E 20: A Qur'anic Manuscript From 2nd Century Hijra From The Institute Of Oriental Studies, St. Petersburg, Russia
Islamic Awareness
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First Composed: 16 June 2000
Last Updated: 23 June 2006
The Qur'an Fragment, Cat. No. 1, Acc. No. E20, Pages of Perfection Exhibition (picture taken from here). The fragment marks the end of Surah al-Hujurat and the beginning of Surah Qaf.
Date
2nd century hijra (final quarter of the 8th century CE).
The results of radiocarbon dating of this manuscript were published by Efim Rezvan. For this manuscript, a 68.3% confidence level (1s) yields the dating ranges, 781 CE - 791 CE, 825 CE - 843 CE, 859 CE - 903 CE and 915 CE - 977 CE. The 95.4 % confidence level (2s) yields 775 CE - 995 CE. Palaeographic analysis of this manuscript gave the date around the final quarter of the 8th century CE. This dating was also agreed by François Déroche.
Accession No.
E 20
Size
It has 81 large parchment folios.
Contents
The manuscript contains about 40% of the text of the Qur'an, with full texts of 22 surahs and fragments of another 22.
Script & Ornamentation
Hijazi.
The manuscript reflects changes in the orthography and "lay-out" of the sacred text. Such changes were added to the text in red ink, probably a century after the date of copying. Simultaneously, the simple gaps which were left between the preceding surah and the beginning of the following surah were filled with coloured ornaments. The gaps are filled using interesting compositions of triangles, arcs, intertwined or intersecting lines, and with surah titles and information about the number of ayat.
Location
The Institute Of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia.
The MSS was displayed at the exhibition "Pages of Perfection" (Paris - New York - Lugano - Salzburg) in 1995-1996. Exhibited at the Musée du Petit Palais, Paris, at the Villa Favorita at Lugano, Switzerland and at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
References
[1] E. A. Rezvan, "Yet Another “‘Uthmanic Qur'an” (On The History Of Manuscript E 20 From The St. Petersburg Branch Of The Institute Of Oriental Studies", Manuscripta Orientalia, 2000, Volume 6, No. 1, pp. 49-68.
[2] E. A. Rezvan, "On The Dating Of An “‘Uthmanic Qur'an” From St. Petersburg", Manuscripta Orientalia, 2000, Volume 6, No. 3, pp. 19-22.
[3] F. Déroche, "Note Sur Les Fragments Coraniques Anciens De Katta Langar (Ouzbékistan)", Cahiers D'Asie Centrale, 1999, Volume 7, p. 70.
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