Open Islamicate Texts Initiative
@openiti.bsky.social
Creating the digital infrastructure for the study of the premodern Islamicate world. openiti.org
Account managed by @jparkesallen.bsky.social
Account managed by @jparkesallen.bsky.social
New post by @jparkesallen.bsky.social on our new Substack newsletter, subscribe if you'd like regular updates and essays, some of which will be integrated with new video interviews and other material we plan on releasing soon!
From Damascus to Istanbul
The OpenITI Fall/Winter Ottoman Turkish Reading Group
openiti.substack.com
October 24, 2025 at 6:58 PM
New post by @jparkesallen.bsky.social on our new Substack newsletter, subscribe if you'd like regular updates and essays, some of which will be integrated with new video interviews and other material we plan on releasing soon!
After a hiatus in (remembering to) record and post our Friday sessions, we've gotten back on track with our recording and uploading to our YouTube channel, so if you miss a Friday Persian session you can follow along later! Have a look at this week's session:
Safīnat al-baḥr al-muḥīṭ Reading Group: Sharḥ-i asmāʾ-i ḥusná, continued
YouTube video by OpenITI Project
www.youtube.com
October 11, 2025 at 4:00 AM
After a hiatus in (remembering to) record and post our Friday sessions, we've gotten back on track with our recording and uploading to our YouTube channel, so if you miss a Friday Persian session you can follow along later! Have a look at this week's session:
"[T]he initiative will provide free, global access to a constantly expanding body of classical and modern Persian texts. The project will also partner with institutions to help safeguard thousands of at-risk manuscripts and rare books from collections in India, Pakistan and beyond."
Roshan Institute to Establish Persian Digital Library | Maryland Today
Supported by $1.8M Private Gift, Project Will Be First of Its Kind
today.umd.edu
October 6, 2025 at 1:50 PM
"[T]he initiative will provide free, global access to a constantly expanding body of classical and modern Persian texts. The project will also partner with institutions to help safeguard thousands of at-risk manuscripts and rare books from collections in India, Pakistan and beyond."
Reposted by Open Islamicate Texts Initiative
A really lovely copy of an Ottoman Turkish fatwa concerning coffee (Ṣūrat-i fetvā der ḥaḳḳ-i ḳaḥve ve cevāb-i marḥūm-i Būstānzāde), decidedly stylistically unusual rendering for a document of this sort; part of a truly miscellaneous mecmَū'a (Leipzig University, Vollers 1019):
April 30, 2025 at 1:32 AM
A really lovely copy of an Ottoman Turkish fatwa concerning coffee (Ṣūrat-i fetvā der ḥaḳḳ-i ḳaḥve ve cevāb-i marḥūm-i Būstānzāde), decidedly stylistically unusual rendering for a document of this sort; part of a truly miscellaneous mecmَū'a (Leipzig University, Vollers 1019):
Reposted by Open Islamicate Texts Initiative
Reposted by Open Islamicate Texts Initiative
Unidentified men grabbing someone off the street and putting her in a car because she wrote an op-Ed. This as flatly authoritarian as anything we’ve seen in this country in a very long time.
Video of the international student at Tufts being arrested by "federal authorities" in Massachusetts has been released and it's terrifying.
They're not even uniformed officers. Just secret police thugs in hoodies and masks.
From WCVB: youtu.be/PuFIs7OkzYY
They're not even uniformed officers. Just secret police thugs in hoodies and masks.
From WCVB: youtu.be/PuFIs7OkzYY
March 26, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Unidentified men grabbing someone off the street and putting her in a car because she wrote an op-Ed. This as flatly authoritarian as anything we’ve seen in this country in a very long time.
Reposted by Open Islamicate Texts Initiative
Pages from a Chinese-language explanation of the Arabic alphabet, Tianfang zimu jieyi 天方字母解义, a Qing era work written by the prolific Han Kitab author Liu Zhi (1669–1764):
March 26, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Pages from a Chinese-language explanation of the Arabic alphabet, Tianfang zimu jieyi 天方字母解义, a Qing era work written by the prolific Han Kitab author Liu Zhi (1669–1764):
Manuscript reading groups resume this week after our spring break last week, further explorations in the Safīnat on Persian Tuesday, Dāstān-ı Aṣḥābü'l-kehf on Ottoman Wednesday, and more Persian in the form of Risālah dar dam zadan on Friday- hope to see you at some of these offerings!
March 24, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Manuscript reading groups resume this week after our spring break last week, further explorations in the Safīnat on Persian Tuesday, Dāstān-ı Aṣḥābü'l-kehf on Ottoman Wednesday, and more Persian in the form of Risālah dar dam zadan on Friday- hope to see you at some of these offerings!
Lots of manuscript reading options this week! Dāstān-i Bahrām wa Bihrūz on Persian Tuesday, Dāstān-ı Aṣḥābü'l-kehf on Ottoman Wednesday, and more of the life of the Druze Shaykh al-Fāḍil on Friday followed by more Persian in the form of Risālah dar dam zadan
March 3, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Lots of manuscript reading options this week! Dāstān-i Bahrām wa Bihrūz on Persian Tuesday, Dāstān-ı Aṣḥābü'l-kehf on Ottoman Wednesday, and more of the life of the Druze Shaykh al-Fāḍil on Friday followed by more Persian in the form of Risālah dar dam zadan
OpenITI Open Hours (Friday 10 am -12 pm Eastern US time) will feature manuscripts presented by two of our colleagues: from 10 to 11 we'll continue looking at a Druze hagiographical text in Arabic, and from 11 to 12 we'll be introduced to a Persian treatise on breath control:
February 26, 2025 at 6:51 PM
OpenITI Open Hours (Friday 10 am -12 pm Eastern US time) will feature manuscripts presented by two of our colleagues: from 10 to 11 we'll continue looking at a Druze hagiographical text in Arabic, and from 11 to 12 we'll be introduced to a Persian treatise on breath control:
This week's lineup: in our Persian group we'll be reading Dāstān-i Bahrām wa Bihrūz on Tuesday, Dāstān-ı Aṣḥābü'l-kehf in our Ottoman Turkish group on Wednesday, and on Friday from 11 to 12 a tbd manuscript text in Arabic (10 to 11 am for standard office hours)
February 17, 2025 at 3:37 PM
This week's lineup: in our Persian group we'll be reading Dāstān-i Bahrām wa Bihrūz on Tuesday, Dāstān-ı Aṣḥābü'l-kehf in our Ottoman Turkish group on Wednesday, and on Friday from 11 to 12 a tbd manuscript text in Arabic (10 to 11 am for standard office hours)
Reposted by Open Islamicate Texts Initiative
Pages from a very eclectic calligraphic (and seal) album, seems to be a very wide range of periods, places, and genres represented within just a handful of pages (Bodleian Library MS. Arab. c. 75)
February 12, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Pages from a very eclectic calligraphic (and seal) album, seems to be a very wide range of periods, places, and genres represented within just a handful of pages (Bodleian Library MS. Arab. c. 75)
Our Ottoman Turkish manuscript reading group, having seen the Kesik Baş to the end of his story, is now diving into another manuscript, Mehmed Emīn's Dāstān-ı Aṣḥābü'l-kehf (Tübingen Ma VII 83), relating, along with some theological and other reflections, the story of the Companions of the Cave
February 12, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Our Ottoman Turkish manuscript reading group, having seen the Kesik Baş to the end of his story, is now diving into another manuscript, Mehmed Emīn's Dāstān-ı Aṣḥābü'l-kehf (Tübingen Ma VII 83), relating, along with some theological and other reflections, the story of the Companions of the Cave
Have you ever wondered how to use the abjad values of your name and your mom's name to calculate whether that town or village you're thinking about moving to is right for you? If so, then today is your lucky day!
Safīnat al-baḥr al-muḥīṭ Reading Group, January 28, 2025: All About Adab!
YouTube video by OpenITI Project
www.youtube.com
January 29, 2025 at 4:17 AM
Have you ever wondered how to use the abjad values of your name and your mom's name to calculate whether that town or village you're thinking about moving to is right for you? If so, then today is your lucky day!
For this week's OpenITI Open Hours (Friday am) we're going to be reading together and discussing Lara Putman's influential 2016 article "The Transnational and the Text-Searchable: Digitized Sources and the Shadows They Cast" and its implications for Islamicate DH (link below)
January 27, 2025 at 4:51 PM
For this week's OpenITI Open Hours (Friday am) we're going to be reading together and discussing Lara Putman's influential 2016 article "The Transnational and the Text-Searchable: Digitized Sources and the Shadows They Cast" and its implications for Islamicate DH (link below)
Reminder that we'll be holding "OpenITI Open Hours" today from 10 am to 12 pm Eastern US time (link: umd.zoom.us/j/91533462213), feel free to stop by and ask questions about what we're up to at OpenITI, how you can get involved; or bring a manuscript you'd like to look at with others
January 24, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Reminder that we'll be holding "OpenITI Open Hours" today from 10 am to 12 pm Eastern US time (link: umd.zoom.us/j/91533462213), feel free to stop by and ask questions about what we're up to at OpenITI, how you can get involved; or bring a manuscript you'd like to look at with others
For our Tuesday Persian manuscript reading group, we're going to be working through this curiously arranged little text on "the adāb of sneezing, yawning, burping, and drinking water," so you can work on your Persian skills *and* your etiquette knowledge, a two for one deal!
January 20, 2025 at 3:18 PM
For our Tuesday Persian manuscript reading group, we're going to be working through this curiously arranged little text on "the adāb of sneezing, yawning, burping, and drinking water," so you can work on your Persian skills *and* your etiquette knowledge, a two for one deal!
Reposted by Open Islamicate Texts Initiative
Page from an anonymous 18th or 19th c. Persian and Arabic treatise on nikāḥ, with an Urdu (well, what we'd now call Urdu- the work itself calls it 'zabān-i Hindī' as was standard for at the time) alternating line rubricated translation (Raja of Mahmudabad Palace Library MS 652):
January 16, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Page from an anonymous 18th or 19th c. Persian and Arabic treatise on nikāḥ, with an Urdu (well, what we'd now call Urdu- the work itself calls it 'zabān-i Hindī' as was standard for at the time) alternating line rubricated translation (Raja of Mahmudabad Palace Library MS 652):
We resume our Persian manuscript virtual reading group tomorrow (Tuesday, January 14), continuing with the fabulous treasury of medieval and early modern texts contained within the Safīnat al-baḥr al-muḥīṭ; check out the video for a taste, DM to be added to the group, we've got some room available
Safīnat al-baḥr al-muḥīṭ Reading Group, December 17, 2024
YouTube video by OpenITI Project
youtu.be
January 13, 2025 at 4:28 PM
We resume our Persian manuscript virtual reading group tomorrow (Tuesday, January 14), continuing with the fabulous treasury of medieval and early modern texts contained within the Safīnat al-baḥr al-muḥīṭ; check out the video for a taste, DM to be added to the group, we've got some room available
Here are our public offerings, all hosted via Zoom, for the spring semester (all events start next week, times in Eastern US); we'll be continuing two from last semester, and adding a third, OpenITI Open Hours, which will be more open and based on participant needs and interests:
January 6, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Here are our public offerings, all hosted via Zoom, for the spring semester (all events start next week, times in Eastern US); we'll be continuing two from last semester, and adding a third, OpenITI Open Hours, which will be more open and based on participant needs and interests:
Reposted by Open Islamicate Texts Initiative
Reposted by Open Islamicate Texts Initiative
In rare (and thrilling) #paperhistory news:
www.newberry.org/news/analysi...
"At approximately 49 sheets, the discovery increases the amount of maguey paper known to have survived by about four times."
www.newberry.org/news/analysi...
"At approximately 49 sheets, the discovery increases the amount of maguey paper known to have survived by about four times."
Manuscript is Most Extensive Example of Pre-Columbian Maguey Paper in…
A collection of sermons by sixteenth-century Franciscan missionary Bernardino de Sahagún is rare example from the Nahuas.
www.newberry.org
December 5, 2024 at 1:50 AM
In rare (and thrilling) #paperhistory news:
www.newberry.org/news/analysi...
"At approximately 49 sheets, the discovery increases the amount of maguey paper known to have survived by about four times."
www.newberry.org/news/analysi...
"At approximately 49 sheets, the discovery increases the amount of maguey paper known to have survived by about four times."
Reposted by Open Islamicate Texts Initiative
Reposted by Open Islamicate Texts Initiative
Alright *cracks knuckles* let's do this!
Today I'm inaugurating an episodic Monday series titled History of Islamic Art in 100 Objects. But we have to ask the most important question first:
What is Islamic art? Also, why is this even a question? 🧵 #IslamicArt100Objects
Today I'm inaugurating an episodic Monday series titled History of Islamic Art in 100 Objects. But we have to ask the most important question first:
What is Islamic art? Also, why is this even a question? 🧵 #IslamicArt100Objects
November 25, 2024 at 11:53 PM
Alright *cracks knuckles* let's do this!
Today I'm inaugurating an episodic Monday series titled History of Islamic Art in 100 Objects. But we have to ask the most important question first:
What is Islamic art? Also, why is this even a question? 🧵 #IslamicArt100Objects
Today I'm inaugurating an episodic Monday series titled History of Islamic Art in 100 Objects. But we have to ask the most important question first:
What is Islamic art? Also, why is this even a question? 🧵 #IslamicArt100Objects
Reposted by Open Islamicate Texts Initiative
HMML preserves three copies of a very famous history of doctors by Ibn Abī Uṣaybiʻah (d. 1269/1270 CE), in the collections of the Austrian National Library (22803), Universität Tübingen in Germany (42212), and St. Mark's Monastery in Jerusalem (SMMJ 00237, pictured): www.vhmml.org/readingRoom/...
November 25, 2024 at 4:53 PM
HMML preserves three copies of a very famous history of doctors by Ibn Abī Uṣaybiʻah (d. 1269/1270 CE), in the collections of the Austrian National Library (22803), Universität Tübingen in Germany (42212), and St. Mark's Monastery in Jerusalem (SMMJ 00237, pictured): www.vhmml.org/readingRoom/...