Research

The main research areas

 

Iranian Studies

The Iranian Studies Department at Hamburg focuses on the languages, history, culture, and religions of the Iranian, Iranian-influenced, and Persian-speaking world from antiquity to the present.

In research, it is from one side linguistically oriented in its research and focuses primarily on the history of Persian languages (from Old Persian in the 6th century B.C. to New Persian in the 21st century A.D.) and New Iranian languages and dialects (e.g. Zazaki, Kurdish). See here for more details. Further focal points include Iranian religions and religions in Iran, such as Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, and Iranian Judaism. Special emphasis is placed on the study of literature, rituals, and the historical and contemporary Zoroastrian communities in Iran and India (Parsis), as well as Iranian Judaism and Judeo-Persian language and literature. For further information, see here.

In teaching, Iranian Studies at Hamburg covers selected areas of Iranian cultural history and contemporary studies (history, literature, regional studies, ethnology, etc.), in addition to various languages, taking into account the pre-Islamic period in both linguistic and historical terms. Old, Middle, and New Iranian philology (Old Persian, Avestan, Manichaean and Zoroastrian Middle Persian/Pahlavi, as well as classical New Persian) form an integral part of the curriculum.

 

Islamic Studies

The remit of Islamic Studies comprises the history and culture of the Islamic world from Late Antiquity to the present. This is approached primarily through written evidence in the literary languages of this area as well as through material culture. In the subject area of Pre-Modern Islam, the department’s research focuses on the political, administrative and economic structures of the early Islamic Empire and the eastern Mediterranean region in the Middle Islamic Period. This research focus has been and continues to be pursued through a variety of projects. For further information see here and here. In the subject area of Modern Islam, research focuses on questions of medical ethics and the (contemporary) history of Islamic religious scholarship see here.

 

Turkish Studies

The remit of Turkish Studies comprises the languages, history and cultures of the various Turkic peoples, the dynasties descended from them and the states whose foundation is traced back to them. Research interests at Hamburg are mainly focused on the history and culture of the Ottoman Empire and the history and present of Turkey. With the Türkei Europa Zentrum (TEZ), founded in 2008, Turkish Studies at Hamburg has established itself as a unique location in Germany for contemporary-oriented research on Turkey.