The Egyptian National Library and Archives (Arabic:Dar el-Kotob) in Cairo is the largest library in Egypt. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Cairo () which means "the Vanquisher" or "the Triumphant" is the capital and largest city of Egypt. A library is a collection of information sources resources and services and the structure in which it is housed it is organized for use and maintained by a public body an institution This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The second largest are the libraries of Al-Azhar University and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (New Library of Alexandria). Al-Azhar University (pronounced "az-HAR" الأزهر الشريف, "the Noble Azhar" in Egypt, founded in 975 is the chief centre of The Bibliotheca Alexandrina ( Latin for "Library of Alexandria" is a major Library and Cultural center located on the shore of the Mediterranean
The National Library, the oldest government 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. "Ancient" redirects here For other uses see Ancient_(disambiguation. It also contains a vast variety of Arabic-language and other Eastern manuscripts. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language The main premise is a seven storey building in Ramlet Boulac, a district of Cairo. Districts are a type of Administrative division, in some countries managed by a Local government. The Egyptian National Archives are contained in an annex beside the building. List of archives A national archive is a central Archive maintained by a Nation.
It was started in 1870 by a decree from Khedive Ismail through an initiative from Ali Pasha Mubarak, the education minister at the time. A decree is an order made by a Head of state or government and having the force of Law. Isma'il Pasha, known as Ismail the Magnificent (إسماعيل باشا ( December 31, 1830 &ndash March 2, 1895) was Wāli Ali Pasha Mubarak (1823-1893 CE) was an Egyptian Public works and Education minister during the second half of the nineteenth century In its first decades the position of directors were hold by German Orienalits, most notable among them were Karl Vollers and Bernhardt Moritz. Karl Vollers ( March 19, 1857 - January 5, 1909) was a German Orientalist.
The government research and cultural authority that oversees it the rendering of library services throughout Egypt and the Arab world. Collections include a wide variety of manuscripts of the Qur'an, written on paper and parchment, with some in the early undotted Kufic script, other written by celebrated calligraphers. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran Kufic is the oldest calligraphic form of the various Arabic scripts and consists of a modified form of the old Nabataean script. Calligraphy (from Greek kallos "beauty" + graphẽ "writing" is the art of writing (Mediavilla 1996 17 Of Egyptian Islamic materials, there is perhaps the outstanding collection of illuminated manuscripts of the Qur'an in the Mamluk text-hand, and in Trilinear and Rayhani hands. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. A manuscript is any Document that is Written by hand as opposed to being printed or reproduced in some other way There are also collections of Arabic papyri from different sites in Egypt, some dating to the 7th century CE or earlier. Papyrus (/pəˈpaɪrəs/ (Rhymes -aɪrəs)is a thick paper-like material produced from the Pith of the papyrus plant Cyperus papyrus The 7th century is the period from 601 to 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. The library is a mine of information on early Islamic Egypt's social and cultural life. Ancient Persian and Ottoman collections are also housed. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish
The library's great resources in manuscripts and documents 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 papyri. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language 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 coins from as early as AD 696, which were published by Stanley Lane-Poole, Bernhardt Moritz and recently by Norman D. main - title Coin keywords numismatics coin review Stanley Lane-Poole ( 18 December[[ 854]] - 29 December[[ 931]] was a British orientalist and archaeologist Nicol, Jere L. Bacharach and Rifa'at al-Nabarawy (1982). Jere L Bacharach is a Professor Emeritus of Early Islamic Medieval and Modern Middle East Ottoman Empire at University of Washington.
Collections formed by Taymour Pasha, Ahmed Zaki Pasha, Ahmed Tal'aat Bey and Mustafa Fadel all came to the National Library at the end of the 19th century.
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, N. D. - R. el-Nabarawy, R. - Bacharach, J. L. : Catalog of the Islamic Coins Glass Weights, Dies and Medals in the Egyptian National Library, Cairo, Malibu, California 1982.
See also
External links
- Official website (English) (Arabic) (French)
- About the Library