Miguel Casiri facts for kids

Miguel Casiri (born Mikhael Ghaziri) was a very smart scholar from Lebanon. He lived from 1710 to 1791. He was a Maronite Christian and an expert in languages and cultures from the Middle East.

Early Life and Studies

Casiri was born in Tripoli, a city in Lebanon, which was part of the Ottoman Empire back then. He traveled to Rome to study. There, he became a teacher himself. He taught important languages like Arabic, Syriac, and Aramaic. He also taught philosophy and theology.

In 1748, Casiri moved to Spain. He started working at the royal library in Madrid. He was chosen to be a member of the Royal Academy of History. He also became the king's expert in Middle Eastern languages. Later, he worked as a librarian at the famous Escorial library. In 1763, he became the main librarian there. He likely held this important job until he passed away in 1791.

His Big Work: Bibliotheca Arabico-Hispana Escurialensis

Casiri published a major work called Bibliotheca Arabico-Hispana Escurialensis. This title means "Arabic-Spanish Library of the Escorial." It came out in two volumes between 1760 and 1770 in Madrid.

This book is a detailed list, or catalogue, of more than 1800 Arabic manuscripts. These are old handwritten books and documents that Casiri found in the Escorial library. His work also includes parts of Arabic books about history. The manuscripts are organized by their topics, which made it easier for other scholars to find what they needed.

The second volume of his work describes many old maps and historical writings. These documents have valuable information about the wars between the Moors (Muslims from North Africa) and the Christians in Spain a long time ago. Even today, Casiri's work is still useful for people studying these topics.