Rare Early Quranic Scrolls in Kairouan Library Trace Back to 9th–11th Centuries
These manuscripts, inscribed on parchment and leather, were long considered the primary reference point for the study of early Quranic calligraphy—until the discovery of the Sana’a manuscripts in Yemen, according to a report by Al-Furqan Foundation.
Scholars have identified two main collections within the library.
The first group includes Qurans donated to the mosque in the 10th and early 11th centuries. The oldest among these was bequeathed in 295 AH/908 CE by Faḍl, a Quranic scholar and scribe. Another possibly older copy is tied to Khadīja bint al-Aghlab, a relative of the Aghlabid founder Ibn al-Aghlab.
Notable manuscripts in this collection include the Mushaf al-Ḥāḍina (the "Nurse’s Quran") and copies endowed by members of the Zirid dynasty—among them Mushaf al-Muʿizz ibn Bādīs and duplicates by his aunt and other court figures. A further Quran was donated in 446 AH/1054 CE by calligrapher Abū Bakr Muḥammad to the Mosque of al-Mansūriyya in Tunis.
Based on the city's history, it is believed that bookbinding and manuscript production in Kairouan declined during the late 11th century and 12th centuries as the city was partially abandoned. By that time, existing Qurans were often transferred to the mosque's central library for safekeeping.
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The second grouping consists of scrolls influenced by Moroccan craftsmanship, likely produced between the mid-13th and 15th centuries one Persian calendar (19th–20th century CE), coinciding with the Hafsid dynasty’s restoration of Kairouan’s institutions. These scrolls likely originated outside Kairouan—possibly in Tunisia or Morocco—and later entered the city's collection.
Overall, the Kairouan collection reflects centuries of bookmaking, binding, and calligraphy, reinforcing the city's status as a major medieval center of learning and manuscript arts.
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