Middle East

Our Middle East collections comprise manuscripts, printed books, newspapers and journals from countries in today's Middle East as well as from Iran and Central Asia from the 5th century AD to the present day.

Collection guides

Arabic collections
Printed books, periodicals and newspapers, manuscripts and a range of other materials
Persian collections
Over 40,000 volumes of printed books, periodicals and newspapers, more than 11,000 manuscripts, and a range of other materials.
Hebrew collections
Manuscripts copied over 1,000 years ago to the most recent monographs and serials
Ethiopian collections
The Ethiopian collections include over 600 manuscripts in addition to recent monographs and serials
Judeo-Persian
The British Library has a small but important collection of Judeo-Persian manuscripts and printed books
India Office Records: Resources for Iran
Archival sources for the study of Iran

View all related guides

Help

Readers at desks in the Asian and African Reading Room

Asian & African Studies Reading Room

Find information on the shelves
Access online databases and electronic books and journals
Order collection items to the Reading Room via our catalogues

If you need help, just ask our Information Specialists at the Reference Enquiry desk or contact the Asian & African Studies Reference Team.

We offer free Discovery and 1-2-1 Sessions to help you make the best use of the Library's collections.

You’ll need a Reader Pass

Mon: 10.00 – 17.00
Tue – Sat: 09.30 – 17.00
Sun & English Public Holidays: closed

Opening hours for all Reading Rooms

Blog posts

Emanating light: Illumination in Islamic manuscripts

Thursday, August 8, 2019

Without the ability to travel time it may forever be impossible to restage the medieval and early-modern viewing conditions of Islamic manuscripts. Whereas in paintings books are often shown being enjoyed outdoors, architecture can offer insights into the experience of...

The first Iranian newspaper: Mirza Salih Shirazi’s Kaghaz-i akhbar

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Todays guest blogger is Borna Izadpanah, PhD Candidate, University of Reading. Borna is a typeface designer and researcher based in London. He is currently a PhD candidate at the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication, University of Reading working on...

Rustam: The Hero with Red Hair

Monday, July 8, 2019

Today's post comes from Dr Peyvand Firouzeh, Postdoctoral Fellow, Getty Foundation & American Council of Learned Societies at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz, Max-Planck- Institut. Peyvand has been a frequent visitor to our Reading Room during her research on the...

125 More Arabic Scientific Manuscripts in the Qatar Digital Library

Thursday, July 4, 2019

The second phase of the British Library/Qatar Foundation Partnership digitisation project has now come to a successful close. You can find lists of the 80 manuscripts digitised during the first phase of the project here and here, and as we...