Afghanistan Liturgical Quire

The Afghan Liturgical Quire (ALQ), or Afghan Siddur, compiles three prayer genres into a single codex. It contains morning prayers for the Sabbath, poetry for Sukkot, and a Passover Haggadah that was mysteriously written upside down.

Based on radiometric dating and physical analysis, scholars believe the ALQ was composed before the year 780. Such an early date makes it the earliest Hebrew codex, the earliest book of Jewish prayers, and the earliest Haggadah ever discovered. Babylonian vocalization and the use of Judeo-Persian suggest the ALQ likely traveled along the Silk Roads in Central Asia, between Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and western China. This region was, at the time, intellectually influenced by the geonim (“scholars”) near Baghdad—leaders of the Sura and Pumbedita Academies.

Created in multiple stages during the 700s, likely in Central Asia.[1][2] Deposited or lost in a cave in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, before 1997.[3] Discovered in a cave in the Bamiyan Valley by a Hazara man in spring/summer 1997;[4] the Hazara man delivered the ALQ to a regional leader in Bamiyan, Rahbar (leader) Karim Khalili, who protected it in his personal office in Bamiyan until September 1998;[5][6] One of Rahbar Khalili’s deputies apparently attempted to sell the ALQ between 1998 and 2001.[7] Bought (apparently) by an unnamed private collector in London in summer 2001, who held it in London for a decade or more.[8] Purchased by Hobby Lobby from an Israeli dealer in July 2013;[9] donated to Museum of the Bible in January 2015; entered into multicultural partnership between Afghan Jews, Afghanistan officials, and Museum of the Bible in 2021.[10]

Notes: [1] The manuscript may have been compiled over a few years, or even decades, with the Haggadah probably being written first. The poetry and morning prayers were then written and compiled around the Haggadah, which necessitated positioning the Haggadah text upside down. Radiometric dating suggests the ALQ was completed before the year 780. [2] In terms of modern countries, Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan are the most likely countries of the ALQ’s creation, with India, Iraq, and western China being less likely possibilities. [3] The exact cave is known but scholars are currently withholding the cave’s location in the Bamiyan Valley in order to protect the site from looting. [4] Scholars also know the name of the Hazara man, and his story with the ALQ has been documented, but his name will not be released for his protection. [5] Khalili was then the leader of the Hizb-i Wahdat party headquartered in Bamiyan. Khalili later rose to the Second Vice President of Afghanistan for the duration of the Karzai administration (2002–2014), and, afterward, Chairman of the Afghanistan High Peace Council (2017–2019). [6] Khalili wrapped the ALQ in a cloth and placed it in a specially made wooden box, as is the custom for sacred books in Afghanistan. [7] Curators confirmed multiple attempted sales of the ALQ in the United States and Europe between March 1998 and July 2001 before one of Khalili’s deputies apparently sold the ALQ to a private collector in London around August/September 2001. [8] Despite several leads, the name of this private collector has yet to be confirmed. [9] At the time of the sale, the ALQ was said to come from the genizah of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo, Egypt. [10] Following a “human rights-based approach to cultural heritage,” Museum of the Bible and Afghanistan officials from the democratically elected government prioritized the cultural rights of the religious community that created the ALQ. As a result, Museum of the Bible is the “custodian” or “steward” of the ALQ on behalf of the Afghan Jewish community and specific Afghanistan officials (who remain unnamed for security reasons).

Selected Resources:

Rovner, Jay. In Every Generation: Studies in the Evolution and Formation of the Passover Haggadah. Piscataway: Gorgias Press, 2024.

Jewish Manuscripts