"The Orient in Gotha": Catalogue of the exhibition published

The modern history of knowledge was shaped by scholars who studied the Orient. A considerable number of them worked in Gotha, either throughout their lives or during short stays. The earliest study of Arabic and Ottoman, which is documented in the holdings of the research library, can be traced back to the 16th century. Under the Dukes of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, research into the Orient flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The exhibition catalogue shows what traces the work of scholars from the 16th to the 19th century left behind in the Gotha Research Library. Protestant theologians, Enlightenment naturalists, historical-critical Orientalists, Romantic poets and cartographers worked in Gotha in the context of the court to expand knowledge about the Orient. They influenced the view of the culture, history, literature and geography of the Ottoman Empire, the Arabian Peninsula, Ethiopia and other areas that were seen as part of the Orient. Four hundred years of Oriental studies in Gotha not only bear witness to the changes in the sciences, but also shed light on the intellectual and knowledge culture of the city of Gotha.