Posted on

Dr Kelly Tuttle and Manuscripts of the Muslim World

Manuscript digitization projects are increasing accessibility to researchers who, for a variety of reasons, cannot access collections in person. The Manuscripts of the Muslim World project is one such exciting project to hit the scene, not least because they actively share recently digitized manuscripts on their active Twitter account. We talked to Project Cataloger Dr Kelly Tuttle about its place in the digital humanities landscape and how to use this exciting new tool. 


Describe your academic background and involvement with the MMW project?

I have a PhD in Arabic from the University of Pennsylvania and use manuscripts frequently in my own research. Right after I completed the degree, I worked in a library for a year while I looked for a traditional academic job. Once I found one, I discovered that was not really what I wanted to be doing, so when this position was posted, I jumped on it. It has been great to return to library work and to see this variety of manuscripts. Every day is different and I’m learning so much. As far as what I do for the project itself, I’m the cataloguer, which means that I try to identify and describe each manuscript that is part of the project. I’m sure I make mistakes, but fortunately, there is a growing team of volunteers who are willing to contribute their advice to the project, when asked. I also produce the metadata for the digital images that appear on OPenn, an open access repository for primary source materials.What is MMW, and what is its current status

MMW stands for Manuscripts of the Muslim World (also called Muslim World Manuscripts by one of the participating repositories). It is a project supported by a 3-year Digitizing Hidden Collections grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) and is currently in the beginning of its second year. As the grant name suggests, it is a cooperative effort to digitize and catalog the ‘hidden’ Islamicate manuscripts held in three repositories: Columbia University, the Free Library of Philadelphia, and the University of Pennsylvania. Bryn Mawr College and Haverford College are also contributing holdings to the project. The collections were considered ‘hidden’ because many of the Islamicate manuscripts have been lingering uncatalogued in these repositories and therefore have remained largely unseen and unresearched. We hope that this grant will help make researchers, students, and other interested parties more aware of the holdings at each of these repositories and encourage their use. Since the manuscripts will also all be digitized in high quality file formats, anyone will be able to make use of these resources even if they are not able to come to the area in person. Since this is a cooperative project, there are many different players involved. Each institution has a project lead, Mitch Fraas at Penn, Caitlin Goodman at Free Library, and Kate Harcourt at Columbia along with many other support personnel who help keep everything running smoothly. Deserving of special mention here are the staff at the Schoenberg Center for Electronic Text and Image (SCETI) at Penn and the Digital Imaging Lab at Columbia, who photograph everything, as well as the Digital Content team at Penn, who make everything available on OPenn, and at Columbia who add the holdings to the Internet Archive.


Andrea-Nunez: She is the photographer for this project at Penn. Here, she is photographing a Shāhnāmah from Free Library.

Do you have any advice for researchers who plan to use these collections?

Many of these manuscripts have been languishing unattended for a good, long while. Therefore, the time is right to poke around, find fun things to study, and bring the knowledge to the public. Browse the collections! I’m sure you’ll find something that interests you. So far, things that have stuck in my head while cataloging are that Columbia holds quite a number of teaching texts, and math and science works, in addition to some rather rare items, like a commentary in Aljamiado (Ms. Or. 515) and a forgery (Ms. Or. 388) produced in Palermo in the late 18th century. A blog post from the Columbia library gives some details about the collectors who provided most of the collection and some of what you will find in it. The Free Library has an excellent collection of illustrated manuscripts, including one illustrated version of part of the life of Emperor Akbar which is quite different from anything I’ve seen before (Lewis O 45). Penn and Bryn Mawr each have rather eclectic collections with some unique items. What immediately comes to mind from Penn is a Qur’ān  that was copied in Malta (Ms. Codex 1904) and a divination book that has some fun illustrations (Ms. Codex 1898) and from Bryn Mawr a Shāhnāmah that is in an excellent state of semi-finishedness (BMC 65) with illustrations in all stages of development. Haverford has a good collection of Syriac manuscripts along with some Arabic and Persian, one of which a former owner has decorated with a number of rather awesome marginal doodles (Haverford College, Quaker & Special Collections mss. RH 66). The project is only half done, though, so more interesting things will surely be turning up!


Columbia_MsOr515: Folio 4v, Risālah, late 16th century. Text in Aljamiado, Spanish in Arabic letters.

For those of you browsing the digital collections, OPenn is a great repository, but it can look a little bare bones if you are used to the page-turning type of digital repository. With that in mind, if you go to the OPenn site you can read the introduction to find out how to use the repository and cite the works . You can then browse by repository , or, for this collection you can go to ‘Curated Collections’ and then to ‘Manuscripts of the Muslim World’ . Once you are there, you can search by Shelfmark, or browse through the holdings. The images, records, and metadata are all there for the taking. Please do help yourselves; it is all open access.

What are some challenges you’ve encountered in cataloging these manuscripts?

No one can be expert in all aspects of Islamicate manuscripts, and for a collection like this one, which is eclectic, spans 10 centuries, and covers areas from West Africa to India, I frequently run into things I’ve not seen before and for which I have very little reference. Thankfully, there is a growing set of resources for Islamicate manuscripts. There are still large areas, however, that are yet to be studied more fully. Perso-Indian manuscripts are one obvious example. I am not familiar with the tradition from my own training or research, but they exist in these particular collections in fairly significant numbers, and I am undoubtedly missing nuances of the copies and history as I catalog. Illustrated manuscripts present another type of challenge since I have had only minimal art historical training. I ask for outside help about the manuscripts with which I have difficulties, but sometimes answers are slow to come. I hope that having all the manuscripts available publicly will encourage people to get in touch with suggested revisions and improvements to the records, especially with regard to the structural metadata for illustrations. Another challenge has been with languages that I cannot read, but which form part of the collection; fortunately, volunteers have come to my rescue in cases like that. The project has been lucky, and I am extremely grateful, that so many people have been willing to donate their time and expertise when we need it. I hope the volunteers will continue to contribute their input.

What is your favorite manuscript you’ve worked on so far?

I don’t have a favorite, because there are cool things about each of the manuscripts I’ve worked on so far. I like anything that is a bit of a challenge, for which I need to do some digging. I also like anything that teaches me something new (so that is basically every manuscript out there). I also like finding connections between these manuscripts and manuscripts in other repositories, for example shared owner’s notes or stamps, or a scribe who copied one of these manuscripts and who I can actually then find listed elsewhere. The collections in the project were not built very systematically and so these connections do not often appear, so when they do, it is particularly nice. I also quite like it when the manuscripts seem like they’ve had a long, interesting life—when they have lots of marginalia, for example, or numerous owner’s notes, or tipped in notes and explanations. All of that is fun.

Could you tell us a bit about the advantages and disadvantages of working with digital images of manuscripts?

Since the project is based at Penn, I don’t actually see the Columbia manuscripts in person, for the most part. I therefore catalog their holdings from digital images and preliminary records that graduate students at Columbia have been learning to create. This has the advantage of letting me work remotely, but the disadvantage of obscuring some elements that would be noticeable in person. Knowledge of the paper is the most obvious drawback to digital images. You cannot look through a digital image as you would a piece of paper to see watermarks and laid and chain lines, for example. It is also more difficult to tell anything about the weight or texture of paper. Sometimes, it is hard to tell whether it has been blind-ruled or not. So, that’s a drawback. Another drawback is size distortion that comes about via digital images. A side effect of having all the images show up the same size on the monitor is that I sometimes lose track of whether I’m looking at a pocket-sized or a monumentally-sized Qurʾān, for example. That isn’t the fault of the digitizers or anything, and the measurements are of course provided along with the images, but it is easy to forget and think of all the books as the same size when they aren’t in front of you in person. A benefit of digital images, though, is the manipulability of them, which is to say they can be enlarged, cropped, rotated, and flicked through quickly without doing damage to the item. That aspect of digital images has been supremely useful in this project for reading small text, scribbly notes, for magnifying portions of the page for detail.

Is it possible for people to contribute to MMW?

In the sense that people can contribute their observations about the manuscripts, yes! Contribution is welcome and encouraged. Please do look at the digital images and decipher things that still need deciphering. Owner’s notes for example, stamps, other notes that were illegible to me, but might be legible to you, identifying what’s going on in an illustration so that I can update the structural metadata. In that sense, yes, we welcome contributions. In fact, if you have observations about provenance agents (owners, scribes, buyers, sellers, borrowers, lenders, readers, brokers, waqf donors/recipients, etc.) that you can identify in any of these manuscripts and you want to enter that information, along with the transcribed note, into the Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts, that would be a significant help.


Penn_LJS405: Folio 1v, copy of Tasʹhīl al-naẓar wa-taʻjīl al-ẓafar, 14th century? This is an example of a leaf covered in owner’s notes. Help transcribing this type of thing is welcome and can be added to the Schoenberg Database by you, yourself! Please contribute.

Dr Kelly Tuttle is the project cataloger for the Manuscripts of the Muslim World grant. She is located at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts and is reachable via email at tuttlek@upenn.edu. You can also follow the project on Twitter: @MmwProject.

Posted on

An Informal Guide to Fuat Sezgin’s Geschichte Des Arabischens Schriftums

How you can use Sezgin’s GAS to improve your German, learn about your field, and find Arabic manuscripts.

So you want to learn German. Or more likely, you are required to learn German for your degree in Near Eastern Studies, Middle Eastern History, or Islamic Studies. If your graduate program is like mine, you might not receive course credit for taking German courses so you are largely left to acquire reading comprehension on your own. For those of you in this situation, I have put together a strategy for gaining German reading competency that is targeted for students in our field, especially for those focused on early and medieval Islamic history and thought. This strategy is hardly foolproof; rather, it is the result of the numerous mistakes I have made while studying German in graduate school…mistakes that I hope you can benefit from.

There is a long-standing joke in Near Eastern Studies that “German is the most important Semitic language” due to the numerous field-defining contributions of scholars writing in German (h/t to @shahanshah). While many of these works have been translated into English or French or Arabic, an abundance of German scholarly literature in Near Eastern Studies, especially articles, exists only in die Muttersprache. Speaking from experience, there’s a good chance that just when you think you have accounted for the significant secondary literature concerning your dissertation topic, you will stumble upon an exhaustively researched tome in German on your topic that you cannot afford to ignore. And if you do ignore it, you can count on one of your dissertation committee members to reference it during your proposal. But enough with the fear mongering.

•••

If you want, or need, to gain reading competency in German, an effective and edifying way to go about it is by utilizing Fuat Sezgin’s Geschichte des Arabischen Schrifttums (GAS), an invaluable bio-bibliographical survey of Arabic literature up to the mid-fifth/- eleventh century. Why Sezgin’s GAS and not Carl Brockelmann’s Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur (GAL)? Well, Sezgin’s survey is both more current and comprehensive for classical Arabic literature, and it is much less cumbersome to use than Brockelmann. Heck, the Middle East Librarians Association published a guide to Brockelmann’s GALin 1974 because the work’s organization and constant abbreviations were so obtuse to the uninitiated. If your research is focused on the post- classical period (i.e. after 360/1050), however, you may want to use Brockelmann’s GAL rather than Sezgin’s GAS for the proposed learning method below. In 2016, Brill published an English translation of Brockelmann’s GAL, which is useful but it won’t improve your German.

Do note that If you have no prior experience with German, I recommend spending a few weeks learning grammar basics and building your vocabulary (e.g. complete the first seven chapters of Wilson’s grammar) before employing Sezgin’s GAS in your German study routine.[MOU1] 

So without further ado, here is my method:

Begin by getting your hands on the volume of Sezgin’s GAS that is most applicable to your area of focus. For instance, if your research focuses on hadith then check out Volume 1, which covers the fields of Quranic Studies, hadith, history, jurisprudence, theology (dogma), and mysticism. Brill published the first nine volumes of GAS while the rest, volumes ten through seventeen, are available from the Institut für Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften.

Once you have acquired the appropriate GAS volume, grab your preferred dictionary and reading grammar and go to the section that concerns your area of focus. As for reading grammars in English, I recommend either April Wilson’s German Quickly or Karl Sandberg and John Wendel’s German for Reading, both of which are commonly used by instructors teaching German reading comprehension. I am partial to April Wilson’s grammar as it is the product of her decades of experience preparing University of Chicago graduate students for the German reading exam.

With your dictionary and grammar handy but closed—for the time being—begin reading through Sezgin’s chronologically-arranged biographies of the scholars who composed works in Arabic, both extant and lost, in your field of study. For now, just focus on reading Sezgin’s biographies, ignoring his bibliographical notes below the biographical entry. The biographies will provide you with fundamental information about the author’s life as well as the prime vocabulary necessary to read academic literature in Islamic Studies. For example, here is the biography (outlined in red) of Nāfiʿ b. Nuʿaym, the famous second-/eighth-century Medinan Quran reciter, who provided the impetus for this post.

When reading through the biographies, like the one above, write down the words— especially the verbs—that you are not familiar with. If absolutely necessary to obtain an inkling of comprehension, look up the definitions of select words while reading. But try your hardest to avoid looking up definitions at this point. Instead try to infer the meaning of unknown words from the context, an invaluable skill for gaining reading comprehension in a foreign language. Inferring the meaning of words may be easier than you think since the biographies concern individuals in your area of expertise. And you’ll get better at it with practice.

** Brief aside: You will notice that Sezgin regularly uses abbreviations, especially for names, which he derives from Brockelmann. You can find the key for Sezgin’s abbreviation system at the beginning of each volume, pictured below. Sezgin also regularly provides the citation for Brockelmann’s GAL entry. For example, see the beginning of Nāfiʿ’s biography above where we find: von Br. S I, 328 = “from Brockelmann, Supplement 1, page 328. Don’t worry, you will quickly become familiar with the abbreviations, some of which are just basic German abbreviations—e.g. “s.” = siehe / see; “S.” = Seite / page; “Jh.” = Jahrhundert / century; “vgl.” = vergleiche / compare; “eb.” = ebenda / ibidem. **

After you’ve read through a handful of biographies, look up the definitions for the list of unknown words that you wrote down and make vocab cards for each word or phrase. I still prefer handwritten vocab cards as the act of writing aids my memorization of definitions—and there’s evidence for this. Nevertheless, handwritten vocab cards can be inconvenient, so you may prefer to use a digital app such as Anki or iFlash, both of which I’ve enjoyed using for studying vocab on the go. Whether you are using handwritten cards or an app, the key to vocab acquisition is to review your Sezgin cards on a daily basis. Look at the L1, your native or stronger language, side of the card first and attempt to recall the German word from memory.

If you opt for handwritten vocab cards, I recommend this system: the day after you begin making German vocab cards from reading Sezgin’s GAS, review your cards. The ones you get right move to a second pile; the ones you get wrong or can’t remember stay in the original pile. Each day review your German vocab, moving the cards you remember correctly one pile to the right and the ones you don’t one pile to the left. I employ a five-pile system—an honest week’s work if you remember them correctly every day—and when I remember the words in the fifth pile correctly they get put in the “memorized box,” which contains vocab cards that I now know well, but still review on a monthly basis.

My box of Arabic vocab cards from studying in Sana’a in 2007.

So what does this have to do with Sezgin’s GAS? Well, Sezgin’s biographies of scholars abound with German vocabulary that is particularly relevant for the study of Arab-Islamic history and thought. His biographies also tend to be concise, his syntax is quite simple, and his sentences are short. For all these reasons, Sezgin’s GAS is excellent for practicing your German and learning field-specific vocabulary while also learning about the bio-bibliographic history of your specific research area.

You can, and should, also practice your grammar when reading Sezgin’s biographies. An effective way to do this is by applying the lessons from your chosen German grammar book to your reading. For instance, if you just completed a lesson on German pronouns and their declensions, then apply this lesson by identifying all the pronouns and their respective cases (i.e. nominative, accusative, genitive, and dative) in a few biographies. Or break down sentences into their component parts, identifying the verbs, adverbs, adjectives, nouns, and prepositions while noting verb tenses, gender, number, cases, and case endings.

If you are required to take a German reading exam, begin attempting to translate Sezgin’s biographies. When you are struggling with your translation, look at other biographies of the scholar from the Encyclopaedia of Islam or Encyclopedia Iranica or Wikipedia to look for clues on what Sezgin might be saying. And don’t get too hung up on translating the exact meaning of the biography at this point, instead shoot for the general meaning (al-riwāya bi-l-maʿnā) rather than a word-for-word translation (al-riwāya bi-l-lafẓ).  There is also an Arabic translation of Sezgin’s GAS, which you can use to check your translations.

After you have read through Sezgin’s biographies in your area of focus, move on to reading his introduction to that section. This will be much more difficult than reading his short biographies, but you should now be familiar with the major figures in your respective field and with the pertinent vocabulary and terminology.

•••

Now comes the fun part: Diving into Sezgin’s bibliographical notes that are under every biography. My fellow graduate students, there are thousands, nay tens of thousands, of potential dissertation topics buried in these bibliographical notes.

For an example of how Sezgin structures his bio-bibliographical entries, let’s return to Nāfiʿ b. Abī Nuʿaym’s biography. From Sezgin’s biography we learn the citation for Brockelmann’s entry on Nāfiʿ, Nāfiʿ’s name, and select details about his life: Nāfiʿ was one of the seven canonical Quran readers, he grew up in Medina, he supposedly learned Quranic recitation from seventy Successors yet he wasn’t considered reliable (in hadith transmission), among his prominent students were al-Aṣmāʿī and Qālūn, and he died in 169/785.

Underneath the biography, Sezgin provides a list of secondary-source studies that discuss the biographee (I’ve outlined them in blue). Many of these studies are in German, so you can keep practicing with more difficult texts. Sezgin’s lists are obviously outdated—the first volume of GAS was published in 1967—yet many of the studies that he references still hold water. Typically Sezgin provides a list of the extant medieval Arabic biographies of the scholar along with more recent biographies (outlined here in orange) directly after his short biographical entry; however, in the case of Nāfiʿ he switches the order. Sezgin’s list of biographies for each scholar tends to be relatively comprehensive and is an informative roadmap for further research into the respective scholar’s background.

Next Sezgin provides a list of manuscripts written by, or attributed to, the scholar. As you’ll see below in the case of Nāfiʿ b. Abī Nuʿaym, Sezgin mentions works reportedly written by the scholar that are no longer extant. First, in green, we find the second part of Nāfiʿ’s treatise on the proper reading of the Quran, al-Qirāʾa, which is a fifteen-folio manuscript written down in the sixth/twelfth century and housed at the Ẓāhiriyya Library in Damascus. (Photocopies of the Ẓāhiriyya Library’s collection of majmuʿāt manuscripts can be found online here, and here is the link to Nāfiʿ’s al-Qirāʾa manuscript, which is located at the end of the majmuʿa.)

The second work (outlined in magenta) that Sezgin references is a fragment from Nāfiʿ’s Tafsīr, which is once again located among the majmuʿāt at the Ẓāhiriyya library. The  final work is a hadith collection of Nāfiʿ (outlined in yellow). Sezgin first notes that al- Dhahabī referenced a nuskha of Nāfiʿ’s hadith transmitted by ʿAlī b. ʿAdī b. al-Qaṭṭān (d. 365/976) in the fourth/tenth century, which is no longer extant, before going on to cite two extant manuscripts of Ibn al-Muqrīʾ al-Isfahānī (d. 381/991), preserved in Cairo and Damascus, that contain a selection of Nāfiʿ’s musnad hadith collection. The Cairo MS of Ibn al-Muqrīʾ’s work was edited and published in 1991, a PDF of which can be found here. When applicable, Sezgin notes the edited editions of works, however, since the publication of the early volumes of GAS an incredible amount of manuscripts have been edited and published so it is always good to check whether a previously unedited MS has been published. The easiest way to do this is by doing a search on WorldCat and there’s a chance the published edition of the text may be available online at Waqfeya.

And just like that you’ve gone from working on your German reading comprehension using Fuat Sezgin’s GAS to finding unpublished manuscripts that may be central to your next research project. If you don’t have much experience working with Arabic manuscripts, I urge you not to be intimidated. For years I put off engaging with the expansive corpus of Arabic manuscripts because I thought that I needed formal instruction in codicology. Don’t make the same mistake as me![1][AH2] 

•••

So to recap, if you are a student of Islamic history and thought who needs, or wants, to learn German, Fuat Sezgin’s Geschichte des Arabischen Schrifttums is a fantastic source for improving your reading comprehension because it uses vocabulary pertinent to the field, his syntax and prose is simple, and his sentences are short. By reading Sezgin’s GAS you will also get an overview of the first four-hundred years of scholarly history in your area of focus while learning about loads of unedited Arabic manuscripts that are begging for your attention. You may even alight upon your dissertation topic or next research project. And, frankly, we need more scholars to work on the Islamic manuscript tradition, so learn enough German to utilize Sezgin and throw yourself into the vast world of Arabic manuscripts.

•••

Rich Heffron (@richheffron) is a Ph.D. candidate in Islamic history at the University of Chicago and a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Ithaca College. His research focuses on the history of the Muslim scholarly community in early Islamic Syria.

[1] A good way to begin working with Arabic manuscripts is to find an entry in Sezgin’s GAS of a scholar who is of particular interest to you. Go to Sezgin’s bibliographical notes for the scholar and see if any of the manuscripts attributed to them are available online (e.g. the majmuʿāt collection of Ẓāhiriyya) and have been edited and published. Once you’ve gotten your hands on the manuscript and the published edition based off the respective manuscript, start reading through the manuscript and transcribing the portions you can make out. Then check your transcription of the manuscript against the published edition while noting the different editing decisions the editor has made. Read through a few folios a week in this fashion and you’ll quickly get accustomed to the scribe’s hand and you will be able to decipher more and more of the manuscript with less and less effort. If you want a broad introduction to the world of Islamic manuscripts, I highly recommend Evyn Kropf’s (@eckropf) meticulous and up-to-date research guide. 

    Posted on

    Milli Kütüphane

    Written by Elise Burton

    Note: This review was written in June 2015 following research in Milli Kütüphane between March and May 2015. Web links have been updated, but other details (e.g. photocopying fees, cafeteria prices) may no longer be accurate. Hazine readers are invited to submit updated information.

    Turkey’s national library, near the center of Ankara, has a diverse collection of materials dating from the early Ottoman Empire to the present. The bulk of the collection, namely monographs and periodicals, is of interest to historians specializing in the late Ottoman and early Republican periods. With over 27,000 manuscripts from provincial Anatolian collections, this library is also the second-largest manuscript repository in Turkey after the Süleymaniye Library in Istanbul. The digitized online collections, including the manuscripts, Ottoman periodicals, and audiovisual material, may also be useful to researchers in earlier periods of Ottoman history, Islamic studies, as well as music, film, and art history.

    History

    The Turkish government began to collect materials for a national library in 1946 under the auspices of the Turkish Ministry of Education. This collection was first opened to users in 1948 with a catalog of 60,000 items, though the National Library was not established as a formal legal entity until 1950. The original intention was for the library to become a repository for copies of every publication produced in Turkey, but this plan was never completely realized. Nevertheless, as the collection and number of users continued to expand in subsequent decades, planning for the much-larger building that currently houses the collections took place between 1965-1973. Construction of the present building was completed in 1982 and opened to the public in the following year.

    Milli Kutuphane Photo3

    Collections

    Although it does not hold every Turkish publication ever printed, the National Library surely holds the most comprehensive collection of printed material in late Ottoman Turkish (about 80,000 items) and modern Turkish (about 1 million items), with particular strengths in periodicals (including over 230,000 journals and newspapers). Some of these items are available on microfilm. The National Library has sizeable numbers of monographs in Arabic, English, French, German, and Persian, but primarily of more recent publications. The library also holds many CDs and DVDs, including some hidden gems like oral histories, but these collections are poorly identified; the oral histories, for example, seem to have been collected in a single unidentified project and the subjects are mostly Istanbul professionals speaking to unnamed interviewers in 2010. The National Library’s most unique collection is certainly the Atatürk Document Repository (Atatürk Belgeliği), which includes a wide array of textual and visual materials related to Kemal Atatürk’s life and legacy. This collection, open to users since 1983, contains 15,011 items ranging from books, magazine and newspaper clippings to paintings, sculptures, photographs, and newsreels, to personal items like passports, badges and lottery tickets.

    The National Library provides some excellent online resources. Manuscripts, periodicals in Ottoman script, old gramophone recordings, and visual art materials (particularly paintings and film posters) have largely been digitized and are freely available online (links below). Anyone can search the digitized catalogs, but to view the results, you must create a free user account. There is a per-page charge for downloading digitized images. Due to the rather cumbersome process of working at the library in person, I would highly recommend that researchers interested exclusively with such materials register online and work from elsewhere

    Access

    Registration. No one can enter the library without a user card. There is a pre-registration form on the library website, which can be submitted before you arrive. Bring your passport to the user registration desk (past the metal detector at the entrance, and around the left-hand corner) to have your photo taken and receive your user card. If you did not have a chance to pre-register online, you can fill out the same form at a computer kiosk next to the registration desk.

    If you’re a Turkish citizen, or if you’re a foreigner on a residency permit or research visa with your paperwork cleared in advance, this is the entire process. If you’re on a tourist visa, you’ll be sent off to an office down the hall to fill in the standard research permit forms to approve you for a foreign researcher (yabancı uyruklu araştırmacı) user card. The staff is generally monolingual in Turkish, so if you have any trouble communicating, get someone to lead you down to this office, where there are a few staff members who speak English. The forms, written in Turkish and English, are straightforward and you do not need a letter of introduction; your passport and, if applicable, an ID card from your institution will be all you need. Your forms should be approved on the spot, and you’ll be sent out to hand copies to another office and go back to the front registration desk, where you will finally get the user card. Cards are issued for periods ranging from three months to one year. My three-month card cost 5 TL.

    Getting inside. Now that you have your card, get in line for the machines in the front lobby that assign spots in one of the six general reading rooms (one of these is reserved for professors, and another for high school students). Unfortunately, no one can enter the turnstiles into the library without a seat assignment, even if you intend to spend your time in a room without assigned seating (such as the rooms for viewing periodicals, microfilms, Atatürk documents, etc). The machines are straightforward: insert your user card, and you’ll be shown which rooms have available seating for you to select. It doesn’t matter much which room you choose unless you specifically want to use books printed in Ottoman script, in which case you must select the İbn-i-Sina Reading Room. After you have made your selection, take the receipt for your seat number, and your card will now unlock the turnstiles and permit access to the rest of the library.

    When planning your research time, note that during the academic year, the library is overrun by Ankara’s large undergraduate population, and all the reading rooms tend to fill within an hour of opening. Once the library is full, it can take 1-2 hours or more of waiting in line by the entry machines before a slot opens up for you. To avoid this frustration, I recommend arriving up to a half hour before opening time (a line will already be forming). The other effect of this system is that you will not want to exit the library for longer than a ten-minute break until you are finished for the day. Ten minutes after you exit the front turnstiles, your seat assignment lapses and is made available to others waiting. Plenty of users duck outside to smoke a quick cigarette, but for food, you’re stuck with the library cafeteria (there’s barely enough time to cross the street to get to the next closest source of food).

    During the summer vacation (mid-June to August) the competition for space is not quite as cutthroat; only those specifically using Ottoman-language materials and therefore needing space in the relatively small the İbn-i-Sina room may want to arrive early. You can monitor how full the reading rooms are directly on the library’s homepage under the heading “Okuma Salonları Doluluk Oranları.”

    Requesting materials. In general, everything is requested via paper forms, and you can only submit three of these at one time (six for professors). There are computers on the second floor with access to the online catalog. For books, use the forms next to these computers and submit these to the “Okuyucu Bankosu” on the second floor. For periodicals or microfilm/non-book materials, go to the desk inside the periodicals room on the ground floor or the “non-book materials center” on the lower floor to fill out and submit the appropriate forms. Materials generally arrive between fifteen and twenty-five minutes after your request is received. The desk will hold on to your user card while you have the books, and give it back when you return them. Since you cannot exit the turnstiles without your user card, this is their way of preventing book theft. After hours and on weekends (only), you can request books online from the library website.

    Reproductions

    There is a photocopying service across from the Okuyucu Bankosu. As of May 2015, prices were 5 kuruş per A4 page (10 kuruş double-sided) or 10 kuruş per A3 page (20 kuruş double-sided). I did not use the service, but it appears that requests are fulfilled very quickly.

    I never found any written policy on the use of digital cameras on modern materials, but I used mine to photograph twentieth-century books and periodicals in the reading rooms in clear view of staff and no one seemed to mind. Those working with older (Ottoman) or special materials should ask the reading room’s staff to confirm whether digital photography is acceptable for those items, especially since photocopying these materials is explicitly forbidden. Digitized materials and microfilms can be copied onto CDs/DVDs by staff; there is supposed to be a fee, but when I requested a DVD copy of an oral history recording, the staff refused to charge me anything.

    According to the library website, researchers outside of Ankara can order materials to be scanned/copied and sent to them. I have no experience with this service.

    Internet access: Free wifi seems to be available, but a Turkish mobile number is required to register for access to the wifi signal, so I was not able to test it. Wired internet access is available on the thirty computers of the “Interactive Salon,” really an open space on the same floor as the Okuyucu Bankosu. Access to these computers is granted by a machine that scans your user card, which limits you to one hour of internet use per day, and further prevents you from using these computers while in possession of any library books.

    Food

    Every floor has vending machines for bottled water and hot coffee/tea (only water bottles are allowed in the reading rooms). There is a cafeteria on the lower floor that sells simit and packaged snacks, hot and cold drinks, and basic hot meals (tost, köfte, spaghetti, salads and the like). Prices are low (up to 6 TL for a meal) and so is the quality of the food. Pay the cashier to the right of the entrance before taking your receipt to the food line on the left. Since there is no locker system, anyone who would rather pack their own lunch to eat in the cafeteria should have no problem doing so.

    Getting there

    The National Library is well served by public transit. It has its own Metro station on the new Kızılay-Koru line, which is definitely the most convenient option for anyone approaching from the east through Kızılay (Ankara’s transit hub) or the west from METU or Bilkent (Ankara’s main English-medium universities). There are also many bus and dolmuş lines departing from Ulus and Kızılay that stop in front of the library on İsmet İnönü Street.

    Contact

    Address: İsmet İnönü Caddesi/Bahçelievler Son Durak, 06490 Çankaya/Ankara
    Phone: +90 312 212 62 00
    Fax: +90 312 223 04 51
    Email: bilgi@mkutup.gov.tr

    Hours: Mon-Fri, 9:00-0:00; Sat-Sun, 9:30-22:00

    (New user registration: weekdays, 9:30-12.30 and 13:30-16:30; materials fetching: weekdays, 9.30-17:00)

    Useful Information and Links:

    Library Main Website

    Main Catalog Search

    Digital Collections (manuscripts, Ottoman periodicals, visual arts)

    Information on Ankara’s bus system

    Elise Burton is the Associates’ Research Fellow at Newnham College, Cambridge. She completed her doctoral studies at Harvard University in 2017 and her current research focuses on the history of genetics research in Iran, Turkey, and Israel since the First World War.

    Posted on

    National Library of Bulgaria

    Written by Secil Uluışık

    St. Cyril and Methodius National Library of Bulgaria (Natsionalna Biblioteka Sv Sv Kiril i Metodiy, hereafter, NBKM), located in Sofia, has one of the richest Ottoman archives with respect to the quantity and variety of materials. Founded in 1878, the NBKM’s holdings were significantly expanded in 1931 with the acquisition of millions of Ottoman documents from Turkey. Today, the NBKM’s Oriental Department Collection (Kolektsiya na Orientalski Otdel) contains more than 160 sijills, 1000 defters and registers, 1,000,000 individual documents, and countless registers of religious endowments (waqf/awqāf) from all provinces of the Ottoman Empire between the fifteenth and the twentieth centuries. In addition, it has a valuable Persian, Arabic, and Turkish manuscript collection. Apart from its Oriental Department, the Bulgarian Historical Archive (Bŭlgarski istoricheski arkhiv) houses materials dating mostly from the nineteenth century and written in both Ottoman Turkish and Bulgarian. In this sense, NBKM is a hidden gem for scholars of the Middle East and the Balkans.

    The main entrance to the library
    The main entrance to the library

    History

    The NBKM was first established in 1878 as the Sofia Public Library but quickly became the National Library in 1879. During 1870s and 1880s, NBKM officials collected various Ottoman materials from local waqfs and libraries throughout Bulgaria, and brought them to the Oriental Department of the NBKM. In 1944, the entire building was destroyed in the course of the war. While some materials were irreparably damaged during the attacks, much was saved. These surviving materials were transferred to local libraries in order to be protected from further destruction. All the transferred materials were eventually brought back to the NBKM’s main building in late 1940s. The NBKM’s current building was officially opened in 1953. The NBKM gets its name from St. Cyril and St. Methodius, the eponymous brothers who invented the Cyrillic alphabet in late ninth century. A monument of the two brothers holding the Cyrillic alphabet in their hands stands tall in front of the NBKM, and it is also one of the landmarks of the city.

    The founders of the Cyrillic script and namesake's of the library.
    The founders of the Cyrillic script and namesake’s of the library.

    In 1931, as a part of its political agenda based on the rejection of the Ottoman past, the Turkish government sold a massive amount of Ottoman archival documents to a paper factory in Bulgaria to be as used as recycled waste paper. This event became known as the “vagonlar olayı” (the railcar incident) because the documents were transported in train cars and when the events were publicized in Turkey they triggered a heated debate among scholars and politicians of the time. Once Bulgarian customs officials realized the materials were actually Ottoman state documents and not waste, the papers were deposited in the NBKM. Today, these documents constitute more than 70% of the entire Oriental Department of the NBKM, which continues its tireless effort to catalog and preserve them.

    Collections

    The NBKМ has eleven collections varying from Slavonic and Foreign Language Manuscripts, to the Collection of Oriental Department. Information about each collection and the structure of the collections can be found here.

    The Collection of Oriental Department has two main archives: the Ottoman Archives and the Oriental Manuscript Collection. The Bulgarian Historical Archive is also located in Oriental Department since it includes many documents in Ottoman and Bulgarian. The following are collections that might be of direct interest to historians of the Middle East:

    Sijill Collection:

    A sijill is an incoming-outgoing register, organized by the qadi (judge) or his deputy in a specific settlement. A sijill also includes copies of documents, written by the qadi. There are more than 190 sijills in this collection from the sixteenth to the late nineteenth centuries. They are catalogued based on their region such as Sofia, Ruse, Vidin etc.  The sijills from Sofia and Vidin have call marks beginning with “S”, while sijills from Ruse, Silistra, and Dobrich have call marks beginning with “R”.  Most of the sijills have card catalog entries in Turkish in either Latin or Ottoman script. The earliest sijill is from Sofia dated 1550, whereas vast majority of the sijills are from the eighteenth century. Most of them are from Vidin (71 defters), and then Sofia (59 defters.). Much of the sijill collection has been digitized and can be accessed through the official website of the NBKM.

    Waqf Registers:

    There are more than 470 separate waqf (endowment) registers from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries in this collection. In addition, some other waqf registers can be found inside the sjill collection. Registers and series of waqf documents are compiled in the form of deste (separate register bunches) and waqf sijills. They are written primarily in Ottoman, while several of them are in Arabic. The earliest waqf register dates back to 1455; and the latest to 1886.

    A comprehensive inventory of the waqf registers can be accessed here.

    Miscellaneous Funds:

    This collection includes the rest of the Ottoman documents in the Oriental Department. Many cadastral surveys (timar, zeamet and icmal defters) can be found in this collection. There are also various other types of registers and financial account books (ruznamces) here. In addition, all individual documents such as fermans, buyruldus, arzuhals, ilams and various individual correspondences and materials are located in these funds.

    Most of these Ottoman materials in this collection are cataloged according to the region they are related to, and each region has a separate fund with a different number. For instance, documents related to Istanbul are cataloged as F1, Damascus as F 283, Iran as F 295, Hijaz as F283, Albania as F212, Austria as F290, Smyrna as F238, Skopje as F129, Malatya as F249 and so on. Most of the funds have sub-collections and they are cataloged separately. Most of the entries in fund numbers have dates, and some of them include keywords such as “military”, “church”, “taxation”, “timar” giving some basic clues about the type of the document. Unfortunately, there is no other information available to the researcher about the documents from the catalog. However, there are some publications, mostly written by the staff of the Oriental Department, such as inventories and catalogs of selected funds of Ottoman documents, which are helpful. So, it is vital to consult these published volumes, which are mostly in Bulgarian. All catalogs in this collection are also in Bulgarian and handwritten. The number of the documents in this collection exceeds 1,000,000 and none of them have been digitized. Their dates range from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries.

    An Ottoman document from NBKM
    An Ottoman document from NBKM

    Oriental Manuscript Collection:

    This collection has about 3,800 volumes in Arabic, Turkish and Persian. Around 3,200 of these volumes are in Arabic, 450 are in Turkish and 150 are in Persian. The earliest manuscript is an eleventh-century copy of the hadith collection of al-Jami’ al-Sahih of Muhammad al-Bukhari (810-870). One of the most valuable manuscripts of this collection is a sixteenth-century copy of the work of the twelfth-century Arab geographer Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Idrisi, Nuzhat al-mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq (Book for Entertainment of the One, Longing to Cross the Countries Wide and Far). Partial catalogs in English, Arabic, and Bulgarian exist for this collection and are available in the reading room.

    Newspaper Collection:

    This collection is located in Bulgarian Historical Archive section of the Oriental Department, and it includes the newspapers published between 1844 and the 1940s. The majority of the newspapers are in Bulgarian, but those published until the late 1870s are both in Ottoman and Bulgarian. The catalog of this collection is a reference volume written in Bulgarian that can be found at the reading room at the Oriental Department. Since 2014, the majority of materials in this collection have been digitized and now are available for researchers. Digitization efforts continue, so researchers should check the online catalogue research tool on a regular basis.

    The Research Experience

    Researchers should note that all administrative materials at the NBKM, including the catalogs and all paperwork needed for registration, reproduction of documents etc., are in Bulgarian. Likewise, all catalogs in the Oriental Department are also in handwritten Bulgarian. The cataloging system does not have a regularized format for the Oriental Department. Some of the catalog entries have Ottoman explanations in addition to Bulgarian, but they are very few in number. Most of the Ottoman materials are cataloged according to the region, and each region has a separate fond letter with a different number. Specific collections have their own cataloguing system as explained in previous section.

    Materials can be requested from Monday to Friday between 9:00 and 15:30, and will be available the next day.  All staff members, both in the Oriental Department and in other sections of the library, are very helpful and supportive. The researcher should keep in mind that documents from a specific section needs to be requested in that section. However, for reproductions, the researcher must obtain approval of both the director of the Oriental Department and the general secretary of the Director of the NBKM. While this seems burdensome at first, it is a relatively comfortable process as all staff members try to help foreign researchers.

    Access

    There are two requirements to gain access to the Oriental Department. First, the researcher needs to fill out an application form to gain access to the NBKM. A passport, visa and a photo are needed for this process. As visa requirements vary by nationality, the researcher should consult the local Bulgarian embassy regarding the required documents. (North American citizens can stay in Bulgaria without a visa up to three months. Turkish citizens, and citizens of any country who are required to obtain a visa to enter the EU, however, must obtain a visa at their local consulate. I obtained a student visa as a Turkish citizen and fellow of American Research Center in Sofia, but a Schengen visa might be accepted to conduct research for shorter periods.)

    This registration process takes around thirty minutes. Once registration is completed, the researcher receives an ID card, which must be shown every time she enters the NBKM. There are three, six or twelve-month registration options; the fee for three months is $18 while the rest costs $20, regardless of the duration. Researchers can access all departments with the issued ID card.

    To access the documents in Oriental Department researchers must fill out another form that needs to be submitted to the director of the department. In addition to the form, graduate student researchers are asked to bring a letter from their supervisor explaining their aim, current affiliation, and academic status. The director, Stoyanka Kenderova, is very helpful and supportive. For foreign researchers, contacting her might be the only way to gain some guidance in the research process as she speaks Turkish, Arabic, French, and English. It must be noted that most of the staff working at NBKM in general, and the Oriental Department, in particular, do not speak English. As such, some knowledge of spoken Bulgarian or the friendship of a Bulgarian-speaking fellow researcher is definitely helpful when communicating with the staff.

    The NBKM is open to researchers from Monday to Saturday, between 8:30-19:00 except on official holidays. The Oriental Department’s working hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00-18:00, and on Saturdays, 9:00-15:00. It is closed every August, and also every last Tuesday of the month for cleaning, and housekeeping purposes. All sections are wheelchair accessible, except for the cafeteria.

    The reading room of the library
    The reading room of the library

    Reproductions and Costs

    To request reproductions, researchers must fill out a form that needs to be approved by the General Secretary of the NBKM and the director of the Oriental Department. Copies of materials can be obtained either as a photocopy or digital photos. Researchers can also take their own photos. In all cases, the cost for a photocopy or photograph of a regular size document is 3 Bulgarian Leva ($2/ page.) The cost for a single page of illustrated or larger materials ranges from 4.5 to 6 Bulgarian Leva ($3 to $3.5)

    Transportation and food

    The NBKM is located in the heart of the city on Vasil Levski Blvd next to the Sv. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia, and across from the Alexandr Nevski Square. Almost all city buses pass through the bus stop in front of the National Library. Lines 2 and 4 are the most frequent. Tickets for buses can be purchased at small kiosks at the corners of the intersection of major streets or on the bus. One can also take the metro since metro station is a three to four minute walk from the library. If you are staying at the city center or surrounding neighborhoods such as Hadji Dimitar, where the American Research Center in Sofia (ARCS) is located, or Vitosha Street, where many of the social events take place, it takes fifteen to twenty minutes to walk to the NBKM. A Metro or bus ticket costs 1 Leva (75 cents).

    A variety of food options are available around the NBKM. The library also has its own cafeteria, which is a good option for a quick coffee, water, or snacks in cold weather. Yet it is not preferred by most researchers as there are better options available close by the library. There is also a small kiosk right next to the NBKM building selling snacks, pizza, sandwiches, and coffee throughout the day. Just across from the kiosk, there is a popular restaurant-café, Modera Café, which is usually preferred by Sofia University students and staff. There are also many various options for breakfast, lunch and dinner in small streets around the University and NBKM. Depending on your preference, a lunch can cost between $2 and $10 at these locations. You can also bring your own lunch and eat it at the outdoor garden of NBKM. However, it should be kept in mind the garden becomes crowded and finding a spot can be difficult, especially in nice weather.

    Contact Information

    Address: Sofia 1037, 88 Vasil Levski Blvd
    Tel.: (+359 2) 9183 /101
    Fax: (+359 2) 843 54 95

    Director of the Oriental Department: Stoyanka Kenderova

    Assistant of the Director of Oriental Department: Milena Zvancharova

    Resources and Links

    Official website of the NBKM:

    Further Readings

    Binark, İsmet. Bulgaristan’daki Osmanlı Evrakı. Ankara: TC Başbakanlık Daire Müdürlüğü.1994.

    Dobreva, Margarita. “Aya Kiril ve Metodiy Milli Kütüphanesine Bağlı Oryantal Bölümü’ndeki “Vidin” Ön Fonu Defterleri”. Osmanlı Coğrafyası Kültürel Arşiv Mirasının Yönetimi ve Tapu Arşivlerinin Rolü Uluslararası Kongresi Bildirileri 1. Ankara: TC Çevre ve Şehircilik Bakanlığı Tapu ve Kdastro Müdürlüğü Arşiv Daire Başkanlığı Yayınları. 2013, 183-223.

    Kenderova, Stoyanka. “Catalogue of Arabic Manuscripts in SS Cyril and Methodius National Library, Sofia, Bulgaria” Hadith Sciences. Ed. by M. Isa Waley. London. 1995.

    Özkaya, Yücel. “Sofya’da Milli Kütüphane Nationale Biblioteque’deki Şeriyye Sicilleri” Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi (Ankara), c. XIII, № 24, 1980, s. 21–29.

    Гълъб Гълъбов, Бистра Цветкова. Турски извори за историята на правото в българските земи. Състав.T Т. 1-2. София. 1962- 1971.

    Ivanova, S. “The Sicills of the Ottoman Kadis: Observations over the sicill collections at the National Library in Sofia”. Bulgaria. Studies in Memoriam Prof. Nejat Göyünç. Ed. K. Çiçek. Ankara, 2001

    ***

    I would like to thank Margarita Koleva Dobreva, Stoyanka Kendarova, Rossitsa Gradeva, and Milena Zvancharova for their valuable help and guidance at the archive. I benefited from works cited below.

     ***

    Cite this: Seçil Uluışık, “National Library of Bulgaria,” HAZINE, 9 May 2015,  https://hazine.info/national-library-bulgaria/

    Secil Uluisik is a PhD candidate in History Department at the University of Arizona. She works on provincial governance, politics of taxation, and networks of local power holders during the late eighteenth early nineteenth century in the Ottoman Empire.

     

     

    Posted on

    John Rylands Library

    by Teymour Morel

    Set in the heart of Manchester, between the City Council, the Magistrates’ Court, and the Coroner’s Court, The John Rylands Library (hereafter JRL) houses the Special Collections of The University of Manchester Library. It is one of the three largest academic libraries in the United Kingdom, and houses more than 400,000 printed books and over a million manuscripts and documents, including important collections of Oriental manuscripts. In this article, I will focus on the JRL collections related to Near Eastern studies.

    OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
    Exterior of the old entrance to the library.

    History

    The JRL is named after John Rylands (1801-1888), a famous British entrepreneur who owned the most important textile manufacturing concern in Victorian England. It was created by the wife of the latter, Enriqueta Rylands (d. 1908), shortly after his death. Architect Basil Champneys (d. 1935) was asked to construct the building, which opened to the public on January 1, 1900. The JRL was enriched by Mrs. Rylands’ important purchases of books and manuscripts, especially by the acquisition of two major collections: the Spencer Collection in 1892 and the Crawford Collection in 1901. The majority of the Oriental manuscripts at the JRL come from the latter. In 1921, Henry Guppy, the JRL Librarian from 1900 to 1948, invited local families to deposit at the library their archives for safekeeping, so that the library soon became one of the first institutions to collect and preserve historical family records. In July 1972, a merger between the JRL and the University of Manchester Library took place. Since then, the JRL collections are part of The University of Manchester Library Special Collections. In the early 1980s, the Arabic, Persian and Turkish manuscripts of the Chethams Library were acquired by the University of Manchester Library and added to the collections of the JRL.

    Collections

    The core holdings of the JRL are the Spencer Collection, comprising 43,000 printed books, of which 4,000 were printed before 1501; and the Crawford Collection, comprising 6,000 manuscripts written in fifty different languages. The majority of the Near Eastern manuscripts are found in the Crawford Collection.

    A. Near Eastern manuscripts collections (in alphabetical order)

    NB : A guide to the collections is available on the JRL Jewish, Near Eastern and Oriental studies webpage, including bibliographies of their respective catalogs. With a few exceptions, the catalogs mentioned here are all viewable and downloadable from the University of Manchester eScholar website. I also recommend F. Taylor’s manual and catalog of catalogs, which dates back to the 1970s, but is still very helpful: F. Taylor, “The Oriental Manuscript Collections in the John Rylands Library”, in Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, vol. 54, n°2 (Spring 1972), p. 1-30 [EScholarID:1m2987]. See also C. H. Bleaney & G. J. Roper, “United Kingdom (1990)”, in G. Roper (ed.), World Survey of Islamic Manuscripts, vol. 3, Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation, London, 1994, p. 509-512

    1. Arabic

    900 Arabic manuscripts are found at the JRL and cover roughly 1,000 years. They include numerous Qur’ans (among which is a rare Mamluk Qur’an from the fifteenth century) and cover a wide range of subjects such as history, law, science, medicine, philosophy, geography, cosmography, astronomy, astrology, literature, etc. The JRL also holds a collection of 800 papyri derived from the Crawford Collection and consisting of private letters, tradesmen’s and household accounts, among other records. Most of the dated papyri date to the third/ninth century. The collection also contains 1,500 uncataloged paper fragments in Arabic deriving in most cases from the Genizah Collection. The Genizah Collection is a collection of around 14,000 fragments written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Judeo-Arabic from the Genizah of the Synagogue of Ben Ezra in Fustat, Cairo between the tenth and nineteenth centuries of the Common Era. It was discovered by Solomon Schechter, among others, and acquired when the JRL purchased the collection of Moses Gaster in 1954. The major part of the Genizah Collection was catalogued and is available in digital form via LUNA.

    Catalogs:

    E. Bosworth, “A Catalogue of Accessions to the Arabic Manuscripts in the John Rylands University Library of Manchester”, in Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester, vol. 56, n° 1-2 (1973-1974), p. 34-73 (1973), 256-296 (1974) [EScholarID: (p. 34-73); (p. 256-296)].

    S. Margoliouth, Catalogue of Arabic Papyri in the John Rylands Library Manchester, The Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1933 [EScholarID: (p. 1-49); (p. 50-143); (p. 144-241); (plates 1-42)].

    Mingana, Catalogue of the Arabic Manuscripts in the John Rylands Library Manchester, The Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1934 [EScholarID: (MSS 1-207); (MSS 208-433); (MSS 434-818)].

    This catalog with its index and detailed descriptions is practical and useful, although it sometimes makes attribution mistakes [for instance, Mingana wrongly identifies the author of the two texts in the Arabic MS 374 [349] (Ibn Rushd’s Talkhis Kitab al-Qiyas and Talkhis Kitab al-Burhan) as being al-Farabi. Likewise, he mistakenly considers al-Farabi to be the author of the text in the Arabic MS 375 [403] (Ibn Sina’s Kitab al-Najat on Physics)]. The manuscripts are classified according to catalog numbers followed by their shelfmarks between brackets. In the case of a compendium (majmu‘a), the texts of the latter are not scattered throughout the catalog but remain together in the same description. To avoid any confusion, readers should requests manuscripts by quoting their full numbers, including both catalog numbers and shelfmarks between brackets.

    al-Moraekhi & G. Rex, “The Arabic Papyri of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester”, in Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester, vol. 78, n° 2 (1996), p. 1-232 [EScholarID: (introduction); (Part I); (Part II); (Indices); (References)].

    See also LUNA for the online catalog of the Genizah Collection

    2. Armenian

    22 Armenian manuscripts, on parchment or paper, are found in the JRL. They consist mainly of religious texts. Among them is a Gospel codex, which would be the oldest Armenian manuscript in British Libraries. There is also an abundantly illustrated sixteenth-century Romance of Alexander.

    Catalogs:

    Kiwrtean, “A Short Catalogue of the Armenian Manuscripts in the John Rylands Library Manchester”, in Sion, vol. 49 (1975), p. 199-259.

    Nersessian, A Catalogue of the Armenian Manuscripts in the British Library Acquired Since the Year 1913 and of Collections in Other Libraries in the United Kingdom, British Library, London, 2012

    3. Hebrew

    The JRL comprises a collection of about 400 Hebrew manuscripts, Torah scrolls and marriage contracts dating between the fourteenth and nineteenth centuries of the Common Era. It includes prayer books, commentaries, treatises on various subjects, letters, marriage contracts, liturgical poetry (piyyutim), and thirteen scrolls of the Law. There are, in addition, around 10,600 fragments (generally very small) in Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic coming from the Genizah Collection (see A.1). One can find there various autograph fragments of Maimonides, including one folio from the Guide of the Perplexed. The JRL holds also a collection of 377 Samaritan manuscripts derived mostly from the Gaster Collection; see A.1)

    Catalogs:

    Samely, “The Interpreted Text: Among the Hebrew Manuscripts of the John Rylands University Library”, in Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, vol. 73, n° 2 (1991), p. 1-20 [EScholarID:1m2267].

    See also LUNA for the online catalog of the Genizah Collection.

    NB: A catalog of the Hebrew manuscripts is in course of preparation.

    4. Persian

    The JRL Persian manuscripts collection comprises over 1,000 volumes dating from the thirteenth to nineteenth centuries CE, including many illuminated codices. They cover subjects such as theology, Quranic exegesis (tafsīr), Sufism, lives of holy men and prophets, poetry, romances, chronicles and fables, calligraphy, lexicography, grammar, philosophy, medicine, natural history, geography, cosmography, occult sciences, astronomy and astrology. They include encyclopedias and volumes on the history of India and the Mughal Empire.

    Catalogs:

    Kerney, Bibliotheca Lindesiana: Hand-List of Oriental Manuscripts, privately printed, 1898, p. 107-237.

    Kerney, Catalogue of Persian Manuscripts belonging to the Earl of Crawford, not published, n. d. (1890?). Can be consulted at the Library. (This catalog can be consulted at the Library and online.

    W. Robinson, “Some Illustrated Persian Manuscripts in the John Rylands Library”, in Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, vol. 34, n° 1 (1952), p. 69-80 [EScholarID:1m2002].

    5. Syriac and Karshuni

    The JRL holds 70 manuscripts and fragments in Syriac and Karshuni (among which there are three manuscripts in Turkish Karshuni and one manuscript in Armenian Karshuni). The Syriac manuscripts consist of copies of the Old and New Testaments, psalters, liturgical texts and prayers, hymns, books of catechism, lives of Saints, theological treatises, a Syriac-Arabic lexicon, a treatise on amulets, several treatises of Bar Hebraeus (among which a book containing the first nine books of The Cream of the Sciences on logic), a corpus of writings of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite and the Rhetoric of Anthony of Tagrit.

    Catalogs:

    Coakley, “A Catalogue of the Syriac Manuscripts in the John Rylands Library”, in Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester, vol. 75, n° 2 (1993), p. 105–208.

    6. Turkish

    The JRL Turkish manuscripts collection consists of 195 items, dating from the fifteenth century to the nineteenth century. Most manuscripts are in Ottoman Turkish, but twelve of them are written in Çağatay and one is a Latin transcription of a compilation of Turkish and Armenian texts. J. Schmidt published a catalog of the entire collection in 2011, which details the wide range of subjects that it contains, including anthologies of poetry, narrative poetry, guides for dervish novices, fables and stories, commentaries, grammar books, letters (among which, a number of Ottoman official documents), biographies and biographical dictionaries, dictionaries and vocabulary lexicons, travelogues, library catalogs, texts on religious ethics, jurisprudence (fiqh), history, medicine, geography, cosmography, astronomy, mathematics, and music.

    Catalogs:

    Kerney, Bibliotheca Lindesiana: Hand-List of Oriental Manuscripts, privately printed, 1898, p. 241-268.

    Kerney, Catalogue of Turkish Manuscripts belonging the Earl of Crawford, not published, 1892. Can be consulted at the Library.

    Schmidt, A Catalogue of the Turkish Manuscripts in the John Rylands University Library at Manchester, Brill, Leiden-Boston, coll. “Islamic Manuscripts and Books”, vol. 2, 2011.

    7. Other Languages

    The JRL also holds collections of around 1,100 Sumerian and Akkadian clay tablets dating from the third and second centuries BCE, over a thousand Coptic items, and smaller collections of Armenian and Ethiopian manuscripts, as well as Egyptian papyri.

    The library holds a collection of more than one hundred manuscripts from Southeast Asia, partially catalogued, in ten different languages.

    B. Archival Collections

    The JRL hosts various archives of notable documents related to the history of the Middle East. The most important one is without any doubt the Archive of the Guardian (formerly Manchester Guardian), which was established in 1821 by John Edward Taylor (1791-1844). The editorial correspondence and dispatches from its reporters constitute a rich source of information on the history of the Middle East in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The collection contains important material on, for instance, the founding of Israel, the later Middle Eastern conflicts, as well as the Suez Crisis. The Papers of Samuel Alexander (1877-1938) are also of importance since they include, for example, a correspondence between the latter and the Zionist pioneer Chaim Weizmann (1874-1952), the first President of Israel. See also the Military Papers of Major General Eric Edward Dorman O’Gowan (1926-1969) and Field Marshal Auchinleck (1919-1971), who was commander-in-chief of the British forces in the Middle East (1941-1942) and India (1943-1947). A downloadable digitized catalog of the Guardian Archive is available on the JRL website. Other catalogs can be searched online via ELGAR, such as the Catalogue of the Manchester Egyptian and Oriental Society Archives.

    OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
    A view of the historic reading room.

    Research Experience

    People conducting research in the Special Collections work in the Elsevier Reading Room (4th floor), as the Historic Reading Room (3rd floor) is used for readers’ own private work. In addition to the main staircase, an elevator serves every floor of the Library building. I had the opportunity to work for several days in the Elsevier Reading Room, and I can say that the conditions there are very comfortable. The Library’s staff is conscientious and very reliable. The controlled climate and secure environment provide a quiet atmosphere. No matter how dark the sky, the light is always sufficient. In daytime, the room is enriched by a soft light coming from a generous bay window that overlooks Spinningfield and Deansgate. The work tables can accommodate up to twenty-two people and are equipped with two electrical sockets each. Many other facilities are provided: adaptors for laptops, a set of magnifying glasses, an easy-to-use fiber-optic light sheet to analyze watermarks, a ruler and a microscope are at the readers’ disposal. A stock of pencils is provided as well as pencil sharpeners and several erasers. Manuscripts and books must be used on book-rests. It is asked that the reader give advanced notice of at least 24 hours to guarantee every item he of she asks for is ready. There is no limit to the amount of requested items. Several items can be consulted at the same time if the reader provides valid reasons for doing so. In the Elsevier Reading Room, the presence of three computers connected to the Internet will prove useful for searching the webpage of the JRL and The University of Manchester, but not for other use. Basically, only members and students of The University of Manchester are allowed to do so on their own computers, as well as people who have registered at Eduroam. The Library is planning to provide Wi-Fi access to external users in the future.

    Accessibility

    The JRL is situated on Deansgate, Manchester. In order to access the collections, it is important that the reader first make an appointment by e-mail (see Contact Information) or by phone. On that occasion, he or she can also pre-order one or several manuscript(s) or document(s) using the appropriate lists, inventories and catalogs of the JRL. On the day of his or her arrival, he or she must present a proof of address, a photo-ID (including signature), as well as a letter of reference. Note that original documents are required, not photocopies.

    After entering the Library, the reception staff helps new readers to find their way in the library. Before going to the reading room, readers are asked to deposit their coats, bags, umbrellas, sleeves, pens and laptop computer carry-cases in the lockers in the basement (for which a £1 coin returnable deposit is necessary). Clear plastic bags are at their disposal to carry their work material and belongings with them (more information is available on the webpage “Using the reading rooms in the John Rylands Library”; see Resources and Links). The reader is then invited to go to the Readers Reception on the 4th floor to fill a registration application, in which he or she is asked to describe briefly the purpose of his or her visit and the topic of research. If the reader plans to come back the day after or during the days following his or her last visit, it is recommended to specify whether consulted materials should be reserved for future use. Without explicit notice from the reader, the documents will be returned to secure storage and it may take several hours to have them back again.

    Reader Service Opening Hours

    The Reader Service is open Monday through Saturday, from 10:00 to 17:00 (until 19:00 on Thursday). It is closed on Sunday and public holidays. The Library is closed over Christmas and New Year (check the library’s website for up-to-date information).

    Reproductions

    The University of Manchester Centre for Heritage Imaging and Collection Care (CHICC) can provide digital images of most items in the JRL for research and publication, subject to the physical condition of the item. Images are available in several formats: JPEG (72 dpi, c.1mb), small TIFF (300 dpi, 5-10mb) and large TIFF (600dpi, 60-80mb). The JPEG format is for research purposes only and the most suitable for researchers. It is also possible to obtain photographic and paper prints. All orders are subject to a £10 administration fee and VAT (where applicable). JPEG reproductions (per page, not per folio) cost £3 each up to 10 photographic exposures. If more than 10, the price is £100 (1-50 images), £200 (1-100 images) and £300 (1-200 images). Above 200 images, the price is £100 per 100 images. Authorization from the JRL is needed if the requested images are to be used in a publication. To place an order, complete the Imaging Service Application Form and return it to the CHICC Imaging Service office. The CHICC Imaging Service prices and the Imaging Service Application Form are displayed on the “Order an image” webpage, as well as other useful pieces of information (see Resources and Links). Reproduction orders can be made remotely. Payment is requested in advance of an order being processed.

    NB: Highlights from the collections kept at the JRL, including Rylands Collection, Rylands Genizah Collection and Rylands Papyri Collection, are freely available at the University of Manchester Image Collection website. For instance, the manuscript Arabic MS 378 [372], which contains Ibn Sina’s Kitāb al-Shifā’, is entirely available there in digitized high-definition form.

    OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
    A view of the new entrance to the library.

    Self-Service Photography

    Self-service free of charge photography is allowed in the Elsevier Reading Room for private research purposes only. For each document, one should fill out an application and hand it over to a member of the staff at the desk. Pay close attention to the list of rules listed on the reverse of the form. Many items in the JRL are covered by Copyright Law, which includes unpublished manuscripts.

    Transportation, Food and Other Facilities

    Reaching the JRL is quite easy. When in Manchester city center, simply use the free Metroshuttle lines 1 or 2 and get off at the Deansgate (John Rylands Library) stop. You will find the Library in front of you, on the other side of the street. You can download a map of the Metroshuttle lines in PDF format on the following webpage: http://www.tfgm.com/buses/Pages/metroshuttle.aspx.

    Breakfast and lunch are served daily at Café Rylands inside the JRL building for a reasonable price. It is opened every day of the week (Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 16:30; Saturday from 9:00 am to 16:30; Sunday from 11:00 to 16:30). There are many other restaurants and cafés in the vicinity of the library as well.

    There is a book and souvenir shop inside the main entrance of the JRL building.

    Contact Information

    The John Rylands Library,
    150 Deansgate,
    Manchester,
    M3 3EH

    E-mail addresses: uml.special-collections@manchester.ac.uk (general and reader enquiries), jrl.visitors@manchester.ac.uk (visitor and event enquiries).

    Telephone: 0044 161 275 37 64 (general and reader enquiries), 0044 161 306 05 55 (visitor and event enquiries).

    Resources and Links (in alphabetical order)

    ELGAR: Electronic Gateway Archives at Rylands

    Guardian (formerly Manchester Guardian) Archive

    Guide to the Special Collections of the JRL

    Jewish, Near Eastern and Oriental Studies

    LUNA

    Order an image

    Manchester eScholar Services

    Near Eastern and Oriental Studies

    The John Rylands Library website

    The John Rylands Library Special Collections Blog

    The University of Manchester Image Collection (The Rylands Collection; Rylands Genizah; Rylands Medieval Collection; Rylands Papyri; Arts, Histories & cultures Repository)

    Using the reading rooms in the John Rylands Library

     

    I would like to thank Elizabeth Gow, Manuscript Curator and Archivist, for the detailed information she offered me on the JRL as I wrote this article.

    Teymour Morel is a PhD candidate at the University of Geneva and EPHE, Paris, and a full time collaborator to the European Research Council project “PhiC” (Philosophy in Context: Arabic and Syriac Manuscripts in the Mediterranean), directed by Maroun Aouad (Research Director at CNRS, Paris – Centre Jean Pépin – UPR 76).

    Citation: Teymour Morel, “John Rylands Library”, HAZINE, 27 Nov 2014, https://hazine.info/john-rylands-library/

    Posted on

    Malek National Library and Museum

    by Gennady Kurin

    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.

    Malek 1
    The entrance to the Malek Library

    History

    The institution was established over seventy years ago on the initiative of Hosayn Malek, who died in 1972 at the age of 101. The center was initially located in his father’s house in Tehran, until 1966 when it was moved to a new building in what was then the central part of the city. In his twenties, Hosayn Malek, the grandson of a high ranking Qajar officer, traveled to Khorasan with his father, where he had a chance to get acquainted with some of the most beautiful art works of Islamic world. It was during this trip that he made a decision to acquire his own collection of manuscripts and establish a library. Hosayn Malek’s passion for other kinds of artifacts and artworks came in later years. In 1937 he decided to donate and endow his collection of precious objects and manuscripts to Astan-e Qods-e Razavi (a charitable foundation managing the shrine of Imam Ali Reza) for public use. It is a little difficult to determine when or how the different pieces from this extensive collection were acquired. What we do know is that at the time of Hosayn Malek’s death the value of his endowments was estimated to be over several million dollars. In recent years Hosayn Malek’s daughter, Ezzat Malek Soudavar, has made another significant donation to the center of arts works and Quranic manuscripts that further enriched the already extensive collection.

    Collections

    The center is divided into two sections: On the ground floor there is a museum and on the first floor there is a reference library and computer room.

    The museum has well-presented collections of visual arts, paintings (European and Iranian), lacquered pen cases from the Qajar era, coins, an impressive collection of Qurans (including a part of Quran in Kufic script on a parchment leaf, ascribed to Imam Hassan Mojtaba), and other calligraphic masterpieces. The library has two reading rooms. One room has a number of volumes on subjects ranging from medicine and biology to geography, politics, history, and religious sciences. As of 2007, the library had approximately 70,000 printed books but this figure maybe slightly outdated. The library has been rapidly expanding and new books are constantly being added to the collections. At the time of visit stuff members regularly came in with trolleys stuffed with books. It is worth browsing through the shelves. The second reading room, also a computer room, holds all of the catalogs, periodicals, magazines, and a few shelves at the very back on subjects like mathematics, computer science, accounting or general English.

    The center holds over 19,000 manuscripts dating from the tenth to the twentieth century. The manuscript collection is divided in two groups. The first includes philosophical, literary, historical and scientific works, most of which are either rare or unique. In particular, the staff members take great pride in the extensive collection of scientific works of Avicenna (Ibn Sina). The second group of manuscripts includes books from all over the Islamic world, many fine examples of Persian calligraphy and miniature (e.g. Shahnamas produced for the Safavid or Timurid kings) are kept here. The majority of works is in Persian, but one can also find works in Arabic and some in Ottoman Turkish.

    The manuscripts in the collection are of great variety, but the overwhelming majority originate from Iran and its neighbors (i.e. do not expect to find many works related to North Africa, whereas there is quite a lot on Central Asia and India). At the same time one can easily find works by late Qajar intellectuals, medieval Islamic histories, as well as dynastic chronicles from the Ilkhanids to the Qajars, hermeneutics and other religious subjects as well as a lot of poetry. The oldest manuscript in the collection dates back to the fourth century of the Islamic era. Of particular interest are local histories of different provinces or cities of Iran (e.g. Kerman, Lorestan, Kordestan, Tabriz, Orumie…) and the travelogues (safarnama) of Hajj pilgrims and Persian and European travelers (inside and outside of Iran).

    A coin from the Malek museum's collections
    A coin from the Malek museum’s collections

    Research Experience

    The Malek Library is one of the easiest institutions to access and use in Iran. The library’s convenient and easy-to-reach location, friendly and helpful staff (some of who speak English), well-functioning software (albeit only in Persian), free WiFi, and very comfortable reading rooms make the Malek Library one of the best research institutions in Iran. The building has elevators and is relatively maneuverable in a wheelchair. The reading rooms are very spacious and never seem to be too crowded. The rooms, however, can get quite chilly as a consequence of the powerful air conditioning systems.

    There is a fourteen-volume catalog of the library’s manuscript collection–thirteen volumes of which have been prepared by Iraj Afshar and Muhmmad Daneshpazhuh while the most recent volume is a work of Seyyid Muhammad Hussein Hakim–available for reference in the main reading room. Catalogs for other Iranian libraries and archives, as well as for research institutions in Turkey and Europe are also available. The catalog provides some details on the manuscripts in the collection, including the date of acquisition and place and date of copy. The catalog is well organized and easy to use. The entries appear accurate, but the librarian has informed me that there are occasional mistakes, which will be corrected in an updated version of the catalog to be at the end of this year (Since my visit to the library a new edition, plus a new volume (14th) have been published). There is no electronic catalog available on the library’s computer workstations yet. Ottoman and Arabic manuscripts are covered in the first volume of the catalog and are organized alphabetically, for the small number of works in these two languages. Volumes two to four contain descriptions of Persian manuscripts which are grouped according to subject, e.g. history, literature, science and medicine as well as law and fiqh, and within those groups are also arranged alphabetically. Volumes five to nine contain anthologies and collections while the rest, ten to fourteen are volumes of indices organized by authors, copyists, dates, manuscript names, etc.

    Generally speaking, the whole collection has been cataloged and digitized. Researchers request to view manuscripts by submitting the appropriate catalog numbers to the librarian, who then uploads the manuscript to one of the library’s workstation computers. The whole process takes no more than an hour. The quality of the digitized documents varies, but is generally quite decent and the computer interface is user-friendly. Although the quality of the digitized documents is fair (with some variations), all of the manuscript images are slightly obscured in the lower-right (or lower-left) corner, where the library has placed a digital watermark. Viewing original documents is more complicated and one needs to negotiate with the different members of staff and make good use of personal charisma.

    Depending on the number of manuscripts that a researcher requests, the process of obtaining a CD with the reproductions usually takes between two to five working days (the center is open 6 days a weeks). Personally, I’ve not experienced any inconvenience while working at this library except perhaps for the rather arbitrary opening-closing hours (it is better to call the library before leaving home).  Generally speaking the best tip is to wake up early, go to the library and stay there until it closes as opposed to trying to combine a visit to the library with something else. Tehran simply is the city where it is often difficult to plan things.

    Malek Library Museum-001
    The interior of the Malek museum

    Access and Reproductions

    The center is officially open Saturday to Thursday from 8.30 to 16.30 during summer, and 9.00 to 17.00 during winter. We recommend calling before every visit to confirm that it is open. The museum and library (including computer room and reading rooms) are open to the public and registration is required. However, those who plan to request reproductions on CD or a viewing of the manuscripts need to bring a passport and an introduction letter (ma‘rifatnama). Letters of introduction may be written by academic supervisors or departmental chairpersons (no specific format). They may also be obtained from the International Center for Persian Studies (ICPS), known as the Dehkhoda Institute. The Dekhoda letter of introduction is also accepted by all other major libraries, archives and research centers in Iran. As for the difficulty of the process, other than having to run around the premises getting signatures of different members of staff (takes no more than an hour) everything is pretty smooth and easily accessible. I have been told by a member of staff that taking pictures of manuscripts is not allowed. Reproductions of manuscripts cost 2,000 Rials per pdf page (approximately 7 U.S. cents) and generally take up to five days to be prepared.

    Transportation and Food

    The Malek Library and Museum is located in downtown Tehran, only five minutes away from Imam Khomeini metro station (Red metro line). Metro is by far the most convenient transportation option in Tehran (the traffic is pretty congested during most hours) and the center is best reached by metro. Tehran is certainly not known for its delicious street food but there a few places to have lunch or dinner around the center, including a couple of fast food places on Ferdowsi avenue and some decent cafes and lokma kebab on Mirza Kuchek Khan street, both are relatively cheap and within walking distance. Packing your own lunch might also be an option, as there are some really nice gardens and parks in the area. The archive itself is located inside a massive garden complex although there doesn’t seem to be too many places to sit in the garden.

    Malek Sign-001

    Contact information

    Managing Director:

    Seyed Mohammad Mojtaba Hosseini 

    Mailing address:

    Melal-e Mottahad Street, Bagh-e Melli, Imam Khomeini Avenue, Tehran, P.O. Box: 111555/547

    Internet site and email:

    www.malekmuseum.org (The Persian site has more options and information than the English version)

    info@malekmuseum.org

    Phone:

    0098 21 66726613, 53 (operator)

    0098 21 66751291 (Public relations)

    Fax:

    0098 21 66705974

    Resources and Links

    Online catalog

    An article about the library’s collections and history, a little outdated but still useful

    Some information on the compilation of catalogs

    Catalogs:

    فهرست نسخه‌های خطی كتابخانه و موزه ملی ملك (14 ج)، نگارش سیدمحمّدحسین حكیم، قم، كتابخانه تخصّصی تاریخ اسلام و ایران، 1393 خ

     فهرست کتابهای خطی کتابخانه ملی ملک وابسته به آستان قدس رضوی (1-13 ج)، زیر نظر ایرج افشار، محمد تقی دانش پژوه؛ با همکاری محمد باقر حجتی و احمد منزوی، تهران:کتابخانه ملی ملک، 1380 – 1352 خ  

    __________________

     

    Gennady Kurin is currently a doctoral student at Cambridge University researching Ottoman-Safavid relations and borderlands

    Citation: Gennady Kurin, “Malek National Library and Museum”, HAZINE, 3 Nov 2014, https://hazine.info/maleklibrary/

    Posted on

    Bosniak Institute

    Written by Sanja Kadrić

    The Bosniak Institute (Bošnjački institut – Fondacija Adila Zulfikarpašića) is a foundation established to promote the development and preservation of the cultural wealth, history and identity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Institute offers a large, multi-themed library, a manuscript and rare books collection, an archive, and various special collections such as those of postcards and audio records. Such wide-ranging efforts to preserve the cultural and historical heritage of Bosnia are quite significant, particularly in light of attempts to destroy Sarajevo’s libraries and archives during the war between 1991 and 1995. This institution will be of great interest to all those researching Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav republics and the Balkans at large, as well as the various peoples, empires, religions and cultures that interacted with this region.

     

    The entrance of the Bosniak Institute. The tomb of the founder-Adil Zulfikarpasavic--is located right at the entrance.
    The entrance and courtyard of the Bosniak Institute. The tomb of the founder-Adil Zulfikarpasic–is conveniently located next to the front door.

    History

    Bošnjački institut – Fondacija Adila Zulfikarpašića is a vakuf of the late Adil-beg Zulfikarpašić, a prominent and well-esteemed Bosnian politician, philanthropist, intellectual and patron of the arts. He and his wife Tatjana Zulfikarpašić devoted decades to meticulously collecting and cataloging literary, artistic and archival materials on the cultural heritage and history of Bosnia and Herzegovina, former Yugoslavia, and the surrounding region. Originally established as the Bosniaken Institut of Zürich in 1988, the institute’s purpose was to promote and preserve the cultural, religious and linguistic wealth of the many peoples living in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Bosniaks in particular. The Institute opened a branch in Sarajevo in 1991 and moved there completely in 1998, officially opening in 2001. Its many collections continue to grow and expand through private donations as well as new acquisitions on the part of the Institute and vakuf.

     

    Collection

    The Institute offers researchers monographs, reference works, periodicals (newspapers and magazines), a rare books collection, a map collection, a photographs-and-postcards collection, an archive, audio-visual records and an Oriental manuscripts collection.

    The library holds over 150,000 works dating from the sixteenth century to the present day. These holdings are divided into the departments of Bosnika, Kroatika, Serbika, Jugoslavika, Emigrantika, Islamika, Balkanika, Turcica, and Judaica (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Yugoslavian, Emigrant, Islamic, Balkan, Turkish and Judaic) with special sections devoted to the Bogumils, agrarian reform, the War of 1991-1995, the Sandžak region and reference materials. The Bosnika department is the library’s largest and contains works on Bosnia and Herzegovina and its peoples and history in a wide array of languages and themes. The Emigrantika department features works published by the region’s diaspora throughout the world following World War II. The department of most interest to the readers of HAZINE, however, will probably be that of Islamika which contains works in Arabic, Turkish and Persian on various themes such as history and natural sciences as well as encyclopedias and commentaries on the Qur’an.

    The Institute’s collection of oriental manuscripts is digitized and holds over 1,125 works (743 codices) in Arabic, Turkish, Persian and Bosnian dating from the thirteenth century to the start of the twentieth century. The manuscripts pertain to a wide array of subjects from law and politics to music and rhetoric. The earliest dated work is from 742 AH/1341-2 CE. Many of these manuscripts are especially valuable because they originated in Bosnia and were donations from the private collections of notable families. The manuscript catalog can be accessed here.  In addition to this collection, one can also access facsimiles of the Oriental manuscript collection of the Goethe Institute in Frankfurt with materials from Morocco, Iraq, Egypt and other medieval Islamic cultural centers.

    The institute’s archive holds original documents and copies from various periods relevant to this region’s history, in particular a collection of materials from the recent war in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1991-1995 (periodicals, documents, photographs, video and audio material). The cartographic collection includes maps of various themes, from the historical and topographic to the touristic and climatic, and from various centuries and points of origin in Eurasia. The collection includes about 2,000 maps, mainly of Bosnia and Herzegovina but also former Yugoslavia, Europe and the world. It may be of interest to students of art and art history that the institute also has an extensive art collection numbering 1,500 pieces and containing works by 200 Bosniak, former Yugoslavian and Austro-Hungarian artists. The collection is displayed throughout the institute (galleries in the main library building, the institute club and the former bath house (hamam) and includes paintings, graphic art, sculptures, and tapestries.

     

    Research Experience

    The library’s holdings are cataloged electronically and may be accessed via the institute’s website or at computers on-site. The catalog navigation site is in English. An additional catalog of new additions to the library as well as a catalog of Goethe University’s holdings may be found in the reading rooms. Although the library catalog may be accessed electronically, requests to view the library’s holdings are filled out by hand and submitted on-site. Order slips and submission boxes may be found at the two computers located in the lobby of the Institute. Users cannot order nor hold more than five books at one time. The five-a-day limit also applies to manuscripts even though only their digital copies may be viewed. Orders placed by 15:00 on any business day are usually ready by the start of the next day.  For researchers interested in the manuscript collection, a PDF catalog of the holdings may be found on the Institute’s website or in the published edition edited by Fehim Nametak and Salih Trako. A PDF catalog of the institute’s cartographic collection is also available on its website. Because the ordering and holding limit is five items, it is recommended that you consult the catalog ahead of time, determine what is available and prioritize what you need to order. This will also expedite the process of ordering your items in person at the institute.

    The institute’s staff is incredibly warm and friendly; it is generally a very welcoming place to work. Along with BSC (Bosnian-Serbian-Croatian), some of the staff also speaks English and tours for large groups may be arranged in various other languages. The librarians can be approached with questions about the library and the various collections as well as the process of ordering books, using the reading room, and paying for copies. Because the institute’s archive is not open to the public, if you plan to utilize it, ask the librarians to notify the correct staff who can answer your questions regarding its holdings. The reading rooms are cozy and warm with large windows and a wonderful view of the Gazi Husrev-beg bath house (hamam) and Sacred Heart Cathedral. The reading room used most often holds eight spacious desks, one of which is equipped with a computer that can be used to access the library catalog and view ordered manuscripts. If there is another researcher viewing manuscripts, you will to arrange separate times for each of you to use the computer. The entire institute is equipped with wireless internet which is available to users. Usernames and passwords can be obtained in the reading rooms. Some of the library holdings may be found shelved in this room and can be used freely. While the reading room is rarely crowded, especially in the mornings, unoccupied electrical outlets may occasionally be difficult to find later in the day.

     

    Access

    The Bosniak Institute is open to all academic researchers who work on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosniaks and the surrounding regions and peoples. After providing a valid identification document (I.D. card if a Bosnian national, otherwise passport) and filling out a basic information and research project information form, you will receive a membership card. Researchers present this card and their valid identification document every time upon entering the institute. The membership card is also used to obtain any book or reproduction orders. Upon returning the books ordered or paying for your reproductions, your valid identification and user card will be returned. The overall process is very painless and simple. If you take a break during your work and plan to exit the building, you must return your holdings to the front desk for safekeeping. They should not be left unattended in the reading room.

    The entry is wheelchair accessible and the building has easy-access elevators. The institute is usually closed for state and religious holidays, but apart from this, there are no other long-term closures.

     

    Institute working hours:

    Monday – Friday 8:00-16:30

     

    Library working hours:

    Monday – Friday 9:00-16:00

    Wednesday 9:00-19:00

     

    Reproductions

    The institute will photocopy materials (books, magazines, newspapers) produced in the year 1945 or later for you, but the maximum amount of pages is ten. Personal digital photography of any material can only be done with permission. Materials produced before 1945 cannot be photocopied and will be scanned by the institute and provided to you in electronic form on a USB drive.

    Photocopies: BAM .20 (regular 8.5×11) – BAM 1.00 (varied sizes, double-sided)

    Scans: BAM 2.00 per page scan (regular) – BAM 4.00 per page scan (rush delivery)

    CD: BAM 1.20

    DVD: BAM 1.50

    (Manuscripts are charged by the page, not by the folio, as is the case in most manuscript libraries. This means that prices are actually a pricey 4 BAM or around 2 Euros a folio. You can find other versions of some, though not all, of the institute’s manuscripts holdings at the Gazi Husrev Beg Library which charges less for digital copies.)

     

    Transportation and Food

    The institute is located in the Old Town municipality of Sarajevo in the very heart of the city and is surrounded by many famous, well-preserved Ottoman architectural remnants such as the Gazi Husrev-beg medresa and mosque. The building which houses the institute is built alongside the Gazi Husrev-beg bath house (hamam) which was restored by and remains in the care of the institute. Because of its central location and placement on one of Sarajevo’s main streets, it is easy to reach via city or commercial bus (31A), tram (Line 3) or on foot from anywhere within the city limits. However, cabs are affordable for most transportation budgets and the plethora of private companies (residents will recommend private companies due to their accountability and fair practices: Crveni Taxi, Kale Taxi, Samir & Emir Taxi, Holland Co., amongst others) make its location very expedient and relatively affordable to reach.

    The institute does not have a cafeteria or a café, but the entrance floor does have an automated coffee machine which produces anything from cappuccinos to tea. Numerous cafes (some with coffee-to-go, which is unusual in Bosnia), bakeries, pizzerias and restaurants surround the Institute, so researchers have their pick and will have no issues tailoring their dietary needs to their budgets. One exclusively vegetarian and vegan restaurant is within short walking distance of the institute, but most bakeries, restaurants and sandwich shops will offer meatless options. The institute is also a thirty meter walk from a large local market where researchers can find fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as other shopping.

     

    The lobby of the Bosniak Institute
    The lobby of the Bosniak Institute

    Miscellaneous

    The institute takes a holistic approach to achieving its mission of preserving, promoting and developing the study of Bosnia and Herzegovina, former Yugoslavia and the Balkans. It is simultaneously a place of research, offering a library and an archive, and a museum in its own right. It also often coordinates and hosts academic conferences, cultural events and variously-themed seminars.  Information on current and upcoming events and exhibitions can be found at the front desk. The institute also publishes and co-publishes various books and periodicals, and a list of these publications may be found on its website. Lastly, it provides scholarships to university and graduate students in various fields from Bosnian universities.

    The institute has its own galleries which house over 1,500 works of regional origin from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. As the posters throughout the institute boast, new gallery exhibitions are organized regularly and are open to all. As an integral part of the institute, the Gazi Husrev-beg bath house (hamam) is also used as an art gallery and for various exhibitions on the cultural heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is open for visitation by researchers as well as the general public. Alongside the on-going process of digitalization, the Institute has partnered with the Elektrotehnicki Fakultet (University of Sarajevo’s College of Electrical Engineering) to begin a multimedia project of digital preservation and reconstruction of various cultural artifacts which can be accessed through the Institute’s website (see Resources and Links).

     

    Contact information

    Mula Mustafa Bašeskije 21

    71000 Sarajevo

    Bosna i Hercegovina

    Tel: (011) 387 33 279 800

    Fax: (011) 387 33 279 777

    Amina Rizvanbegović Džuvić, Mr., Director

    biblioteka@bosnjackiinstitut.ba

    info@bosnjackiinstitut.ba

    www.bosnjackiinstitut.ba

     

     

    Resources and Links

    On-line library catalog

    Manuscript collection catalog (PDF)

    Published catalog: Nametak, Fehim and Salih Trako. Katalog Arapskih, Perzijskih, Turskih i Bosanskih Rukopisa iz Zbirke Bošnjačkog Instituta. Sarajevo and Zürich: Bošnjački institute, 2003.

    Cartographic collection catalog PDF:

    Multimedia project

     

    25 September 2014

    Sanja Kadrić is a doctoral candidate at Ohio State University working on the history of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans. Specifically, she studies the Ottoman institution of the devşirme, a levy of young men trained and educated as elite military and bureaucratic servants. 

     

    Citation Information

    Sanja Kadrić, “Bosniak Institute – Foundation Adil Zulfikarpasic” HAZINE, 25 Sep 2014, https://hazine.info/bosniak-institute/

    Posted on

    National Archives of Japan

    Written by Kelly Hammond

    Introduction

    The National Archives of Japan (Kokuritsu kōbunsho-kan 國立公文書館) are invaluable to researchers working on Japan’s relationships with and growing interest in the Middle East and Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The archives are located in the Imperial Palace complex in Tokyo’s Chiyoda District at the north end of Kitanomaru Park, the former site of Edo Castle and the seat of the Tokugawa Shogun (1603-1867).

    Researchers interested in the important relationships between Pan-Asianism and Pan-Islamism, non-western expressions of transnationalism and internationalism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and Japan’s growing scholarly interest in Islam at the turn of the twentieth century will find these archives invaluable for their research.

    Japanese Archives

    History

    The National Archives of Japan houses most the of administrative documents of the government, as well as many journals, newspapers, manuscripts, and important books published since the Meiji Period (1868-1912) or collected by different governments since that period. During the Allied Occupation of Japan, the Diet acknowledged the need to create a permanent facility to prevent the further destruction and disbursement of documents, and to ensure that they would be made available to the public. However, it was not until 1971 that the Diet voted to establish the National Archives to ensure the preservation of government documents and publications, and to ensure that they would all be housed in one, central location. This brought together many disparate collections, such as the library for the cabinet of the Meiji government, which included seminal works of ancient Japanese and Chinese philosophy not found anywhere else. In 2001, the National Archives opened its current location and is home to the majority of surviving documents regarding decisions made by the central government.

    Researchers should be aware that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintains its own archive and library, holding all diplomatic documents from the end of the Tokugawa Bakufu in the mid-nineteenth century until the postwar period. For anyone working on foreign relations with Japan, it is imperative that they visit this collection as well.

    Collection

    The archive holds government documents and publications that are available to the public from the establishment of the Cabinet system in Japan to the early 1970s. The archives also house the Momijiyama Library (紅葉山文庫), which began as the library of Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1602. This library contains maps, manuscripts, and books collected by the government from the Tokugawa Bakufu onwards, as well as important Chinese works on East Asian medical traditions, politics, plays, and early Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) novels and poetry.

    However, the collections that researchers will find the most valuable are the materials compiled by the Diet starting in the Meiji Period. These document collections are arranged chronologically and classified into categories, such as public works, education, and foreign affairs. Here, researchers will find detailed works on the history of Islam and Muslim societies, detailed ethnographic studies of Muslim populations in the Middle East, India, Central Asia, and China, and reports of Japanese efforts to enlist the support of Muslims in the prewar and war periods. They will also find documents pertaining to Japan’s plans to position itself as the “Mecca of the East,” the building of the Tokyo Camii, the naturalization of Muslim Tatar refugees from the Crimea after the Russia Revolution, as well as journals and papers chronicling the conversion of numerous Japanese scholars to Islam following their studies in Istanbul and Cairo. All of these together make up one of the most important collections of works in Japanese concerning Islam.

    Documents up to the end of WWII are open and public, although an archivist must screen many documents from the post-war period before they are made available to researchers. The screening process can take time, so if you plan to look at documents from 1945 onwards, inquire with the archives before visiting. Having never had to request a document that needed to be screened, I am relying on information provided on the archives website which explains that they will screen up to five documents a day per person and notify the researcher once the documents have been screened and cleared for viewing.

    The Research Experience

    The collection is completely searchable online by keyword, although researchers must be physically present at the archives to request documents or to view the majority of the digitized documents. Searches can be narrowed to include certain years or reigns. Researchers are advised to spend time trying numerous keyword combinations to optimize search results. They should also try kanji, hiragana, katakana and the other spelling variants. For instance, if looking for documents pertaining to “Turkey” in Japanese, it is advisable to search kanji (土耳其), hiragana (とるこ), katakana (トルコ), and any other spelling variants you are familiar with to maximize the number of hits.

    There are also paper catalogs in the research room that are worth examining to cross-reference online searches, as they sometimes yield sources or avenues to researchers that online catalogs do not. Discrepancies or anomalies between the online and paper catalogs are rare, although occasionally the printed editions provide information not available in the online catalogs. Given the efficiency of the online catalog, researchers can spend a few days before they visit the archives searching the documents they would like to see or have pulled when they arrive. This allows researchers to hit the ground running: you can have a document in hand within an hour of arriving at the archives.

    Japan is at the forefront of archival digitization and you can browse all of their digital holdings online (see website below). The quality of digitization is extremely high, and in my experience, there was no need to request the original if the digital copy was available. Many of the digitized documents are only available to view or print from within the archives. Some manuscripts and journals that are available widely can be downloaded from an outside network, but most documents require the physical presence of the researcher at the archives—even if the material is digitized. Printing digitized copies is free.

    Pulling items that have not been digitized requires that researchers complete a form and submit it to the incredibly helpful staff. Although the staff only speak Japanese, they are extremely polite, patient, and thoughtful. After submitting a request, you can expect to see your first documents within an hour, and the archivists pull documents throughout the day, depending on the number of requests. The research room is well lit and well air-conditioned. There are some dictionaries and encyclopedias for reference use. Recently, the research room has been equipped with Wi-Fi for researchers, which is easily accessible in a few simple steps.

    Access

    The archives are open Monday to Friday, 9:15 to 17:00. They are closed on weekends, Japanese national holidays, and December 28-January 4 for New Year holidays. Last admission to the archives and the last time to submit a request for documents is thirty minutes before closing.

    Upon arrival at the archives, you will need to register using either your passport or a valid form of government identification issued by your home country, such as a driver’s license. The process is simple and efficient and takes no more than ten minutes. Following this, researchers must sign in with a security guard who issues them a locker key to secure their belongings for the day. All government buildings in Japan are wheelchair accessible.

    Reproductions

    Until recently, the archives did not allow photographs, and copying was expensive. However, the archives have recently amended their regulations and now allow researchers to photograph most documents. Many Meiji (1868-1912) documents cannot be photographed, whereas most Taishō (1912-1926) and Shōwa (1928-1989) documents can. A word of advice: the National Archives holds a number of important manuscripts and journals about Islam and Islam in Asia published in the first half of the twentieth century. It is advisable to check the catalog of the National Archives of Japan before you pay to copy them at other locations (for instance at the Waseda University Library, Tōyō Bunko, or the National Library of Japan) since they may be photographed at the archives for free. This only applies to a few books and publications, but it is worth looking into since copying materials is often prohibitively expensive in Japan.

    If the documents you want cannot be photographed, expect to fill out a form requesting one of the staff to copy them for you (researchers are not allowed to copy their own documents). This can take anywhere from a couple of hours to a few days, depending on the number of pages you request. Researchers can also request PDFs and/or JPEGs of their documents, which are digitized on a CD ROM for a nominal fee. Each page costs upwards of 35 US cents (or around 30-35 Japanese yen) to copy, so having the time to make good choices about what you want to copy is important.

    Transportation and Food

    The easiest way to get to the archive is by metro. The closest metro stop is Takebashi 竹橋 on the Tōzai Line. The next closest stop, Jinbōchō 神保町, is a kilometer walk from the archives and is on the Hanzōmon, Mita, and Shinjuku lines. As an aside, Jinbōchō is the used book district in Tokyo, and many hours can be spent meandering its small, winding streets and incredible used bookstores. Depending on where researchers are staying in Tokyo, it will cost between US $8-12 per day getting to and from the archives by metro. Researchers who are planning to stay in Tokyo for longer periods can also buy a bicycle, which is a pleasant and affordable way to get around the city. There is bike parking at the archives, or nearby at the Tōzai metro station.

    There is no cafeteria in the archives, although there is a small lunchroom that researchers are welcome to share with the staff. The room has some large armchairs for quick post-lunch naps, but they are rarely vacant. Researchers can also use the vending machines and hot water dispenser in the lunchroom. Given the location of the archives at the north end of the Imperial Palace complex, there are few affordable places to eat in the surrounding areas. The archives are situated next to the National Museum of Modern Art, which has a lovely, yet rather expensive, coffee shop. A few small restaurants serving bento boxes and meal combos (teishoku) can be found within walking distance, but they are also quite expensive for lunch. The best and most affordable option for those who do not bring their own lunch are the numerous convenience stores (konbini) that are located within a kilometer or so radius from the archives. As anyone who has spent time in Japan will know, the konbini offers a very viable and affordable option for a quick lunch.

    Future Plans and Rumors

    The archives are constantly taking documents out of circulation for digitization. On my last visit, I was not able to see two or three documents that I ordered because they were being digitized. This slight inconvenience, however, should not deter researchers—I was able to see about 95% of what I requested.

    Contact Information

    3-2 Kitanomaru Park, Chiyoda District, Tokyo

    東京都千代田区北の丸公園３番2 号

    Telephone number: 03-3214-0621

    Resources and Links

    Searchable Digital Archive Collection (Japanese)

    Searchable Digital Archive Collection (English)

    Archive Website (Japanese)

    Archive Website (English)

    Valuable tool for researchers to do some preliminary planning before their trip:

    Kosugi Yashishi, Hayashi Kayoko and Tonaga Yasushi, eds. Islamic World Research Manual.Nayoga: Nagoya University Press, 2008.

    小杉泰、林佳世子、東長靖、編. イスラム世界研究マニュアル. 名古屋：名古屋学生時代出版社、2008.

     

    Kelly Hammond is a doctoral student at Georgetown University. Her work focuses on the Japanese efforts to win the hearts and minds of Muslims in North China during the China War (1931-1945).

    21 April 2014

    Cite this: Kelly Hammond, “The National Archives of Japan for Scholars of the the Middle East,” Hazine, 21 April 2014, https://hazine.info/2014/04/19/national-archives-japan/

    Posted on

    Archivo General de Simancas

    Written by Claire Gilbert

    The Archivo General de Simancas (AGS) is the primary central archive of the Hispanic Monarchy for documents from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, although it also holds documents dating from the medieval period. It is located in the fifteenth-century castle of Simancas in a small village of the same name, ten kilometers from Valladolid. It is a valuable repository not only for the study of early modern Iberian empires, but also for North Africa and the Mediterranean.

    Simancas Castle
    Simancas Castle

    History

    The history of the AGS has its precedents in the consolidation of the royal archival depository in the first part of the sixteenth century, first on the orders of Ferdinand II of Aragon and then under his grandson Charles V in the 1540s. Charles’s son, Philip II, made the founding of a permanent physical repository of state documents a priority, not long after founding a permanent capital in Madrid and the royal library in El Escorial (which included a collection of Arabic texts). The site was renovated throughout the sixteenth century in order to transform it from a state prison to the royal state archive, and for several decades the two functions coexisted. In 1599 the military head of the prison-fortress was permanently replaced with the head archivist. All documents pertaining to the business of the Hispanic monarchy were thereafter deposited and preserved in the archival fortress, where historians requested special permission to consult them. The archive was partially relocated during the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714), but the documents were subsequently returned to Simancas. In the eighteenth century most documents pertaining to Spanish possessions in and trade with the Americas were moved from Simancas to the Archivo General de las Indias in Seville. During the Peninsular War and Napoleonic occupation (1807-1814), many state papers from Simancas were captured and transported to France, including many papers relating to Spanish enterprises in North Africa, although almost all have since been returned. While most documents pertaining directly to royal administration remained in Simancas, other state documents (including those pertaining to the Inquisition, which confiscated Arabic documents) began to be deposited in or were transferred to the Archivo Histórico Nacional in Madrid. Today the AGS is part of a modern network of Spanish state archives, run by the Ministerio de Educación, Cultura, y Deporte (Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport, MECD), formerly Ministerio de Cultura. This network also includes the Archivo Histórico Nacional, the Archivo de la Corona de Aragón and the Archivo General de Indias, among several others. A complete list may be found on the MECD website.

    Collection:

    The AGS houses many documents related to the history of diplomatic and commercial relations between the Hispanic Monarchy and different Muslim powers and communities. Most documents are in Spanish, Italian, and other European languages, but there are documents in Arabic and Ottoman Turkish, and possibly in Persian —as part of the Habsburg-Safavid diplomatic correspondence—as well as translations from those languages into Spanish or Italian. These are likely to be found interpolated with diplomatic correspondence and reports. After the eighteenth century, complementary collections concerning diplomatic relations with the Ottoman Empire were to be found in the Archivo del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores (AMAE) in Madrid. The AMAE was closed last year, and although the documents have been transferred to the Archivo Histórico Nacional in Madrid and the Archivo General de la Administración in Alcalá de Henares, the AMAE collections are not currently accessible for researchers. Arabic documents produced in or sent to Valencia and Catalunya are more likely to be found in the rich Arabic collections of the Archivo de la Corona de Aragón in Barcelona, where they may be accessed, in part, online via PARES.

    The holdings of Simancas, which are vast, are divided into twenty-eight broad collections, within which there are many subdivisions. Collections of particular interest for scholars of North Africa, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Islamic Spain are Patronato Real, Secretarías del Consejo de Estado, Secretarías de los Consejos de Flandes, Italia y Portugal, and Guerra y Marina, although there are documents relating to Islamic Spain, North Africa, and the Mediterranean to be found throughout the archive. The bulk of Patronato Real documents, including treaties between Castile and Nasrid Granada dating from 1406, are digitized and available online at PARES. The other collections must be consulted at Simancas. The most common method of cataloging across the collections is by individual name, place name, and date range, so scholars will want to formulate their research questions in this particular archive following these kinds of keywords through the different collections. There is no standard catalog across the archive, although the online database (PARES) is a good place to start and can support keyword searches other than name, place, and date. The online search is useful if you are not at Simancas but it can only take you so far. The real map to the holdings is to be found in the paper catalogs in the AGS reading rooms, which correspond to specific collections and which are quite heterogeneous in organization and layout.

    simancas 1
    An interior hall in Simancas archive

    The AGS also holds a rich collection of maps and drawings, including of sites in North Africa. The entire maps and drawing collection (Mapas, Planos y Dibujos) has been digitized. More information about the collection and how to consult it can be found here:

    The Research Experience:

    Researchers can bring only pencils, laptops, and half sheets of paper (provided) into the reading room.  All other belongings are left in lockers in the break room. There are spaces for at least twenty researchers in the reading room, with additional space in a neighboring room, and it is rarely full, except in the summer months.

    Since 2013, document requests are now made from one of two computer terminals in the reading room, as part of a now standard practice across state archives. You use the username and password that are issued to you with your research ID (carné de investigador). Document requests are fulfilled as they are received, and it usually takes about 15-20 minutes for the documents to be brought to the reading room. A researcher may request three legajos at a time and there is a limit of 10 legajos per day.

    There is an active program of digitization across the Spanish state archives, including Simancas. However, by far the bulk of the materials remain available in manuscript format only. There is no single catalog of the AGS, although the Simancas holdings are partially described online as part of the main archive bibliographic database, PARES. Some of the documentary collections have published catalogs, which may be available in university libraries. The entire catalog collection may only be consulted completely in the Simancas reading rooms. Most catalogs are available for consultation on the reading-room shelves. Some of the collections still rely on seventeenth-century catalogs, which must be requested from the archivist.

    The archivists at the AGS provide outstanding research help and can help guide researchers to the right collections and catalogs based on their topics and questions. The best place to start for any researcher is with a copy of the guide, Archivo General de Simancas: Guía del investigador (1962), sadly out of print but available in many university libraries and in several well-worn copies in the AGS reading room. This guide gives a detailed overview of the collections, their subdivisions, and the date ranges in each. The guide is not a substitute for the catalogs, but is an important first step to understand the possible research directions one may take in the AGS.

    The AGS also houses a respectable research library collection with books and articles related to early modern Spanish history and in particular related to research topics that may be done from Simancas. The library catalog can be found here. Users should specify “Biblioteca: Archivo General de Simancas.” Researchers can request books to be delivered to the reading room, and this can be a valuable compliment to manuscript research. There are also a range of dictionaries on the shelves that researchers may use as they wish.

    The archive staff is kind, professional, and thoroughly knowledgeable about the collection. New researchers will have a chance to speak with the Jefa de sala  (Head of the Reading Room), who will help orient you in the catalogs and give guidance about which collections to search based on your research topic. Spanish is the primary language of communication, and is recommended, although the archivists are scholars themselves and thus possess a range of fluency in other languages. The researchers are also an international group, so for those researchers who do not speak Spanish, it may be possible to find someone to help translate in a pinch. The most prudent strategy would be to arrive with a version of your primary research topic in Spanish, although there will likely be a multilingual and friendly group in the reading room who can help facilitate communication.

    Last Will and Testament of Queen Isabella, from the Simancas Archive
    Last Will and Testament of Queen Isabella, from the Simancas Archive

    Reproductions:

    Reproductions are available on CD or in paper, and the format depends on the collection. Some collections have not been digitized, and are only currently available in paper copies. Other collections have been digitized and are only available in digital copies on CD. Prices vary but are reasonable (e.g., 0.15 Euros/page for a black and white A4), and there is a small cost for the CD if digital copies are requested. There are different reproduction-request forms for either digital or paper copies, and both are available in the reading room. It is best to consult one of the archivists or technicians about which form to use since they have an immediate sense of whether a document is available for digital or paper reproduction. Digital reproductions are made much more quickly than the paper copies, for obvious reasons. Because the archive is so well used, the wait for paper reproductions can take between a few weeks to a few months, but the staff does its best to complete reproduction orders as quickly as their resources allow. Reproductions can be sent internationally for the cost of postage and it might be possible to request them from abroad as well.

    Access:

    The AGS is open Monday through Friday from 8:15 until 14:30 only. In practice, the archivists begin to collect materials by 14:15, meaning that research ends at that time. The Valladolid-Simancas bus arrives around 8:30, meaning that researchers who stay in the village of Simancas have the advantage of an extra half-hour in the archive. There are no long-term closures, and the AGS remains open in August, when some Spanish libraries and archives close. Holidays fall throughout the year, however, and a list of holiday closures (días festivos) is available on the main archive web page.

    Entrance to the AGS and any Spanish state archive is open to all. However, a recent change in policy means that you do need to apply for a research ID (carné de investigador) when you arrive, which is applicable at all state archives. If you already have an ID from another state archive, you simply present it at the AGS. In Simancas, as in any of the state archives, obtaining a research ID requires a passport and a short interview, which can best be facilitated if you have a letter of affiliation on hand. It is not a difficult process, but it is important to bring the required materials and be able to explain briefly your interest in the collections. If you are not Spanish, you must bring your passport to the archive each day in order to gain access to the site.

    The archive also houses a small museum and exhibition space, which is open in the morning and afternoon, including Saturdays (the archive is not open on Saturdays). Tourists may visit on weekdays from 10:00-14:00 and 17:00-19:00 and Saturdays from 11:00-14:00 and 17:00-19:00.  See the website for more information about guided tours.

    Transportation and Food:

    Simancas is not far from Valladolid, which serves as the main base for researchers who are not staying in the village. Transportation to and from the archive can be complicated for the uninitiated. If you do not have your own car, you must use the medium-distance bus service, which departs from the Valladolid Bus Station, and the fare is just over a Euro each way (though prices may change). Researchers based in Madrid should take the Alvia train from the Chamartín train station (an early train allows you to catch the 10:00 bus to Simancas, but verify current transportation schedules), or the ALSA bus from either the Moncloa or South Bus Stations. There is also a bus that goes straight from the Barajas International Airport just outside Madrid to Valladolid. Once in Valladolid, the train and bus stations are about a 15-minute walk from one another. The Simancas bus (La Regional) leaves from one of the central bays, and you may buy your ticket from the window inside or from the bus driver. There has been in the past a bono-card which allows you to purchase ten journeys for a slightly cheaper fare. The bus leaves Valladolid at 8:00, but then not again until 10:00, (especially important for researchers coming from Madrid who need to coordinate train schedules). Subsequently the bus leaves every hour. The bus returns from Simancas to Valladolid around 14:15 and 15:15, but the next bus back to Valladolid is not until 17:15. If you miss the 14:15 bus, you should stay and have lunch in the village. An online bus schedule can be found here.

    There are several bars and restaurants in Simancas, in addition to a coffee and snack machine in the archive break room. Researchers are generally very friendly and sociable, and will gather for a coffee break at the machine or one of the bars around 11:00, and/or for lunch once the archive closes.

    Miscellaneous:

    The archive runs small temporary exhibitions based on its collections, which are uniformly excellent and certainly worth visiting. There is no charge associated with visiting the exhibition. Overall, Simancas is an exceptional place to do research, given the richness of the collections, the kindness and professionalism of the staff, and the pleasant reading room and efficient document delivery.

    Contact information:

    Telephone:

    (34) 983 590 003

    Address:

    Calle Miravete, 8

    47130 Simancas (Valladolid)

    SPAIN

    Website and Email:

    http://www.mcu.es/archivos/MC/AGS/

    ags@mcu.es

    Resources and Links:

    The “Guide” to Simancas, a thorough though not detailed overview of the collections, their contents, histories, date ranges and shelfmarks: Angel de la Plaza Bores, Archivo General de Simancas: Guía del Investigador, Valladolid: Dirección General de Archivos y Bibliotecas, 1962.

    A recent collection of scholarly essays about the AGS and the work which has been done using its collections: Alberto Marcos Martín (ed.), Hacer historia desde Simancas, Valladolid: Junta de Castilla y León, 2011.

    ________________________________________________________________

    Claire Gilbert is a doctoral candidate in the Department of History at UCLA working on translators between Spain and Morocco in the sixteenth century.

    Cite this: Claire Gilbert, “Simancas”, HAZINE, https://hazine.info/2014/03/13/simancas/, 13 Mar 2014

    Posted on

    Chester Beatty Library

    Written by Melis Taner

    The Chester Beatty Library (Leabharlann Chester Beatty) contains Oriental and Western books and manuscripts bequeathed by the private collector Sir Alfred Chester Beatty (1875-1968).  Located on the grounds of Dublin Castle, the library houses one of the finest manuscript collections of Islamic and East Asian material in Europe and is especially well known for its illustrated manuscripts.6144718-Chester_Beatty_Library_Dublin

    History

    Sir Chester Beatty was a mining magnate who at an early age began to collect stamps and Chinese snuff bottles. Over time he began to collect European and Persian manuscripts. Following a trip in 1914 to Egypt, he became interested in Arabic materials and acquired several copies of the Quran. His collection grew and came to include Japanese and Chinese paintings after a trip to Asia in 1917. Sir Chester Beatty moved to Ireland in 1950 and there he built a library. His personal collection was bequeathed to the public after his death in 1968. The collection boasts manuscripts, single folios, scrolls, textiles and decorative objects from East Asia, Armenia and Western Europe in addition to over 4,400 Islamic manuscripts. The library’s aim is to preserve and display rare materials belonging to the collection of Sir Chester Beatty and to make them available to the public.

    Chester Beatty, collector
    Chester Beatty, collector

    Collection

    The Islamic manuscripts in the collection range in production date from the eighth century to the twentieth century. The majority of the collection is made of some 2,650 Arabic manuscripts, most of which are unillustrated and range in topic from history, religion, jurisprudence to astronomy and medicine. There are 260 Qurans in the collection, which boasts an illuminated Quran copied in Baghdad in 1001 by the famed calligrapher Ibn al-Bawwab. In addition, there is a large collection of Mughal manuscripts and paintings, produced during the reigns of Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. The smaller collection of over 300 Persian manuscripts represents fine examples of illustrated literary works, including a luxurious copy of the Gulistan of Saʿdi (MS 10) made for the Timurid ruler Baysunghur. The collection of Turkish manuscripts comprises the smallest group among the Islamic materials and consists of around 160 manuscripts in Ottoman Turkish and Chaghatay. While a small collection in general, the quality of material preserved is very fine in terms of condition and decoration, and is a great resource for art historians in particular.

    Funeral of Suleyman
    The procession for Sultan Suleyman’s death, from the collection of the Chester Beatty Library

    An e-book version of the guide to the collections is available for download on iTunes for $12.99. Printed catalogs of the Islamic collections are available for study in the reading room. The main sources for the field of Islamic history and art are the catalogs of Turkish and Persian manuscripts by Vladimir Minorsky and A. J. Arberry. Arberry’s eight-volume catalog of the Arabic collections are available electronically on the library’s website. Thomas Arnold produced a catalog of the collection’s Indian manuscripts. For the collection of Qurans, one can consult A. J. Arberry’s handlist of Qurans held at the Chester Beatty Library (please see below for references to all of catalogs cited here). While unpublished, researchers may also consult a folder that includes recent acquisitions.

    Vladimir Minorsky’s 1958 catalog of the Turkish manuscripts and miniatures is organized with an eye to the style of painting as well as the language of the text. Thus, the illuminated Persian Mathnawi of Rumi is included in the catalog of Turkish manuscripts on account of the style of its illumination. On the other hand, a manuscript made for a Turcoman ruler, with a text in a Turcoman dialect, and paintings that are closer to Persian art than Turkish art, has also been included in this catalog on account of its language. The Turkish collection includes early works such as the Sulaymannama (T.406) composed and transcribed for Bayezid II (not to be confused with the late sixteenth-century History of Sultan Sulayman (Tetimme-i Ahval-i Sultan Suleyman, T.413), a late fifteenth-century deluxe copy of the Divan of Hidayat (T.401), and the fourth part of the late sixteenth-century Siyer-i Nebi (T.419). In addition, there are several manuscripts that contain maps and paintings of holy places, astrological manuscripts, as well as single folios and albums. There are several eighteenth-century copies of Dalail al-Khayrat; a late eighteenth-century illustrated account of El-Hacc Muhammed Edib Efendi b. Muhammed Derviş’s pilgrimage between 1779 and 1780. Along with illustrated and illuminated manuscripts, there are also several waqfnamas, such as that of Davud Ağa, former chief eunuch, or that of the princess Fatima Sultan, daughter of Murad III.

    Minorsky’s catalogs are quite accurate and provide a detailed description of the manuscripts, including information about the author, codex size, folio number, binding, script, the name of the scribe, copy date, and provenance, whenever possible. When dealing with anthologies and albums, Minorsky provides information on individual sections and their folio numbers. The catalogs also include an index of personal names, places and tribes, as well as a selection of images. In addition to these catalogs there are dictionaries and reference materials relating to book collecting, bookbinding, calligraphy, Islamic art, East Asian art, Christianity and Buddhism in the reading room.

    In 2011 the Chester Beatty Library launched an online and interactive Islamic Seals Database of seal impressions found in the library’s collection of Arabic manuscripts, set up as part of the library’s Arabic Manuscripts Project. The project is still in progress and will include images of seals from the library’s Islamic collection. The researcher or the visitor to the site may contribute by adding information, thus enlarging the database.

    Research Experience

    The collection is not digitized but researchers may view the originals in the reading room. The reading room operates on an appointment basis so it is most often quite empty and very pleasant to work in, with a large desk and cradles provided for manuscript support. As the reading room works on an appointment basis, the manuscripts are already on reserve for the researcher when he or she arrives. Should the researcher wish to see other manuscripts, they are brought out a few minutes after the request. There is no need to fill out any forms. In the reading room there are two librarians on duty and they have to be present while the researcher views the material. Should one or both librarians have to leave, a guard takes their place. In general, the researcher is not required to use gloves but cradles are suggested when necessary.

    Access

    Aurangzeb hunting nilgai
    Aurangzeb hunting, one of the illustrated miniatures from the collection of the Chester Beatty Library

    The reading room is on the second floor of the library and is open from 10:00 to 13:00, and 14:15 to 17:00 Monday to Friday. The library is closed between December 24 and 26, as well as New Year’s Day, Good Friday, and any public holiday that falls on a Monday. From October to the end of April it is also closed on Mondays. It is important to contact the curator, Dr. Elaine Wright, well in advance as the reading room works on an appointment basis. While there is some flexibility in scheduling further sessions, it is best if the researcher contacts the curator for each session in advance in order to avoid any problem that may arise if the reading room is used for another event. One may contact the curator via e-mail with a description of one’s research and background as well as at least some of the manuscripts he or she would like to see. Once the researcher has an appointment through correspondence with the curator, it is quite easy to access the reading room. The guards at the entrance to the library will point the researcher in the right direction. There are lockers at the entrance (which require a 1 euro deposit), where one can leave personal belongings. There is no internet access in the reading room. The library is wheelchair friendly but it must be noted that currently there are problems with the lift service.

    Reproductions

    Photography is not allowed but digital reproductions for publication purposes are available on request. Reproductions for publication tend to be quite pricey at 17 euros per image. For a new photograph, it is 50 euros. There is also a handling fee of 21 euros if the images or microfilms are sent to the address. However, the curator is kind enough to provide lower quality images for free (up to 20 images) for study purposes only, if they are readily available.

    Transportation and Food

    The library is located very centrally, within Dublin Castle, close to Dame Street and Christchurch Cathedral. Dublin is quite small and walkable but bus routes are also available (lines 13, 40, 123, 27, 77a and 150). As the reading room closes for lunch, one may need to pack a lunch or go to one of the many nearby restaurants and cafes. The Silk Road Café, located within the library/museum, provides Middle Eastern and Irish food and has a good selection of vegetarian dishes.  There are plenty of options nearby as well, from fish and chips stands to cafes, especially on Dame Street. The library also regularly holds exhibitions, which make for pleasant lunchtime perusing. The entrance to the library and museum is free. While the collection is quite small in comparison to some other manuscript libraries, the quality of materials is very high and it is a great place to work with the very obliging librarians and curators.

    Contact information
    Chester Beatty Library
    Dublin Caste, Dublin 2
    Phone: (+353 1) 407 07 50

    Chester Beatty Signage
    Chester Beatty Signage

    Resources and Catalogs
    Chester Beatty Library main site

    Islamic Seals Database

    Arberry, A.J. The Chester Beatty Library: A Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts and Miniatures. V.Minorsky. Dublin: Hodges Figgis & Co. Ltd. 1959-1962.

    Arberry, A.J. The Koran Illuminated: A Handlist of the Korans in the Chester Beatty Library. Dublin: Hodges Figgis & Co. Ltd. 1967.

    Arberry, A.J. The Chester Beatty Library, A Handlist of the Arabic Manuscripts, Dublin, 1955-64. Volume 1, Ar 3000-3250.Volume 2, Ar 3251-3500. Volume 3, Ar 3501-3750. Volume 4, Ar 3751-4000. Volume 5, Ar 4001-4500. Volume 6, Ar 4501-5000. Volume 7, Ar 5001-5500. Volume 8, Indices.

    V. Minorsky. The Chester Beatty Library: A Catalogue of the Turkish Manuscripts and Miniatures. Dublin: Hodges Figgis & Co. Ltd. 1958.

    Wilkinson, J.V.S.. The Library of A. Chester Beatty, a Catalogue of the Indian Miniatures. London: Oxford University Press, 1936.

    __________________________________________________________________

    Melis Taner is a doctoral candidate in the History of Art at Harvard University

    Cite this: Melis Taner, “Chester Beatty Library,” HAZINE, 21 Feb 2014, https://hazine.info/2014/02/21/chester-beatty-library/