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First edition of a celebrated work on Persia in a splendid binding

HYDE, Thomas.
Historia religionis veterum Persarum, eorumque magorum ubi etiam nova Abrahami, & Mithrae, & vestae, & Manetis, &c. Historia, atque Angelorum officia & praefecturae ex veterum parsarum sententia...Zoroastris vita, ejusque et aliorum vaticinia de Messiah Persarum aliorumque monumentis eruuntur...atque magorum liber Sad-der, (Zoroastris praecepta seu religionis canones continens,) e Persico traductus exhibetur...Dantur veterum Persarum scripturae & linguae... specimina...

18 engraved plates, of which 1 double page and 3 folding.

18 engraved plates, of which 1 double page and 3 folding.

18 engraved plates, of which 1 double page and 3 folding.

18 engraved plates, of which 1 double page and 3 folding.

18 engraved plates, of which 1 double page and 3 folding.



Oxford, E theatro Sheldoniano, 1700. 4to. Late 18th-century blue morocco, spine ribbed in 6 compartments, of which 2 with title lettered in gold, on both covers a border of beautifully crafted flowers within double-lined borders, with shell-shaped ornament in every corner, gilt inner dentelles, g.e. (BOZERIAN). 18 engraved plates, of which 1 double page and 3 folding. (30), 556 pp.

First edition of a history of ancient Persian religion, the life-work of the English orientalist Thomas Hyde (1636-1703). Besides the extensive treatise on religion, the work is augmented with the life of Zoroaster or Zarathustra and with a study on the Persian language compared to other Asian languages. The life of Zoroaster formed the basis for Voltaire"s article 'Zoroastre' in the Dictionnaire Philosophique (1764). Hyde presents an ingenious combination of all the relevant source materials available at the end of the 17th century. According to Hyde, originally the religion of ancient Persia was 'orthodox.' However, it had fallen into decay and was subsequently reformed by Abraham. Afterwards, it degenerated again, and Zoroaster took upon himself the task of again reforming it. Zoroaster was just the right person to achieve that aim, because in his youth he had been the servant of a Jewish prophet, and he was responsible for transferring the knowledge that he had gained in this way to Persia and the Persians. According to Hyde, Zoroaster had acquired so deep an insight into the mysteries of revelation that he was able to make a valid prediction of the birth of the Messiah.
With this work Hyde was the first to make an attempt to correct from Oriental sources the errors of the Greek and Roman historians who had described the religion of the ancient Persians. However, a lot of his descriptions and assumptions are based on nothing more than imagination, because at that time the great archeological and historical discoveries had yet to take place. But nevertheless this was a most important and celebrated work and the first attempt to treat the subject in a scholarly fashion.
The work is illustrated with wonderful engravings, showing examples of Persian antiquities like religious iconography, rites and sacrifices, mythological figures, inscriptions and oriental and Chinese alphabets.
Hyde was professor of Hebrew and Arabic at Oxford, and for a long period, during the reigns of Charles II, James II, and William III, held the post of interpreter and secretary in oriental languages to the government. Besides his great knowledge of many Asian languages which made him a famous and great orientalist, Hyde was also one of the leading bibliographers and librarians of his time. From 1659 he was the second and later chief curator of the Bodleian Library. Hyde published its catalogue in 1674.

Beautiful copy in splendid binding.
Coll. Diba, p. 84; William D. Macray, Annals of the Bodleian Library, (1868) pp. 121-2; Stausberg, 1998a, pp. 680-712, 2001b; NUC lists 2 copies.

Related Subjects: Asia  Bindings  Cartography  History  Middle East  Religion 

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