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| Institute of Oriental Studies (Azerbaijan) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Institute of Oriental Studies (Azerbaijan) |
| Established | 1935 |
| Type | Research institute |
| City | Baku |
| Country | Azerbaijan |
| Parent | Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences |
Institute of Oriental Studies (Azerbaijan) is a research institute based in Baku dedicated to the study of languages, cultures, histories, religions, and international relations of the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, Caucasus, and East Asia. Founded within the framework of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, the institute has functioned as a center for philological, historical, and political studies, engaging with scholars from institutions such as Baku State University, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Saint Petersburg State University, University of Tehran, and Aligarh Muslim University. Its work intersects with archives, museums, and libraries including the Azerbaijan National Library, the State Historical Museum (Azerbaijan), the Russian State Library, the British Library, and the Library of Congress.
The institute traces its origins to republican and Soviet-era orientalism initiatives that involved figures connected to Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic, Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, and later to institutions influenced by directives from the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Early collaborations and personnel exchanges linked the institute to the Oriental Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the Institut d'Études Orientales (Paris), and the School of Oriental and African Studies. During World War II and the Cold War, the institute engaged with topics relevant to the Persian Campaign, Great Game, and diplomatic shifts involving Ottoman Empire legacies, the Qajar dynasty, and the Safavid dynasty. Post-Soviet independence brought reorientation toward regional actors such as Turkey, Iran, Russia, Georgia (country), Armenia, and multilateral organizations including the United Nations, OSCE, and Eurasian Economic Union.
Administratively the institute operates under the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences with a directorate, scientific councils, and specialized departments. Departments and centers have included the Department of Arabic Studies, Department of Persian Studies, Department of Turkic Studies, Department of South Asian Studies, Department of East Asian Studies, and centers for economic, political, and cultural research. The institute maintains research laboratories and postgraduate training connected to doctoral boards recognized by the Higher Attestation Commission of Azerbaijan. Governance has involved elected scientists who have served on scholarly boards, advisory committees, and editorial boards associated with regional periodicals and proceedings.
Research themes span philology, manuscript studies, historiography, religious studies, diplomatic history, and contemporary political analysis. The institute issues monographs, collected papers, and periodicals, publishing in Azerbaijani, Russian, Persian, Arabic, and English to reach audiences at venues such as the International Congress of Orientalists, All-Union Orientalists Conference, and regional symposia with partners like Caspian Studies Center and the Caucasus Research Resource Centers. Its journals and bulletins have discussed topics relating to the Shahnameh, Divan of Hafez, Mughal Empire, Timurid dynasty, Seljuk Empire, Safavid Iran, and modern diplomatic episodes involving the Treaty of Turkmenchay, Treaty of Gulistan, and post-1991 border arrangements.
The institute organizes postgraduate and doctoral supervision in collaboration with universities including Baku State University, Azerbaijan State University of Languages, Nakhchivan State University, and international institutions such as Istanbul University and Al-Azhar University. Training includes language instruction in Azerbaijani, Persian, Arabic, Turkish, Urdu, Pashto, Uzbek, Chinese, and Japanese, along with seminars on manuscript paleography, codicology, and archival methodology. The institute awards Candidate of Sciences and Doctor of Sciences degrees recognized by national accreditation bodies and participates in summer schools, workshops, and exchange programs with centers like the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity.
The institute has established memoranda and cooperative projects with foreign academies and universities, engaging with the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academy of Sciences of Iran, Turkish Historical Society, The British Academy, Leiden University, Columbia University, and regional think tanks such as the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Collaborative outputs include joint conferences on topics like the Caucasus geopolitics, Persianate world cultural flows, and Silk Road heritage involving partners such as the UNESCO field offices and the European Union cultural programs.
Across its history the institute has counted among its staff historians, philologists, and orientalist scholars who contributed to national and regional scholarship. Notable personalities include directors and researchers connected to names influential in Azerbaijani and Soviet-era scholarship, with ties to figures referenced in works on Abbasgulu Bakikhanov, Mirza Fatali Akhundov, Jalil Mammadguluzadeh, Samad Vurgun, Abdurrahim bey Hagverdiyev, and comparative scholars who engaged with the oeuvre of Ibn Khaldun, Al-Farabi, Rumi, Saadi Shirazi, and modern analysts of regional policy.
The institute preserves manuscript collections, archival dossiers, epigraphic records, and photograph archives including Arabic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish, and Chagatai codices. Holdings complement national repositories such as the Azerbaijan State Museum of History and specialised collections connected to émigré papers, diplomatic correspondence, and travel accounts by explorers linked to Alexander Dumas (pere), Gertrude Bell, and other travelers. The archive supports digitalization projects and collaborative cataloging initiatives with international libraries and manuscript centers to enhance access for scholars of the Silk Road, Islamic studies, and regional historiography.
Category:Research institutes in Azerbaijan Category:Oriental studies