The Abolished Sultanate and its Royal Library: Arabic Qur’an Commentaries from Eighteenth-Century Banten
This article examines a number of Islamic manuscripts from the Banten royal library. Following the abolition of the Banten Sultanate and the forced abandonment of Surosowan Palace in the early nineteenth century, the Dutch colonial government appropriated the sultan’s goods and chattels, which inclu...
Tallennettuna:
| Julkaisussa: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/archipel, |
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| Päätekijä: | |
| Aineistotyyppi: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Kieli: | Anglais |
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Archipel
2025
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| Aiheet: | |
| Linkit: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:archipel_9536 |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:archipel_9536 https://doi.org/10.4000/15d9o urn:doi:10.4000/15d9o en https://journals.openedition.org/archipel/9536 2025-12-17T01:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/15d9o https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/ The Abolished Sultanate and its Royal Library: Arabic Qur’an Commentaries from Eighteenth-Century Banten Archipel Association Archipel info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2104-3655 info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/0044-8613 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/archipel Nurtawab, Ervan Banten Commentaire arabe du Coran ʿArāʾis al-bayān Bataviaasch Genootschap Najm al-Dīn al-Kubrā Pakih Najimuddin Bibliothèque royale Ruzbihān al-Baqlī Commentaire soufi Tafsīr al-Asrār Tafsīr al-Jalālayn Banten Arabic Qurʾan commentary ʿArāʾis al-bayān Bataviaasch Genootschap Najm al-Dīn al-Kubrā Pakih Najimuddin Royal Library Ruzbihān al-Baqlī Sufi commentary Tafsīr al-Asrār Tafsīr al-Jalālayn This article examines a number of Islamic manuscripts from the Banten royal library. Following the abolition of the Banten Sultanate and the forced abandonment of Surosowan Palace in the early nineteenth century, the Dutch colonial government appropriated the sultan’s goods and chattels, which included a collection of Islamic manuscripts. These were transferred to Batavia, where they were housed in the Koninklijk Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen. My focus is on a number of Arabic Qurʾan commentaries that formed part of this collection. In this article, I argue that the manuscripts that were held in the Banten royal library demonstrate the existence of a highly sophisticated level of exegetical scholarship at the court. Moreover, the collection notably includes two manuscripts of the ʿArāʾis al-bayān, the Sufi Qurʾan commentary of the famous Persian Islamic scholar and mystic, Ruzbihān al-Baqlī (d. 1209). These are of differing dates but are clearly directly related. The inclusion of this work in the royal library is clear proof that the Islamic scholars of the Banten Sultanate were familiar with Sufi tafsīr, in addition to works that constituted a more mainstream Qurʾanic exegetical discourse in the pre-modern Southeast Asian context. Furthermore, the inclusion of a later copy of al-Baqlī’s commentary indicates that this work was in continual use in Southeast Asia since the sixteenth century until the fall of the sultanate. Cet article examine plusieurs manuscrits islamiques provenant de la bibliothèque royale de Banten. Suite à l’abolition du sultanat de Banten et à l’abandon forcé du palais de Surosowan au début du XIXe siècle, le gouvernement colonial néerlandais s’appropria les biens du sultan, parmi lesquels figurait une collection de manuscrits islamiques. Ces derniers furent transférés à Batavia, où ils furent conservés à la Koninklijk Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen. Mon analyse porte sur plusieurs commentaires coraniques en arabe qui faisaient partie de cette collection. J’y soutiens que les manuscrits conservés à la bibliothèque royale de Banten témoignent d’un niveau d’exégèse très élevé à la cour. De plus, la collection comprend notamment deux manuscrits de l’ʿArāʾis al-bayān, le commentaire soufi du Coran du célèbre érudit et mystique islamique persan Ruzbihān al-Baqlī (mort en 1209). Ces manuscrits, bien que datant de différentes époques, sont manifestement liés. La présence de cet ouvrage dans la bibliothèque royale atteste que les érudits musulmans du sultanat de Banten connaissaient le tafsīr soufi, en plus des ouvrages relevant d’un discours exégétique coranique plus traditionnel dans le contexte prémoderne de l’Asie du Sud-Est. Par ailleurs, la présence d’une copie plus tardive du commentaire d’al-Baqlī indique que cet ouvrage a été utilisé de manière continue en Asie du Sud-Est du XVIe siècle jusqu’à la chute du sultanat. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
Banten Commentaire arabe du Coran ʿArāʾis al-bayān Bataviaasch Genootschap Najm al-Dīn al-Kubrā Pakih Najimuddin Bibliothèque royale Ruzbihān al-Baqlī Commentaire soufi Tafsīr al-Asrār Tafsīr al-Jalālayn Banten Arabic Qurʾan commentary ʿArāʾis al-bayān Bataviaasch Genootschap Najm al-Dīn al-Kubrā Pakih Najimuddin Royal Library Ruzbihān al-Baqlī Sufi commentary Tafsīr al-Asrār Tafsīr al-Jalālayn |
| spellingShingle |
Banten Commentaire arabe du Coran ʿArāʾis al-bayān Bataviaasch Genootschap Najm al-Dīn al-Kubrā Pakih Najimuddin Bibliothèque royale Ruzbihān al-Baqlī Commentaire soufi Tafsīr al-Asrār Tafsīr al-Jalālayn Banten Arabic Qurʾan commentary ʿArāʾis al-bayān Bataviaasch Genootschap Najm al-Dīn al-Kubrā Pakih Najimuddin Royal Library Ruzbihān al-Baqlī Sufi commentary Tafsīr al-Asrār Tafsīr al-Jalālayn Nurtawab, Ervan The Abolished Sultanate and its Royal Library: Arabic Qur’an Commentaries from Eighteenth-Century Banten |
| description |
This article examines a number of Islamic manuscripts from the Banten royal library. Following the abolition of the Banten Sultanate and the forced abandonment of Surosowan Palace in the early nineteenth century, the Dutch colonial government appropriated the sultan’s goods and chattels, which included a collection of Islamic manuscripts. These were transferred to Batavia, where they were housed in the Koninklijk Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen. My focus is on a number of Arabic Qurʾan commentaries that formed part of this collection. In this article, I argue that the manuscripts that were held in the Banten royal library demonstrate the existence of a highly sophisticated level of exegetical scholarship at the court. Moreover, the collection notably includes two manuscripts of the ʿArāʾis al-bayān, the Sufi Qurʾan commentary of the famous Persian Islamic scholar and mystic, Ruzbihān al-Baqlī (d. 1209). These are of differing dates but are clearly directly related. The inclusion of this work in the royal library is clear proof that the Islamic scholars of the Banten Sultanate were familiar with Sufi tafsīr, in addition to works that constituted a more mainstream Qurʾanic exegetical discourse in the pre-modern Southeast Asian context. Furthermore, the inclusion of a later copy of al-Baqlī’s commentary indicates that this work was in continual use in Southeast Asia since the sixteenth century until the fall of the sultanate. |
| author |
Nurtawab, Ervan |
| author_facet |
Nurtawab, Ervan |
| author_sort |
Nurtawab, Ervan |
| title |
The Abolished Sultanate and its Royal Library: Arabic Qur’an Commentaries from Eighteenth-Century Banten |
| title_short |
The Abolished Sultanate and its Royal Library: Arabic Qur’an Commentaries from Eighteenth-Century Banten |
| title_full |
The Abolished Sultanate and its Royal Library: Arabic Qur’an Commentaries from Eighteenth-Century Banten |
| title_fullStr |
The Abolished Sultanate and its Royal Library: Arabic Qur’an Commentaries from Eighteenth-Century Banten |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The Abolished Sultanate and its Royal Library: Arabic Qur’an Commentaries from Eighteenth-Century Banten |
| title_sort |
abolished sultanate and its royal library: arabic qur’an commentaries from eighteenth-century banten |
| publisher |
Archipel |
| publishDate |
2025 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/archipel |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/15d9o https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/archipel/9536 |
| _version_ |
1877291841395621888 |