The Dream Book of the Byzantine Emperors III: Jewels, Beasts and Birds

About this book

What does it mean to dream of a pearl necklace, a lion, an eagle on your roof or a peacock? The Byzantine court had an answer for each. This is the third and last of three books that together translate, in full, the Dream Book of Achmet, son of Sereim, composed around the tenth century and printed in Greek in Paris in 1603. It is Achmet’s treasure chest and menagerie in one.

Almost every animal in a dream is a person: the lion is the king, the leopard and the bear an enemy, the hyena an evil woman, the cat a thief. If a king tames a lion, he will bring another kingdom into bondage. If a king hunts with a tamed eagle, he will have a son who will rule after him in mighty strength. The peacock promises famous wealth and a beautiful wife. Pearls are wisdom and joy, the diadem is the kingdom itself, and if a king sees that he has received a second, newly wrought diadem, he will find a child and heir who will reign with him. Three “teachings”, Indian, Persian and Egyptian, are set side by side.

Book III covers chapters 230 to 304: clothing, horses, mules, camels and oxen, foods, then treasures (cinnamon, diadems, pearls, rings, thrones and coins), beasts, birds and insects, and at the end the opening of veins, the beard and Achmet’s own words on how to interpret dreams. There are odd stories too: a king’s or commander’s game of chess in a dream is read as a plan of battle.

Translated into modern English by BlusaBooks, directly from the Greek text of the Paris edition of 1603 (N. Rigault; Duke University copy, archive.org); the Latin translation printed beside it served as an aid, and the text is in the public domain. The translation is complete, without abridgement, and the beliefs of the period are kept as written; our explanations stand only in the notes at the foot of the page. No images of the printed edition are reproduced.

What is inside

• 75 chapters, complete: clothing, horses, treasures, pearls, rings, coins, lions, elephants, eagles, peacocks, snakes and insects.
• The same dream read three ways: Indian, Persian and Egyptian teachings.
• A foreword on the book, its interpreters and how to read it.
• Notes on strange words, places and customs, at the foot of the page.
• A commentary in plain words: what the dreams promised, by wish (power, wealth, a son, a beautiful wife).
• PDF, A5 page size (148 × 210 mm), 81 pages, readable on phone, tablet and computer.

Who it is for

Readers of dream dictionaries and old dream books, of Byzantine and medieval history, of gem and animal symbolism, of occult and esoteric texts, and anyone who wants to know what people of the Byzantine court believed a lion, a pearl or an eagle in a dream foretold.

A historical source: the book gives a Byzantine text and what historians know about it. It shares old knowledge and promises no results. What it says about illness is a medieval belief, not medical advice, and the dream meanings are those of the Byzantine court. Digital PDF, delivered for download after payment.