Belgrade University Library Houses 11 Manuscript Qur’ans in Extensive Eastern Collection

Belgrade University Library Houses 11 Manuscript Qur’ans in Extensive Eastern Collection
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The Svetozar Marković Library at the University of Belgrade, Serbia’s capital, preserves a valuable collection of Eastern manuscripts, including eleven handwritten copies of the Qur’an, the oldest dating back to 1543 AD. The library is recognized as a leading academic institution in the Balkans for preserving and digitizing cultural heritage, holding over 1.5 million documents encompassing rare Islamic, Qur’anic, philosophical, historical, and literary manuscripts.

Since 2008, the library has digitized its entire manuscript collection, making it accessible to the public with detailed cataloging of authors, scribes, and dates of origin. The collection features more than 680 works in Arabic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish, and Balkan languages, with the oldest manuscripts dating back to 1206 AD.

This extensive archive offers scholars unique insights into Islamic sciences and Ottoman intellectual history. Portions of the collection were made digitally available through the Europeana Libraries project between 2011 and 2013, enhancing global access to this cultural treasure.