Virtual visit to the Cairo Genizah

On 31 January 2024 the Genizah Research Unit at Cambridge University Library would like to invite you to experience up close the more than 200,000 fragments of the Cairo Genizah Collection. This vast archive found in an Egyptian synagogue storeroom is one of the greatest single collections of Jewish and Islamic writings in world history. Ranging from fifth-century CE palimpsests despoiled from the monasteries of the Holy Land, through the intimate documentary history of the Jews of Fatimid, Ayyubid and Mamluk Egypt, and up to the period of the Ottomans and even Napoleon, its scope and depth are unparalleled.

For this event, the head of the Unit Ben Outhwaite will explain why the Genizah is such a remarkable survival, and he’ll be joined by his Cambridge colleague Nick Posegay whose recent research has exposed the full range of early printed books (from the 15th c. onwards) in the collection, including remains of the first titles to be printed in Egypt.

Go to the SAS web site to book for this Zoom talk.