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Idea and concept

Nathan Gibson, Ph.D. (2015, The Catholic University of America) is a researcher in Jewish and Christian Near Eastern Studies at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich. He enjoys taking a digital approach to exploring Arabic and Syriac texts from medieval manuscripts, many of which passed through the hands of the manuscript hunters mentioned on this site.

Ronny Vollandt, Ph.D. (2011, University of Cambridge), is a Professor of Jewish Studies at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich. He teaches Rabbinics and Jewish intellectual heritage in the Near East. His research usually relies on manuscripts. That’s where, in his opinion, the fun begins.

The Team 2019-2021

Eri Alfandari is a graduate student, currently studying at the Institute of Near and Middle Eastern Studies at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich. His focuses are Jewish and Turkish Studies, mainly the relationship of Jews and Muslems in the Ottoman Empire and in the Turkish Republic.

Iulia Al Mohammad is a graduate student at the Institute of Near and Middle Eastern Studies at Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich. Her interests include Arabic dialectology, particulary Levantine Arabic, Persian paleography and Jewish history in the 21th century.

Fabio Ioppolo, M.A. is a research associate and doctoral candidate at the Institute of Near and Middle Eastern Studies at the Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, specialising in the history and literature of Jews in the region. His research interest focuses on the codicology, paleography and production background of Hebrew and Arabic Manuscripts.

Andreas Klindt studies History and Middle Eastern Studies at the Universities of Hamburg, Augsburg and currently in Munich. He enjoys going through literature as well as old stashes and caches, real and dusty or metaphorical and virtual, and to open windows into societies long gone.

Kerstin Klingelhöffer, M.A. is a doctoral candidate in the History and Culture of the Near and Middle East. Her focus is looking over the fence, interculturally. This is why she is interested in investigating early European researchers in the Near East, in particular the „Manuscript Hunters,” who are in the core of this project. Her own doctoral research, she deals with the development of Mizrahi pop music, technical innovation in media and the revival of contemporary Judeo-Arabic.

Nadine Urbizcek is a graduate student at the Institute of Near and Middle Eastern Studies at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich. Her interests include history, poetry and politics of the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, Muslim-Jewish relations in all their facets, Arabic & Hebrew Manuscripts and – of course – their hunters.

Leonie Rogg is a graduate student at Near and Middle Eastern Studies at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich. Her main focus is on the comprehensive and multifaceted study of Iranian history and culture with a particular attention to the 19th and 20th centuries. She is particularly interested in the study of Jewish-Shiite interfaith relations and Jewish life under Shiite rule in general. 

The Team 2022

Ella Christina Ayoub is a graduate student at the lnstitute of Near and Middle Eastern Studies at Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität, Munich. She focuses in her studies on ancient Arabic translations of the Bible. She is also interested in the history and literature of the Qaraite and the Rabbanite Jews in the lslamic world.

Chaima Bankesli is a graduate student at the Institute of Near and Middle Eastern Studies at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich. Her interests include internal politics in Syria and Judeo-Arabic documents.

Lukas Froschmeier is a graduate student and student assistant, currently studying at the Institute of Near and Middle Eastern Studies at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich. His focuses are Arabic and Jewish Studies, mainly the languages itself, travel reports and all kinds of documents.

Bilal Safiou is a graduate student and assistant at the Institute of Near and Middle Eastern Studies. His interests cover several areas, however he dedicated himself specifically to the topic of modern-day terrorism in the Middle East during his Bachelor Studies. Other interests include the Arabic language and its multiple dialects, religious coexistence during the Middle Ages, and Arabic documents outside the context of the Middle East.