English Translation of al-Jahshiyari’s Kitab al-Wuzaraʾ wa al-Kuttab: 1

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad b. ʿAbdūs al-Jahshiyārī said in the book in compiled on The Accounts of Viziers and Scribes:  

It has been narrated that Kaʿb al-Aḥbār said:

The first to devise the Syriac script—and all other scripts—was Ādam (pbuh), three hundred years before his death. He inscribed them onto clay and then baked it. When the great flood that had afflicted the earth came to an end, every people found their script and wrote in it. Thus, Ismāʿīl (Ishmael) found the book of the Arabs.

And it is also narrated: Idrīs (Enoch) was the first to write with a pen after Ādam.

Devising the Arabic Script

And it has also been narrated: The first to devise Arabic script was Ismāʿīl b. Ibrāhīm. He was also the first to speak Arabic, and he composed the script based on his pronunciation and speech.

In another report it is said: The first to write in Arabic were three men from the tribe of Bawlān. One was named Marāmir b. Murrah, the second Aslam b. Sidrah, and the third ʿĀmir b. Jadrah.

It has also been stated [by some]: The first of the Arabs to write in Arabic script was Ḥarb b. Umayyah b. ʿAbd Shams.

The Classification of Social Classes and Scribes.

The first to categorize (rattaba) people into classes, compile the ranks of scribes, and define their statuses was Jamshīd b. Unjahān.

The Compilation of State Registers (tadwīn al-dawāwīn)

And it was Luhrāsb b. Fanūkhā b. Kīmanish who was the first to organize administrative registers (dawwana al-dawāwīn), oversee (ḥaḍḍara) official functions and accounts, select military forces, exert himself in cultivating the lands and collecting revenues for the army’s provisions, and who founded the city of Balkh.

The Letters Of The Sasanian Kings (Akāsirah) To Their Governors

ʿAbd al-Wāḥid b. Muḥammad informed me that he heard Muḥammad b. Wāḍiḥ say:

I saw in Iṣbahān ancient documents of the Sasanian kings addressed to their officials, concerning taxation (kharāj) and land development (ᶜammārah). The openings of these documents, if addressed to a group, would begin: Long may you live (khullidtum)", and if to an individual: " Long may you live (khullidta)", followed by whatever they wished to convey.

What Was Written On The Seals Of The Sasanian Kings

The Sasanians had four official seals (khawātīm): the seal of war and police bore the inscription “al-Inārah” (illumination); the seal of taxation and development bore “al-Taʾyīd” (support); the seal of the postal service bore “al-Waḥāʾ”(haste); and the seal of grievances bore “al-ʿAdl” (justice).

The Registers of the Persians

The kings of Persia maintained two principal registers: one for revenue (dīwān al-kharāj) and one for expenditures (dīwān al-nafaqāt). Everything that came in was recorded in the revenue register, and all expenditures—whether military or otherwise—were recorded (fa fī) in the expenditures register.

Distinguishing Social Classes By Their Attire

It was also customary for the Persian kings that every class of people in their service wore distinct attire (libsah) not shared by anyone outside that class. Thus, when a man appeared before the king, his occupation and social rank would be recognized immediately by his dress.

So the scribes, while in settled lands, wore their customary garb, but if the king went on campaign, they dressed in the attire (bi zayy) of warriors.

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