Iraq’s Manuscript House Preserves 47,000 Rare Works, Prepares Comprehensive Catalogue

Iraq’s Manuscript House Preserves 47,000 Rare Works, Prepares Comprehensive Catalogue
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The Iraqi Manuscript House holds around 47,000 historical and scientific manuscripts in several languages, some dating back to the first century AH, its director, Ahmed Al-Aliawi, has announced. The institution is preparing to publish the first volume of a comprehensive catalogue in cooperation with the Abbasid Holy Shrine.

Al-Aliawi told Shafaq News that the collection includes manuscripts in Arabic, Kurdish, Persian, Turkish, Hebrew, Syriac and Urdu, covering more than 30 fields of knowledge. Among its holdings are rare Qur’anic manuscripts written in Kufic script, unique copies, royal collections and works of calligraphy.

The forthcoming Comprehensive Catalogue of the Iraqi Manuscript House will document and verify the institution’s holdings against the original manuscripts, providing researchers with an organised reference to their contents, subjects and languages. The project aims to preserve Iraq’s manuscript heritage and facilitate academic research and historical studies.

The Manuscript House was named the Arab world’s best manuscript institution in 2023 under the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization’s evaluation criteria.