With its scope and diverse subject matter, Arabic literature is one of the richest in the world. Beginning in the 7th century CE, it blossomed within a civilization characterized by a vast network of cultural traditions and ties that were shaped by Islam. Like the Akkadian and Chinese literatures, Arabic literature is an ancient and erudite archive of knowledge. Until well into the 19th century,…
The aim of the project described below is to develop two fundamental desiderata of Koranic research: an edition of the Koranic text that meets critical standards and a comprehensive commentary on the Koran that consistently interprets it in the context of its historical context of origin. In contrast to the Kairen Koran edition of 1923, which is currently widespread, the project presented here is…
Ceiling and mural paintings are constitutive elements in the design of baroque interiors. Unlike all other forms of pictorial art, these truly three-dimensional artistic media define early modern architecture literally from above, through colourful and complex iconographic programmes: in ecclesiastical as well as secular environments, in residential palaces and ceremonial halls, churches and…
In light of the rapid decline of the dialectal linguistic competence especially in the north of the German language area it is the goal of the DMW, by means of a first systematic survey of current data, to document and analyse the still tangible stocks of the dialects or the manner of speaking with the maximal variation from standard of two generations of speakers in the Midwest of Germany.…
The aim of the project of the Saxon Academy of Sciences “Europäische Traditionen - Enzyklopädie jüdischer Kulturen” is the development and conceptual penetration of Jewish life worlds in Europe from the early modern period to the middle of the 20th century. It is based on the “Encyclopedia of Jewish History and Culture”. Completed in 2017, the work, which contains around 800 articles in seven…
The task of the project “Germania Sacra” is to gain access and to publish the diverse and comprehensive written sources, which give evidence of the history of the Church of the Holy Roman Empire and its institutions. For this purpose, the source material of archives and libraries is published in the form of reference books. The reference books provide an extensive description of the dioceses,…
The “Neue Johannes Brahms Gesamtausgabe” brings forward Johannes Brahms’ compositional oeuvre in a historical-critical edition. Included are alternative versions, that remained unpublished by the composer, as well as adaptations by the composer of his own and external works. The goal of the edition is the reproduction of authentic texts, which are relieved from typing-, copying, and engraving…
Printed eulogies or funeral sermons dating back to the two centuries between 1550 and 1750, gained huge significance regarding the exploration of Early Modern history next to its initial form as funeral sermons of the Protestant upper- and middleclass. The eulogies contain more or less extensive biographies and therefore constitute one of the most meaningful types of historical sources…
Human evolution is a story of expansions. During the last two million years the genus Homo spread from Africa into Asia and Europe in several waves of migration. New species developed and old groups became extinct (range expansions). As early as three million years ago, hominins had established new ways of dealing with their specific environment through culture. Stone tools produced with the help…
The staff of the project “Turfanforschung” edits central Iranian and old Turkic texts from the Turfanian text corpus (Turfansammlung). The texts of the “Turfansammlung” originated from the Central Asian oases along the silk road and date from the 7th to the 14th century CE. In the year 1902, the former Prussian Academy of Sciences received a considerable amount of texts from an expedition to East…