Texts, Scribes and Transmission

Viac o knihe

Recent decades have seen a growing interest in the manuscript cultures of the Muslim world, revealing new perspectives on text transmission and cultural practices within premodern Muslim societies. The intellectual heritage of Ismaili communities, a branch of Shi'i Islam, has largely been preserved in private, inaccessible libraries. This open access volume compiles studies that provide insights into the manuscript cultures nurtured by Ismailis, even after the advent of printed books. The manuscripts, written in Arabic, Persian, and Indic languages, reflect the doctrinal and literary concerns of both Muslims and other groups in the regions where Ismailis resided, spanning from the Near East to Central and South Asia. The chapters address various issues related to textual transmission, including codicology, scribal and reading practices, educational and social history, authorship, communal script, religious identity, and the exchange of ideas across different ideological denominations. With contributions from specialists and early-career scholars, this volume is relevant for those engaged in textual scholarship, manuscript studies, and Islamic studies. The eBook editions are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license on bloomsburycollections.com, funded by Islamic Publications Ltd.