Explore the world's sacred texts
The British Library has an unsurpassed collection of sacred texts across all faiths. Find out more
Explore 78 texts online in depth here...
Jewish, Christian and Islamic holy books, including some of the world's most precious Hebrew and Christian Bibles and Qur'ans, plus Hindu, Buddhist and Zoroastrian texts
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list of all 78 texts
each with in-depth description and high-resolution zoomable images
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selections and highlights
explore by faith or by various themes -
turn the pages
leaf through books with text commentary and audio -
interactive map
search by place of origin with Google maps
Curator's choice: Texts explained
Curators and other experts give their personal views on some remarkable sacred texts. Available as audio files and in transcript
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Diamond Sutra
Susan Whitfield on the world's oldest dated printed book -
Codex Sinaiticus - 2
Scot McKendrick on the significance of the 'world's oldest Bible' -
Codex Sinaiticus - 1
Juan Garcés on the history and future of this unique text -
Sultan Baybars' Qur'an
Astoundingly preserved golden book from 1300s Egypt -
Islamic marriage contract
William Dalrymple on the last Mughal, a poet-king -
Awag Vank' Gospels
A chronicle of the Armenian nation -
Tyndale New Testament
The English book that caused a revolution
Multimedia resources: Sacred contexts
Audio, videos, special interactive resources for schools and students, and more, in our Sacred contexts