History of the Turkish-Mongolian Peoples. ABU... Lot 148

History of the Turkish-Mongolian Peoples. ABU AL-GAZI BAHADOUR. Histoire généalogique des Tatars. 12mo. 157x100 mm. Contemporary blond calf binding, ribbed spine with gilt title, finely cloisonné and fleuronné sections, red edges. Pages [16], 814, [10], titlepage printed in red, 2 folded maps engraved in copper outside the text. Good condition. First French edition. Important work, the first reliable source on the Mongol dominations of Central Asia. Written by Abulghazi Bahadur, 1603-1663, Khan of Khiva from 1643 to his death, it consists of a history of the Turkish-Mongolian peoples, based on eighteen historical sources which the author enriched with oral testimonies collected during his stay in Persia , where he received a princely education. The original Tatar text was not published until 1825. The translator and editor was, according to Quérard and Barbier, the Dutchman Bentinck, one of the officers taken prisoner in the Battle of Poltava, in 1709.Quérard: "Il l'a faite avec l'approbation et sous la direction du baron Strahlenberg, qui avait apporté le manuscrit de la Sibérie. Les notes de Bentinck furent recueillies à part et forment la description de la Tartarie dans le Recueil des voyages au Nord et dans l'Histoire générale des voyages."