Necronomicon

Necronomicon

Many readers persist in searching for the "Abhorrent Necronomicon" in bookstores, a tome considered arcane and evil that details the attributes and stories of "the Great Old Ones." These beings, of immense power, inhabited the Earth before humanity and are biding their time to claim what they consider theirs.

However, the Necronomicon is actually a work of fiction, conceived by the prolific imagination of American writer, journalist, and astronomer Howard Phillips Lovecraft. Therefore, the available copies, even in digital format, lack authenticity.

Below is an excerpt from the story of this fictional, yet notoriously famous, book:

A History of the Necronomicon (1936)
H.P. Lovecraft

This section offers a concise but comprehensive summary of the history of this volume, its author, and various translations and editions, from its writing in 730 to the present.

A limited commemorative edition is included, edited by Wilson H. Shepherd and published by The Rebel Press in Oakman, Alabama.

Originally, the title of the work was Al-Azif, an Arabic term for the nocturnal noise (produced by insects) associated with the murmuring of demons. It was written by Abdul al Hazred, a poet afflicted by madness who fled from Sanaa to Yemen, during the time of the Umayyad caliphs, around the year 700. Al Hazred visited the ruins of Babylon and the secret catacombs of Memphis, and dedicated a decade to solitude in the vast desert that stretches south of Arabia, known as Roba el-Khaliyeh or "The Empty Quarter" by the ancients, and Dahna or "The Scarlet Desert" by modern Arabs. This desert is believed to be inhabited by malevolent spirits and shadowy monstrosities. Those who claim to have explored its confines recount strange and supernatural experiences. In his later years, Alhazred resided in Damascus, where he composed the Necronomicon (Al-Azif). Terrible and contradictory rumors circulate about his death or disappearance in the year 738. His 12th-century biographer, Ibn-Khallikan, relates that he was killed by an invisible entity in broad daylight and devoured horribly in the presence of numerous terrified witnesses. Furthermore, various anecdotes about his state of madness are told. He claimed to have contemplated the famed Irem, the City of Pillars, and to have discovered, beneath the ruins of an unlocatable city in the desert, the secret annals of a civilization prior to humanity. He did not profess the Muslim faith, but rather worshipped unknown entities he called Yog-Sothoth and Cthulhu.

In the year 950, the Azif, which had circulated clandestinely among the philosophers of the time, was secretly translated into Greek by Theodorus Philetas of Constantinople, under the title Necronomicon. For a century, and due to its influence, horrible events were recorded, leading to the book being proscribed and burned by Patriarch Michael. Since then, only vague references to the work remain. However, in the year 1228, Olaus Wormius found a Latin translation that was printed on two occasions: one in the 15th century, with Gothic typography (presumably in Germany), and another in the 17th century (probably in Spain). Neither of these editions includes clarifications, so their date and place of printing are inferred from their typography. The work, both in its Greek and Latin versions, was banned by Pope Gregory IX in the year 1232, shortly after its Latin translation attracted considerable attention. The original Arabic edition was lost around Wormius's time, as mentioned in the preface (there are imprecise allusions to the existence of a secret copy found in San Francisco at the beginning of the century, which disappeared in the great fire). There are no traces of the Greek version, printed in Italy between 1500 and 1550, after the fire that occurred in the library of a Salem character in 1692. Likewise, there was a translation by Dr. Dee, never printed, based on the original manuscript. The existing Latin texts are: one (from the 15th century) kept in the British Museum, and the other (from the 15th century) in the National Library of Paris. A 17th-century edition is in Harvard's Widener Library and another in the library of Miskatonic University, in Arkham; while an additional copy is found in the library of the University of Buenos Aires. It is likely that more secret copies existed, and it was persistently rumored that a 15th-century copy ended up in the collection of a famous American millionaire. Another rumor suggests that a copy of the 16th-century Greek text is owned by the Pickman family of Salem; however, it is almost certain that this copy disappeared at the same time as the artist R.U. Pickman, in 1926. The work is severely prohibited by the authorities and by all legal English organizations. Its reading can lead to dire consequences. It is speculated that R.W. Chambers based his work The King in Yellow on this book.

CHRONOLOGY

1. Al-Azif is written in Damascus in 730 by Abdul Al-Hazred.
2. Translation into Greek with the title of Necronomicon, by Theodorus Philetas, in 950.
3. Patriarch Michael prohibits it in 1050 (the Greek text). The Arabic has been lost.
4. In 1228, Olaus translates the Greek text into Latin.
5. The Latin and Greek editions are destroyed by Gregory IX in 1232.
6. In 14... (?) an edition in Gothic letters appears in Germany.
7. In 15... (?) the Greek text is printed in Italy.
8. In 16... (?) the Spanish translation of the Latin text appears.

Source: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necronomic%C3%B3n (Sorry for taking information from there)

PS: the name of the supposed author of the Necronomicon (the "mad Arab") Abdul Al Hazred, was actually Lovecraft's youthful pseudonym, the one with which he wrote his first journalistic articles.