The Joint BIAA-BIPS Conference: Jalal al-Din Rumi and his Legacy: Religion, Literature and Culture between Medieval Anatolia and the Persianate World, 13th-14th Centuries.

Posted on 30 August 2023

The Joint BIAA-BIPS Conference: Jalal al-Din Rumi and his Legacy: Religion, Literature and Culture between Medieval Anatolia and the Persianate World, 13th-14th Centuries was held on 6th and 7th July 2023 at the British Institute at Ankara (BIAA) in Türkiye. This international conference focused on the Sufi poet Rumi, the reception of his work as well as his religious and political legacy.

Group photo during the tour of Konya, displaying the tomb of Rumi in the background

14 leading international scholars specialising in the history, literature and material culture of Konya during the 13^th-century and the long-term impact of Rumi’s work presented at this interdisciplinary event, funded by the British Institute at Ankara and the British Institute of Persian Studies. Professor Scott Redford and Richard McClary then led a tour of Konya on 8^th July, visiting Rumi’s tomb and some of the key 13^th-century monuments of the city.

The conference was organised by Professor Scott Redford (BIAA Council and SOAS, University of London), Professor Andrew Peacock (Former BIPS Council Member and University of St Andrews), and Dr Richard McClary (Former BIPS Director of Research and University of York). A follow-up edited volume of the papers will be edited by Professor Redford, Professor Peacock and Dr McClary.

View the conference programme here. The following talks are now available to view on YouTube: The Challenges of Documentation in Sufi Studies by Mohammad Estelami (McGill University) and A Changing City: Architectural Innovation and Urban Renewal in Konya during the Lifetime of Mevlana by Richard Piran McClary (University of York).