Middle Eastern Manuscript Traditions

Middle Eastern Manuscript Traditions (MEMaT) is a multidisciplinary project which aims at studying various aspects of manuscript production, utilization, and transmission history. The project is a collaboration between Sabine Schmidtke (IAS) and George A. Kiraz (IAS and Beth Mardutho). It brings together specialists with expertise in a wide range of linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The activities are focused on holding workshops and publishing books on the topic.

Upcoming Events:

Workshop:
March 17, 2026: Systems of Division for the New Testament Gospels in Greek, Syriac, Coptic, and Arabic Manuscripts and Their Hermeneutic Significance. A panel workshop with Jeremiah Coogan (JST-SCU/Berkeley; IAS), George A. Kiraz (IAS), Sabine Schmidtke (IAS), and Sofía Torallas Tovar (IAS).

Throughout the history of Christianity, various systems have been used to divide the text of the New Testament Gospels. The oldest systems originated in Late Antiquity and were developed in the Greek manuscript tradition. Examples include the Eusebian cross-reference system, the divisions attested in Codex Vaticanus, and chapters first attested in Codex Alexandrinus. Once the New Testament Gospels were transferred into new cultural spheres and languages, elements of some old systems were preserved or adapted while new ones were introduced. The analysis of the various systems of division in the Syriac, Coptic, and Arabic manuscript traditions is still in its infancy. During the panel workshop, we will present examples of some of the most widely attested division systems in these manuscript traditions, focusing on manuscripts with the continuous text of the New Testament Gospels (or some of them). 12–2 pm, Rubenstein Commons 1.

Workshop:
April 22-24, 2026: The Bible in Middle Eastern Manuscript Traditions. Conveners: George A. Kiraz (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton), Sabine Schmidtke (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton), Valentina Sagaria Rossi (University of Rome Tor Vergata) and Pontificio Ateneo Sant’Anselmo, Rome. Call details.

Publications:

Literary Snippets: A Colophon Reader, (2024, Gorgias Press), edited by George Anton Kiraz, Senior Research Associate in the School of Historical Studies, and Sabine Schmidtke, Professor in the School of Historical Studies

Literary Snippets: Colophons across Space and Time, (2023, Gorgias Press), edited by George A. Kiraz, Senior Research Associate in the School of Historical Studies, and Sabine Schmidtke, Professor in the School of Historical Studies

Scribal Habits in Near Eastern Manuscript Traditions, Volume 23 (2021) in the series Texts and Studies (Third Series) [Gorgias Press], edited by George A. Kiraz, Senior Research Associate in the School of Historical Studies, and Sabine Schmidtke, Professor in the School of Historical Studies

Writing in My Own Script: Allographic and Garshunographic Systems in Late Antiquity. Part Two = Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 8 i (2020) [Leiden: Brill], edited by George A. Kiraz, Senior Research Associate in the School of Historical Studies, and Sabine Schmidtke, Professor in the School of Historical Studies

Writing in My Own Script: Allographic and Garshunographic Systems in Late Antiquity. Part One = Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 7 ii-iii (2019) [Leiden: Brill], edited by George A. Kiraz, Senior Research Associate in the School of Historical Studies, and Sabine Schmidtke, Professor in the School of Historical Studies

Islamic Studies

Manuscript Traditions

Near Eastern Studies

Middle Eastern Manuscript Traditions

Events:

Upcoming

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Upcoming Events:

Publications: