- “The Michaelides fragments comprise the largest private collection of Arabic papyri to be found in any institution worldwide.Cambridge University Library bought the collection in 1977 from the heirs of the antiques dealer Georges Anastase Michaelides (1900-1973). Born in Cairo and educated in Egypt and France, G.A. Michaelides developed a profound interest in the history and life of Egypt from its early civilisations to far beyond the Islamic conquest. At the time of his death he was in possession of over 1,700 fragments of papyri, paper and other materials in the ancient Egyptian languages, Coptic, Greek and predominantly Arabic. This collection comprises personal letters, legal texts, accounts, literary texts, recipes and other documents. Only a small number have been subject to academic study. This collection makes available online digital images of the Arabic papyri together with the descriptions produced in an unpublished hand-list by Professor Geoffrey Khan.”