New College to host the inaugural Margoliouth Lecture on the History of the Middle East

On Wednesday 29th April, New College will host the Inaugural Margoliouth Lecture on the History of the Middle East in the New Space. 

We are honoured to welcome Eugene Rogan, Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History, to speak on Damascus Rebuilt: Margoliouth and Syria after the 1860 Massacre. 

The Lecture will take place at 5pm in The New Space, Mansfield Road, Oxford. A reception will follow the lecture to which all are welcome. 

Any questions should be directed to Christian Sahner. 

The Margoliouth Lecture on the History of the Middle East celebrates the legacy of D.S. Margoliouth (1858-1940), the leading scholar of Arabic and Islamic studies in Great Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Margoliouth came up to New College as an undergraduate in 1877 and was elected a fellow in 1881. In 1889, he was appointed as the Laudian Professor of Arabic, a position he held until his retirement in 1937. During this period, he published widely on Arabic literature, Middle Eastern history, and Islam, drawing on a deep knowledge of ancient and modern languages. The Margoliouth Lecture, taking place for the first time in 2026, aims to demonstrate the relevance of history for understanding the Arab and Muslim worlds today.