Research Guides: Islamic Manuscript Studies : Manuscript Collection Research Guides

Collection provided research guides

Only a small selection of collection-related guides provided by curators in the institutions where they are preserved.

United Kingdom

British Library Collection Guides | Qur'ans
"Copies of the Qur’an from many different geographical regions and periods"
British Library Collection Guides | Arabic Manuscripts
"Our Arabic manuscripts date from the early eighth to the nineteenth century AD"
British Library Collection Guides | Persian manuscripts
"Our Persian manuscripts originate from all over the Persian speaking world"
British Library Collection Guides | South Asian Islamic Collection
"Manuscripts and printed books in Perso-Arabic script"
Accessing West African Manuscripts in the British Library (Marion Wallace)
"Most of the manuscripts have been digitised, and are freely available online via the British Library’s website. This digitised material, summarised below, consists of thirteen items: five bound composite volumes of manuscripts, five Qur’ans and three other works. Catalogue records for these works can be found in Explore Archives and Manuscripts."
Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford | Finding Aids - Oriental Manuscripts & Rare Books: Middle East
"A guide to the finding aids available for Oriental manuscripts in the Bodleian Library"
Cambridge University Library, Near and Middle Eastern Department | Manuscript Collections & Catalogues
"The Near and Middle Eastern manuscripts collection covers a wide range of texts in Arabic (over 2500 codices), Hebrew (over 1000), Persian (over 1200), Syriac (around 300) and Turkish (around 450). There are also smaller collections in Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Malay, Urdu and languages of Ancient Egypt."
The John Rylands Library, University of Manchester | Arabic Manuscripts
"There are nearly 900 codices, of which the bulk were acquired in 1901 with the purchase of the Crawford collection."

Europe

Gazi Husrev-Begova Biblioteka (Sarajevo, Bosnia) | Fond rukopisa
See also Izdanja >> Katalozi rukopisa
The Royal Danish Library (Copenhagen, Denmark) | Manuscripts in the Oriental Collection
Bibliothèque nationale de France = BnF (Paris, France) | Les manuscrits Orientaux
Sächsische Landesbibliothek — Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden = SLUB (Dresden, Germany) | Oriental Manuscripts
Universitätsbibliothek Tübingen (Tübingen, Germany) | Orientalische Handschriften
Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Budapest, Hungary) | Oriental Collection
Universiteit Leiden (Leiden, The Netherlands) | Islamic World Special Collections
Universiteit Leiden (Leiden, The Netherlands) | Middle Eastern Special Collections
Universiteit Leiden (Leiden, The Netherlands) | Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje Arabic Manuscripts Collection
Universiteit Leiden (Leiden, The Netherlands) | Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje Archive and Collection
Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, Russian Academy of Sciences = IOM RAS (St. Petersburg, Russia) | Manuscript Collection
See also Akimushkin, O. F. "Collections of Eastern manuscripts of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences and their research." International Association Of Orientalist Librarians Bulletin 28-29, (1986): 20-27.
Türkiye Yazma Eserler Kurumu Başkanlığı | Kütüphaneler

North America

University of Michigan Library, Special Collections Research Center | Islamic Manuscripts Collection
A guide to navigating the Islamic Manuscripts Collection held at the University of Michigan Library
McGill University, Islamic Studies Library | Islamic Manuscripts
Useful sources for the study of Islamic rare books and manuscripts with a primary focus on materials held at McGill, and projects realized by the Islamic Studies Library
Manuscripts of the Islamic World at Princeton University Library
"Consisting of about 12,000 volumes (16,000 texts), the Manuscripts of the Islamic World collections at Princeton University Library’s Special Collections department contain items mainly in Arabic, Ottoman Turkish, and Persian but also include manuscripts in Jawi, Syriac, Hebrew, Urdu, and other languages written in the Islamic world. The majority of the collections date from the 17th to the 19th centuries, with some copied as early as the 11th century."
UCLA Islamic Manuscript Collections: Scope, Catalogs and Finding Aids
"The UCLA Library is fortunate to steward a remarkably significant collection of Islamic manuscripts. Consisting chiefly of codices carrying texts in Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Turkish, covering particularly the fields of medicine, literature, philology, lexicography, theology, jurisprudence, history, philosophy, logic, mysticism and astrology and dating, UCLA's Islamic manuscript collection ranks among the most important such collections in North America. At approximately 8,000 volumes, the collection is the second largest in North America."

Collection user guides and reviews from Dissertation Reviews

"Founded in 2010, Dissertation Reviews is a new site that features overviews of recently defended, unpublished doctoral dissertations in a wide variety of disciplines across the Humanities and Social Sciences...Dissertation Reviews also features reviews of and guides to archives, libraries, databases, and other collections where such dissertation research was conducted, to help scholars improve their ability to undertake current and future research." (read more)

Browse all "Fresh From the Archives" posts

A review of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute and Deccan College Scriptorium (27 Feb 2014) [Two Resource Centers in Pune]
A review of the Institute of Manuscripts named for Mohammad Fuzuli, Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan. (4 Febrary 2014)
A review of the Ganj Bakhsh Library, Iran-Pakistan Institute of Persian Studies, Islamabad, Pakistan (3 Feb 2014)
A review of the manuscript collections viewable at the Bab al-Khalq branch of Dar al-Kutub wa-al-Wathaʾiq al-Qawmiyya (Egyptian National Library and Archives), Cairo, Egypt (6 January 2014)
"The Egyptian National Library and Archives in Cairo makes available extensive holdings of printed books, serials, coins, papyri, documents, and other collections of interest to researchers; however, in this review I solely address working with its large and important collection of Islamicate manuscripts, much of which is accessible in microform at the library’s Bab al-Khalq branch. After giving a brief history of the library and its manuscript holdings, I discuss preparing to visit the library, reaching it once in Cairo, working with the printed catalogs and on-site electronic catalog, and viewing and obtaining copies of microfilms. As an appendix I include a list of the numerous printed catalogs dedicated to the collection, along with some tips for working with them."
A review of the Matenadaran Institute Library, Yerevan, Armenia (22 May 2013)
"Named for the Old Armenian word for “Depository of Books,” this building houses more than 10,000 ancient Armenian manuscripts and employs several dozen full-time researchers. All or most of these manuscripts are carefully catalogued, and many are studied by scholars of things Armenian worldwide. For me as an Islamicist, however, this Institute has always been attractive for its lesser-known treasures. Its nearly 2,500 Islamic manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Turkish – numerous enough to merit a separate building – lie comparatively neglected."
Persian manuscript archives in the UK (18 May 2013)
"An overview of the primary Persian manuscript collections in the United Kingdom.
We are now approaching what UK-based researchers lovingly call “the season,” meaning the time of year when academics from across the world descend on the British Library en masse and going for a mid-afternoon cup of coffee often results in a series of impromptu reunions. The British Library boasts an extensive collection of Persian and Indo-Persian manuscripts (some of which they are digitizing), but they are not the only show in town. Scholars too often overlook other Persian language archives in London and nearby that possess their own unique manuscript collections and frequently offer more progressive and researcher-friendly photography and reproduction policies. Here is a list to help you get started thinking beyond the BL..." (Audrey Truschke)
A review of the Rampur Raza Library and Archives and the ITC Sangeet Research Academy (16 May 2013)
A review of the Süleymaniye Library, Istanbul, Turkey (5 April 2013)
"The Süleymaniye Library is the largest manuscript library in Turkey and preserves one of the world’s most extensive collections of Islamic manuscripts. Since its establishment in 1918, the library has served generations of scholars. Today, the library is undergoing a number of important changes which should be noted by researchers who plan to work in Istanbul in the near future. This review will detail these changes, as well as provide a basic overview of the library." (Christopher Markiewicz)
A review of the al-Beruni Institute for Oriental Studies, Tashkent, Uzbekistan (29 March 2013)
"The al-Beruni Institute for Oriental Studies at the Uzbek Academy of Sciences, established in 1943, houses the largest oriental and Islamic manuscript collection in Central Asia and one of the largest in the world. Some 45,000 works in Arabic, Persian and Turkish are preserved in approximately 26,000 volumes. This review is based on my visit to the al-Beruni Institute in July 2012 as part of the IMPAcT project based at the University of Oxford...." (Ertuğrul Ökten)
A brief update on the Ottoman Achives of the Office of the Prime Minister (Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivleri), Istanbul, Turkey (15 March 2013)
"There are a number of major changes afoot at many of the research institutions of Istanbul. In the past months, the reading room of the Süleymaniyye Library has moved, the Ottoman Archives of the Office of the Prime Minister (Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivleri) has forged ahead with plans to open a new facility, and rumors circulate about the re-opening of the Topkapı Palace Museum Archives.
In the coming weeks, I will post a full review of all of these changes..." (Christopher Markiewicz)
A review of Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, Chennai, India (13 November 2012)
A review of the National Archives and Library (سازمان اسناد و كتابخانه ملى ايران, Sazman-e Asnad va Ketabkhaneh-ye Melli-ye Iran), Tehran, Iran (2 Dec 2014)
A review of the Golestan Palace Library and Archive in Tehran, Iran (5 May 2015)
A review of the Archif-e Milli (National Archives), Kabul, Afghanistan (14 May 2015)
The Dr. Iqbal Mujaddidi Collection at Punjab University (9 January 2017)
The Oriental Collection at Peshawar University (9 January 2017)

Collection user guides from HAZİNE

"In the Ottoman Empire, the hazine was the treasury, a storehouse in which courtiers found books to read, scribes deposited documents, and clerks stowed away precious objects that arrived from around the empire.

We started HAZİNE in the hopes of creating a similar storehouse of information for scholars researching the Middle East and the Islamic world at large. There are so many archives, libraries, museums, and other research centers with material on the Middle East that it is often hard to know where to begin one’s research. At the same time, many smaller archives and collections are overshadowed by the massive resources of state institutions. Instead of each researcher beginning on his or her own, acquiring a few tricks of the trade from more seasoned researchers, we hope researchers will use HAZİNE to acquaint themselves with these collections, large and small, and jump directly into the research.

For the moment, our reviews focus on resources on the Ottoman Empire, but in the future we hope to expand further and provide resources for different geographical regions such as North Africa and South Asia. We also plan to include collections of material objects found in art or ethnography museums."

(read more)

İSAM (İslam Araştırmaları Merkezi)
Süleymaniye Library (Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi)
The Archive and Library of the Topkapı Palace Museum (Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi)
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi (The Ottoman Archives of the Prime Minister’s Office)
Chester Beatty Library (Dublin, Ireland)
Oriental Collections at Leiden University
Bosniak Institute (Bošnjački institut – Fondacija Adila Zulfikarpašića) (Sarajevo)
Gazi Husrev-Begova Biblioteka (Sarajevo)
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"Gazi Husrev-Begova Biblioteka (hereafter GHB) is the largest collection of Islamic manuscripts and documents in the Balkans. Located on the premises of the mosque complex of the same name in Sarajevo, the well-catalogued collection and brand new library is one of the premier locations for the study of the Ottoman Empire in general and the Balkans in particular. At the beginning of 2014, the library will officially open a state-of-the-art building to researchers and the general public."
Oriental Institute in Sarajevo (Orijentalni institut u Sarajevu)
Malek National Library and Museum (Ketābkhāna va mūza-ye melli-ye Malek)
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"Located on the grounds of the National Garden in the Topkhane district of Tehran, The Malek National Library and Museum (Ketābkhāna va mūza-ye melli-ye Malek) is a must-see not only for researchers but also anybody visiting Iran’s capital. While the museum holds an extensive collection of various artifacts, coins, artworks and carpets, the tens of thousands of Islamic manuscripts, many of which are rare and some unique, make the library one of the largest depositories of its kind in Iran."
John Rylands Library (University of Manchester)
St. Cyril and Methodius National Library of Bulgaria (Natsionalna Biblioteka Sv Sv Kiril i Metodiy)
Milli Kütüphane (National Library of Turkey, Ankara)
National Library of Jordan, Amman
Jafet Library, The American University of Beirut (AUB)
Tire Necip Paşa Library

Collection user guides from ARSHEEF

ARSHEEF (Princeton University)
"ARSHEEF is a collaborative project that aims at promoting research in North Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus, and South Asia. Based on first-hand experiences of scholars and graduate students, ARSHEEF makes available up-to-date guides to libraries and archives across North Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus, and South Asia."

Other collection guides by location, etc.

Bayraktar, Nimet and Mihin Lugal. "I. Türkiye Yazma Eser Kütüphaneleri [= I. Libraries of Manuscript Works]" In Bibliography on Manuscript Libraries in Turkey and the Publications on the Manuscripts Located in These Libraries. (Istanbul: Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture, 1995): 1-68.

Hendrickson, Jocelyn. "A Guide to Arabic Manuscript Libraries in Morocco, with Notes on Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, and Spain,” MELA Notes 81 (2008): 15–88.

_______ and Sabahat Adil. "A Guide to Arabic Manuscript Libraries in Morocco: Further Developments." MELA Notes 86 (2013): 1-19

Khalidi, Omar. "A Guide to Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Urdu Manuscript Libraries in India." MELA Notes 75-76 (2002-2003): 1-59.

_______ . "A Guide to Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Urdu Manuscript Libraries in India." MELA Notes 84 (2011): 1-85.

Khalidov, Anas B. "Collections of Islamic Manuscripts in the Former Soviet Union and Their Cataloguing." In The Significance of Islamic Manuscripts. Proceedings of the Inaugural Conference of Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation 30th November-1st December 1991, Ed. J.Cooper (London: Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1992): 31-44.

Zarrinal, Navid. "Finding Your Way Around Tehran's Public Archives." Jadaliyya 24 May 2017 available online

Collection guides from MANUMED

~~Browse or search for details on libraries located in the Mediterranean regions via MANUMED's search engine (interface available in French, Arabic and English)~~