Network for Early Modern Oriental Studies

With the participation of researchers from Arabic studies, theology, philology and philosophy, an international working group at the Gotha Research Centre is researching the early history of Oriental studies.

Even before the establishment of separate chairs in the late 18th century, there was a scholarly interest in the languages and cultures of the Middle East, mostly by theologians who, endeavouring to gain a particularly meticulous understanding of the Bible, began their own research. As a result, the 17th and early 18th centuries saw the emergence of a rich body of literature that had hardly been recognised until then. In addition to regular working meetings and the preparation of conferences, the joint cataloguing of outstanding Orientalists of the early modern period will be at the centre of the work.