The collection of ancient oriental manuscripts kept here is one of the richest and incomparable scientific funds in the world. The earliest works presented here have more than a thousand years of history. An example of this is a copy of the Koran, rewritten in the 9th century in kufi handwriting. Manuscripts representing later periods were created in the first half of the 20th century.
The works stored in the fund are written in many languages of the eastern peoples, such as Turkic, Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Hindi and Pashto. They cover all areas of science - history, literature, art, painting, philosophy, Islamic studies, chemistry, geometry, medicine, linguistics, pharmaceuticals, mineralogy, cosmology, geography, music, agriculture, animal husbandry, hunting. All these works are of particular importance in the study of history, historical ties of Central Asia, Turkey, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Iran, Arab countries and many other states and peoples of the East, as well as cultural, economic, political and diplomatic relations between them.
You can learn more about the manuscripts of ancient Uzbekistan in the book-album “Collection of the Al-Biruni Institute of Oriental Studies, Academy of Sciences of the Republic Of Uzbekistan” (part five, “Miniature and Calligraphy”) from the series “Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the Collections of the World”.
The general sponsor of the project is the oilfield services company Eriell-Group.