Research by a Center Scholar in Georgia

The Imam Bukhari International Scientific Research Center continues to strengthen academic ties with foreign institutions and promote the exchange of expertise in the field of source studies. As part of these efforts, Iroda Daurbekova, a researcher at the Center, visited Georgia on an official research trip, where she conducted practical research at the Georgian National Center of Manuscripts named after Korneli Kekelidze and examined rare written sources preserved in its collections.

During the visit, the researcher was accompanied by Iranian studies scholars Dr. Khatuna Bindurashvili and Tamara Abuladze, who provided an in-depth introduction to the Center’s collections, library operations, and the processes involved in the preservation and scholarly study of manuscripts.

The collections of the Georgian National Center of Manuscripts contain unique Arabic, Persian, and Turkic sources dating from the 13th to the 19th centuries. These materials include works covering a wide range of fields, including Qur’anic exegesis, Hadith, Islamic jurisprudence, medicine, astronomy, logic, linguistics, and poetry. During the research, a number of rare manuscripts of particular value to source studies were identified, including works associated with the Transoxanian school of calligraphy, especially manuscripts copied in Samarkand and Bukhara during the Ashtarkhanid period.

Among the important sources examined during the research were:

– “Hashiya ‘ala Sharh al-‘Aqa’id al-‘Adudiyya” (ArAC 278), one of the collection’s rarest manuscripts, copied in 666 AH and associated with the library of Muhammad Parsa;

– “Sahih al-Bukhari” (ArAC 91, 325), copied by the calligrapher Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad Salih Murad, as well as “Thulathiyyat al-Bukhari” (ArAC 92), copied in 1053 AH, both works of the great Hadith scholar Imam al-Bukhari;

– Manuscripts authored by such prominent scholars of the Islamic intellectual tradition as Imam al-Tirmidhi, Mahmud al-Zamakhshari, and Ibn Sina, as well as rare sources documenting the calligraphic tradition of Abd al-Rahman al-Khwarizmi, a renowned Tabrizi calligrapher who lived during the Aq Qoyunlu period.

As part of the visit, meetings were also held with Georgian researchers and specialists in the field. The participants exchanged views on the prospects for organizing joint academic conferences, webinars, and collaborative projects in source studies between the two institutions.

In addition, I. Daurbekova visited the Georgian National Museum and explored a number of historical and architectural heritage sites in Tbilisi and its surrounding areas, including Jvari Monastery, Metekhi Church, and the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral complex.

The research and academic visit marked an important step toward the deeper study of the scholarly heritage of Transoxanian scholars preserved in Georgian manuscript collections and the further expansion of international academic cooperation in the field of manuscript and source studies.