The fate of the Najdi manuscripts after the fall of al-Dirʿiyya

Abstract

Abstract This paper seeks to shed light on the copying of manuscripts in Najd in central Arabia during the period prior to the fall of al-Dirʿiyya in 1818 and the fate of those manuscripts after that momentous event. It begins by a consideration of the movement of copying manuscripts in Najd during the era of the First Saudi State in the 18th century, including the reasons for which manuscripts were copied, the types of manuscripts copied, and the sources of those manuscripts. Attention is then given to the effect the fall of al-Dirʿiyya had on intellectual life in Najd, including the destruction of the existing book repositories and the transfer of many manuscript copies outside the borders of Najd, or their total loss or destruction. This paper will attempt to offer answers regarding the fate of those manuscripts, by following the progress of several of them and determining what happened to them. This will be done by consulting the relevant sources, particularly the available archival records, as well as following up on those that are to be found within Saudi Arabia itself or beyond its borders. The article includes a list of Najdi manuscripts preserved worldwide.