

Dating to the second half of the 12th century or the first half of the 13th century, the present copy is one of the earliest recorded copies of this text. As Zamakhshari died in 1143 AD, this manuscript was written shortly after the author's death, possibly just a few years later. There are 25 copies of this work in the British Library dated from the 12th to the 18th century. The earliest dated copy is A.H. 676 / 1277 (OR 8247), see C. Baker (ed.), Subject Guide to the Arabic Manuscripts in the British Library, London, 2001, A.3, pp. 21-22. There are ten copies of the work in the Chester Beatty Library the earliest of which is dated 5 Shawwal AH 617/3 December 1220 AD, see A. Arberry, A Handlist of the Arabic Manuscripts, Dublin, 1962, volume V, p. 94, 4298. There is one copy of the work dated AH 749 / 1348 AD in the John Rylands Library, see A. Mingana, Catalogue of the Arabic Manuscripts, Manchester, 1934, p. 52, no. 56. See Brockelmann, G I, 289, S I, 54, 160, 172, 507.