The ‘Corpus Musicae Ottomanicae (CMO)’ project at the University of Münster has received funding of around two and a half million euros from the German Research Foundation (DFG) to continue recording and researching music manuscripts from Turkey and other regions of the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean. The high quality of the edition project and its model character for digital musicology were lauded

Prof Dr Michael Seewald, spokesperson for the Cluster of Excellence ‘Religion and Politics’, has been awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize 2025 by the DFG for his outstanding academic achievements. The theologian has significantly shaped debates on reform, religious change and tradition in recent years. At 2.5 million euros, the Leibniz Prize is the most highly endowed German research prize.
We congratulate him on this success.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Jews, Christians and Muslims are often referred to as the ‘children of Abraham’. In this year's Franz Delitzsch Lecture on Monday, 2 December at 6 p.m., Prof. Dr Wolfgang Kraus (Saarland University) will ask whether this designation is at all appropriate to show the relationship between Jews and Christians.
Venue: H2 (Schlossplatz 46, Münster)

How did people in ancient times deal with food insecurity? And how is food security related to social cohesion and resilience?  As part of our lecture series, Dr SILVIA POLLA (Berlin) will speak on Monday, 9 December at 6.15 p.m. on the topic ‘Potential and limits of a molecular approach in the archaeology of Mediterranean food systems’.
Cordial invitation - participation in presence or via Zoom possible!

Visitors to the Archaeological Museum at the University of Münster can now travel virtually to Doliche with VR glasses and take a tour of the church excavated there. The Asia Minor Research Centre has been working in Doliche, a city in ancient northern Syria that is now located in south-eastern Turkey, for 27 years. The University Society has funded the VR station, which brings archaeological research to life, as a flagship project.

A collector donated a Roman portrait head to the Museum of the University of Münster at the end of the 1980s. However, it remains unclear how it ended up on the art market. The Rector of the University of Münster, Johannes Wessels, has now returned the almost 2000-year-old object to the Greek state for ethical reasons. From now on, the bust will be exhibited in the Museum of Thessaloniki. In this way, the University of Münster also wants to raise awareness of stolen artefacts, a controversial debate at present.

Prof. Dr Dr h.c. mult. Barbara Aland passed away on 10 November. She was Director of the Institute for New Testament Textual Research and the associated Bible Museum at the University of Münster from 1983-2004. She made a significant contribution to the worldwide recognition of New Testament textual research in Münster and received several international awards.

Prof. Dr Dr Martin Krause passed away on 1 November 2024 at the age of 94. From 1971-1996, Martin Krause was the first professor of Coptology at the University of Münster and thus the first professor worldwide. Through his passionate commitment and generous support within the framework of the foundation he established together with his wife in 1992, he had a lasting influence on resarch in Coptology.

On Tuesday, 22 October, at 6.15 p.m. in the Studiobühne (Domplatz 23), Prof. Dr Miguel John Versluys will speak on the topic of ‘Change in Afro-Eurasia in the final centuries BCE’. The 2024 Humboldt Research Award winner will continue his research at the Asia Minor Research Centre over the next few months. During his stay at the University of Münster, he will enrich the ‘Global Antiquities’ focus at the GKM.

The 'Ancient Sudan' research center at the University of Münster is organizing the 13th 'International Conference for Meroitic Studies' from September 9 to 13. The focus will be on archaeological, historical, and philological research on ancient Sudan, particularly the Kingdom of Meroe (9th century BC to 4th century AD). In light of the current civil war in Sudan, a large discussion round on the topic of protecting cultural heritage is also planned.

The DFG will fund Dr Daria Elagina with around 1.3 million euros over the next six years as part of the Emmy Noether Programme. This will enable the philologist to set up her own research group at the Institute of Egyptology and Coptology. She is currently still conducting research at the Asia-Africa Institute in Hamburg and will move to Münster in January.
We congratulate her on this success!

From 26 to 28 September, an international conference here in Münster will take a look at the current upheavals and developments (including ‘crisis’, ‘paradigm shift’, ‘next quest’) surrounding the topos of the so-called historical Jesus.
Registration is possible until 13 September 2024 at innovation@uni-muenster.de

The emergence and development of Jewish apocalypticism cannot be explained solely from the Hebrew Bible or Israelite traditions but reflects wider transcultural processes in antiquity.  These will be examined at the conference ‘Jewish Apocalypticism in the Ancient Word. Transcultural Perspectives’. Registration is possible until 13 September by sending an email to Florian.Neitmann@uni-muenster.de.

The role of the Pentateuch in the development of prophetic literature is the focus of an international conference of the Cluster of Excellence ‘Religion and Politics’, which will take place from 1 to 3 October in Münster. The focus will be on the books of Isaiah, Jermiah and Ezekiel as well as the Book of the Twelve Prophets.
Registration until 13 September by e-mail to Lars Maskow: l.maskow@uni-muenster.de

How much does the idea of death and an imminent judgement of the dead influence religious, political and social action? And what role does the use and dissemination of a particularly popular ancient text - The Testament of Abraham - play in this? These questions are the focus of the international conference "Abraham im Alltag I Adapting Abraham", organised by the Coptologist Prof. Dr. GESA SCHENKE.  
Time: 11 July and 12 July 2024
Venue: JO 101, Johannisstraße 4, Münster
Program and further information

 

This year, a Papyrological Autumn School will once again take place in Münster from 7 to 11 October.
The aim of this 5-day course is to introduce participants to the independent reading, transcription and annotation of Greek documents preserved on papyrus using illustrations.
Applications should be sent to Prof. Dr Patrick Sänger by 31 July with a short letter of motivation and CV.

Further information
 

The late Egyptologist and Blumenberg professor Jan Assmann (1938-2024) will be remembered at a memorial service at the University of Münster. The Centre for the History and Culture of the Eastern Mediterranean (GKM), the Faculty of Protestant Theology, the Cluster of Excellence "Religion and Politics" and the Institute of Egyptology and Coptology invite you to the event. read more
Monday, 8 July, 6.15 pm
Venue: JO 1, Johannisstraße 4, Münster

 

The Research Centre for Letters invites you to the opening of the EPISTULA series.

Prof Dr Volker Henning Drecoll from Tübingen will give the keynote lecture on the topic: "What makes a letter a letter? Reflections on the basis of Augustine's epistolary corpus".

The book presentation followed by a reception (sponsored by de Gruyter) will take place on Thursday, 11 July, 18-20h.
Location: ETH 102, Universitätsstr

We congratulate Georg Neumann on the publication of his dissertation entitled "Kulturkontakte und Kulturentwicklungen in Lorestān (West-Iran) im 3. Jahrtausend v. Chr." (Cultural contacts and cultural developments in Lorestān (West-Iran) in the 3rd millennium BC) The volume deals comprehensively with the cultural developments in the mountainous region of Lorestān. The first complete examination of this region makes contact zones and networks visible and illustrates how Lorestān controlled routes from the Mesopotamian lowlands to the Iranian highlands in the network of the (later) Silk Road.
 

Doctoral students from the Cluster of Excellence "Religion and Politics" presented their projects at the Graduate School afternoon. In his lecture, Jonas Schüren (Ancient History) shed light on the relationship between urbanisation and religion in the ancient metropolis of Ephesus. Jens Fischer (Arabic and Islamic Studies) presented the role of poetry as a medium of political communication in the Middle East.

 

What role did impairments and abilities play in the ancient world? Students Ann-Kathrin Hönerloh and Lukas Duisen explored this question in a discussion with PD Dr. Chiara Thumiger (Kiel). The discussion took place as part of the "Diversity Dialogues in Classical Studies" series, which is offered annually by the Ancient History and Classical Archaeology Department on Diversity Day.

Sabine Ladstätter, the former director of the Austrian Archaeological Institute and excavation director of Ephesus, passed away on June 3. She was particularly associated with the Asia Minor Research Center through her work on the pottery of the Jupiter Dolichenus sanctuary. She was an important cooperation partner for the Department of Ancient History and many members of staff were also personally connected to her.

 

On 400 pages, teachers and students from the University of Münster present their favorite pieces from the Archaeological Museum. The pieces were selected by the editors Prof. Achim Lichtenberger (Director of the Museum) and Dr. Helge Nieswandt (Curator). 

The exhibition "Legendary! Famous horses from mythology, history and popular culture" at the Westphalian Horse Museum in Münster, the winged Pegasus is of course not to be missed. Dr. Helge Nieswandt presents several exhibits. The exhibition can be seen until September 29.

This winter semester, the "Archaeology/Diagonal Network" is organising a public lecture series entitled "Archaeology at the Limit". On six dates, archaeologists from Germany and abroad will provide lively insights into the special challenges of excavations in inaccessible regions. The series of events will open on 20 November with a lecture by Marburg archaeologist Prof. Dr Winfried Held on the topic of "Underwater. History, topics and methods of maritime and nautical archaeology".

The body has always been part of the practices and ideas of religions worldwide. People express religious ideas through the body. At the conference "Body Images and Body Practices in the Religions" of the Cluster of Excellence Religion and Politics, which takes place from 13-15 November in Münster, case studies ranging from ancient Egyptian rituals to magical practices of the early modern period will be discussed. Prof Dr CHRISTOPH MARKSCHIES, President of the Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities, will give the keynote lecture on "God and the Body".

From a handwritten manuscript to digital edition in one week? So ask the students in their concluding blog post. Indeed, the Spring School provided a multi-faceted insight into the research world of manuscripts and an ambitious introduction to the steps involved in creating a digital edition. It was an experiment that was implemented by many experts and so successful that a continuation is being sought.

Two researchers will speak on Thursday, April 27 at 6 p.m. c.t. at the invitation of the Forschungsstelle Papyrologie and the Forschungsstelle Brief on one topic. Prof. Dr. Peter Arzt-Grabner (Salzburg) & PD Dr. Hans Förster (Vienna) will shed light on the topic "Papyrological Research on the Pauline Epistles using Paul's Letter to the Romans as an example".
Location: ETH 302, Universitätsstraße 13-17

For the second time, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is supporting the long-term project to edit the complete works of Ibn Nubatah al-Misri (1287-1366). At the Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Arabists led by Leibniz Prize winner Prof. Dr. Thomas Bauer and Prof. Dr. Syrinx von Hees have been working on the edition since 2020. The DFG is now funding the project again with around 1.7 million euros.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding a new research group from the humanities. The aim of the group "Xenocracy on the Ground. Administration and Cultural Interdependence in the Pre-Modern Era" is to provide a perspective on the much-discussed phenomenon of foreign rule that is tailored to the pre-modern era. The DFG is funding the project for the next four years with approximately 2.5 million euros. From the GKM, Prof. Dr. Hans Beck, Prof. Dr. Patrick Sänger and Prof. Dr. Gesa Schenke are involved.

In the current "QS World University Ranking by Subject 2023", Classics and Ancient History once again achieved a good ranking. In the subject "Classics and Ancient History", the University of Münster is ranked 51 to 90 and thus among the world's best 100 universities. The ranking is based primarily on reputation surveys among academics and employers and takes into account citations of publications.

Since 1997, the WWU research centre Asia Minor has been investigating the remains of the ancient city of Doliche near the Turkish metropolis of Gaziantep. The excavation area of the research project and the excavation house, are located only a few kilometres away from the epicentre of the severe earthquakes that shook Turkey and Syria on Monday (6.2.2023). Sophie Pieper spoke with project leader Prof. Dr. Engelbert Winter and excavation director Prof. Dr. Michael Blömer about the situation on site ... read more [de]