The seventeenth century is special for the Dutch for many reasons. Both Arabic studies in Leiden University and the trade in the Middle East reached their height in the seventeenth century. This...Show moreThe seventeenth century is special for the Dutch for many reasons. Both Arabic studies in Leiden University and the trade in the Middle East reached their height in the seventeenth century. This thesis studies to what extent the intensified contacts with the Middle East had an impact on seventeenth-century Dutch Arabic studies. It indicates that the building of the network of people, as a result of the ever-growing contacts, changed the essence of Arabic studies from a study of the Arabic language to a study covering different subjects about the Arabic world. The development of Arabic studies in Leiden later interacted the production of knowledge in other academic fields in Europe and arguably contributed to the Enlightenment.Show less
