Iraqi House of Manuscripts Dar al-Makhtutat al-Iraqiya / Iraqi Manuscripts Initiative

Overview

The Iraqi House of Manuscripts (Arabic: دار المخطوطات العراقية, Dar al-Makhtutat al-Iraqiya) is Iraq's principal national collection of Islamic and Arabic manuscripts, holding approximately 47,000 items and considered one of the most important manuscript repositories in the world. It is administered by the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) under Iraq's Ministry of Culture and is housed at the Iraqi Museum in Baghdad. The collection spans Islamic jurisprudence, theology, astronomy, medicine, literature, and philosophy, with texts written in Arabic, Persian, and Hebrew.

History and Founding

The collection was formed progressively through the centralization of manuscripts from museums, mosques, and private collections, a process formalized by the Iraqi government from 1988 onward. It was previously known as the Saddam Manuscripts Library (Dar Saddam lil-Makhtutat). In December 2002, as war appeared imminent, the collection's director Usama al-Naqshabandi made the crucial decision to transfer the entire holdings to a climate-controlled bomb shelter in western Baghdad, enlisting local residents to guard the trunks. This action saved the collection from the widespread looting that struck the National Museum and other cultural institutions following the 2003 invasion.

Iraqi Manuscripts Initiative

In 2022 the House of Manuscripts became the focus of a formal international partnership known as the Iraqi Manuscripts Initiative, launched on 17 October 2022 at the Donny George Hall in the Iraqi Museum. The initiative is a collaboration between SBAH and the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), supported by the French and Italian embassies and facilitated by the NGO Liwan Iraq. The program focuses on digitization, conservation, capacity building, and long-term planning for the collection.

Access

Physical access to the collection is available through the Iraqi Museum in Baghdad. Digitization efforts under the BnF partnership are progressively making portions of the collection accessible online through the Bibliothèques d'Orient digital platform.