8vo. Italian text, 6751 pp., including 150 pp., of index in Volume XI, [2 errata], contemporary half-calf with marbled boards, lightly rubbed round corners, title gilt label on spine, half-titles, speckled edges, occasional spotting, otherwise set in very good condition, Tipografia di Felice Rusconi, Milan, first edition, 1822-26.

Synopsis

Giovanni Rampoldi was an Italian scholar and historian of the Muslim world. He is also the author of a biography of Prophet Muhammad which was published in Milan in 1823.
Rampoldi is known to have made several trips between 1780 and 1790 to North Africa, Turkey, Syria and Egypt. This work is of an essentially composite form, which in its contents, depends to a considerable extent on the works of European scholars, in particular the articles contained in the Oriental Bibliothèque, a work by Barthélemy d’Herbelot de Molainville compiled in the form of a dictionary which gave him the opportunity to learn Arabic. Important work on the history of Islamic civilisation, from Muhammad’s early life till the destruction of the Roman Empire and the conquest of Constantinople.
Contents of the set are as follows: Volume I: 578-632; Volume II: 632-661; Volume III: 661-750; Volume IV: 750-870; Volume V: 870-974; Volume VI: 974-1099; Volume VII: 1099-1187; Volume VIII: 1187-1258; Volume IX: 1258-1340; Volume X: 1340-1402; Volume XI: 1403-1453; Volume XII: Concordance.
Bibliographic reference: Ibrahim Hilmy, II, 150.