The manuscript collection of the Chaldean Archdiocese of Kirkuk (ACK) is now fully cataloged and available in HMML Reading Room. The collection includes 219 manuscripts, the contents of which are written primarily in Syriac, but also in Arabic, Arabic Garshuni, Turkish Garshuni, and Neo-Aramaic (Sureth).

Among the manuscripts are many copies of ecclesiastical and liturgical works, including Bibles, lectionaries, Ḥudras, and various liturgies used in the Chaldean rite. There are also translations of modern Roman Catholic authors into Syriac, Arabic Garshuni, and Turkish Garshuni, suggesting a robust local translation effort and a diverse population among the archdiocese. Many of the manuscripts were produced locally in Kirkuk, providing evidence of a strong scribal tradition of the area, while others were copied in Alqūsh, Tel Keppe, or Baghdad.

Most of the manuscripts were produced in the 19th or 20th centuries, but there are a few older manuscripts, including a dated 13th-century New Testament manuscript (ACK 00003) and a 15th-century copy of the Paradise of Eden by ʻAbdīshōʻ bar Brīkā (ACK 00066). Other noteworthy manuscripts among the collection include a somewhat rare hagiographical “Life of Ezekiel of Duqoq” (after whom was named a monastery near Kirkuk; ACK 00074), a collection of works by the East Syriac author Barḥadbšabba Arbaya (ACK 00147), and a somewhat unique collection of hagiographical and apocryphal works (ACK 00213). View now