Tips for a successful search

Transliteration and original script

• Search is not case-sensitive.
  Example: you will get the same results typing Ibn Hanbal and ibn hanbal.
• Please always disregard the hyphen "-" and the Arabic article ("al-") when entering keywords in transliteration. We suggest that you search for one or two significant parts of a title or the name of a person.
  Examples:
  • Enter kalila dimna instead of Kalīla wa-Dimna
  • Search for muqaffa instead of ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Muqaffaʿ
• There is no need to type diacritics when searching!
  Example:
  • Entering "Vālmīki" yields the same result as typing "valmiki".
• You can also search in original script.
  • Please note! When searching in Arabic script, please do not enter vowel signs (fatḥah, ḍammah, kasrah) or hamzah and shaddah!
• You can search for the beginning or ending of the text of a manuscript in original script.

Search strategies

• When searching for more than one keyword, the operator AND is automatically activated.
• If you are searching for a classmark, a certain person or a work, please avoid using the search mode "full text". Instead, use the modes "classmark", "title" and "name".
• Manuscripts can also be found through a work dataset. Please note: so far, not all works have been linked to a work dataset.
• You can also browse the indices of manuscripts, works, and persons, and narrow down the number of results through the filters.
• If you are in doubt about the exact spelling of a title or name, please use the wildcard "?" (to substitute ONE letter) and "*" (to substitute any number of letters).
  Examples: Entering Ajaib* yields among others the following various results:
  • Ajāʾibal-makhlūqāt wa-gharāʾib al-mawjūdāt
  • ʿAjāʾibül makhlūqāt
  • el-ʿAjāʾib ve 'l-gharāʾib
  • Kharīdat al-ʿajāʾib wa-farīdat al-gharāʾib
  Another example: Typing ?ilani will yield results containing the following variant names:
  • Gīlānī (as in Gīlānī, Aḥmad);
  • Kīlānī (as in Kīlānī al-Qādirī, ʿAlī al-);
  • Jīlānī (as in Jīlānī, Muḥammad ʿAlī al-)
• It is possible to search for subject matter, but as the database is still under construction, it cannot be guaranteed that all relevant works will be shown. Only those results will be shown for which the field "subject matter" has been filled out. Searching for subject matter may be useful to gain a glimpse of the texts available on this topic. The same restriction applies to other classifications such as language, alphabet, etc.

Customised search

• With the help of the Customised search in manuscripts, persons and works, you can further refine your search by combining filters.
• Dates: Customised search also allows you to search for dates connected to a manuscript or a person. The format is from-to, but it is also possible to leave one of both fields blank.
  Incomplete dates (e.g., without a month or a day) will be automatically completed. This will yield the following search results in the Gregorian calendar:
  • from 100: search from 1-1-100 to 28-1-4000 (last day supported by the system)
  • to 100: search results from 1-1-4713 BC (first day supported by the system) to 31-12-100
  • from 5-600 to 8-1300: search results from 1-5-600 to 31-8-1300
  You can search for dates in the Julian, Gregorian, and Islamic calendar. The search results will contain all objects that have a date within the selected period.