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Papyrus Erzherzog Rainer

Inscribed 2001

What is it

A collection of around 180,000 written objects: papyri, parchment and paper; wooden tablets; ostraka, or pieces of inscribed pottery; cloths; and leather scrolls. The items date from the 15th century BC up to the 16th century AD.

Why was it inscribed

This collection of writing materials and languages is one of the most extensive in the world. Many of the important languages of the ancient world are represented in written form, including Egyptian, from hieroglyphics to Coptic; Greek; Latin; Hebrew and Aramaic; and Arabic. The papyri material covers a wide range of subject matter, from school and legal texts to writings on medicine, war and magic. Together, they allow insights into societies and cultures which have long since disappeared.

Where is it

Austrian National Library, Vienna, Austria

The collection was begun by Austrian historian and Orientalist Professor Josef von Karabacek, who was among the first to realise the importance of the papyri found at the Fayum oasis in Egypt in the late 1870s and early ’80s. Together with his collaborator Theodor Graf, Professor von Karabacek imported thousands of the finds into Austria. Archduke (or Erzherzog) Rainer, a former prime minister and a member of the Habsburg royal family, bought the collection in 1883.

Material continued to come from Egypt and the collection grew to almost its present size within a few years. In 1899 Professor von Karabacek became head of the Imperial Court Library and that same year the archduke gave his collection as a birthday gift to the Emperor Franz Josef I, requesting that it be placed in the Court Library.

The material in the papyri covers every aspect of life: literature, school texts, magic, religion, the afterlife, legal affairs, financial transactions, military matters, medicine, books and writing. Together, they offer a direct insight into the world as it was known at the time. For example, many of the cities, villages, churches and temples of ancient Egypt are known through these papyri. Byzantine tax receipts form a large part of the records, allowing the reconstruction of aspects of the social and economic history of the Byzantine Empire. Roman military papers reveal aspects of governance in Egypt and beyond. Family archives from various periods also feature in the collection.

Erzherzog Rainer, who acquired the collection in 1883.

The Fayum oasis in Egypt, where the papyri were first found in the 1870s.

Among the most important items are the Greek papyri from the period between the end of Byzantine rule and the start of the Muslim control in Egypt in the 7th century AD. The period was one of upheaval, and the contents of the papyri document this. Other items include the oldest written Arabic text and a receipt, written in both Greek and Arabic, dating from the start of Muslim rule in the country.

The collection’s treasures include some unique religious texts of great importance for the documenting of the ancient Egyptian religion, Christianity and Islam. These include Books of the Dead (including one with gilded pictures), rare New Testament papyri and the oldest-known fragment of the biography of the Prophet Mohammed.

Also among the vast wealth of material are individual special items of particular interest. Included is possibly the only surviving piece of the Library of Alexandria, as well as the oldest-known fragment of an ancient song. The works of many ancient writers and poets are represented here.

Many of the most important languages in the Old World exist in original writing in the collection. Examples include the Egyptian languages in their different forms: hieroglyphics, hieratic, demotic and Coptic, as well as Latin, Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac and Pehlewi (Middle Persian). Most numerous are the texts in Arabic and Greek, which was the language of the establishment and of administration for almost a millennium from around 300 BC onwards.

The Austrian National Library has a separate Papyrus Museum which features some highlights of the collection and allows an insight into the lives of some of the people who lived in the Nile Valley over a period of 3000 years.