The study of the medieval Middle East is often reliant upon works which are still in manuscript. This is especially true for the late medieval Middle East, where most works, even very important works, have not been edited. Some resources already exist. For print catalogs of Islamic manuscripts, some of which have been digitized, see the section “Catalogues of Manuscripts and Related Materials” in Jan Just Witkam’s Reference Page. For the same for Syriac manuscripts, see Syri.ac Manuscripts (and a project by Syriaca.org is digitizing Wright’s British Library catalog). But an increasing number of libraries are posting their catalogs online, and the purpose of this page is to bring together the links to relevant manuscript catalogs online.
The list is alphabetized by city name, and within a city alphabetized by institution name. This list is very incomplete, having been compiled only as I needed something, but I shall happily receive suggestions for additions.
Birmingham
University of Birmingham, Cadbury Research Library:
- Islamic manuscripts: Fihrist
Cambridge
Cambridge University Library:
- List of online manuscript catalogues
- Islamic manuscripts: Fihrist
Jesus College, Old Library:
- Islamic manuscripts: Fihrist
Trinity Hall, Old Library:
- Islamic manuscripts: Fihrist
Dublin
Trinity College Dublin:
- Islamic manuscripts: Fihrist
London
British Library:
- Islamic manuscripts: Fihrist
Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland:
- Islamic manuscripts: Fihrist
Scholar of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS):
- Islamic manuscripts: Fihrist
Wellcome Trust, Wellcome Library:
- Islamic manuscripts: Fihrist
Manchester
University of Manchester, John Rylands Library:
- Islamic manuscripts: Fihrist
München
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
- Orientalische und asiatische Handschriften (including Arabic, Armenian, Hebrew, Kurdish, Mandaean, Persian, Syriac, and Turkish)
- Verfügbare Volldigitalizate Arabische Handschriften
Oxford
Oxford University, Bodleian Library:
- Islamic manuscripts: Fihrist
St. Antony’s College, MEC Library:
- Islamic manuscripts: Fihrist
Wadham College:
- Islamic manuscripts: Fihrist
Paris
Bibliothèque nationale de France:
Princeton, NJ
Princeton University:
St. Andrews
University of St Andrews, Special Collections:
- Islamic manuscripts: Fihrist
Mafqud wa-Mawjud 