Middle East

Based upon the UNESCO definition, this area includes the following countries: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syrian AR, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

The following collections all contain material relating to the Middle East. Click on the name of the collection to see a summary description from the A-Z listings. Alternatively, search for the collection on the SOAS Archive Catalogue .

Anderson, Sir James Norman Dalrymple 
Arkell, Rev Anthony John 
Christian Aid 
Holt Collection of the Mahdi 
Kom Ed Dik Collection 
Methodist Missionary Society 
Michell, Roland Lyons Nosworthy 
Movement for Colonial Freedom 
Paget, William, 6th Baron Paget 
Stencl, Abraham Nahum 

Useful Resources

There are a number of surveys and guides to assist researchers to identify and locate relevant archival material held in the UK. See also the on-line guide to the Ancient Near East, Semitics & Judaica and Islamic Near East & Middle East Sections of the Library.

  • Anita L. P Burdett, Summary guide to Archive and Manuscript collections relevant to the former British Colonial Territories in the United Kingdom (1988)
  • P. Jones Britain and Palestine 1914-48: Archival Sources for the History of the British Mandate (1979)
  • N. Matthews and M. D. Wainwright, A Guide to Manuscripts and Documents in the British Isles relating to the Middle East and North Africa (1980)
  • Anne Thurston Sources for Colonial Studies in the PRO Vol 1 (1995)