HSS 531/2 - History of the Middle East: Primary Sources

Contains 770 Arabic documents on papyrus and more than 1300 Arabic documents on paper, as well as several pieces on parchment. Many piece date between 700 and 850 CE, including a significant number of documents from the pre-Ottoman period and documenting the political, economic, religious and intellectual life of Egypt during the first two centuries of Islamic rule and the period up to Ottoman domination. (Univ. of Utah)

Geo-referenced versions of historical and modern maps and satellite imagery. (CAMEL Lab, Oriental Institute, Univ. of Chicago)

"The documents collected here describe an earlier program to expand and revitalize American propaganda directed at the Middle East, and the methods that were utilized, including graphic displays, manipulation of the news, books, movies, cartoons, activities directed at schools and universities, and exchange programs. U.S. propaganda efforts were assisted by collaborating governments, the news media, academics, publishers, and private associations." (George Washington Univ.)

Arabic agricultural works, mostly 10th-14th centuries. Site includes digitized manuscript facsimiles, along with their Arabic editions where they exist, and provides an online collaborative translation platform to facilitate translation of these into English. (The Golden Web Foundation, a registered educational charity)

Previously published inscriptions (and their English translations) of Israel/Palestine from the Persian period through the Islamic conquest (ca. 500 BCE - 640 CE), written in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin, by Jews, Christians, Greeks, and Romans. These range from imperial declarations on monumental architecture to notices of donations in synagogues to humble names scratched on ossuaries, and everything in between. Click "Related Sites" for other inscription collections. (Brown Univ.)

Over 2,700 books and tens of thousands of documents discovered in 2003 in the flooded basement of the Iraqi intelligence headquarters by a U.S. Army team, then preserved by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration and its partners. (National Archives)

A paleoblog is a blog which posts digitized historical materials.

Several thousand prints and photographs contained in works from the 17th century to the beginning of the 20th century. (New York Public Library)

Search or browse papyrus collections from multiple institutions.

"Records from Saddam Hussein’s regime released by the Conflict Records Research Center. The collection contains a wide range of Iraqi government files including transcripts of high-level meetings, speeches by Saddam and senior officials, correspondence between ministries, and records of the Presidential Diwan." (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars)

Texts, maps, and images documenting travel to the Middle East (primarily Egypt) between the 19th and early 20th centuries. These materials range from travel guides, travel narratives, and museum catalogs to stereocards, advertisements and postcards. (Rice Univ.)

Digital collection of family papers, official documents, and personal belongings that attempts to open avenues of research into the lives and influence of women in Iran during the Qajar era, 1796–1925. (Harvard Univ.)

Arabic manuscripts from Princeton University, Staatsbibliothek, Berlin, and private libraries in Sanaa, Yemen. (Princeton Univ.)