Special Collections at IIS

Conservation and study of Ismaili intellectual heritage is of paramount importance to IIS. This short video provides an overview of IIS' manuscripts collections and its main priorities for their conservation and research.

The IIS holds one of the most significant repositories in the world of materials related to Ismaili communities, comprising nearly 3,000 manuscripts in Arabic, Persian and Indic languages. In addition, IIS also holds several hundred volumes of rare books, periodicals and journals, off-prints, and important coins from the Fatimid and Alamut periods of Ismaili history.