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Middle East

Map with network lines radiating from fixed points
Source

Nautical Chart, 1385

This nautical chart is signed by Majorcan cartographer Guglielmo Soler and dated to 1385, and ranges from the Black Sea to the Atlantic. Less beautiful than the Catalan map, it was also more practical for navigators to use.

Inset of Prester John from larger world map. Shows a man sitting in front of a tent.
Source

Catalan Map of the World, c.1450

Dated to the mid-fifteenth century, this Catalan world map is over a meter in diameter on a sheet of vellum (high-quality parchment made of calfskin). Unlike many other surviving charts, this was not meant for practical navigation, though it was based on such nautical charts.

Source

Photograph from an Independence Protest, Alexandria, Egypt, 1919

Following the close of World War I, Egypt became a hotbed of anti-colonial nationalism. Leaders of the nationalist Wafd party formally demanded Egyptian independence to British and US officials, utilizing many of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s own phrases and rhetoric in their appeals.

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Excerpts from Harem Years: Memoirs of an Egyptian Feminist, 1879-1924

The peace process that followed World War One catalyzed calls for self-determination around the colonized world. Existing nationalist organizations seized on the liberal pretensions of the Entente Powers to articulate social and political demands to colonial powers.

Frontispiece of Sir Thomas Roe
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Frontispiece of Sir Thomas Roe

This image is the frontispiece of Sir Thomas Roe (ca. 1581-1644) from the book The Negotiations of Sir T. Roe in his Embassy to the Ottoman Porte from the year 1621 to 1628, a collection of his correspondence during his time as the English ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.

Review

Persian Language Rare Materials

The Persian Language Rare Materials Collection is an online repository of manuscripts, printed books, lithographs, and imprints which have a variety of purposes, including discussing scientific, religious, philosophical and literary topics.
Image of clay figure of a woman with an ill defined face and long arms. It appears to be wearing a skirt.
Review

Diotíma

Diotima holds materials related to teaching Ancient Mediterranean Studies from a feminist perspective, including bibliographies, open access images, as well as syllabi.
Black and white photo of a man in profile with a bead and mushtash, wearing a keffiyeh
Review

Eltaher Collection

This collection is a good resource for learning about the fight for decolonization in the Middle East and Northern Africa, from the perspective of those being colonized.
Hand-drawn map, ink and colored pencil on tissue paper of Jerusalem
Review

American Colony in Jerusalem, 1870 to 2006

In a classroom setting, it might be used to study religion, as well as the history of Jerusalem more specifically.
A map of the Roman world with cities labeled.
Review

ORBIS: The Stanford Geospatial Network Model of the Roman World

This is a useful tool for educators to model how the Roman empire operated, as well as what those operations may have looked like in practice.