"Gotha Manuscript Talks" with Dr Alya Karame

The Gotha Research Library of the University of Erfurt holds the third largest collection of oriental manuscripts in Germany. These approximately 3,400 manuscripts, most of which came into the library around 1800, are relevant for all fields of science and shed light on the most diverse aspects of manuscript cultures. By inviting renowned researchers to the Gotha Manuscript Talks, the Gotha Research Library aims to use the material in a series of webinars to stimulate an increased exchange on manuscript cultures across disciplinary boundaries and to bring researchers and interested parties together to discuss oriental manuscripts.

About the lecture:
Alya Karame's lecture will focus on a Quran that was copied in the 11th century and to which illuminated pages were added decades later. They show that the Quran was ordered by the ruler of the Sulayhid dynasty in Yemen for the Fatimid caliph al-Mustansir (r. 427/1036–487/1094). The manuscript is now in Istanbul, with some folios scattered around the world. It is not only an example of Quran production at a time of great change, but also a certificate of manuscript circulation, diplomatic exchange and political power in the Middle Ages. The "Sulayhid Quran" tells stories of connections and affiliations within and outside a dynasty in which a woman rose to a position of political prominence. It shows the different stages in the life of a Quran, from the way it was copied and illuminated to its appropriation and dissemination.

Alya Karame specialises in Islamic arts and material culture. She was awarded the "Prize of the Paris Region" at the Collège de France, where she is writing her first monograph on a forgotten corpus of medieval Quran. She also held an Aga Khan Scholarship in Islamic Arts at Harvard University and a Barakat Trust Fellowship at the Khalili Research Centre at the University of Oxford.

To take part in the digital event on 20 March, simply click on the following link: https://uni-erfurt.webex.com/meet/veranstaltungen.fb

The next event will take place on Wednesday 10 April at 18:15. The speaker will be Dr Guy Burak from New York University.