DIGITIZED COLLECTIONS

INTRODUCTION

Many libraries and archives have begun digitizing their collections; whether that be manuscripts, periodicals, rare books, or private archives. Below you’ll find a list of digitized collections, categorized by country, that contain material related to the study of North Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus, and South Asia. Should you be aware of other digitized collections, please do not hesitate to contact ARSHEEF.

ARMENIA

Armenian Book (Hay Girk), a collection of digitized books hosted by the National Library of Armenia

https://haygirk.nla.am/

Union Catalog of Armenian Continuing Resources, a collection of digitized periodicals hosted by the National Library of Armenia

https://tert.nla.am/

AUSTRALIA

Middle Eastern Manuscripts, University of Melbourne (Australia)

https://digitised-collections.unimelb.edu.au/collections/b58ce52a-c846-58b2-acc1-f554e9b30934?spc.sf=dc.date.available&spc.sd=DESC

BULGARIA

St. Cyril and Methodius National Library

http://82.147.128.134/izr/public/ua

https://www.nationallibrary.bg/www/%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D0%B1%D0%B8%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BA%D0%B0/

CANADA

Indo-Persian Manuscripts at McGill University Library

http://www.perso-indica.net/events-news/24

DENMARK

The Royal Library, National Library of Denmark and Copenhagen University Library

http://www.kb.dk/en/nb/samling/os/osdigit.html

EGYPT

The American University in Cairo Rare Books and Special Collections Digital Library:

https://digitalcollections.aucegypt.edu/digital/

Sinai Manuscripts Digital Library

https://sinaimanuscripts.library.ucla.edu/

CEDEJ Digitized Books:

https://cedej-eg.org/online-books/

CEDEJ Egyptian Press Archive:

http://cedej.bibalex.org/Main.aspx?lang=en

CEDEJ Egyptian Caricature Archive:

hhttp://cedejcaricatures.bibalex.org

ESTONIA

University of Tartu

http://dspace.ut.ee/handle/10062/50607

ETHIOPIA

Muhammed Dawud's Collection of Islamic Manuscripts from Kemisse 

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP401 

Ethiopian manuscripts at the Institute of Ethiopian Studies

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP286

FRANCE

Libraries of the Middle East (Bibliothèques d’Orient):

https://heritage.bnf.fr/bibliothequesorient/en/

Bibliothèque nationale de France (Gallica):

BULAC (Bibliothèque universitaire des Langues et Civilisations)

https://bina.bulac.fr/collections/browse 

Fonds Arsène Roux : Manuscrits (MMSH-IREMAM, Médiathèque de la MMSH, Aix-en-Provence)

https://cinumed.mmsh.univ-aix.fr/fonds-manuscrits/exhibitions/45-fonds-arsene-roux-manuscrits

GEORGIA

The National Parliamentary Library of Georgia

https://iverieli.nplg.gov.ge/

GERMANY

Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (BSB i.e. Bavarian State Library), Munich

https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/

Oriental Manuscripts, Saxon State and University Library (SLUB), Dresden

https://digital.slub-dresden.de/en/listview

Orientalische Handschriften, Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg

http://www.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/helios/digi/codheidor.html

Image Database of Persian Historical Documents from Iran and Central Asia up to the 20th Century, Philipps-Universität Marburg

http://www.asnad.org/en/

Orientalische Handschriften, Universitätsbibliothek Tübingen

http://idb.ub.uni-tuebingen.de/digitue/tue/handschriften/Ma_Orientalische_Handschriften


Islamic Scientific Manuscripts Initiative (ISMI) (Max Plank Institute for the History of Science + McGill University Institute of Islamic Studies)

https://ismi.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/

HUNGARY

Vámbéry Collection of the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Budapest)

http://vambery.mtak.hu/en/14.htm​

INDIA

National Archives of India Online Records:

https://nationalarchives.nic.in/online-records-national-archives-india

INDONESIA 

Acehnese manuscripts from Pidie and Aceh Besar regencies

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP229 

Manuscripts of the Legacy of the Sultanate of Buton (South-Eastern Sulawesi Province)

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP212 

Cirebon manuscripts (West Java)

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP211 

Minangkabau's manuscript collections in Suraus (West Sumatra)

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP144 

Islamic manuscripts of Indonesian Pondok Pesantren

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP061 

Sufi brotherhoods’ manuscripts of Western Sumatra and the province of Jambi

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP352

JAPAN

Daiber Collection Database, The Arabic Manuscripts in the Daiber Collection, Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo
http://ricasdb.ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/daiber/db_index_eng.html  

KENYA

Riyadha Mosque, Lamu

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP466 

Project to digitise and preserve the manuscripts of Djenné

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP488

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP690

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP879

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP1094

LEBANON

The American University of Beirut Libraries Digital Collections:

https://libraries.aub.edu.lb/digital-collections/

MALAYSIA 

Riau manuscripts

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP153

Documentation and preservation of Ambon manuscripts

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP276

MAURITANIA

Oriental Manuscript Resource

https://omar.ub.uni-freiburg.de/datenbank/

THE NETHERLANDS

International Institute of Social History

https://iisg.amsterdam/en

Digital Collections (Leiden University Library)

https://digitalcollections.universiteitleiden.nl/view/collection/ublmanuscripts

NIGER 

Olde Kanembu Islamic Manuscripts

http://digital.soas.ac.uk/okim

NIGERIA

Olde Kanembu Islamic Manuscripts

http://digital.soas.ac.uk/okim

Northern Nigeria: Precolonial documents 

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP535 

Fulfulde Ajami Manuscripts of Nigerian Jihad Poetry by Usman dan Fodio (1754-1817) and Contemporaries 

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP387

PAKISTAN

Rare manuscripts from Balochistan-Pakistan

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP766

PALESTINE 

Al-Aqsa Mosque Library

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP521

Great Omari Mosque Library 

https://dx.doi.org/10.15130/EAP1285

Al-Jazzar Mosque Library

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP399

Manuscripts of An-Najah National University

http://manuscripts.najah.edu/

The Palestinian Museum Digital Archive

https://palarchive.org

OMAN

Electronic Library

https://elibrary.mara.gov.om/​

Portal of digitized Ibadi manuscripts and serials from several important collections in Oman, Zanzibar and the Mzab (Algeria)

https://manuscripts.mhc.gov.om/ar/

PORTUGAL

Academy of Sciences of Lisbon

https://biblioteca.acad-ciencias.pt/SearchResult.aspx?search=_OB%3a_QT%3aCT__T%3a_Q%3aVERMELHO_EQ%3aT_D%3aF___&SM=A

QATAR

Kashaf al-Bukhari

https://bukhari.islamweb.net/

Qatar Digital Library 

https://www.qdl.qa/en

Qatar National Library Digital Repository 

https://ediscovery.qnl.qa/islandora/object/QNL%3AMANUSCRIPTS

RUSSIA

Early Qur’ans from the J. J. Marcel Collection, National Library of Russia

http://www.nlr.ru/eng/exib/Koran/

Manuscripta Islamica Rossica

http://manuscriptaislamica.ru/en

SENEGAL

Wolof Ajami Manuscripts of Senegal (Thies, Touba, Diourbel, Louga and Saint-Louis) 

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP334

SERBIA

Selection of Arabic, Persian and Turkish manuscripts in PHAIDRA (Digital Repository of the University of Belgrade)

https://phaidrabg.bg.ac.rs/browse

SPAIN

Manuscript@CSIC Portal

http://manuscripta.bibliotecas.csic.es/

Colección de manuscritos árabes en la Biblioteca Municipal de Córdoba

http://biblioteca.ayuncordoba.es/index.php/biblio-digital/201-manuscritos-arabes/1493-manuscritos-arabes.html

SRI LANKA

Manuscripts of the Sri Lankan Malays

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP450

Maldives Heritage Survey Manuscript Viewer 

https://maritimeasiaheritage.cseas.kyoto-u.ac.jp/manuscript-viewer/

SWEDEN 

Turkish, Turkic (esp. Uyghur), Persian, and Arabic manuscripts from Uppsala University Library (Uppsala universitetsbibliotek) 

http://www.alvin-portal.org/

Annotated Turki Manuscripts from the Jarring Collection Online 

https://uyghur.ittc.ku.edu/manuscripts/index.xhtml

SWITZERLAND

E-Manuscripta (Universitätsbibliothek Basel​) 

http://www.e-manuscripta.ch/

TUNISIA

The National Library of Tunis Digital Collections:

https://www.bibliotheque.nat.tn/KHNU/

TURKEY

Kitap Sanatları ve Hat Koleksiyonu, Sakıp Sabancı Müzesi, Sabancı Üniversitesi

https://digitalssm.org/digital/collection/Kitapvehat/search

Digitized manuscripts from the rare books collection of Marmara University Library (Marmara Üniversitesi Nadir Eserler Koleksiyonu)

http://katalog.marmara.edu.tr/yordambt/yordam.php

Digitized manuscripts from İstanbul Araştırmaları Enstitüsü Kütüphanesi 

https://katalog.iae.org.tr/yordambt/yordam.php?aAltTur=293&aAltTur=293

THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

New York University Abu Dhabi Library Arabic Collection Online:

https://dlib.nyu.edu/aco/

Arabian Gulf Digital Archive

https://www.agda.ae/

THE UNITED KINGDOM

Invisible East Digital Corpus 

https://www.invisible-east.org/

Cambridge Digital Library, University of Cambridge

http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/islamic/

Digital Bodleian 

https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/


“Oriental Manuscripts” University of Edinburgh

http://images.is.ed.ac.uk/luna/servlet/UoEsha~4~4

Wellcome Arabic Manuscripts Online, Wellcome Library

http://wamcp.bibalex.org/en/home

Mingana Collection, University of Birmingham

http://epapers.bham.ac.uk/view/series/Mingana_Collection.html

John Rylands University Library, Manchester

http://enriqueta.man.ac.uk:8180/luna/servlet/view/search?q=Link_to_Catalogue=%22Arabic%20Manuscripts%22

Digital Access to Persian Manuscripts, British Library

http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/asian-and-african/persian.html

Digitised Arabic texts from the University of Leeds

http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/arabictexts/

Aga Khan Library Digital Collections

https://www.agakhanlibrary.digital/collections

Manuscripts of the Islamicate World and South Asia 

https://archives.collections.ed.ac.uk/repositories/2/resources/86063

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Hill Museum and Manuscript Library (HMML):

https://www.hmml.org

Princeton University Library Manuscripts of the Islamic World

https://dpul.princeton.edu/islamicmss

The Princeton Geniza Project:

https://geniza.princeton.edu/en/

Digital Collections of the Library of Congress 

https://www.loc.gov/collections/

University of Michigan Library Islamic Manuscripts Collection

https://www.lib.umich.edu/collections/collecting-areas/special-collections/islamic-manuscripts

University of Washington Sephardic Studies Digital Collection

https://content.lib.washington.edu/sephardicweb/index.html

African Ajami Library 

https://open.bu.edu/handle/2144/1896

Minassian Collection of Qur’anic Manuscripts (Brown University Library, Brown University, Providence, RI)

http://library.brown.edu/quran/

Manuscripts at Penn Libraries, University of Pennsylvania:

Islamic Manuscripts, The Walters Art Museum (Washington, DC)

http://art.thewalters.org/browse/category/islamic-manuscripts/

Harvard Islamic Heritage Project

http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/ihp/manuscripts.html

Manuscripts of the Lawrence J. Schoenberg Collection (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia)

http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/medren/index.html

Spencer Collection in the NYPL Digital Gallery (New York Public Library, New York)

http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgdivisionbrowseresult.cfm?div_id=hsp

Manuscripts from Yale University Library (and SOAS, University of London)

http://sesame.library.yale.edu:8080/fedoragsearch/ameeltreeresult

Arabic Manuscripts from Duke University Libraries (Durham, NC) 

https://repository.duke.edu/dc/earlymss

Manuscripts of the Muslim World (Columbia University, Free Library of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, et al)

http://openn.library.upenn.edu/html/muslimworld_contents.html

UZBEKISTAN

Manuscripts from Kokand Khanate (1710-1876)

https://eap.bl.uk/project/EAP630

THE VATICAN

Vatican Library (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana)

http://www.mss.vatlib.it/guii/scan/link.jsp

YEMEN

Digital Bab al-Yemen

http://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/collection/the-digital-bab-al-yemen

OTHER

Jaraʾid: A Chronology of Arabic Periodicals (1800-1929):

https://projectjaraid.github.io/pages/chrono.html

HathiTrust Digital Library

https://www.hathitrust.org/

Almandumah

https://www.mandumah.com

African Online Digital Library 

http://aodl.org/