The Interest of French Orientalists in the Manuscripts of the African Sahara

Abstract

French Orientalists were interested in manuscripts in the Sahara Desert, driven by scientific, political, and religious objectives. They focused on collecting, translating, editing, and publishing manuscripts.

Their work—such as Houdas and Delafosse's translations of important historical texts—contributed to enriching knowledge about the region. With the development of Orientalist studies, interest in editing and publishing manuscript heritage increased, from manuscript catalogs to the critical editions of legal and literary texts, thus contributing to the preservation and highlighting of the region's cultural heritage.