The Khalili Collection is the greatest collection of Islamic art in private hands; it is continuing to grow and improve. It contains a large and comprehensive range of Qur'anic material, covering the entire history of Qur'an production from the seventh to the twentieth century, including examples from centres as far apart as Spain and India. This is the second of four volumes cataloguing the Qur'ans in the Khalili Collection. Notable among the manuscripts in this volume is a Qur'an by the greatest calligrapher of the Middle Ages, Yaqut al-Musta`simi, which is exceptional in that it retains its original illumination. Other masterpieces include a Qur'an written in gold from twelfth-century Iraq ; the only twelfth-century Qur'an from Valencia still in private hands, and a manuscript that is possibly the earliest Qur'an to survive from India. The lavish presentation of this catalogue is combined with detailed scholarship that not only encompasses the history of the subject, but also presents in accompanying essays new findings that have been made in the course of cataloguing. The text is supported by notes, up-to-date bibliography, and index, while inscriptions are reproduced in their original languages, with English translations. Dr James is an internationally renowned authority on Arab and Persian manuscripts, and on Qur'ans in particular.

Characterized by collectively produced texts that changed significantly over time, Mesopotamian literature and the Hebrew Bible confound modern notions of authorship and creativity. Tracking the Master Scribe probes the methods ancient scribes employed in passing down the writing that mattered most.

In this detailed overview of the history of the handmade book, Avrin looks at the development of scripts and styles of illumination, the making of manuscripts, and the technological processes involved in paper-making and book-binding. Readers will have a greater understanding of ancient books and texts with More than 300 plates and illustrations Examples of the different forms of writing from ancient times to the printing press Coverage of cultural and religious books Full bibliography Reference librarians and educators will find this resource indispensable.

"This sweeping history of the ancient Near East (Mesopotamia, Syria, Anatolia, Iran) takes readers on a journey from the creation of the world's first cities to the conquest of Alexander the Great. The book is built around the life stories of many ancient men and women, from kings, priestesses, and merchants to bricklayers, musicians, and weavers. Their habits of daily life, beliefs, triumphs, and crises, and the changes that they faced over time are explored through their written words and the archaeological remains of the buildings, cities, and empires in which they lived. Rather than chronicling three thousand years of kingdoms, the book instead creates a tapestry of life stories through which readers come to know specific individuals from many walks of life, and to understand their places within the broad history of events and institutions in the ancient Near East. These life stories are preserved on ancient cuneiform tablets, which allow us to trace, for example, the career of a weaver as she advanced to became a supervisor of a workshop, listen to a king trying to persuade his generals to prepare for a siege, and feel the pain of a starving young couple who were driven to sell all four of their young children into slavery during a famine. What might seem at first glance to be a remote and inaccessible ancient culture proves to be a comprehensible world, one that bequeathed to us many of our institutions and beliefs, a truly fascinating place to visit"--

Christ Church Priory, Canterbury, 990 AD. Orphaned by vikings, Folcwin and his elder brother Aelfwynn have become excellent scribes. Their lives, enlivened by sibling rivalry, are upset by a competition to illuminate a commissioned psalter. After Folcwin is selected the victor, his brother is accused of murdering another competitor, and he escapes. While Aelfwynn begins a patriotic battle against Viking raiders, Folcwin's fame as a scribe increases. Even with their imbalanced fortunes, the paths of the two brothers are bound to cross with powerful kings and strong leaders, including King Aethelred, Thorkell the Tall and Edmund Ironside. But can they overcome the Viking menace?