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Monday, January 13, 2014

The 2nd Circular of " Thought and Culture in Byzantine Egypt" 1st -3rd April 2014 ( Ain Shams University)

Prof. Dr. Tarek M. Muhammad, Professor of Medieval History (Byzantino-Islamic) in Ain Shams University, has kindly sent me the 2nd circular of the coming conference in Ain Shams University. An Image of the circular is attached to this post.


Sunday, January 12, 2014

The Future of Classical Studies in Egypt by Prof. Dr. Tarek M. Radawn

Some years ago Prof. Dr. Tarek M. Radawn of Al-Azahar University had published an article entitled "The Computer, Modern Technologies and the Future of Classical Studies in Egypt", Bulletin of the Center of Papyrological Studies ( Ain Shams Uuniversity), Vol. (?), pp. (?)  The article was intended as a guide to the Arabic student/research in the filed of Classics how to adjust his computer as well as his research for the digital age. No other work has since then addressed this problem ( in the Arabic sphere), therefore the Department of Greek and Latin Studies in Cairo university has produced an online version of this paper ( with some links to the stated websites) to maximize the availability of this valuable paper. The online version of this paper could be accessed through this link.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Homer's Iliad into Arabic verse !

Suleyman al-Boustani, the Lebanese statesman, teacher, poet and historian (1856–1925), has translated Homer's Iliad not simply into Arabic prose, but into Arabic verse. The translation is published by Kalimat press The book could be freely downloaded from the  website as a kindle, pdf, or ePUB, through this link. The provider is Hendawi Foundation for Education and Culture; a non-Profit Organization seeking to promote education and culture and thought in the Arabic region through both translation and publishing of literature from all over the world.

The importance of learning Humanities and Ancient Languages

Wise in cooperation with Qatar Foundation has releases a video to pay the attention of the students to the merits of learning Humanities and Ancient Languages in comparison to learning Medicine and Law ! The video is not in Arabic, but an Arabic synchronization is available.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Video series of "Greco-Roman Egypt" course in Mansour University

High quality video in Arabic (poor content, I'm sorry to say it !) of "the history of Greco-Roman Egypt" in Mansoura University, Faculty of Education. The video is published by Mansoura University on Feb 24, 2013.

Mostafa El-Abbadi receives the Egyptian Republic Medal of Honor

Prof. Emeritus Mostafa El-Abbadi has received the Republic of Egypt's First Degree Medal of Honor - the second highest state honor after Order of the Nile; Egypt's highest state honor. He is said to receive this honor "to honor his scientific career and contributions as well as to recognize the value of culture in our march to the future".

Arabic Contributions to the Study of Greco-Roman Egypt

It seems that I'm not the only interested person in the Arabic contributions in modern times. The renowned  Prof. Emeritus Mostafa El Abbadi of Alexandria University had expressed his interest in the same topic in 1987 - when I was just nine years old ! - in his article:

 Mostafa El Abbadi, "Arabic Contributions to the Study of Greco-Roman Egypt." in Egitto e storia antica. Atti del Colloquio internazionale. Bologna, 31.8-2.9.1987, 383-395.

Egyptian Academic Literature in Classics : A Bibliometrical Study.

The academic literature in Greek and Latin studies  appears to have caught the attention of the Egyptian scholars in the field of  Library and Information sciences, who is called Samia Abdullah Al-Kafoury. A bibliometric study is now available for this literature from its beginning, probably from Rifa'a al-Tahtawi, until 2004; the day which the dissertation/book is said to be approved/released. I'm trying to have a copy of this dissertation/book, with the help of my Egyptian colleagues,  to be posted here in the blog.

Monday, January 6, 2014

An Edition of Averroes'Talḫīṣ kitāb al-šiʿr or "Middle Commentary on the Poetics"

The late Prof. Dr. Muhammed Silem Salem, the founder of classics department in Ain Shams University, has prepared in 1971 an edition of Averroes'Talḫīṣ kitāb al-šiʿr or "Middle Commentary on the Poetics of  Arsitotle".  A digital version is available in my computer ( just send me an email).

An Arabic Translation of Garth Fowden's Before and After Muhammad: The First Millennium Refocused

An Arabic translation of "Before and After Muhammed: The First Millennium Refocused"  By Garth Fowden is now in preparation by Usama Gad.

Two Ptolomaic tombs uncovered in Al-Qantara East

Two Ptolemaic tombs was uncovered today in the Roman necropolis at Al-Qantara East in the Canal city of Ismailiya. The English article is to be found through this link.

Classics Department in Egypt

Classic Department is to be found following universities ( with a link to department's website, when available,) N.B. most websites are in Arabic; some have English contents, other don't:

1- Cairo University ( Faculty of Arts, Department of Greek and Latin Studies).
2- Ain Shams University ( Faculty of Arts, Department of Ancient European Civilizations).
3- Alexandria University ( Faculty of Arts, Department of  Archaeology and Greek and Latin Studies)
4-Mansoura University ( Faculty of Arts, Department of Greek and Latin Studies)
5- Sohag University ( Faculty of Arts, Department of Greek and Latin Studies)
6- South Valley University ( Faculty of Arts, Department of Greek and Latin Studies).

Plautus' Play Mostellaria into Arabic for the first time.

My colleague Dr. Hatem Rabie of Ain Shams University has translated  Plautus' Play Mostellaria  into Arabic.The translation is titled in Arabic "منزل الأشباح"  and published by the National Center of Translation (NCT), the most reliable publishing house not only in Egypt, but also in the Arabic region. Congratulations my friend. Here is the cover page of the newly released translation.


The 10th International Conference of the Department of Greek and Latin Studies (Cairo University)


The Department of Greek and Latin Studies at the University of Cairo will host its 10th biennial conference in March 2014 . Plenary lectures , presentations and papers will be held on campus in the Faculty's Conference Room . Accommodation and meals will also be provided on campus.

We welcome proposals for papers (20 minutes long followed by discussions) and coordinated panels (comprising either 3 or 4 papers) from graduate students, academic staff, or others interested in the ancient world on the topics suggested below .

For more details, please follow this link . N.B. the conference is postponed to September 2015 ! 

The website of the Egyptian Society of Greek and Roman Studies

The online page of the academic society of classical scholars in Egypt is to be found through this link.

Classical Papers' Index

An Index of  " Classical Papers" or "أوراق  كلاسيكية " the bulletin of Classics department in Cairo University is available also online. The bulletin contains contributions written in Arabic as well as other European languages like English and French. The index could be accessed here.

List of Arabic titles in Library of Classics department (Cairo University)

The department of Classics in Cairo University is putting online a list with contributions to the study of classics written by scholars in Arabic. The list could be accessed here.

The History Department of Ain Shams University's Conference (1st -2nd April 2014)

History Dept., Faculty of Arts, Ain Sams University, Cairo, Egypt in collaboration with “Seminar of Medieval and Islamic History”. is organizing in1st -2nd April 2014 a conference under the title ""Thought and Culture in Christian Egypt 284-641 AD."  The conference announcement is attached below for more details.

Conference Announcment

The Fifth Annual Conference of Ain Shams University Center of Papyrological Studies

Ain Shams University Center of Papyrological Studies is holding its fifth annual conference between 26-28 March 2014. The conference is titled The Word and the Image in the Ancient Civilizations.