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The “Great Umayyad Qur'ān” (Codex Sanʿāʾ DAM 20-33.1) From The Time Of Caliph Al-Walīd, Lat
t Century Hijra

Date
Late 1st century hijra, 710 - 715 CE in the reign of the Umayyad Caliph al-W
alīd.
By studying the palaeography, ornamentation and illumination of this manuscr
ipt, Hans-Caspar Graf von Bothmer dated it to the last decade of the 1st century
of hijra, around 710 - 715 CE, in the reign of the Umayyad caliph al-Walīd.[1] Ho
wever, the radiocarbon dating of this manuscript suggests an earlier date betwee
n 657 and 690 CE.[2]
Husband and wife team Jonathan Bloom and Sheila Blair are vocal critics of t
he Umayyad date attached to this manuscript. Bloom and Blair even suggest von Bo
thmer of being unscientific in his presentation and interpretation of the data.
In his article "The Introduction Of Paper To The Islamic Lands And The Developme
nt Of The Illustrated Manuscript", Bloom refuses to discuss this manuscript;[3]
Blair adopts a more conciliatory stance by explaining the reasons why the presen
tation of scientific evidence lacks a certain degree of robustness.[4] Oleg Grab
ar has conducted a detailed interaction and critique of the art-historical metho
dology adopted by von Bothmer in dating this manuscript and was able to converse
with him directly on the matter.[5]
Inventory No.
DAM 20-33.1
Size & Folios
The original codex had the approximate dimensions of 51 cm (height) x 47 cms
(width). It had c. 520 folios.[6] But only 25(?) of them survive.[7] The extant
folios are quite fragmented.
History Of The Manuscript
Although it was found in the Great Mosque in Sanʿāʾ this monumental Qur'anic manusc
ript, perhaps one of the most well-studied in recent times, appears to be origin
ally from Syria. This codex may have been sent from Syria to Sanʿāʾ after the Great Mos
que of Sanʿāʾ was expanded.
Script & Ornamentation[8]
Kufic.
At present this is the earliest known Qur'anic manuscript in Kufic script. A
lmost square in format, this Qur'an occupies the middle ground between the verti
cal format of early hijāzī manuscripts and the horizontal codices which were soon to
follow for some two centuries. It has superb calligraphy. The calligrapher's pen
was wide cut which enabled him to draw lines that range from hair-fine to bold
and broad.
The rich illumination in this manuscript comprises of full page images, sūrah
dividers and frames. The repertory of ornamental motifs is late classical. This
manuscript is unique in the sense that it open with a group of full page images:
a representation of Paradise based on a 'cosmogram', a classical motif combinin
g an octagon and a circle and, on the reverse, a mosque. The following page also
depicts a mosque; on the reverse the text begins with the first sūrah [Figure (d)
]. If the image had not occupied the same leaf as the text, its association with
a Qur'an would have been unlikely. These images are the only known Qur'an illus
trations and are absolutely unique among extant Qur'an manuscripts.
The mosque does not portray a specific building but rather a type of mosque
as does the image on the following leaf. This type of mosque was first employed
under the Umayyad caliph al-Walīd, in the Great Mosque of Damascus. The painter ha
s used an unusual combination of floor plan and elevation to show the main featu
res of the building, such as the three sections of the prayer hall, two storeys
high, which run parallel to the qibla wall, and the axial space which cuts acros
s these sections, leading from the main gate to the mihrab [Figure (b)]. Importa
nt details - the minbar in front of the mihrab, the mosque lamps suspended on lo
ng chains, the ablution facilities between the monumental flight of steps, even
the minaret with its inside staircase - are depicted with great fluency which te
stifies to a long pictorial tradition , now lost, which must have preceded this
work. Both the type of mosque shown here and the courtyard version on the opposi
te folio are closely connected with al-Walīd's architectural projects.
The refined techniques suggests that the manuscript was produced in a place
with long tradition of book making. Certain features of this manuscript and the
iconography suggests that this work was made for al-Walīd who himself may have com
missioned it.
Location
Dār al-Makhtūtāt, Sanʿāʾ, Yemen.
------
References
[1] H-C. G. von Bothmer, "Architekturbilder Im Koran Eine Prachthandschrift Der
Umayyadenzeit Aus Dem Yemen", Pantheon, 1987, Volume 45, pp. 4-20.
[2] H-C. G. von Bothmer, K-H. Ohlig & G-R. Puin, "Neue Wege Der Koranforschung",
Magazin Forschung (Universität des Saarlandes), 1999, No. 1, p. 45; Also see H-C.
G. von Bothmer's write-up and images in M. B. Piotrovsky & J. Vrieze (Eds.), Ar
t Of Islam: Heavenly Art And Earthly Beauty, 1999, De Nieuwe Kerk: Amsterdam & L
und Humphries Publishers, pp. 101.
[3] J. M. Bloom, "The Introduction Of Paper To The Islamic Lands And The Develop
ment Of The Illustrated Manuscript", Muqarnas, 2000, Volume XVII, pp. 22-23 (foo
tnote 15). He says, “I am deliberately neglecting the fragmentary double frontispi
ece to a magnificent parchment manuscript of the Koran discovered in the Great M
osque of San’a … because there is no scientific proof for von Bothmer s claim that t
he manuscript has been carbon dated to the Umayyad period, and a ninth-century d
ate seems more likely on the basis of script.”
[4] S. S. Blair, Islamic Calligraphy, 2006, Edinburgh University Press Ltd: Edin
burgh (Scotland), p. 125 & p. 139, footnote 95. Noting that the E20 Manuscript a
nd the Samarqand Manuscript produce a range of 220 years and 260 years respectiv
ely at the 95% confidence level, Blair is suspicious of the low range reported b
y von Bothmer, noting it is only 33 years in length. Furthermore, she complains
that the testing facility and standard deviations (confidence levels) are absent
. Blair is not entirely correct when she says that the confidence level has not
been given. The 95% confidence level for the radiocarbon dating of this manuscri
pt was given elsewhere with the date 645-690 CE, see C. Hillenbrand, "Muhammad A
nd The Rise Of Islam", in P. Fouracre (Ed.), The New Cambridge Medieval History
c. 500 – c. 700, 2005, Volume I, Cambridge University Press, p. 330. Matters are f
urther complicated however as the reference provided by Hillenbrand does not pro
vide details of the radiocarbon dating! Hillenbrand took the details of the radi
ocarbon dating from her husband Professor Robert Hillenbrand who in turn took th
e information directly from von Bothmer himself (i.e., personal communication).
Von Bothmer is currently preparing a voluminous tome on the Sanʿāʾ manuscripts. Any jud
gements as to the soundness and completeness of the results reported above will
be resolved by the publication of this volume.
[5] O. Grabar, The Mediation Of Ornament, 1992, The A. W. Mellon Lectures In The
Fine Arts, 1989, Bollingen Series XXXV, Princeton University Press: Princeton (
USA), pp. 155-194. Although this Sanʿāʾ Qur'an is not exclusively discussed in all thes
e pages, one should read the entire chapter to appreciate the full extent of Gra
bar's argument; he also provides a detailed reconstruction of how these two fron
tispieces may have originally looked [ibid., pp. 158-159]. On a similar note, fo
r a brief study of early Bible and Qur'an illuminations with mention of this man
uscript see, E. Baer, "Early Bible And Qur'ān Illuminations: Preliminary Remarks",
in B. H. Hary, J. L. Hayes & F. Astren (Eds.), Judaism And Islam: Boundaries, C
ommunication And Interaction - Essays In Honor Of William M. Brinner, 2000, Bril
l: Leiden, pp. 139-156.
[6] H-C. G. von Bothmer, "Architekturbilder Im Koran Eine Prachthandschrift Der
Umayyadenzeit Aus Dem Yemen", Pantheon, 1987, op. cit., p. 5.
[7] H-C. G. von Bothmer, "Masterworks Of Islamic Book Art: Koranic Calligraphy A
nd Illumination In The Manuscripts Found In The Great Mosque In Sanaa", in W. Da
um (ed.), Yemen: 3000 Years Of Art And Civilization In Arabia Felix, 1987?, Ping
uin-Verlag (Innsbruck) and Umschau-Verlag (Frankfurt/Main), p. 180.
[8] The entire discussion in this section is taken and adapted from M. B. Piotro
vsky & J. Vrieze (Eds.), Art Of Islam: Heavenly Art And Earthly Beauty, 1999, op
. cit., p. 101.
[9] The published manuscripts can be seen in Memory Of The World: Sanʿāʾ Manuscripts, C
D-ROM Presentation, UNESCO. A useful guide to the contents in the CD-ROM was pre
pared by K. Small & E. Puin, "UNESCO CD of Sanʿāʾ Mss. Part 3: Qur'ān Palimpsests, And Un
ique Qur'ān Illustrations", Manuscripta Orientalia, 2007, Volume 13, Number 2, pp.
63-70. For other folios see H-C. G. von Bothmer, "Architekturbilder Im Koran Ei
ne Prachthandschrift Der Umayyadenzeit Aus Dem Yemen", Pantheon, 1987, op. cit.,
pp. 14-16; Masāhif Sanʿāʾ, 1985, Dār al-Athar al-Islāmiyyah: Kuwait, p. 45; M. B. Piotrovs
J. Vrieze (Eds.), Art Of Islam: Heavenly Art And Earthly Beauty, 1999, op. cit.
, pp. 102-104; H-C. G. von Bothmer, "Masterworks Of Islamic Book Art: Koranic Ca
lligraphy And Illumination In The Manuscripts Found In The Great Mosque In Sanaa
", in W. Daum (ed.), Yemen: 3000 Years Of Art And Civilization In Arabia Felix,
1987?, op. cit., p. 186; F. Déroche, "New Evidence About Umayyad Book Hands" in Es
says In Honour Of Salāh Al-Dīn Al-Munajjid, 2002, Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation
Publication: No. 70, Al-Furqān Islamic Heritage Foundation: London (UK), p. 630.
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