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
Middle East and Islamic Studies
This year saw the Ethiopian millennium. Ethiopia's domestic and international situation remained highly unstable and was marked by violent tension. The political space was monopolised further by the ruling party, the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), while the fragmented opposition was further undermined. The government released major opposition figures from prison after a questionable trial but made no further meaningful ‘reconciliation’ moves. Domestic ethnic and social dissent persisted, sometimes in violent form. The EPRDF continued to organise among the rural population, co-opting them into party structures. In the wake of Ethiopia's 2006 invasion of Somalia, a protracted terrorist campaign was mounted by remnants of the defeated Islamic Courts Union, targeting Ethiopian troops, Somali civilians and government officials. The redistribution effects of economic growth were limited and poverty remained widespread. Spiralling inflation severely affected the poor and middle class. There was drought, especially in the south. There were no solutions to the structural problems of the rural economy, climate change and the ecological crisis. The US and China provided international support for Ethiopia, while the EU continued to provide development funds. Relations with Eritrea were poor, with no headway being made in the border conflict, while the proxy war in southern Somalia and elsewhere intensified. Ethiopia's relations with its other neighbours were mainly stable.