Digitization of the Unique 19th-Century Ostroh Quran Now Online

The Ostroh Quran has been digitized in the Rivne region: a manuscript from the early 19th century from the Book and Printing Museum collection combines Arabic calligraphy with Ukrainian-language notes. It is one of the most valuable artifacts of the cultural heritage of the Volyn Tatars.

According to the Ostroh Reserve, acting director Andriy Bryzhuk emphasized the object’s uniqueness: this is the only handwritten monument of the so-called “Western Tatars.” These are the Tatars who appeared here at the beginning of the 16th century, and their community lived compactly in Ostroh and other settlements of Southern Volyn.

The Ostroh Quran is undoubtedly unique in Ukraine and, in particular, here with us in the Rivne region, since it is the only handwritten monument of the so-called “Western Tatars.” These are the Tatars who appeared here at the beginning of the 16th century and their community lived compactly in Ostroh and other settlements of Southern Volyn. In fact, up to the mid-20th century. Unfortunately, with the arrival of the communist regime this community dissolved, so to speak, into the Ukrainian sea, and today it no longer exists as a community.

Digitization and online access to the Quran

The Quran’s paper consists of 19 stitched notebooks on bluish fabric paper measuring 19×14 cm. The cover is made of thin leather. The text is written in the Naskh script with a characteristic slant and red borders; the main lines are in black ink, and the punctuation in red, which gives the manuscript expressiveness.

The work’s uniqueness is underscored by linguistic insertions: in the margins are notes in Ukrainian dialect, written in Arabic letters, including the numbering of juz. On the first page is recorded in Ukrainian a fragment: “… at the end I wrote down a prayer …”, which is a clear example of the integration of the Tatar community into the Slavic environment.

The Ostroh Quran is now available online. The manuscript’s entry is posted on the reserve’s collection website, where you can view images and study the material remotely. It is also planned to present the original in the exhibition “Ostroh Tatars”.

“We are currently working on a major exhibition called ‘Ostroh Tatars’. This exhibition is supported by the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation and will open in mid-October at our Book Museum. We already have experience with digitization. A few years ago we digitized and posted online 40 Ukrainian incunabula, and before that the Ostroh Bible was digitized. The Quran is already available: you can browse it on the site, or if you wish, download it for yourself. And if you can’t read Arabic, but you have a strong inclination for research, you can upload the photos to an AI; it will recognize the text well. This is an important digitization.”

He also added that the original Ostroh Quran would be presented at the exhibition “Ostroh Tatars”.