Rampur Raza Library
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| Country | India |
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| Type | Public library |
| Location | Rampur, Uttar Pradesh |
| Website | razalibrary |
The Rampur Raza Library (Hindi: रामपुर रज़ा किताब ख़ाना, Urdu: رام پور رضا کِتاب خانہ Rāmpur Razā Kitāb Khāna) located in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, India is a repository of Indo-Islamic cultural heritage and a treasure-house of knowledge established in last decades 18th century, and built up by successive Nawabs of Rampur and now managed by Government of India.
It contains very rare and valuable collection of manuscripts, historical documents, specimens of Islamic calligraphy, miniature paintings, astronomical instruments and rare illustrated works in Arabic and Persian. Rampur's Raza Library also contains printed works in Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu, Pashto (having the original manuscript of the first translation of the Qur'an in addition to other important books/documents), Tamil and Turkish, and approximately 30,000 printed books (including periodicals) in various other languages.
Nawab Faizullah Khan, who ruled Rampur from 1774 to 1794, established the library from his personal collection of ancient manuscripts and miniature specimens of Islamic calligraphy in the last decades of the 18th century. It is one of the biggest library in Asia. As all the succeeding Nawabs were the great patrons of scholars, poets, painters, calligraphers and musicians, and thus, the library grew by leaps and bounds and notable additions were made to the collection during the rule of Nawab Ahmad Ali Khan (1794–1840).
Nawab Muhammad Said Khan (1840–1855) created a separate department for the library and shifted the collection to new rooms. He engaged Agha Yusuf Ali Maulavi, an Afghan Scholar, to organize the collection into a Library. The Nawab invited well known calligraphers, illuminators and binders from Kashmir and other parts of India. The Nawab also got a seal with the following Persian inscription: "Hast in muhr bar Kutub Khana : Waali-i-Rampur farzana." It means "This is the seal of the Library : by the wise ruler (Nawab) of Rampur."
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