Middle East and Islamic Studies
New at Brill in Open Access: Encyclopædia Iranica Online
Encyclopaedia Iranica is the most renowned reference work in the field of Iran studies. Founded by the late Professor Ehsan Yarshater and edited at the Ehsan Yarshater Center for Iranian Studies at Columbia University, this monumental international project brings together the scholarship about Iran of thousands of authors around the world.
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Sign upEncyclopædia Iranica Online Now Freely Accessible at Brill
The Ehsan Yarshater Center for Iranian Studies at Columbia University, New York, and Brill are delighted to announce that the Encyclopædia Iranica Online is now freely accessible at Brill’s Reference Works Platform. Encyclopædia Iranica is the comprehensive academic reference work dedicated to the study of Iranian civilization in the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.
Ancient Iran Series Added to Brill’s Publishing Portfolio
As part of their growing portfolio in Middle East and Islamic Studies, Brill has signed an agreement for the take-over of the book series Ancient Iran Series. With its coverage of ancient, pre-, and early-Islamic Iran, this book series complements other book series with a more modern focus on this geographical area, as well as the various other journals and encyclopaedias Brill publishes in this field.
Read an interview with Geert Jan van Gelder
The longstanding series Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1: The Near and Middle East recently reached its 150th volume by publishing the special Prominent Murder Victims of the Pre- and Early Islamic Periods Including the Names of Murdered Poets. We caught up with Geert Jan van Gelder, editor and translator of the volume.
Acquisitions Editors
Brill
Maurits van den Boogert
Nicolette van der Hoek
Abdurraouf Oueslati
Teddi Dols
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
Jehona Kicaj
On 22 October, President Sassou Nguesso staged a constitutional referendum, which left him poised to extend his rule for at least another decade. Decried by the political opposition as a “constitutional coup d’état”, the referendum elicited massive protests across the country. Sassou Nguesso expected citizens to mobilise in protest and, in the months prior to the referendum, he prepared himself politically. In March, in order to further increase his control over the country’s oil sector, Sassou Nguesso promulgated a new Hydrocarbons Law. In August, he announced a new government, which excluded two long-standing ministers who had criticised the impending constitutional revision. Abroad, Sassou Nguesso continued to fashion himself as the region’s elder statesman, especially as Western governments condemned both the constitutional referendum and his record of economic mismanagement. China emerged as Congo’s chief export destination, accounting for 52% of the country’s total exports. As oil production declined and global prices fell, the government’s fiscal position deteriorated and public debt increased.