Middle East and Islamic Studies

Editor: Hartmut Bobzin and August den Hollander

This remarkable collection demonstrates the impact of the holy book of Islam in Europe. Long before printing with movable type became common practice in the Islamic world, Korans had been printed in Arabic type in several European cities. The collection includes Korans and Koran translations, printed between 1537 and 1857, and is of interest to book historians, theologians, philologists, and scholars of Islamic Studies alike.

Subject: Middle East and Islamic Studies

Start: 1537

End: 1857

Place: Europe

Editor: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Marzolph, University of Göttingen

A collection of thirteen extremely rare illustrated lithographed editions of Firdawsi's famous national epic of Persia, The Book of Kings. Beyond their importance as historically produced texts, some editions are noteworthy for their calligraphy. Particularly the illustrations in the Iranian editions are quite appealing and have been produced by major artists of the day.

Subject: Middle East and Islamic Studies

Start: 1846

End: 1904

Place: Persia

Editor: Joseph Justus Scaliger (d. 1609), and Jacobus Golius (d. 1667)

Leiden University Library has a world famous collection of Middle Eastern Manuscripts. Its core collection is brought together by, among others, the Leiden Orientalists Joseph Justus Scaliger and Jacobus Golius. Included in the Scaliger collection are about a dozen manuscripts which belonged to Franciscus Raphelengius. These collections consist of extremely rare, sometimes unique, manuscripts.

Subject: Middle East and Islamic Studies

Start: 10th century

End: 1370

Place: Middle East

This online publication consists of 140 volumes from the Warner Collection, totaling 45,809 pages of Ottoman Turkish, Arabic, and Persian texts. All these manuscripts were acquired by the great scholar Levinus Warner during his stay in Istanbul from 1644 until his death in 1665. The collection also includes several of Warner's diaries with research notes in various languages.

Subject: Middle East and Islamic Studies

Start: 1644

End: 1665

Place: Middle East

This collection consists of 200 manuscripts with just over 300 works. In addition to 5 autographs, the highlights of the collection include: the earliest dated manuscript in the collection (Arab O. 013) a dated copy of a unique arrangement of a rare treatise written by al-Ṣāḥib Tāǧ al-Dīn (d. 707/1307) produced in the year of the author’s death; two rare Mamluk treatises on horsemanship (Arab F.2); and an anonymous compilation (Arab O. 027) about the lives of the outstanding men who lived in Medina in the 12th/18th century.

Subject: Middle East and Islamic Studies

Start: 1300

End: 1900

Place: Middle East

Subject: Middle East and Islamic Studies

Start: 1300

End: 1900

Place: Middle East

This collection offers a comprehensive range of primary sources on the history of Mandatory Palestine. It gives access to the principal memoranda, statements and reports published during the time of the British Mandate, from the Balfour Declaration of 1917 to the end of the Mandate in 1948. It includes the White Papers and reports relating to the Official Commissions sent to Palestine. Also included are the British reports to the Permanent Mandate Commission of the League of Nations, since Palestine was assigned to the League of Nations, Great Britain being the trustee. In addition, the collection contains sources pertaining to the social, demographic and economic development of Palestine. The material in this collection is reproduced from the originals kept at the National Library of Israel.

Subject: Middle East and Islamic Studies

Start: 1917

End: 1948

Place: United Kingdom

Source materials on the legal position of the Occupied Territories in Israel are very difficult to find. Military Orders and Regulations issued by the Israeli Government especially are extremely rare, as they are not usually intended for free circulation. This online resource therefore provides a unique opportunity for studying the legal situation in these territories. Additional sources—modern as well as historical—such as the Ottoman Laws and the Palestine Gazette, have been added so that the current situation can be studied in its historical perspective. A number of indexes, compilations and English translations makes this collection an indispensable instrument for scholarly and legal research.

Subject: Middle East and Islamic Studies

Start: 1917

End: 1984

Place: United Kingdom

Editor: Maurits van den Boogert

Brill presents a unique collection of rare primary sources on a vital and dynamic part of the history of Turkey, Russia, the Middle East and Western Europe. These sources provide detailed insights not only in the military ebb and flow of Russian-Ottoman relations, but also in their effects on European public opinion.

Subject: Middle East and Islamic Studies

Start: 1600

End: 1800

Place: Russia

Editor: Maurits van den Boogert

This collection includes discussions of diplomatic treaties like those of Bucharest of 1812 and Adrianople (Edirne) of 1829; the commercial and military issue of access to the Black Sea; eye-witness accounts from war theaters; and plans for, and ideas about, future confrontations. The fact that many different perspectives are represented in this collection makes it extra attractive.

Subject: Middle East and Islamic Studies

Start: 1800

End: 1853

Place: Russia

Editor: Maurits van den Boogert

In this collection Russian views are represented by Anatole Demidov (1812-1870), traveler and patron of the arts; the discussion on the peace by former diplomat Tchihatchef; and the accounts of the Russian veteran, Piotr Andreevich Viazemsky (1792-1878). The opinions of two Turkish officers, Rustem Effendi and Seid Bey, and the views of Algerian poet Muhammad b. Ismail (1820-1870) are also included.

Subject: Middle East and Islamic Studies

Start: 1853

End: 1856

Place: Russia

The material in the final part of this series is again highly diverse. Some works focus on trade, while others portray individual Ottoman or Russian statesmen. Some are personal accounts, whereas others are polemical or propagandistic. The collection is a veritable treasure trove of original sources, personal views, military analyses and national(istic) policy statements, which have never before been published together.

Subject: Middle East and Islamic Studies

Start: 1857

End: 1914

Place: Russia

Editor: Maurits van den Boogert

Accounts of travel are a popular and accessible source for research on historical relations between “East” and “West” and are attractive for specialists and non-specialists alike. In the pre-modern period a large number of such accounts were published all over Europe. Predominantly covering the Ottoman Empire, the collection also stretches into Ethiopia, Central Asia, Afghanistan, North Africa, and of course Iran.

Subject: Middle East and Islamic Studies

Start: 1520

End: 1907

Place: Middle East, Africa