The exposition is dedicated, first of all, to the so-called "Afghan Geniz" 1 - a collection of unique documents from the city of Bamiyan, acquired several years ago by the National Library of Israel.Created in the XI-XIII centuries, they testify that during this period in the historical and geographical region of Khorasan, in the territory of which Bamyan 2 was located , there lived people who spoke different languages ​​and professed several religions. These are Persian-speaking Jews, and Persian and Turkic-speaking Muslims, and even, probably, Christians and Zoroastrians. Most of the texts, however, are related to the life of the Jewish community in Khorasan, and therefore their discovery is recognized as one of the most important finds of Hebrew manuscripts since the opening of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1947 - 1956).In the XI - XIII centuries, the historical and geographical region of Khorasan occupied the territories of present northeastern Iran, western Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. For the period of almost three centuries, which cover the texts of the "Afghan Geniza", this area, which had high cultural and economic potential, was owned by representatives of different dynasties: from the Samanids (819-1005), during which there was an incredible rise of Iranian culture and science, to the Türks Seljuk (1038–1194) and Khorezmshahs (1177–1231).Among the documents are various literary monuments - Jewish and Muslim, part of the Jewish family archive and another, Muslim administrative archive; however, their origin from other collections is not ruled out. Excerpts from a commentary in the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Saturday Prayers, and even from Mishnah, an ancient rabbinical text, testify to the close ties of the Jewish community with Jewish and Arabic-speaking Jews from other regions. Non-Jewish poems in Persian, historical chronicles, and even passages from the Qur'an indicate an educated Muslim population who is in close contact with the Jewish community of this region.Most of the fragments from the collection of the National Library of Israel are related to the economic and intellectual life of the Jewish community, the other part was created by Muslims and was among them. For this reason, the value of this complex goes far beyond the history of the Jewish communities.The earliest part of the collection, dating from the first half of the 11th century, is the family archive owned by Abu Nasr Yehuda bin Daniel and his family. A landowner and entrepreneur, Abu Nasr kept records of his transactions, wrote receipts, corresponded with family and business partners in the region, and also kept several religious and liturgical texts. Among the manuscripts of this part of the complex, the earliest known Persian Arabographic legal document was discovered.Later manuscripts dating to the late 12th and early 13th centuries, written mainly in Persian, are related to administrative and tax activities in both Bamiyan and neighboring regions. Letters, promissory notes, as well as lists of persons and goods coexist with legal documents. Often on one sheet several copies of documents unrelated to each other are placed, which indicates the high cost of paper in this period.Written in different languages, including Hebrew, Aramaic, Persian, Judeo-Arabic and Judeo-Persian, using similar ink and paper, manuscripts demonstrate the same aesthetic requirements. The documents of the “Afghan Geniza” revealed mainly previously unknown details about the cultural, economic and religious life of a prosperous, but little studied Jewish society in the east of the Arab Caliphate in the 11th – 13th centuries.Due to the destruction caused by the invasion of the army of Genghis Khan in 1221, almost no written sources about the everyday life of people were preserved in Khorasan. Even the historical works and masterpieces of the great Persian poets created during this period have come down to us mainly in later lists; therefore, the original letters and documents shown at the exhibition, as well as fragments of literary monuments created in the pre-Mongol period, are of exceptional value.The exposition also includes monuments of material culture from the Hermitage collection - household items and architectural fragments, which, supplementing written sources, demonstrate various aspects of the life of medieval Khorasan. Thus, on the basis of material from two unique collections - the National Library of Israel and the State Hermitage, an idea is formed of the once flourishing and then almost completely destroyed culture. The curator of the exhibition is Anton Dmitrievich Pritula , a leading researcher in the Department of the East of the State Hermitage Museum, and a candidate of philological sciences.