Resources by topic

  • Art & Archaeology

    Check the regional resources on the Art & Archaeology subject guide .

  • Economics

    Check the regional resources on the Economic s subject guide

  • Finance and Management

    Check the subject guide on Islamic Banking and Finance

  • History

    Check the regional resources on the History subject guide

  • Law

    Check the subject guide on Middle Eastern and Central Asian law

  • Music

    Check the regional resources on the Music subject guide

  • Politics and International Relations

    Check the regional resources on the Politics subject guide

  • Manuscripts and Special collections

    The library has produced guides on how to work with Middle Eastern manuscripts, here is one created specifically for SOAS students: Using Oriental Manuscripts for Research

    Below is a list of useful links to catalogues, institutions and digital collections related to Middle Eastern manuscripts.

    Catalogues

    Fihrist
    This catalogue provides a searchable interface to basic manuscript
    descriptions from some of the major manuscript collections in the UK. With the continuing contribution of
    manuscript records from UK libraries, Fihrist aims to become a union catalogue for manuscripts in Arabic
    script.

    Institutions

    Al-Furqan Digital Library Portal
    The Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation has launched its Digital Library Portal, providing access to a variety of works of Islamic written heritage, notably its manuscripts collections.
    Through this gateway, users can currently browse and search more than 50,000 manuscript records from over 100 private and public collections, previously only available in printed format at the Manuscript Centre.  The new online platform facilitates the discovery of major ‘hidden’ Islamic manuscript collections.  It covers materials from basic hand-lists to comprehensive descriptive catalogues, featuring details such as incipit and explicit, quality of paper, ink, binding etc.This catalogue is still growing and soon will incorporate the 9000+ records from the Aya Sofia's collection and the 10000+ records from the Gazi Husrev Library in Sarajevo, the most important extant source of the historical study of Islamic culture in Bosnia.  This platform presents the libraries of the World Survey of Islamic Manuscript in an interactive geographical display. Hovering over a library on the world map provides for example a quick preview of the library and its holdings.
    The Digital Library Portal is currently available in both English and Arabic.

    Digital Collections

    Al-Furqan Digital Library Portal
    The Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation has launched its Digital Library Portal, providing access to a variety of works of Islamic written heritage, notably its manuscripts collections.
    Through this gateway, users can currently browse and search more than 50,000 manuscript records from over 100 private and public collections, previously only available in printed format at the Manuscript Centre.  The new online platform facilitates the discovery of major ‘hidden’ Islamic manuscript collections.  It covers materials from basic hand-lists to comprehensive descriptive catalogues, featuring details such as incipit and explicit, quality of paper, ink, binding etc.This catalogue is still growing and soon will incorporate the 9000+ records from the Aya Sofia's collection and the 10000+ records from the Gazi Husrev Library in Sarajevo, the most important extant source of the historical study of Islamic culture in Bosnia.  This platform presents the libraries of the World Survey of Islamic Manuscript in an interactive geographical display. Hovering over a library on the world map provides for example a quick preview of the library and its holdings.
    The Digital Library Portal is currently available in both English and Arabic.