About Sura- North Africa

Subj: Fragment of a 13th century Quran File: VAT112.JPG (365951 bytes) AUTHOR: Library of Congress

Fragment of a Quran, Sura 33: 73-74 In Arabic Spain or northwest Africa Thirteenth century

One of the first Quranic manuscripts to enter the Vatican Library, this codex--containing only a fragment of the full text--comes from a "madrasa" or mosque school in Tunis and was probably taken when the troops of Charles V captured the city in July 1535. A fine example of the "maghribi" script typical of northwest Africa and Muslim Spain, the manuscript also contains good illuminations. The pages shown here bear the last two verses of Sura 33.

Vat. ar. 214 fols. 24 recto - 23 verso orient11 AH.15