Dear Colleagues,
(Apologies for cross-posting!)
Syriaca.org [1] is pleased to announce publication of The Syriac
Gazetteer [2] (http://syriaca.org/geo/ [2]), a geographical dictionary
for Syriac Studies. The first in a suite of reference works to be
published as a part of The Syriac Reference Portal, The Syriac Gazetteer
[2] contains entries for over 2400 places relevant to Syriac Studies,
from ancient centers of Syriac culture (such as Edessa [3]) to diaspora
communities (such as the monastery of Mor Awgen [4] in Switzerland), and
from places of interest to Syriacists (such as Dura-Europos [5]) to
places where Syriac scholarship is being produced today (such as
Piscataway [6], New Jersey [7]).
Although the name says "Syriac," one of our main reference works was
Ignatius Afram Barsoum's _al-Lulu al-manthur_, so many places have
Arabic names as well, and more will be added once I merge in the data I
have gleaned from Yaqut's _Mu`jam al-buldan_. I hope this will be a
useful resource on the Arabic side as well as the Syriac.
The Syriac Gazetteer [2] is an ever expanding resource created by and
for users. This first edition is not intended to be exhaustive, but
rather it establishes a framework for the Syriac Studies community to
collaborate in collecting and publishing geographic information. This
framework facilitates the linking of various online resources for Syriac
Studies.
At a minimum, each place entry is composed of name forms and place type
information, along with some indication of location, where possible.
Through user contributions, all records may be expanded to include
additional name forms, latitude and longitude, events, prose
descriptions, information about religious communities, bibliography, and
attestations in primary sources.
Users are encouraged to begin exploring The Syriac Gazetteer through
these links:
Main page: http://syriaca.org/geo/ [2]
About the Gazetteer: http://syriaca.org/geo/about.html [8]
Browse the Collection: http://syriaca.org/geo/browse.html [9]
Browse via Interactive Map: http://syriaca.org/geo/browse.html?view=map
[10]
Edessa, the model entry: http://syriaca.org/place/78 [3]
Documentation: http://syriaca.org/geo/help/ [11]
Syriaca.org, the larger project: http://syriaca.org/ [1]
This publication is the result of the collaboration and good will of the
many scholars who have helped create it. Funding for the project has
come from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Fondazione Internazionale
Balzan, and the National Endowment for the Humanities (U.S.A.).
The editors and sponsors of the project now invite the whole scholarly
community to become contributors and help this reference work grow and
develop in ways that will support the wide interests of scholarly and
public audiences.
The editors of the project welcome inquiries from the media and offers
of collaboration from the scholarly community. They may be reached at
[log in to unmask]
Sincerely,
Thomas A. Carlson, Princeton University, Co-editor
David A. Michelson, Vanderbilt University, Co-editor
Links:
------
[1] http://syriaca.org/
[2] http://syriaca.org/geo/
[3] http://syriaca.org/place/78
[4] http://syriaca.org/place/680
[5] http://syriaca.org/place/77
[6] http://syriaca.org/place/840
[7] http://syriaca.org/place/841
[8] http://syriaca.org/geo/about.html
[9] http://syriaca.org/geo/browse.html
[10] http://syriaca.org/geo/browse.html?view=map
[11] http://syriaca.org/geo/help/
--
==============================================
Dr Geoffrey Roper
Bibliographical & Editorial Consultant
(Middle Eastern & Muslim areas & languages)
37 Gisburne Road
Wellingborough
Northamptonshire
NN8 4EE
Great Britain
[log in to unmask] +44 (0) 1933 270668
==============================================
|