What can a single library on Rhodes reveal about Ottoman book culture, manuscript transmission, and the intertwined histories of Greeks and Turks?
Drawing on codicology, archival work, and cultural history, the two richly researched volumes of 'Conversations in the Library' illuminate this question
The recto (left) shows faint traces of the title and a user’s note, as well as the crucial endowment note. Damage and repaired stitching are visible at the upper right. The thread passes across inked areas – proof that the folio was damaged and mended after the endowment note was written. The verso (right) is entirely blank, highlighting the materiality and physical wear of the parchment. Image: Türk ve İslam Eserleri Müzesi Müdürlüğü/Ministry of Culture and Tourism
According to popular history, when the Crusaders invaded Tripoli in 1109, they burned all the books in the city's famous library. Our Artefact of the Month, a fragile leaf recently discovered in the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum in Istanbul, calls this account into question
uhh.de/csmc-aom-36
April 20th 4:15 PM CEST = 10:15 AM EST Olivier Bonnerot on “The @csmc-hamburg.bsky.social Mobile Lab and the non-destructive analysis of written artefacts: insights into inks and pigments on ancient papyri" at Università degli Studi di Napoli L’Orientale and online www.unior.it/en/node/4022
Join us in Daejeon this summer! The mini‑conference “Distant Past(s) – Current Future(s)” explores how digital methods are reshaping ancient and medieval studies and cultural heritage research.
CfP open until 1 May.
In a world of mass-produced goods, Nepali lokta paper remains a unique Himalayan heritage. Without support, this craft may disappear. The new film ‘Nepali Paper on the Edge’ by Agnieszka Helman-Ważny offers rare insight into its production.
🎬 Full video: uhh.de/csmc-nepali-...
Join us on Wednesday to hear Dr Márton Vér of @uni-hamburg.de speak on 'The Old Uyghur Documents and a Global Microhistory of the Silk Roads'.
This is the next in our 'Rethinking History' series with @utoronto.ca.
Register for Zoom: bit.ly/RethinkingHistoryZoom
#documents #SilkRoads #OldUyghur
Examining a copy of the Qur’an with interlinear translation into Pular. Left to right: Abdoul Ba, Dmitry Bondarev, Djibril Dramé, Saïd Bousbina, Seydi Diamil Nine, Maria Luisa Russo. © Nicolas Réméné.
Dmitry Bondarev giving a lecture on Ajami manuscripts to the undergraduate class at the Department of Islamic and Arabic Studies, UCAD. © Nicolas Réméné
Interest in Ajami in West Africa is growing. During a recent field trip to Senegal, Dmitry Bondarev and his Ajami Lab team initiated new collaborative projects with the Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire and Université Cheikh Anta Diop:
uhh.de/csmc-ajami-s...
Unser Langzeitforschungsprojekt #Etymologika bietet gemeinsam mit zahlreichen Kooperationspartnerinnen eine Summer School zur antiken griechischen Gelehrsamkeit an: 20. bis 24. Juli 2026 an der @uni-hamburg.de + @csmc-hamburg.bsky.social
Bewerben bis 19. April👉 www.awhamburg.de/aktuell/aktu...
📢 Applications are now open for the 2026 round of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships! The CSMC warmly welcomes applications in areas related to written artefacts:
www.csmc.uni-hamburg.de/research/mar...
Every year, we present the J.P. Gumbert Dissertation Award for the best doctoral theses dealing with any aspect of manuscript studies. Today, we are delighted to announce the winners for 2025: Jake Benson and Eugene Matanky have received the award for their outstanding work. Congratulations! 🍾🏅
Sylvia Melzer receives her certificate of appointment from Helge Braun, President of the University of Lübeck.
Our colleague Sylvia Melzer, head of our Data Linking Lab, will take up a deputy professorship @uniluebeck.bsky.social next week, where she will hold the Chair of ‘Knowledge-Based Databases’ for one year. Best of luck in your new role, Sylvia!
Computational paleography has become a key meeting ground for the humanities and computer science. We are delighted to offer workshop at this year’s #ICDAR2026 conference to showcase the latest developments in this dynamic field.
CfP is open until 22 May!
📢 Vacancy!
We're looking for a doctoral researcher to join our ‘Turning Rock into Pixels’ project group and explore the rich cultural heritage of the Jewish cemetery in Hamburg-Altona.
More info here:
🤩 Lesenswertes #Portrait unseres Langzeitvorhabens #Etymologika in der Einblicke-Reihe der #Akademienunion. Gleich die Frage am Anfang macht neugierig:
Was verraten Worte über das Denken vergangener Jahrhunderte?
#Akademienprogramm #EtymologicumGudianum #Langzeitforschung
The black-and-white photo shows a man in a suit and tie. The person has a mustache and is wearing glasses.
Under what circumstances were papyri purchased on the Egyptian antiquities market in the early 20c? How was the papyrologist Carl Schmidt involved in the illegal export of papyri? Join us for the Gotha Manuscript Talk by Jakob Wigand (18 March 2026, 6:15 CET)
uni-erfurt.webex.com/meet/veranst...
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Can synchrotron X-rays shed light on the material biographies of cuneiform tablets? In a recent study, CSMC and DESY researchers analysed artefacts from @mkghamburg.bsky.social and @stabihh.bsky.social. Their non-destructive method yielded encouraging results.
Open access!
Workshop on conservation procedures with Maria Luisa Russo.
Miscellanea manuscripts pose a challenge for the group of researchers.
Dmitry Bondarev from the Ajami Lab and members of the Kaduna team discussing the typology of Ajami manuscripts.
Colleagues from our Ajami Lab have continued their work on the Jos Museum manuscript collection at the Kaduna Museum in Nigeria. They established cataloguing and research procedures for identifying Ajami, and reviewed conservation principles relevant to the entire collection
uhh.de/csmc-ajami
Litany in honor of the Prophet Muhammad; copy from the year 1135 AH (1723). BULAC Collections, MS.ARA.152
What impact did empires, both Ottoman and colonial, have on the culture and fate of Maghrebi book collections? Join us for Augustin Jomier's Gotha Manuscript Talk "At the Crossroads of Empires: North African Libraries in the 19th Century", 4 March, 6:15 CET.
@csmc-hamburg.bsky.social @inalco.fr
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"Magische Zeichen" und wie man sie entziffert sind das Thema der aktuellen Folge von Terra X. Wie sie die Rätsel lösen, vor die so manches Schriftartefakt die Forschung bisher stellte, erklären darin auch mehrere Wissenschaftler:innen des CSMC!
📺Sonntag um 19:30 im ZDF und in der Mediathek:
📢 Call for applicants!
We are delighted to announce the SIMS-CSMC Fellowship, set up with our colleagues @sims-mss.bsky.social. It supports innovative approaches to the study of manuscripts and includes time at SIMS in Philadelphia and at CSMC in Hamburg.
Apply by 1 May 2026!
More info:
journal cover
Comparative Oriental Manuscript Studies Bulletin Vol. 11, Nos. 1-2 (2025) www.aai.uni-hamburg.de/en/comst/pub... @csmc-hamburg.bsky.social #openaccess @petertarras.bsky.social
Our colleague Stephan Seifert has completed his tenure process, congratulations! At our centre, the Chemist has led a project on the ‘Bioinformatic Profiling of Written Artefacts’, and he is a member of the Palm-Leaf Manuscript Profiling Initiative (PLMPI)
www.csmc.uni-hamburg.de/news/2026-02...
✍️ Schrift ist eine geniale Erfindung: Durch sie lebt die Vergangenheit fort. Aber was, wenn die Schrift noch in Tonumschlägen steckt, die nicht zerstört werden sollen? Terra X hat dafür bei Forschenden des Exzellenzclusters „Understanding Written Artefacts“ am @csmc-hamburg.bsky.social nachgefragt.
Come and study with us!
Our renewed 2‑year MA Manuscript Cultures is now accepting applications until 31 March. The extended programme lets you develop a strong individual research profile while preserving the interdisciplinary approach to global written artefacts that defines our work at the CSMC:
This Wednesday, the DiPiKA Lecture Series on Manuscript Cultures continues with a talk by Yamuna K., who will talk about the 'Kerala School of Sanskrit Grammar and its Manuscript Legacy'. Join us online!
The talk starts at 10:30 am CET.
Using our mobile CT scanner ENCI, our researchers have produced a high-resolution 3D reconstruction of the well‑known Georgian manuscript MS 2058/1, the Sinai Lectionary.
This and more contributions from CSMC members are available in the latest open-access issue of ‘Digital Kartvelology’:
A worthwhile podcast also addressing the special situation here in Hamburg:
Now online: *Between Hamburg and Jerusalem*
A new digital exhibition traces the material remains of German-Jewish history in the early 20th century. It’s based on archives we digitised together with the National Library of Israel and was developed together with @igdjhh.bsky.social
One more week to submit nominations!
The J.P. Gumbert Dissertation Award honours the best PhD thesis on any aspect of manuscript studies defended in 2025. The winner receives 5,000 EUR and a fellowship at the CSMC
„Liest sich wie ein Theaterkrimi!“ Das neue Buch unserer Kollegin Laura-Maxine Kalbow erzählt die Geschichte der „Parsifal“-Inszenierung Alexander Zemlinskys am Neuen Deutschen Theater in Prag. Eine begeisterte Besprechung ist in Treffpunkt Klassik im SWR zu hören
www.ardaudiothek.de/episode/urn:...
