Near Eastern Studies

This research area concentrates on synthesizing archaeological findings with written sources to understand societal changes, urban development, cultural contact, and community identities in the Ancient Near East, particularly during critical transitional periods such as the Late Bronze to Early Iron Age and the rise and fall of urban centers. Such interdisciplinary approaches aim to reconstruct socio-political dynamics, migration patterns, and intercultural influences.

This theme explores the investigation of pre-Sumerian linguistic elements, cultural substrates, and their impact on the formation of the Sumerian language and society. Through comparative linguistic analysis and archaeological correlations, the research seeks to reconstruct interactions between early cultures such as the Ubaid and the Hurrians, clarifying processes of language contact, substratum influence, and cultural syncretism in the ancient Near East.

Research here integrates archaeological, textual, and environmental data to investigate viticultural practices, their regional adaptations, and socio-economic implications in Late Antique and Byzantine Near East, including marginal areas like the Negev Desert. This theme addresses how water management, climate variability, and cultural-religious frameworks shaped viticulture, contributing to local economies and broader Mediterranean trade networks.

This research theme investigates how humor functioned as an educational tool and social commentary within scribal curricula of the first millennium BCE Mesopotamia. It examines literary genres, pedagogical texts, and humorous compositions to understand scribal communication, identity construction, and cognitive strategies, highlighting humor's pedagogical efficacy and its reflection of cultural norms.

Focusing on the recent reconversion of Hagia Sophia to a mosque, this research area interrogates how historic religious monuments are politically and symbolically reappropriated to construct national identity, assert regional power, and rewrite historical narratives under ideological agendas such as Neo-Ottomanism. The analysis blends political science, religious studies, and cultural heritage perspectives.

This theme analyzes recent political developments concerning the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), focusing on Abdullah Öcalan’s call for disbandment and the broader Kurdish political landscape. It evaluates strategic, ideological, and geopolitical factors influencing Kurdish movements, state relations, and peace prospects within Turkey and the region.

This area explores Mar Aba’s biography as a nexus of Zoroastrian and Christian traditions within the Sassanian Empire, revealing complex processes of religious conversion, ecclesiastical reform, and political negotiation. It contributes to understanding interreligious dialogue, identity formation, and resilience under imperial and clerical pressures in Late Antiquity.

This research focuses on the examination of extensive coin collections from multiple Islamic dynasties, analyzing the historical, political, and artistic significance reflected in numismatic data. The study includes analysis of minting practices, monetary reforms, and currency circulation to elucidate regional governance and economic interactions across vast geographic and temporal spans.

Integrating textual analysis, dendrochronology, ancient DNA studies, numismatics, legal texts, and papyrology, this research reevaluates the scale, transmission, and consequences of the Justinianic Plague. It critically assesses both traditional narratives and revisionist perspectives to generate a complex picture of demographic, economic, and cultural transformations during Late Antiquity.