The Department of West-Asian History was founded in 1969 for the purpose of integrating and reinforcing instruction and research in the history, languages, and cultures of Western and Central Asia, with an emphasis on the Islamic period.

All students, undergraduate and graduate, are required to attain a reading knowledge of at least two of the major West-Asian languages: Arabic, Persian, Turkish or Ancient languages.

Besides language courses, the following special courses are offered: An introduction to West-Asian history; Historical sources on Achaemenid Iran; Afghanistan at the early Islamic period; Mazalim court in medieval Islam; Anatolia in the 11th-15th centuries; Modern history of Central Asia.

Students are also required to attend seminars on historical materials such as: Al-Maqrizi, Al-Mawa’iz; Khvandamir, Habib al-Siyar; Mustafa Ali, Kunh al-akhbar; Arabic, new Persian and modern Turkish texts.

The department has a special connection with the activities of the Institute for Eurasian Studies, which is located in Kita-ku, Kyoto. The office of the Seinan-Azia Kenkyukai, or Society for Western and Southern Asiatic Studies is in the department, and Seinan-Azia Kenkyu (Bulletin of the Society for Western and Southern Asiatic Studies) appears twice a year. The associates of the department are the main contributors to this journal.

• http://www.bun.kyoto-u.ac.jp/w-asia/index-e.html