The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries (Arabic: کتاب الآثار الباقية عن القرون الخالية ) Kitāb al-āthār al-bāqiyah `an al-qurūn al-khāliyah, also known as Chronology of Ancient Nations or Vestiges of the Past, after the translation published by Eduard Sachau in 1879) by Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī is a comparative study of the calendrical timekeeping of different cultures and civilizations, supported by mathematical, astronomical, and historical research.

The text establishes a universal timeline and charts significant historical events, relating the customs and religions of different peoples in time.

The Edinburgh, University Library copy is an Ilkhanid codex created by Ibn al-Kutbi in AH 707 (AD 1307–1308) in northwestern Iran or northern Iraq.

[8] The choice and placement of illustrations throughout the text form a larger cycle which emphasizes the interest of the Ilkhanids in religions other than the predominant Islam.

Similarly located in the manuscript is the account of the birth of Julius Caesar illustrated with a realistic rendition of a cesarean section, the death of Eli and the reactions of those of the Jewish faith, and an Arab congregation witnessing the Prophet Muhammad's spoken word.

[6] The framing of the text by the illustrations, lends a political urgency to the cultures of foreign peoples, while still retaining a strong Iranian national sentiment.

[10] The illustrations in The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries additionally exemplify relative cultural nuance due to Al-Biruni's extensive ethnographic research.

These illuminations illustrate two episodes in the life of Muhammad, both centrally involving `Ali, Hasan, and Husayn: The Day of Cursing (fol.

One particular illumination depicting Abraham destroying the idols of the Sabians has sparked significant discourse over iconoclasm in the context of Islamic figural representations.

[13]The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries presents a chronological account of historical events, focusing on the rise and fall of civilizations, dynasties, and empires.

In The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries, he gives an overview of the most significant scientific theories, astronomical observations, and mathematical concepts of his time.