UCLA Islamic Manuscript Collections
The UCLA Library stewards a remarkably significant collection of Islamic manuscripts. Consisting chiefly of texts in Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Turkish (in addition to Urdu, Pashto, Kurdish, and other languages), the collection spans a vast range of subjects, such as Islamic theology, law and jurisprudence, hadith, medicine, literature, poetry, philology, history, philosophy, logic, and mysticism. At approximately 8,000 volumes, UCLA's Islamic manuscript collection ranks among the most important of such collections in North America.
The bulk of the collection was acquired in the 1960s via Istanbul, Aleppo, Kerman, Isfahan, and London. Significant acquisitions include Arabic and Turkish manuscripts from the Aintabi bookselling agency of Aleppo, Arabic and Persian manuscripts from Kerman, and Arabic, Persian and Turkish manuscripts collected by the Armenian physician Dr. Caro Owen Minasian (1897-1973).
Currently preserved under the auspices of Library Special Collections (Charles E. Young Research Library and Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library), the collection is currently arranged in 20 different subcollections.
How to Request Manuscripts
Library Special Collections are open to all users regardless of affiliation with UCLA. Researchers must be at least 18 years old, or have graduated from high school, or be accompanied by an adult.
Special Collections materials do not circulate and may only be consulted in the Ahmanson-Murphy Reading Room in the Charles E. Young Research Library.
- Register for a user account on the Special Collections Request System.
- Browse the manuscript catalogs and finding aids (listed below).
- Note the Manuscript Number and Collection Number of any desired item.
Example: MS # 12 from Collection 898. - Consult the OAC Finding Aid for the collection (links below) and note the box number for the manuscript.
Example: Box # 5 contains MS # 12 from Collection 898 (as listed in Collection 898's OAC Finding Aid). - Navigate to the UCLA Library Catalog Record for the Manuscript Collection which contains the item.
Example: See Catalog Record for Collection 898. - Request the specific box by clicking on "Special Collections Request" for the Box Number.
Example: See the link in the image below for Box # 5.
- Complete and submit request on UCLA Library's Special Collections Request System
- For detailed instructions on how to make a request, please see: Requesting LSC Archival Materials Described in the Online Archive of California | UCLA Library
- For FAQ, see: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | UCLA Library
Manuscript Catalogs and Handlists
- Persian and Arabic manuscripts at UCLA Special Collections / Muhammad Taqi Danishpazhuh (1983)
Two-volume catalog of UCLA collections produced by Danishpazhuh in Persian, covering about 5,000 items.
Volume 11 (download PDF here) covers Persian and Arabic manuscripts (including medical manuscripts).
Volume 12 (download PDF here) covers Turkish and Urdu manuscripts, as well as collective volumes (majmu'at) in Arabic, Persian, and other languages.
Note: When choosing items from Danishpazhuh, note the letter and number (e.g. M234) for each manuscript. The letter (M) stands for the collection (i.e Minasian Collection), and the number (234) denotes the manuscript number. -
Arabic handlist of the Sami Assaad 'Aintabi Collection (Collection 833). This link requires UCLA VPN access.
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Persian medical manuscripts at the University of California, Los Angeles: a descriptive catalogue / Lutz Richter-Bernburg (1978)
Most of the Arabic and Persian medical and scientific manuscripts from the previous two collections have been microfilmed. These have been digitized and are available here.
Collection Records, Finding Aids, and Numbers
The manuscript collections are listed below with their corresponding numbers and code used in Danishpazhuh.
Click on the Finding Aids to find the Box Number of a given manuscript. Afterwards, order the desired box from the UCLA catalog record for each collection (as linked below).
The History of the Collections
To read about the collection's history and development, see:
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"Near East Collection." UCLA Librarian 7, no. 14 (April 1954): 79.
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Ackerman, Page. "Retirement of Jeane Moore and Miriam Lichtheim." UCLA Librarian 27, no. 7-8 (July-August 1974): 40-41.
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Donahue, Katherine D.S. and Dunning Wilson. "Near Eastern Medical Manuscripts." UCLA Librarian 44, no. 1 (1991): 26-29.
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Ibish, Yusuf. “United States of America (1989).” In Geoffrey Roper, Ed. World Survey of Islamic Manuscripts (London: Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1994): 542-543.
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Martin, Thomas J. North American Collections of Islamic Manuscripts (Boston, MA: Hall, 1977), p.4.
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Roman, Stephan. “The United States and Canada.” In The Development of Islamic Library Collections in Western Europe and North America (London: Mansell, 1990): 237-239.
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Tietze, Andreas. "Turkish Icunabula and Other Early Works." UCLA Librarian 20, no. 4-5 (1967): 17-18.
- Vosper, Robert. “‘Gustave Von Grunebaum and the Near Eastern Collections at UCLA.’” MELA Notes, no. 1 (1973): 11–12.
- Wilson, Dunning. "The Near East Collection." UCLA Librarian 31, no. 9 (Sep 1978): 46-47.
- Wilson, Dunning. “Turkish Collections in the U.S.: The UCLA Research Library.” Turkish Studies Association Bulletin 4, no. 2 (1980): 17.
UCLA Digital Collections and Resources
- UCLA Digital LibraryBrowse all collections in the UCLA Library Digital
- Caro Minasian Collection of Persian and Arabic Manuscripts (UCLA Digital Library)"The Minasian Collection of Persian and Arabic manuscripts consists of works related to the studies of theologians and scholars in centers of learning in Iran from the 16th through the 19th centuries. The manuscripts, which include both bound collections and single works, chiefly date from the 14th to the 17th centuries, and shed light on the social, religious, and political history of Iran and Shī'īsm..."
- International Digital Ephemera Project (IDEP)An initiative to digitize, preserve and provide broad public access to print, images, multimedia, and social networking resources produced worldwide.
- Modern Endangered Archives Program (MEAP)The Modern Endangered Archives Program aims to digitize and make accessible endangered archival materials from the 20th and 21st centuries, including print, photographic, film, audio, ephemeral and born-digital objects.
- An Introduction to Islamic Manuscript Culture (UCLA Workshop, 2019)A workshop was held in May 2019 to provide a hands-on introduction to Islamic manuscripts and manuscript culture using the extensive holdings of the Special Collections at UCLA's Charles E. Young Research Library. This link hosts videos of the sessions and their accompanying PDFs.
- Arabic Manuscripts Workshop (Princeton-UCLA Workshop, 2021)Co-organized by Princeton and UCLA, which house the two largest repositories of Islamicate manuscripts in North America, the workshop covers the basics of codicology, palaeography, and manuscript production and circulation, as well as current debates in Arabic manuscript research. Website hosts video recordings.
Bonus: Printed Books and Periodicals at Special Collections
Clink on these links to get a listing of materials in Special Collections by language.
Some of the notable print collections include 17 early Turkish prints published by Ibrahim Müteferrika between 1729-1742 in Istanbul.
| Arabic | Persian |
| Turkish | Ottoman Turkish |
Additional Special Collections for the Middle East
| Collection Name | Description | Online Finding Aid |
| Michael Lofchie Collection of Zanzibar publications, 1909-1965 | Includes predominantly pre-independent newspapers from Zanzibar, an island of Tanzania off the coast of East Africa, from 1909-1965. The collection holds about 120 volumes covering 22 titles of newspapers. In addition, the collection includes bulletins, journals or journal reprints/stand-alone articles, monographs, booklets, information sheets and meeting minutes. Languages used include English, Swahili, Gujarati and Arabic. | OAC Link |
| Gustave E. Von Grunebaum papers, 1930-1972 | Consists of research notes, manuscripts, correspondence, and administrative and professional files of UCLA professor G.E. von Grunebaum. Includes handscript and carbon copies of articles, lectures, teaching notes, and ongoing research including incompleted studies of pre-Islamic poetry, dream literature, and the process of acculturization. Also includes drafts on the concept of a center for Near Eastern Studies. | OAC Link |
| Nikki R. Keddie papers, 1947-2003 | Consists of materials related to the teaching career and academic research of Nikki Keddie, UCLA Professor Emerita of History. The papers include UCLA Department of History files, correspondence, conference materials, manuscript drafts, and research materials. Lastly, the collection includes photographic slides taken by Keddie throughout her career and as part of her research that heavily feature countries with large Muslim populations, such as Iran, Indonesia, Morocco, Pakistan, Tunisa, and Senegal; as well as European cities, Los Angeles and other parts of the United States | OAC Link |
| Collection of Middle Eastern Posters, 1990-2017 | Consists of posters from Middle Eastern countries, including Iran, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Poster topics are related to ancient civilization, architecture, art, asthma, conflict, culture, disability, environment, equestrianism, family, Kurds, population, public health, recycling, reproductive health, road safety, theater, tourism, waste, and wildlife. Also included are posters from France, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States, related to Arabic history and culture. | OAC Link |
| Iraq Out-of-Country Voting Program ephemera and posters, 2004-2005 | Consists of voter education packets and posters designed and distributed by the Iraq Out-of-Country Voting Program in 2004, for the January 2005 Transitional National Assembly election. The packets include informational brochures, fliers, candidate lists and sample ballots. The posters inform potential voters of registration eligibility, locations, and deadlines, and encourage Iraqi's living outside of Iraq, including those with citizenship in other countries, to participate in the elections. | OAC Link |
| Collection of material about Omar Khayyam, 1872-1948 | Omar Khayyam (1048?-1131) was a Persian poet, astronomer, and mathematician of the early Seljuk period and is best known for a collection of Rubáiyát, or quatrains, known as the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam. The collection contains materials related to the work of Omar Khayyam and scholars who studied his works, much of it collected by Ambrose George Potter in the course of his biographical compilations. | OAC Link |
| United Arab Emirates 2011 Parliamentary Election ephemera | Newspaper clippings and small posters from the September 2011 United Arab Emirates Parliamentary Election. Contains approximately 163 political advertisements dated from August to September 2011, including material on several women nominees. | OAC Link |
| Photograph album of Isabella Bird's travels on horseback from Baghdad to Tehran in 1890 | Album containing 101 black-and-white photographs documenting Isabella Bird's journey from Baghdad to Tehran in 1890. | OAC Link |
| Abdullah (Achmed) papers | Achmed Abdullah (1881-1945) wrote screenplays, novels, plays and short stories. The collection consists of typescripts of screenplays, novels, plays, and short stories written by Abdullah. | OAC Link |
| George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney papers, 1775-1826 | George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney (1737-1806), was a British diplomatist and colonial governor. Collection consists of papers and correspondence related to Macartney's governorship in Madras under the British East India Company from 1781-1786. The collection consists of approximately 236 items, including correspondence with Hyder Ally, Tippoo Sultan, Sir Eyre Coote, George Staunton, and Anthony Sadlier, and other various documents. | OAC Link |
| David Hirsch calendar collection | Wall, desk, appointment, and leaflet calendars published in Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China (Hong Kong), Costa Rica, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Palestine, Peru, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United States of America, and the West Bank for various years beginning with 1951/52 (the bulk of the collection is for years between 2003 and 2014). Includes calendars for Alevi, Armenian, Bahai, Druze, Islamic, Jewish, Kurdish, Mandaean, Christian, and Zoroastrian traditions. Calendars sometimes note secular holidays or anniversaries for the countries in which they were published as well as for the religious or cultural traditions that they represent. |