Early Qurʾānic Scrolls from the Qubbat al-khazna and their links with the Christian Manuscript Tradition of Greek-Byzantine Scrolls

Abstract

This contribution aims to reconsider some early Qurʾānic parchment scrolls once stored in Damascus Qubbat al-khazna and currently preserved in Istanbul – at the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts. Their peculiar book form, apart from vague hypothesis, never received a convincing explanation. However, the production of Greek-Byzantine liturgical scrolls in Damascus up to the tenth century offers a meaningful precedent that sheds light on the provenance and the origin of these scrolls. Codicological techniques, bilingual – Greek-Arabic – witnesses and oral performances are some of the elements that link the Christian and Islamic scrolls production in the Syrian area.