Subject guides: Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies: Internet resources

This guide provides a general introduction to library and information resources for all those studying, teaching and researching on topics relating to the literatures, languages and cultures of the Middle East.

Maps

Dr Cyrus Ala’i’s Map Collection of Persia SOAS digital collection. The Collection consists of 255 old maps and 5 facsimile maps which have been fully described alongside many other maps of Persia in two large volumes of the map-history of that county by Dr. Cyrus Ala’i: General Maps of Persia, 1477-1925 (Leiden, Brill, 2004) and Special Maps of Persia 1477-1925 (Leiden, Brill, 2010).

Manuscripts

Islamic Manuscripts Online SOAS digital collection. A repository of resources from the Islamic world. While the majority of these resources are religious in nature, resources on secular topics are also available here. Geographically, they span the Islamic world. Typographically, they are written in or pertain to the scripts and languages of the Islamic world. As a result, Islamic Manuscripts Online holds resources in Arabic, Farsi, Kanembu, and Swahili among others. They may address Islam, Christianity, or secular topics see in folklore or everyday life. Most of these resources have been handwritten, some have been set in type; several are illustrated, even hand painted. The collection also includes photographs and other media.

References

ALA-LC Romanization Tables
Arabic Romanization Table
The Free Dictionary - Arabic
The Free Dictionary - Hebrew
The Free Dictionary - Turkish
Gregorian and Hijri Date Converter
Hazine A repository of reference resources and library guides for researchers working on the Middle East, North Africa, and Islamicate societies.
Library of Congress Romantization Tables Including Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, etc.
Persian Romanization Table

Catalogues of book traders and film distributors

Use these suppliers' catalogues to find Middle East publications, and then use the Library's Request a Book service to recommend books or DVDs for Library purchase. Please check DiscoverEd first before doing so.

Islamic art and architecture

ArchNet ArchNet is an open access, intellectual resource focused on architecture, urbanism, environmental and landscape design, visual culture, and conservation issues related to the Muslim world. As of 18 May 2021, the resource features 8,510 sites, 9,561 publications or files in 22 languages, 124,835 images, 594 media.

Images

Akkasah Photography Archive Archive of photographs from the Middle East and North Africa developed by the Center for Photography at New York University Abu Dhabi
Egypt Collection at SOAS
Iran Collection at SOAS
Iraq Collection at SOAS
Israel Collection at SOAS
Middle East Collection at SOAS
Ottoman & Turkey Collection at SOAS
Palestine Collection at SOAS
Syria Collection at SOAS

Digital archives

Internet Archive - Arabic books Containing over 462,000 books in Arabic.
Internet Archive - Persian books Over 19,800 books in Persian.
Ottoman State Archives - Hazine
Turkish State Archives
Wikilala - Ottoman Digital Library Gives access to Ottoman texts since the invention of printing: 45,470 newspapers, 32,450 journals, 4,658 books, 26,743 articles. For access, user registration required. Then free access until the end of this year 2021. Library subscription after 2021 will depend on user needs.
İ.B.B. Atatürk Kitaplığı Sayısal Arşiv ve e-Kaynaklar (I.B.B. Atatürk Library Digital Archive and e-Resources) You need to register with your email address for membership in order to access the images in the digital archive. Contents include newspapers, magazines, manuscripts, printed books, postcards, maps and similar ephemera documents belonging to the Ottoman period. There are publications in Ottoman, Arabic, Persian and other languages.
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A short YouTude video on how to use this resource:
https://youtu.be/LGZzcngmB_o

Library catalogues

Organisations

British Association for Islamic Studies (BRAIS)
International Society for Arabic Papyrology
MELCom International European Association of Middle East Librarians
MELCOM UK` Middle East Libraries Committee in the UK

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Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies