The Netherlands Institute for the Near East

 

The Netherlands Institute for the Near East was privately established in 1939. The purpose of the NINO is to advance the branches of scholarship relating to the civilizations of the Near East. In particular these are archaeology, history, languages and culture. Also, the NINO supports and advances the cultural relations between the Netherlands and the Near East.

The NINO meets these goals by maintaining an institute in the Netherlands, as well as by establishing and managing subsidiary institutes in the countries of the Near East. It keeps the largest scientific library in this field in the Netherlands. The Institute publishes journals and books on the ancient and modern Near East. It keeps the F.M.Th. de Liagre Böhl collection of cuneiform texts, and supports research projects. The NINO administrates the legacy of Mr. Frank Scholten, that enables it to buy books for the library and support research activities.

Organisation

The NINO is an independent foundation, located on the premises of the State University of Leiden. It is closely associated with the university through a Memorandum of Cooperation.

The institute is directed by a board called the Curatorium, of nine members including an advisor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Advice in academic activities is given by a board of scholars, called the Directorium, in which seven Dutch universities are represented. The general management is in the hands of the Director.

The Library

The NINO Library is situated adjacent to the Leiden University Library. Its collection comprises more than 38,000 volumes directly accessible to the user.

The larger part of the collection relates to the ancient Near East. It constitutes a nearly complete reference collection on Assyriology, Near Eastern Archaeology and Egyptology. About thirty percent of the collection pertains to the Near East in the Islamic periods. This collection is divided into three sections. The first contains works on the Arab Middle East, Turkey and Iran. The second section is formed by the archaeology and architecture in the Islamic World. The NINO collection is the only one available at present in this fast growing field of interest. The third section is a collection on Islam in modern Turkey and Iran. All sections in the library have a broad collection of relevant journals.

The international reputation of the NINO library is underlined by the thousands of users from the Netherlands and other European countries (including Russia and Georgia), as well as the Middle East, Asia, Australia, the United States and South Africa.

Publishing activities

Bibliotheca Orientalis
This review journal was founded in 1943 and appears in three double fascicles per year. It contains critical reviews and review articles of about 800 scientific publications yearly, covering the same fields as those present in the library including Arabic.

Anatolica
This international journal started in 1967 and is published annually. It deals with the archaeology and history of the Near East, in particular Turkey.

Publications de l’Institut Historique-Archéologique Néerlandais de Stamboul (PIHANS)
This series of monographs started in 1956. The subjects of the monographs cover all fields of interest of the NINO. Manuscripts are critically reviewed by experts and finally approved for publication by the Directorium.

Achaemenid History
This series focuses on the Achaemenid period. The volumes contain contributions of historians, archaeologists, Assyriologists, Egyptologists and Old Testament scholars./P>

Egyptological Publications
Since 1982 the monographs on the field of Egyptology appear in this series.

The Annual Egyptological Bibliography
This international bibliography is a joint publication of the NINO and the International Association of Egyptologists. The issues date from 1947 onward, and can also be consulted via Internet at http://www.leidenuniv.nl/nino/aeb.html.

In addition the Institute occasionally receives requests from foreign institutions to act as a distributor for their publications.

The F.M.Th. de Liagre Böhl collection

The NINO is the owner of the greater part of some 3000 cuneiform tablets of Sumerian and Babylonian/Assyrian origin. This extremely valuable collection was brought together in the thirties by the Leiden professor of Assyriology, dr. F.M.Th. de Liagre Böhl. The texts are being made accessible through the publication of transcriptions and translations.

The "Oosters lnstituut" and the "De Goeje" Fund

These two foundations are closely linked to the NINO by means of agreements. They specialize in the publication of scientific books on Arabic language and culture. The library of the "Oosters Instituut" is integrated in the NINO library. This constitutes a significant enrichment of the library in the fields of Turkey, Iran and Islam studies. The NINO acts as a distributor of the publications of these two foundations.

Subsidiary Institutes

According to the statutes, the establishment of subsidiary institutes in Near Eastern countries is one of the tasks of the NINO. These institutes should support and promote research in these countries, and improve the scholarly contact between the Netherlands and the Near East.

In 1956, the Netherlands Historical and Archaeological Institute in Istanbul, Turkey was opened. It manages a well-equipped library of about 15,000 volumes and regularly organizes lectures by Turkish, Dutch and other scholars. The NHAI is involved in archaeological research in Turkey.

The NINO is planning to establish a second subsidiary institute in Damascus, Syria.

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The NINO library is open Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Address: P.O. Box 9515, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands

Visitor's address: Witte Singel 25, 2311 BG Leiden

Tel.: +31-71-527 20 39مجاني  end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Fax: +31-71-527 20 38

beurs@rullet.leidenuniv.nl