Browse Items (101 total)

This fifteenth-century copy of an important textbook in Islamic law is intricately annotated with the notes of a legal expert (Arabic, faqih) in Egypt who likely was using the book as a teaching tool. The notes are mainly case studies and problems in…

The lacquered cover of this Shahnameh manuscript showcases a dense pattern of grape-bearing vine scrolls, which continued to be an influential motif over the following centuries. This handwritten manuscript contains the Shahnameh (literally, 'Book of…

A brochure explaining different book formats and the typical features of the Islamic codex

Eskandar, in the Persian tradition, was depicted as not just a Macedonian prince but also a descendent of Iranian kings. This page from the Kitab-i Nigaristan, a collection of historical anecdotes, shows Alexander kneeling beside his dying opponent,…

An Omeka assignment for an undergraduate or graduate course, based on building a public-facing scholarly digital exhibit in Omeka, studying a premodern book together with relevant comparators from GLAM (Gallery, Library, Archive, Museum)…

A closely packed cluster of sages surrounds the boy at lower left, offering knowledge and advice to the young prince. The diverse group of sheiks and ascetics includes Iranian, Uzbek and Mughal Indian scholars, the books on their laps and writing…

These digital images, from the manuscript of Spiritual Words from Greek Philosophy with Sayings of the Philosophers Accompanied with their Portraits on view in the permanent gallery, feature wise maxims in Arabic attributed to Greek philosophers and…

Both the reader's thoughtful expression and the tenderness with which he holds the book, as a cat purrs at his feet, express the sensation of being completely immersed in reading. This drawing is executed in the 'half pen' (Persian, nim qalam)…

This wall graphic of book formats along the Silk Roads features diagrams and brief definitions of a scroll, a pothi book, a concertina or accordion book, and a codex.

The diagram consists of line diagrams: on the upper row, scroll and pothi book;…

This Buddhist prayer sheet is one among dozens of identical copies featuring the bodhisattva Guanshiyin of Great Compassion, commissioned in the city of Dunhuang in northwestern China during the summer Ghost Festival in the year 947 CE. Early in the…

This signed and dated copy of the Qur'an produced in northern India near the end of the fourteenth century is a rare survivor: even though Muslims had long been settled in the region, very few manuscripts from that time and place have come down to…

This exquisite page comes from the autobiographical Baburnameh, in which Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur, descendant of Genghis Khan and founder of the Mughal Empire, describes his many travels, victories, and losses. In this scene, the 19-year-old Babur…

Alexander the Great (356 – 323 BCE) is known under many names, including the Persian ‘Eskandar’ depicted in manuscripts from Iran and Uzbekistan. His Macedonian origins and association with Greek culture — above all through his teacher,…

This unbound volume is among the earliest printed books produced in the Mediterranean region. Printed in Istanbul in 1493 by brothers David and Samuel Ibn Nahmias, the four volumes of this Hebrew-language treatise concern devotional, ritualistic,…

A line drawing of a link/loop stitch sewing on an Islamic book. The image features six quires (gatherings of folded pages) stacked horizontally, one on top of the other. The quires are connected at the spine by two seams of link/loop stitch running…

This painting depicts Prince Siyavush, whose story is told in Firdausi's Shahnameh, the Persian epic of kings and heroes, and among the most famous epic poems of world literature. Like Joseph in Egypt, the young prince is endangered when he refuses…

The sweet lyrics of Rumi (Maulana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi) are among the gems of world literature, and his Spiritual Couplets (Masnavi) is one of the most well-known works of Islamic Sufism. This copy's small nasta'liq script, arranged in ornate…

The Mishneh Torah (not to be confused with the early medieval Mishnah that appears earlier in the exhibition) was composed by the philosopher and physician Maimonides (1138-1204). Born in Cordoba, Spain, Maimonides wrote his major works in Morocco…

The prayer book "Waymarks of Benefits" (Dala'il al-Khayrat), originally composed in fifteenth-century Morocco, was frequently copied from Senegal to Turkestan, at the western and eastern extremes of the Islamic world. It was the most popular…

This late copy of the Dala'il al-Khayrat was created in Morocco, where the work was originally composed four hundred years earlier. Thousands of others were produced throughout the Islamic world, making it the most popular devotional work after the…