A Disrupted Heritage: Arabic-Script Manuscripts of the Eastern Rhodopes
A Disrupted Heritage: Arabic-Script Manuscripts of the Eastern Rhodopes

Summary/Abstract: This article examines a collection of manuscripts written in Arabic script discovered during a series of field researches conducted in the 1990s in several villages of Kardzhali region in Southern Bulgaria (namely Mak, Garbishte, Shterna, Sinchets, and Bogatino). The manuscripts, written in Arabic, Ottoman and Persian, represent valuable bibliographic sources reflecting the intellectual and religious life of Muslim communities in the Eastern Rhodopes during the Ottoman period. The study combines codicological description with historical contextualization. The author analyzes the physical characteristics, content, and provenance of the manuscripts, many of which were found in abandoned houses and mosques after the mass exodus of the local Turkish population in 1989. Their discovery is closely connected to the political circumstances of the late socialist period in Bulgaria, particularly the assimilation campaign known as the “Revival Process” (1984–1989). During this period many cultural and religious artifacts were deliberately destroyed, while others were hidden by their owners in order to preserve them. As a result, numerous manuscripts were buried, concealed in buildings, or left in deserted settlements. Among the materials examined are fragments and complete copies of the Qur’an, the oldest dating from the 16th c., as well as works of Qur’anic exegesis, compilations of hadith, texts dealing with religious duties, and Persian literary works. These manuscripts not only provide insight into religious practices and education but also demonstrate the cultural connections of the local Muslim population with the broader Ottoman intellectual sphere. Beyond their textual value, the manuscripts serve as material witnesses to a disrupted cultural heritage. Their survival highlights both the vulnerability of written traditions in periods of political repression and the importance of preserving the remaining evidence of the historical and cultural memory of the region.

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