Oriental Manuscripts
At Carolina Rediviva there is a valuable collection of oriental manuscripts. This grew from the acquisitions made by Swedes on their journeys and missions in foreign climes during the 17th and 18th centuries.
See also: Uppsala Ottoman Heritage
The Library's oriental manuscript collection includes:
- 520 in Arabic
- 305 in Persian
- 460 in Turkish - a part of which has been digitised
- approx. 50 in Hebrew and Aramaic
- approx. 75 in Ethiopian languages
- a small number in other oriental languages such as Armenian, Mongolian, Pali, Sanskrit, Tamil, Malayalam and Tibetan
We have more recently acquired a large collection of microfilms of Arabic, Persian and Turkish manuscripts, mainly from Turkey.
Some examples of oriental manuscripts in the collections
- al-Hiyal al-ruhaniya by al-Farabi, an Arabic manuscript on geometry from the 11th century (Shelfmark: O Vet. 27)
- Jalal u Jamal, a love poem from Persia, richly illustrated with miniatures, 1502-1503 (Shelfmark: O Nova 2)
- Koran dated 1090, written on parchment (Shelfmark: O Bj 48)
- Rubáiyát, Omar Khayyám's quatrains, i.e. 4 lined poems, on the art of enjoying life, approx. 18th century (Shelfmark: O Nova 42)
- Shahname by Firdawsi, in a Turkish translation with magnificent miniatures, 1620-1621 (Shelfmark: O Cels. 1)
Catalogues
- Tornberg, C. J., Codices arabici, persici et turcici Bibliothecae Regiae Universitatis Upsaliensis. Lund, 1849.
- Zetterstéen, K. V., Verzeichnis der hebräischen und aramäischen Handschriften der Kgl. Universitätsbibliothek zu Uppsala. Lund, 1900.
- Zetterstéen, K. V., Die arabischen, persischen und türkischen Handschriften der Universitätsbibliothek zu Uppsala, 1. (Acta Bibliothecae R. Universitatis Upsaliensis. 3). Uppsala, 1930.
- Zetterstéen, K. V., Die arabischen, persischen und türkischen Handschriften der Universitätsbibliothek zu Uppsala, 2. (Acta Bibliothecae R. Universitatis Upsaliensis. 4). Uppsala, 1935.
- Zetterstéen, K. V., “Report on the manuscripts left by the late professor O.F. Tullberg and now in the library of Uppsala University”, in: Le Monde oriental, 1907, Fasc. I.
- Löfgren, Oscar, Katalog über die äthiopischen Handschriften in der Universitätsbibliothek Uppsala sowie Anhänge über äthiopische Handschriften in anderen Bibliotheken und in Privatbesitz in Schweden (Acta Bibliothecae R. Universitatis Upsaliensis, 18). Stockholm, 1974.
- Eimer, Helmut, Tibetica Upsaliensia : Handliste der tibetischen Handschriften und Blockdrucke in der Universitätsbibliothek zu Uppsala. Uppsala, 1975.
- Lewin, Bernhard & Oscar Löfgren, Catalogue of the Arabic manuscripts in the Hellmut Ritter Microfilm Collection of the Uppsala University Library : including later accessions. Edited by Mikael Persenius (Acta Bibliothecae R. Universitatis Upsaliensis, 30). Uppsala, 1992.
- Muhaddis, Ali, Fihrist-i kitāb'hā-yi khaṭṭī-i fārsī dar kitābkhānih-ʼi dānishgāh-i Uppsala (Acta Bibliothecae R. Universitatis Upsaliensis, 50). Uppsala, 2012. Download full-text in PDF
- Muhaddis, Ali, A concise catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in Uppsala University Library (Acta Bibliothecae R. Universitatis Upsaliensis, 47). Uppsala, 2013.
The staff at the Uppsala University Library is happy to assist you with your searches.
Last modified: 2023-01-11