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Middle East & Central Asia in the SOAS Library

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For updates on Middle East & Central Asia resources read our Middle East & Central Asia Library blog

Western language materials cover the following areas:

  • Arab countries of Middle East and Egypt (for other Arab countries in Africa see Africa Section)
  • Islamic Spain and Sicily, Malta
  • Turkey and the Ottoman Empire (including Balkans and Cyprus)
  • Iran
  • Central Asia (including Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan)
  • Caucasus (including Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia)

Religions:

  • Islam in the Middle East and Central Asia
  • Zoroastrianism, in general

Language and literature in the following languages:

  • Arabic
  • Iranian languages (Persian, Kurdish, Pushto, etc.)
  • Turkic languages (Turkish, and Turkic languages of Central Asia)
  • Armenian, and Caucasian languages (Georgian etc.)

Selection of key journals

  • British journal of Middle Eastern studies
  • International journal of Middle Eastern studies
  • MEED: Middle East economic digest
  • MERIP reports
  • Middle East journal
  • Middle Eastern studies
  • Central Asian survey
  • Journal of the Central Asian Society
  • Edebiyat: a journal of Middle Eastern literatures
  • Middle Eastern literatures

Key reference material

  • Index islamicus (print & online)
  • Encyclopaedia of Islam
  • Encyclopaedia of Iran
  • The Middle East and North Africa (Annual)
  • Middle Eastern contemporary survey (Annual)
  • Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World
  • Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East
  • Encyclopedia of Arabic literature
  • Encyclopaedia of the Qur’an

Contact information

Dominique Akhoun-Schwarb
020 7898 4152
E-mail: da4@soas.ac.uk

Special Collections (in the Library & Archives)

  • A significant though small collection Arabic, Persian and Turkish manuscripts
  • Early Egyptian printed books in SOAS Library (published by IDC)

Related Departments & Centres in the School