ANDRÁS BARATI

researcher, PhD student

Date of birth: 1988

E-mail: andrasbarati88@gmail.com; barati@avicenna-kkki.hu

1. Dissertation (Royal decrees of the Nādirīs, Durrānīs and Zands from the Āstān-i Quds-i Rażawī)

I wrote two subchapters (3.1 Raqam and the majlis-nawīs, 3.2 The succession struggle following the death of Nādir Shāh (1747-1750)) and translated fourteen out of a total of thirty-three royal charters.

2. Presentations

The Role of Religion in the Shaping of Politics, 20. 02. 2018

The velayat-e faqih after the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Scriptorium Conference, 07-08. 05. 2018

Royal Decrees (farmān) in the 18^th century Iran

3. Studies

Malik Maḥmūd Sīstānī: The Last Significant Nīmrūzi Malik, in: Maróth, Miklós (ed.) Yearbook of Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, 2015-2017, Piliscsaba, 2018, pp. 161–171.

The Succession Struggle Following the Death of Nādir Shāh, 1747–1750, in: Orpheus Noster (forthcoming).

The Theory of velâyat-e faqih in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in: the study volume of the conference entitled The Role of Religion in Shaping Politics (forthcoming).

The Appearance and Content of the Charters of Nādir Shāh (1732/1736–1747), in: the study volume of the 2nd Scriptorium Conference (forthcoming).

4. Research trips

15-18. 05. 2018: Vienna (Austria), The Institute of Iranian Studies, Austrian Academy of Sciences

16. 10. 2018: Vienna (Austria), The Institute of Iranian Studies, Austrian Academy of Sciences
17. Courses (Faculty of Humanities, ELTE)

2017/2018: 2nd semester

BBN-IRA11-206 Classical Persian text reading 6.

BBN-IRA11-208 Classical Persian text reading 8.

2018/2019: 1st semester

BBN-IRA11-205 Classical Persian text reading 5.

BBN-IRA11-207 Classical Persian text reading 7.

ZSUZSANNA CSORBA

researcher, PhD student

Date of birth: 1992

E-mail: csorba@avicenna-kkki.hu; csozsuzsi@gmail.com

During the preparation of my dissertation, I wrote three manuscripts for travellers on medical work (al-Isfār ʿan ḥikam al-asfār) including notes, glossaries and an English translation.

1. Foreign-language presentation
2. 09. 2018: Presentation at the 46th Congress of the International Society for the History of Medicine, Lisbon (Portugal)

Presentation: “He who wants to travel should…” – Travel Regimens in Medieval Islamic Medicine

2. Presentation in Hungarian
3. 10. 2018: Scientific workshop presenting a volume: Techné: Methods of Professional Training in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, PPCU Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Techné Research Group (Piliscsaba), Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies (Piliscsaba)

Presentation: The Profession and Training of Midwives and Nurses in the Light of Medieval Arabic Medical Sources

3. Publications

Midwives and Nurses in Medieval Arabic Medical Literature, in: Techné: Methods of Professional Training in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, eds. Márta Munding, Kornél Szovák, László Takács, Piliscsaba (Avicenna Research Non-Profit Ltd.), 2018, pp. 269–298.

Opticians, Surgeons and Various Practitioners: Medical Training in the Medieval Muslim World, in: Élet és Tudomány 73:24, 2018, pp. 748–750.

Chapter VIII: Detailed listing of the books on medicine (and those connected to medicine in any way, e.g. books on poisons and agriculture), in: Catalogue of Bayezid II’s Library (forthcoming).

4. Courses (Faculty of Humanities, ELTE)

2017/2018: 2nd semester

BBN-KEL-302             Classical Arabic language 2.

BBN-KEL-302:3          Arabic language 2.

BBN-KEL-304/IRA     Arabic language 4.

2018/2019: 1st semester

BBN-ARA11-111        Modern Arabic literary language 1.

BBN-ARA11-101        Classical Arabic language

BBN-KEL-301/IRA     Arabic language 1.

BBN-KEL-303/IRA     Arabic language 3.

ISTVÁN LÁNCZKY

researcher, PhD student

Date of birth: 1985

E-mail: lanczky@avicenna-kkki.hu

I ended the year by completing my doctoral dissertation, meanwhile, continuing one of my previous works. The latter is a critical edition and commentary on an essay entitled al-Masā’il al-miikmiyya, which entered the manuscript tradition under the name of Avicenna (d. 1037).

Presentations at conferences:

Al-Masā’il al-ḥikmiyya: Notes on the Authenticity of a Pseudo-Avicennan Work, 29th Conference of the Union Européenne des Arabisants et Islamisants (UEAI): Conflict and Coexistence (Münster, Germany, 10-14. 09. 2018).

Al-Masā’il al-ḥikmiyya: Notes on the Authenticity of a Pseudo-Avicennan Work, (Metaphysical Questions), II. Scriptorium Conference (Pannonhalma, 7-8. 05. 2018).

Religion and Politics in Political Islam and The Role of Religion in Shaping Politics, an event organised by the National University of Public Service as well as the Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, Ludovika Campus, (Budapest, 20. 02. 2018).

Research trips:

28. 05. – 02. 06.: Consultation on the dissertation with Prof. Charles Burnett (The Warburg Institute, University of London).

01.10. – 03. 11.: Research trip and consultation on the dissertation and the difficulties in the text edition and interpretation as well as the question of originality of al-Masā’il al-ḥimiyya with Prof. Amos Bertolacci, (IMT School for Advanced Studies, Lucca; Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa).

Publications:

Loyalty and refusal, in: Maróth, Miklós (ed.), Yearbook of Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, 2015-2017, Piliscsaba, 2018, pp. 257-276.

Religion and Politics in Islam: A Case Study about the Concept of ḥākimiyya – sovereignity, in: The Role of Religion in Shaping Politics, the volume of the joint confernece of the National University of Public Service and the Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies (forthcoming).

Notes on the Difficulties of the Publication of a Pseudo-Avicennan Work, in: the volume of the II. Scriptorium Conference (forthcoming).

ANDRÁS MÉRCZ

PhD student, researcher

Date of birth: 1986

E-mail: mercz@avicenna-kkki.hu

Based on fragments of the correspondence between Moses of Mardin and Andreas Masius, I identified the long-lost manuscripts of Basileios-anaphora, that could have served as the basis of the Latin translation of Masius. In the Municipal and Provincial Archives of Vienna, I found the Coat of Arms of Moses of Mardin.

For the study volume of the Bayezid project, I translated the Arabic introductions for Chapters 2 and 3 into English. I wrote an analytical study of the books from the Bible found in the catalogue.

1. Research trips abroad
2. 03. – 23. 03. 2018: Cambridge (UK), Cambridge University Library
3. 05. – 19. 06. 2018: Cairo (Egypt), Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies
4. 07. – 27. 07. 2018: Vienna (Austria), Austrian States Archives
5. Foreign-language presentations

Conference: Syriac and Its Users in the Early Modern World, c. 1500 – 1750, Oxford, 15 – 16. 03. 2018

Presentation: The Syriac Correspondence of Moses of Mardin

3. Presentations in Hungarian

Conference: II. Scriptorium Conference, Pannonhalma, 07 – 08. 05. 2018

Presentation: Correspondence of Moses of Mardin and Andreas Masius

4. Studies

Christian Churches of the Middle East, in:Maróth, Miklós (ed.), Yearbook of Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, 2015-2017, Piliscsaba, 2018, pp. 309-316.

Arabic Translation of the Paradise-commentary of Moses Bar-Kepha, in:Maróth, Miklós (ed.), Yearbook of Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, 2015-2017, Piliscsaba, 2018, pp. 103-117.

Arabic and Persian (Pseudo-)Biblical Books in the Library of Sultan Bayezid II, in: Maróth, Miklós (ed.), Catalogue of Bayezid II’s Library, Piliscsaba (forthcoming).

Syrian Christianity and the Bible, in: Tiszatáj, May 2019 (forthcoming).

Entries of Moses of Mardin in the MS Harley 5512, in: the volume of the II. Scriptorium Conference (forthcoming).

MÁRTA MUNDING

researcher, postdoctoral fellow

Date of birth: 1981

E-mail: mundingmarta@gmail.com

1. 1st phase of a postdoctoral programme of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office, no. 125517

• revising and supplementing the doctoral dissertation entitled The Encounter of Alexandros and the Barbarian Women in the Work of Curtius Rufus: Source-usage and Story-editing (Alexandros meets Rhóxané, Alexandros as a rival of Semiramis). (Published in the series of the Apollo Library).
• The Hungarian translation of the Metzi Epitomé (Epitoma rerum gestarum Alexandri Magni Macedonis), a preface and commentary to the translation.

2. Coordinating the scientific project entitled Techné: Methods of Professional Training in Antiquity and the Middle Ages

• co-editing the study volume entitled Techné: Methods of Professional Training in Antiquity and the Middle Ages
• organising the conference where the volume Techné was introduced (October 28, 2018)

Presentations:

1. Conference: The Role of Religion in Shaping Politics, Budapest, 20. 02. 2018

Presentation: The Role of Religion in the Politics of Alexandros: The Question of Deification

2. Conference: II. Scriptorium Conference, Pannonhalma, 7 – 8. 05. 2018

Presentation: The Peculiar Path of a Codex: The Importance of Text Editions of Metzi Epitomé in the Research of Alexandros

3. Conference: 13th Hungarian Conference on Ancient Science, Szeged, 24 – 26. 05. 2018

Presentation: Alexandros as the New Achilles: Marriage of Alexandros and Rhóxané in the Depiction of Curtius Rufus

4. Conference: Identity and Courses of Life of Women in Antiquity, Szeged, 30. 10. 2018

Presentation: The Situation of Women in Macedonian Society: Alexandros’ Marriage Policy in the Light of Literary Sources

Publications:

1. The Role of Religion in the Politics of Alexandros: The Question of Deification (study volume: The Role of Religion Then and Now) (forthcoming).
2. The Peculiar Path of a Codex: The Importance of Text Editions of Metzi Epitomé in the Research of Alexandros (study volume) (forthcoming).
3. The Meeting of Alexandros and the Barbarian Women in the Work of Curtius Rufus:Source-usage and Story-editing (monograph) (forthcoming).

Editing:

Márta Munding – Kornél Szovák – László Takács (eds.): Techné: Methods of Professional Training in Antiquity and the Middle Age, Piliscsaba, 2018.

GYÖNGYI OROSZI

PhD student, researcher

Date of birth: 1985

E-mail: oroszi@avicenna-kkki.hu

The title of my dissertation: Generic Interpretation in the Framework of Literary Communication: The Case of The Thousand and One Nights and Pre-Modern Arabic Prose Literature. In 2018, two chapters were written in addition to the revision of earlier material. Part of the introductory chapter of the study, which presents the social and cultural changes of the Mamluk era, has been completed, putting the collection of Middle Eastern folk tales, One Thousand and One Nights, into its historical context, such as the concept of adab and its relation to popular literature. In addition, a chapter on the interpretation of the genre through textual analysis has been completed, highlighting the peculiarities of Arabic prose literature and the shortcomings of textual analysis. This chapter introduces a much broader genre analysis that explores One Thousand and One Nights in terms of the text itself as well as its author, readership and context.

In Cairo, all the sources that were needed for my research were found in the library of the Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies. Among others was one of the four essential editions of the One Thousand and One Nights: Alf lajla wa-lajla min al-mubtadaˀ ilā al-muntahā, ed. M. Habicht, al-Qāhira, 1998 (9-516-118 (1-12)). Furthermore, I had access to works unavailable in Hungary: in connection with the concept of adab: M. Schöller: Zum Begriff des „islamischen Humanismus”, Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, 151/2, 2001, 275–320 (41-708 151 (2001) 2); in connection with literary theory: B. Tatar: Interpretation and the Problem of the Intention of the Author: H.-G. Gadamer vs. E.D. Hirsch, Washington (The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy), 1998 (5-20-2A/05).

Research trips abroad:

10. 05. 2018 – 19. 06. 2018: Cairo (Egypt), Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies
11. 09. 2018 – 27. 10. 2018: Cairo (Egypt), Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies

Presentations in Hungarian:

17-18. 05. 2018: Travel and Spirituality in Classical and Neolatin Cultures (Budapest)

Title of the presentation:  Travelling in the World of the Thousand and One Nights with a European Eye: The Importance of the Symbolism of Travel and Initiation in the Interpretation of the “Tale of Qamar al-Zaman”

(study submitted for publication)

Foreign-language presentations:

10-14. 09. 2018: 29th Conference of the Union Européenne des Arabisants et Islamisants (UEAI): Conflict and Coexistence (Münster, Germany)

Title of the presentation: Reading Biographical Accounts in The Thousand and One Nights

Publications

Oroszi, Gy.: Arabic Prose Literature of the Mamlūk Period:  The Role of the Structure of Literary Anthologies and other Collections in the Interpretation of Certain Stories, in: Maróth, Miklós (ed.), Yearbook of Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, 2015-2017, Piliscsaba, 2018, pp. 57–80.

MÓNIKA SCHÖNLÉBER

PhD student, researcher

Date of birth: 1987

E-mail: schonleber@avicenna-kkki.hu

I finalised the critical text of the passage to be analysed in my doctoral dissertation entitled Ibn Aˁtham al-Kūfī’s ridda Narrative. Edition, Textual Criticism, and Narrative Analysis. I copied the manuscript of Kitāb al-futūḥ kept in the Mingana Collection (Mingana Arab. (Isl.) 572). I took a photograph of codex no. 65 of Mingana that contains the Paradise-commentary of Moses Bar-Kepha. The following Arabic manuscripts I studied will be needed for my future research: Pseudo-Abū Miḫnaf, Wafāt al-Ḥusain b. al-imām ˁAlī (Mingana Arab. (Isl.) 545); al-Dijārbakrī, Taˀrīḫ al-ḫamīs fī aḥwāl anfas al-nafīs (Mingana Arab. (Isl.) 1342,1343).

During my trip to the Bodleian Library in Oxford, I studied the following PhD theses: Millward, W.: A Study of al-Yaˁqubi with Special Reference to his Alleged Shiˁa bias, 1962; Āl Yāsīn, M.Ḥ.: Nuṣūṣ al-ridda fī taˀrīḫ al-Ṭabarī: naqd wa-taḥlīl, Baghdād (Maktabat al-Nahḍa), 1973; Abu-Rahmeh, Kh.: The Poetry of the Bakr Tribe in their Politico-tribal Role from 1-132 A.H., 1981; Ibrahim, I.A-R.M.: A New Edition of the Diwan of al-Hutai’ah, accompanied by a critical introduction, 1964. Furthermore, I collected other sources, e.g. Dennett, D.C.: Conversion and the Poll Tax in Early Islam, Cambridge, MA (Harvard University Press), 1950 (M09.G00130); Cobb, P.M.: White Banners: Vontention in ˁAbbāsid Syria, 750-880, Albany, NY (State University of New York Press), 2001 (S.HIST.18S.20.14); Iqbal, A.: Diplomacy in Islam: An Essay on the Art of Negotiations as Conceived and Developed by the Prophet of Islam, Lahore (Institute of Islamic Culture), 1965 (2489 e.409); Makin, A.: Representing the Enemy: Musaylima in Muslim Literature, Frankfurt am Main (Lang), 2010 (M13.G00366).

Within the framework of the Bayezid project, I wrote an accompanying study with András Barati for the 9th chapter of the catalogue.

Research trip abroad:

25. 07. 2018 – 06. 08. 2018: Birmingham, Cadbury Research Library, Mingana Collection; Oxford, Bodleian Libraries (UK) (with the support of the Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies)

Publications:

A Late Discovery of Classical Muslim Historiography: Ibn Aˁṯam al-Kūfī Kitāb al-futūḥja in the Light of Earlier Research, in: Maróth, Miklós (ed.), Yearbook of Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, 2015-2017, Piliscsaba, 2018, pp. 13–38.

Christian Communities from the Persian Gulf in Late Antiquity in the Light of Written and Archeological Sources, in: Maróth, Miklós (ed.), Yearbook of Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, 2015-2017, Piliscsaba, 2018, pp. 337–350.

Barati, A. & Schönléber, M.: Chapter 9 – Classification of books on biographies and chronicles, books on warfare, books on politics, power and administration, books on horsemanship and hippiatry, books on falconry, books on hunting (dogs), books on marvels of God’s creation, books on regions, in: Catalogue of Sultan Bayezid II’s Library, Maróth, Miklós (ed.) [forthcoming]

ANDRÁS SZENCZI

PhD student, researcher

Date of birth: 1992

e-mail: andras.szenczi@yahoo.com

In 2018, I focused on systematizing the sources used for writing my doctoral thesis and exploring possible new sources. As a result of this work, I have successfully mapped the history of Shiite communities that once existed in Maghreb. At the end of the spring semester of the 2017/2018 academic year, I passed a complex exam, after which I began the dissertation phase of my doctoral programme.

Research trip abroad:

December 2017 – May 2018: NIMAR (Nederlands Instituut in Marokko), Rabat, Morocco (with the support of László Sólyom and the Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies)

September 2018: IDEO (Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies), Cairo, Egypt

Publications:

Szenczi, A.: Vallási kisebbségek helyzete Marokkóban, in: Budapest-jelentés a keresztényüldözésről 2018, József Kalló & Lóránd Újházi (eds.), Budapest (Dialóg Campus), 2018, pp. 111–121.

Szenczi, A.: The Situation of Religious Minorities in Morocco, in: József Kalló & Lóránd Újházi (eds.): Budapest Report on Christian Persecution 2018, Budapest (Dialóg Campus), 2018, pp. 107–117.

Szenczi, A.:  Christianity in Maghreb: Conflicts and Coexistence, in: Maróth, Miklós (ed.), Yearbook of Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, 2015-2017, Piliscsaba, 2018, pp. 317–333.

Courses:

2018/2019 1st semester

BBN-KEL-301                       Classic Arabic language                    (seminar)

BBN-ARA11-101                  Classic Arabic language                     (seminar)

BBN-KEL11-203                   Arabic history                                                (lecture)

LEVENTE TEKLOVICS

PhD student, researcher

Date of birth: 1987

e-mail: teklovics@avicenna-kkki.hu

In February 2018, I gave a presentation at a conference entitled The Role of Religion in the Reshaping of Politics organised by the Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies and the National University of Public Service. I wrote an introductory article to the chapters on Islamic law in the Catalogue of Sultan Bayezid II. In April 2018, I spent five weeks at the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies (RIIFS) in Jordan. As a trainee, I participated in a scientific project analysing the situation of religious minorities in this kingdom. Through the RIIFS, I contacted two judges of the Supreme Court of Jordan, Sāmir al-Qubbağ and Ašraf al-ˁUmarī. I was informed about the expected changes to the Jordanian Personal Status law and their professional opinions helped me to develop my dissertation.

Published studies

• Safah: An Unresolved Debate of Religious Law. in: Maróth, Miklós (ed.), Yearbook of Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, 2015-2017, Piliscsaba, 2018, pp. 183–194.
• Illegal Border-crossings in the County of Komárom-Esztergom until October 2015. in: Maróth, Miklós (ed.), Yearbook of Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, 2015-2017, Piliscsaba, 2018, pp. 277–281.

Forthcoming publications

• Legal Status of Orthodox Coptic Christians in Modern Egypt.
• Chapter 5: Books on uṣūl al-fiqh, Chapter 6: Books on fiqh and the virtuous deeds of imams, Chapters five and six: the chapters uṣūl al-fiqh, fiqh and manāqib al-aʾimma”. Cahpters in the study volume of Sultan Bayezid II’s catalogue.
• Bahāʾism: An overview of Revealed Texts, Tenets and Law. A study in a study volume, working title.
• The šarīʿah of the Islamic State. A study in a conference volume.