Gertrude Bell refused to heed the dictates of conservative British society. Instead, she toured Africa and Asia, becoming an important scholar and an adviser on the Middle East for the British Empire
The Mysterious Collector Who Founded Our Islamic Manuscript Collection
The collector Yohanan Ben David left his art collection to the Israel Museum and his manuscript collection to the National Library of Israel. The latter bequest formed the core of the Library’s Islamic manuscript collection. Despite his considerable stature in the art world, he is largely unfamiliar to the general public. Here we take a look at the life of this enigmatic collector.
Lab Results Confirm: This Ibn Sina Manuscript Is Nearly 1000 Years Old
A manuscript attributed to the famous 11th-century Persian physician and philosopher Ibn Sina has created a scholarly stir regarding its dating. Is it contemporary with the author? If so, this would make it an important and reliable copy. Or was it copied a few hundred years after his death? There was only one way to find out…
“Nor shall you follow their laws”? The Influence of Islamic Mysticism on Judaism
A look at the subtle influence of Islamic mysticism on Jewish worship and thought from the Middle Ages to the present
An Inimitable Talent: The Qanun Player Yusuf Za’arur
Yusuf Za’arur was a talented musician and expert qanun player who served for many years as the musical director of the Radio Baghdad Orchestra. When he immigrated to Israel, he had to fight for recognition, but his great talent led him to renewed success in Israel as well
An Arab Qur’an with a Persian Identity
The Persian language as we know it today emerged after the Arab conquests of the 8th century CE. One of the National Library of Israel’s treasured manuscripts contains the first known example of New Persian to appear on the world stage…
