The Manichaean Turkish Texts of the Stein Collection at the British Library PETER ZIEME Abstract In this article the author presents an overview of the British Library’s Manichaean Turkish text fragments (written in Runic, Manichaean and Sogdo-Uigur script). Besides information on all fragments published so far several pieces of a confession text on the Blessed Small Feast Day are edited in full and compared to parallels in other collections. The collection of Turkish Manichaean texts in the Stein Collection is small but very important. In 1914, according to the British Museum Guide, many of the fragments discussed here were on display to the public. 1 These finds come from following sites: Dunhuang (Ch.), Gaochang (Kao, ruin α) and Yarkhoto (Y.K.). Like the Manichaean texts known from other collections, in particular that of Berlin, the texts are written in the three scripts used by the Turkish Manichaeans, i.e. Runic, Manichaean and Sogdo-Uigur. In general, one may assume that the texts in Runic script are from an earlier period, a fact which can be confirmed through a fragment edited by Le Coq which explains the runic script by means of Manichaean letters. 2 However, this principle can hardly be used as a basis for dating individual manuscripts, since all three scripts were in use during the ninth and tenth centuries. As script is the most obvious criterion for grouping the fragments I will first discuss the texts in Runic script and then those in Manichaean and Sogdo-Uigur script. A. Texts in Runic script 1. Or 8212/1692 = Kao 0107 The paper fragment Or 8212 (1692) = Kao 0107 with a fascinating painting on one side belongs to the objects Sir Aurel Stein acquired during his visit to Gaochang. They were “brought by Kurban Niaz as from the centre of Gaochang” as is written on the envelope 1 Guide to an Exhibition of Paintings, Manuscripts and other Archaeological Objects collected by Sir Aurel Stein, K.C.I.E. [Knight Commander of the Order of Indian Empire], in Chinese Turkestan (London, 1914), pp. 43–44. 2 A. v. Le Coq, “K¨ okt¨ urkisches aus Turfan”, in Sitzungsberichte der K¨ oniglich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (Berlin, 1909), pp. 1049–1052. JRAS, Series 3, 20, 3 (2010), pp. 255–266 C  The Royal Asiatic Society 2010 doi:10.1017/S1356186310000027