Daqa'iq al-Haqa'iq | Degrees of Truth

The Daqa’iq al-Haqa’iq (aka. Degrees of Truth) manuscript, written in Persian, falls into the genre of “Dazzlement” magic. It’s filled with 51 elaborate paintings depicting jinn kings, angels, spirits of the lunar mansions, and other ethereal beings. Within the manuscript, 5 treatises encompass diverse subjects such as astrology, angelology, magic, talisman, and magic squares, possibly related to the zodiac, and prognostication. An inscribed dedication to the book’s patron, Ghiyath al-Din Kay Khusraw III, provides both the date and the origin, Aksaray. Kay Khusraw III, one of the last Rum Seljuqs, held dominion over Aksaray and Kayseri at the behest of the Mongols from 1264/65 until he was executed by them in 1284. The style of the images bears the mark of Byzantine influence, while the iconography hints at a diverse range of sources, from Greek to Indian, revealing the manuscript's rich cultural tapestry.

The manuscript was presented to Kay Khusraw as a child, presumably intended and aimed to impart knowledge about prediction and the mystical arts. The illustrated portions also primarily delve into astrology, angelology, talismans, and magic. While this particular text by al-Nasiri may be unique, significant treatises on astrology have been written in Arabic by Masha’ Allah in the late 8th and early 9th centuries, and by Abu Ma’shar in the 9th century, with Latin and Persian translations widely circulated. Despite al-Nasiri's emphasis on prognostication, his profound grasp of astronomy can be seen in his accompanying illustrations, including the depiction of the 7 planets in medieval cosmology. The section on Lunar Mansions features angels presiding over the sun's transition between zodiacs, as well as their malevolent counterparts, the jinn, which accompany the sun during other points in its celestial journey.

In each of the six intricate illustrations depicting the conjunction of the moon with various planets, extraordinary multi-armed personifications of the planets are portrayed, each holding associated attributes. This adaptation of multi-armed figures, a rarity in Islamic art, raises the intriguing question of whether the artist or al-Nasiri drew inspiration from an Indian astrological text as a potential model.

Daqa’iq al-haqa’iq is said to have been written in the late 13th century, specifically A.H. 10 Ramadan 670/A.D. April 10, 1272 - which brings to mind the significant completion date of The Book of the Law by Aleister Crowley - and documented to have originated in Seljuk Anatolia, an area rich in intriguing history. Anatolia, which is modern-day Turkey/Asia Minor, represented the westernmost extension of the Asian continent, and the Seljuk Empire, a culturally rich Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim state established around 1081-1308, which held sway over Christian Byzantine territories of Anatolia. The Seljuks played a pivotal role in transforming the region into a Muslim culture, shaping society and politics and firmly establishing Turkish culture, long before the arrival of the Ottomans in 1453. Their influence was profound in 13th century Middle East, as they controlled major trade routes, serving as the crucial link between the East and West of the medieval world.

Occult knowledge persisted in meticulously crafted manuscripts even after the waning of the Seljuk's political power in the late 12th century. Remarkably, the influence of the Seljuk sultanate on the art of bookmaking endured in Anatolia, contributing to the preservation and dissemination of esoteric wisdom.

The Seljuks of Anatolia's fascination with occult themes and its reflection in the book arts challenges the prevalent perception of the Seljuks as solely the "pious defenders of Islam" within broader belief systems. Delving into various occult sciences such as geomancy, astrology, and alchemy, the Seljuks demonstrated a unique interest. This can be observed in pertinent occult manuscripts from the era of Seljuk influence, such as the Daqa'iq al-Haqa'iq (also known as the "Fine Points of Eternal Truths"), which not only showcases an enchantment with magic and spells but also a specific emphasis on invoking spiritual entities, like angels, through ceremonial practices. The enigmatic figure known by the pen name "Nasiri" intriguingly challenged prevailing Islamic conceptions of God while advocating for devoutness and integrating Sufi terminology and motifs. Notably, the occult text incorporates a Sufi poem, discussing otherworldly entities and questioning the accepted number of divine names for God in Islam.

Within the history of Islamic art, Seljuk art from 12th-13th century Anatolia is particularly rich in both sculpture and talismans. The roles of speech and sound in the activation of Seljuk talismanic military objects - which tangentially reminds me of Crowley’s The Vision and the Voice - as part of a broader project of relating their visual forms to the 3 knowledge systems that allowed intelligent, educated people to expect them to work, reveals an intriguing intersection of symbolism and practical application, offering a tantalizing glimpse into the enigmatic world of occult practices in the ancient Islamic world.

The profusion of Seljuk sculpture is often attributed to purported shamanistic inclinations in the Seljuk’s Central Asian Turkic heritage. However, an alternative theory suggests that it stems from the interplay between Muslim and Christian communities in medieval Anatolian court culture, influenced by their shared classical astrological traditions and the central place of astrology at the Seljuk courts. This period serves as a valuable resource for understanding the visual representations of talismans in relation to the astrological beliefs underpinning their effectiveness. This can be seen notably in the Daqa’iq al-Haqa’iq (The Fine Points of Truths), where the intricate images are interpreted as reflections of the diverse culture of medieval Anatolia. The astrological theories within the manuscript correspond to the talismanic sculptures visually resembled by the images depicted there within, uniting them within the cultural backdrop of both Muslim and Christian courts of that time and reflecting the ‘Christian-Islamic artistic milieu’ of thirteenth-century Anatolia.

Images appear in the order as found in the grimoire:

(1)Two-headed turtle, which is the shape of the ginn from takvin, of the 4th mansion of the moon.

(2)Angel presiding at the 2nd mansion of the moon, having the appearance of 2 serpents, one red, the other green, facing each other and have human arms. At the bottom of the image, the ginn from takvin of the 2nd mansion of the moon, a crab which holds a crescent moon between its claws and on each side holds a frog.

(3)Angel of the 4th mansion of the moon, which is shaped like a two-headed dragon with a bird in front of him.

(4)Angel Danhis represented seated on a throne and holding in one hand a spear and in the other a fruit, with at his side the gasus and the targuman.

(5)Angel Mitatrun shown standing holding a spear in one hand and in the other a magic table.

(6)Angel Samhuras, surrounded by a crown, is mounted on a horse and is about to strike with his sword a dragon whose mouth is open.

(7)Conjunction of the Moon and Venus, in the form of a seated man, with four hands, one of which holds a Basque drum, the other a flute and the other two playing a tanbur.

(8)Conjunction of the Moon and Mercury, in the form of a man wearing a turban, seated.  With his 4 hands, holding snow, fire, a qalam (type of a reed pen) and a book.