The Egyptian National Library and Archives ( ar, دار الكتب والوثائق القومية; "Dar el-Kotob") is located in Nile Corniche,
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
and is the largest
library
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, followed by
Al-Azhar University and the
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
The Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Latin for "Library of Alexandria"; arz, مكتبة الإسكندرية ', ) is a major library and cultural center on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in Alexandria, Egypt. It is a commemoration of the Library ...
(New Library of Alexandria). The Egyptian National Library and Archives are a non-profit government organization.
The National Library houses several million volumes on a wide range of topics.
It is one of the largest in the world with thousands of ancient collections. It contains a vast variety of
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
-language and other Eastern manuscripts, the oldest in the world.
The main library is a seven-story building in Ramlet
Boulaq
Boulaq ( ar, بولاق, Būlāq from "guard, customs post"), is a district of Cairo, in Egypt. It neighbours Downtown Cairo, Azbakeya, and the River Nile.
History
The westward shift of the Nile, especially between 1050 and 1350, made land ava ...
, a district of Cairo. The Egyptian
National Archives are contained in an annex beside the building.
The National Archives, located in an annex beside the library, houses a vast and diverse collection. The holdings are particularly significant to those who work on Egyptian social and
political history
Political history is the narrative and survey of political events, ideas, movements, organs of government, voters, parties and leaders. It is closely related to other fields of history, including diplomatic history, constitutional history, socia ...
, although it is not open to the public.
History
The Egyptian National Library was proposed by minister Ali Pasha Mubarak, minister of public works, to Khedive Ismail in 1870. The library, which was known then as Khedivial Kutub Khana, was first located at the ground floor of Prince Mustafa Fadel's palace in Darb Al Gamamiz.
In 1889, the library was moved to the Salamlek of the same palace. Later, Khedive Tawfiq ordered a new facility to host the growing collection, but this was not accomplished until the time of Khedive Abbas Helmy II. In 1904 a new building in Bab Al Khalq opened its doors to the public housing both the National Library and the
Museum of Islamic Art.
In the 1970s, a newer building was built on the Corniche, with an adjacent one for the archives, but Bab Al Khalq Library is still functioning and houses a museum.
On Friday, January 24, 2014, a car bomb meant to destroy the Police Headquarters across the street from the National Library and Archives did quite a bit of damage to the library's building and collections. National Library and Archive head Abdul Nasser Hassan estimated that the losses would be around $2.81 million in repairs. Lighting and ventilation systems were destroyed and the Neo-Mamluk architectural facade was heavily damaged. Showcases and displays containing irreplaceable ancient manuscripts and papyri within the library's museum exhibition area were damaged along with all the furniture in the building. The conservation staff at the National Library and Archive's were able to save the documents on display, although they did sustain some damage.
Contents
Collections include a wide variety of manuscripts of the
Qur'an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...
, written on paper and parchment. Some of which date back to early
Kufic
Kufic script () is a style of Arabic script that gained prominence early on as a preferred script for Quran transcription and architectural decoration, and it has since become a reference and an archetype for a number of other Arabic scripts. It ...
script. Others are written by celebrated
calligraphers
Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...
. Of Egyptian
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic materials, there is perhaps the outstanding collection of illuminated
manuscripts
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...
of the Qur'an in the
Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
text-hand, and in Trilinear and
Rayhani hands. There are also collections of Arabic
papyri from different sites in Egypt, some dating to the 7th century AD or earlier. The library is a mine of information on early Islamic Egypt's social and cultural life. Ancient
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
and
Ottoman documents are also part of the collection.
The library remains Egypt's largest resource of manuscripts and documents that include more than 57,000 of the most valuable manuscripts in the world. The manuscript collection covers a vast number of subjects, fully documented, dated, and compiled. It also houses a rare number of
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
papyri. These are related to marriage, rent, and exchange contracts, as well as records, accounts of taxes, distribution of inheritance, etc. The oldest papyrus group dates back to the year AH 87 (AD 705); only 444 papyri from this collection were published.
The library also has a large collection of medieval Arabic
coin
A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...
s from as early as AD 696, which were published by
Stanley Lane-Poole, Bernhardt Moritz and recently by
Norman D. Nicol,
Jere L. Bacharach
Jere L. Bacharach (born 1938 in New York) is Professor Emeritus, Department of History, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
Academia
Bacharach attended Trinity College, receiving his B.A. in 1960, Harvard University receiving his M.A ...
and
Rifa'at al-Nabarawy in 1982. These collections are of high archeological value.
Collections formed by
Ahmed Taymour Pasha, Ahmed Zaki Pasha, Ahmed Tal'aat Bey and Mustafa Fadel all came to the National Library in the early 20th century.
See also
*
Library of Alexandria
The Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The Library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion, which was dedicated to the Muses, th ...
*
National Archives of Egypt
* Unesco
Memory of the World Register – Arab States
References
Catalogues
* Moritz, Bernhardt: "Additions à la collection numismatique de la Bibliothèque Khédiviale". In: ''Bulletin de l'Institut Egyptien''; 4e sér. 4 (1903), pp. 199–204.
* Nicol, Norman D.; el-Nabarawy, R. & Bacharach, J. L.: ''Catalog of the Islamic Coins, Glass Weights, Dies and Medals in the Egyptian National Library, Cairo''. Malibu, California 1983.
Bibliography
*
* (Includes information about the national library)
External links
Official website Museum of the National Library of EgyptOfficial Facebook page for the library's museum space.
{{Authority control
Archives in Egypt
Libraries in Egypt
Culture in Cairo
Historiography of Islam
Middle Eastern culture
Government agencies established in 1870
Buildings and structures in Cairo
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
World Digital Library partners
1870 establishments in Egypt
Libraries established in 1870
Government agencies of Egypt