Islam
Arabic Papyrus, Parchment, and Paper
Arabic Papyrus, Parchment, and Paper
The Arabic Papyrus, Parchment & Paper Collection is the largest of its kind in the United States, containing 770 Arabic papyrus documents, 1300 Arabic paper documents, and several pieces on parchment. The collection was acquired by Prof. Aziz Suriyal Atiya, founder of the Middle East Center and the Middle East Library. A large number of pieces date to the period between 700 and 850 CE. The collection includes a significant number of documents from the pre-Ottoman period and thus offers unique source material on the political, economic, religious and intellectual life of Egypt during the first two centuries of Islamic rule and the period up to Ottoman domination.
Fayez A. Sayegh Collection
Fayez A. Sayegh Collection
The Sayegh Collection, donated by Dr. Fayez A. Sayegh's widow, Mrs. Arlene Briem Sayegh to the J. Willard Marriott Library's Middle East Library, contains approximately 10,000 written works, of which at least 400-500 are of his correspondence and unpublished notations; several hundred tape recordings and films of his speeches and interviews; and his personal library of four to five thousand volumes. The collection focuses on the Arab-Israeli conflict as well as on topics of the theology of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism; international law; United States foreign policy; world history; and, philosophy. The digital collection is a sampling of Dr. Fayez's written works.
Middle East Collections
Middle East Collections
The Aziz Atiya Middle East Library is recognized internationally as a major center for research in Middle East studies and has been considered "the fifth largest of such a collection in North America." The collection includes hundreds of unique Middle Eastern and Islamic manuscripts in languages such Arabic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish, Urdu, and Coptic, dating as early as the ninth century CE. Also included are more than 3,000 printed books from and about the Middle East.