As part of the preparations for the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the classical poet and thinker Magtymguly Pyragy, Turkmen scholars are intensifying their search for new manuscripts and other sources about his life and creative heritage. The employees of the Magtymguly Institute of Language, Literature, and National Manuscripts of the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan have undertaken a scientific and creative trip to cities in Russia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Iran, where they familiarized themselves with sources on the literature and history of the Turkmen people, preserved in libraries and manuscript collections of scientific centers.
In order to discover new historical information about the life and works of Magtymguly and other Turkmen classics, as well as the history and literature of the Turkmen people, the scholars of the Institute are heading to Tajikistan, where they will work in libraries and manuscript repositories from November 5th to 25th, and meet with Tajik colleagues to discuss cooperation in the preservation and scientific research of national heritage.
Turkmen scientists will study the funds of the National Library named after Abu'l-Qasim Ferdowsi, which has the status of the main national repository of books in Tajikistan and is a leading research institution in the country. Its funds contain over three million unique cultural and artistic treasures. The library's Golden Fund consists of a collection of Eastern manuscripts, which exceeds two thousand copies. In Dushanbe, Turkmen scientists will also visit the Institute of Oriental Studies and Written Heritage of the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, where significant work is being done on the collection, preservation, scientific description, and cataloging of manuscripts, as well as the creation of their electronic copies. Currently, the Fund of Eastern Manuscripts comprises over 5,750 manuscript books and around 6,350 lithographs in Tajik, Persian, Arabic, Turkic, and other languages, including tens of thousands of various treatises and works on all branches of ancient and medieval science and culture.
By the number of manuscripts, lithographs, their scientific and cultural significance, the Eastern Manuscripts Fund of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan is one of the largest in Central Asia. The historical sources stored in it serve as the basis for scientific research not only by Tajik scholars but also by foreign orientalists. The valuable information contained in them is of great importance for studying various aspects of history, literature, linguistics, natural sciences, philosophy, religion, and the art of the peoples of Central Asia and the East. The Institute of Oriental Studies and Written Heritage of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan closely collaborates with oriental centers of many countries, including Turkmenistan.
