Arabic Studies in Kazan University

1807 – The beginning of teaching Arabic at the University of Kazan. For this purpose, Professor Christian Frähn (1782-1851) from the University of Rostock was invited by the trustee of the Kazan district. Christian Frähn taught courses in Arabic language, Arabic literature and Arabic numismatics.

1807 - Christian Frähn publishes his first monograph devoted to the des­cription of 17 Samanid and Buyid coins thitherto unknown in Europe. The monograph was published in Arabic. It is widely believed that it was in Kazan that Christian Frähn became a scholar of world level.

Main scientific achievements of Christian Frähn: He studied big geographic dictionary of Arab geographer of the first half of the XIII century Yakut al-Hamawi. The information from the dictionary  about  Russia, Volga Bulgars and Khazars provided materials for three monographs. Frähn left many manus­cripts, later published by academician Dorn in two volumes under the title: «Opuscula postuma» (1855-1877). The most important of unpublished works is voluminous critical dictionary of Arabic. Frähn worked all his life on completion of this dictionary.

1817 - Christian Frähn moved to St. Petersburg.

1818 - at the suggestion of Christian Frähn, Franz Erdman come to Kazan to the post of professor at Kazan University. In Kazan, he published a large number of articles in Russian, German, Latin and French.

1826 - Mirza (Alexander) Kasimovich Kazembek come to Kazan on the way to Omsk, makes the acquaintance of the rector, who offers him to stay to teach Arabic and Persian.

1828 - the Department of the Arab-Persian literature (headed by F.I. Erdman (1773-1863)) was established.

1829 – A.K. Kazem-Bek was elected a member of Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain.

1830s - Kazan Orientalism (including Arabic studies) received worldwide recognition.

1831 – the monograph of A.K. Kazem-Bek "A Look at the history of Arabic Language and Literature" was published in Persian.

1836 - a program and a manual for teachers of Arabic, compiled by A. K. Kazem-Bek, which were highly praised by the Academy of Sciences and approved by the Minister of Education are published.

1846 - A. K. Kazem-Bek became the head of the Department of Arabic and Persian literature.

1849 - A. K. Kazem-Bek moves to St. Petersburg.

1849 - I. F. Gotvald arrives in Kazan and immediately heads the Department of Arabic and Persian literature. Here I. F. Gotvald researches and publishes a number of valuable Arabic records, covering major periods in history. He systematically studies the ancient monuments in the Volga region - in particular, the ins­criptions of the period of Bulgar Kingdom. I. F. Gotvald owned a valuable collection of oriental manus­cripts, which he donated to the university; his own library was also assigned to the university by his daughter according to the will of her father. I. F. Gotvald was one of those people, who played an important role in the preservation of the Kazan School of Oriental studies, despite its official closure.

Besides the main professors of the Department, in the first half of the XIX century Arabic was also taught by such lecturers and professors as I. Zhukov (1843-1847), M. Navrotsky (1846), I. Holmogorov (1842-1849), etc.

1855 - "Eastern department" of Kazan University moves to St. Petersburg. The official teaching of Oriental Languages ​​and Oriental disciplines at Kazan University stops.

1860 - Optional Arabic language courses are organized at the University of Kazan.

1880s. - "Oriental society" and "the Society of Archaeology, History and Ethnography" are organized  Kazan.  I.F.Gotvald teaches Arabic at the university

End of XIX - the first half of XX century. – Turkic studies, Tatar studies, research into culture and history of the peoples of the Volga region are provided by individual scientists. There are no Arabic Studies.

1944 - Tatar department is established in the faculty of History and Philology of KSU.

1956 - by efforts of Mirza Ismagilovich Makhmutov, teaching of the Arabic language begins at the faculty of History and Philology of KSU.

1965 - M. Mahmutov publishes the "Arab-Tatar-Russian dictionary of borrowing" (co-authored with B. Z. Hamzin, G. Sh. Sayfullin). In addition to the dictionary, he owns more than 450 research papers and articles.

1968 - Mirza Makhmutov becomes a member of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the USSR (in 1991 he becomes an academician). In Soviet times, the Arabic language is also taught and G. Ishmuhammetov  and I. Avhadeev.

1989 - the Department of Oriental Languages, headed by an outstanding scholar D.G. Tumasheva is established in the Faculty ​​of Tatar philology, History  and Oriental languages.

1994 - Gabdulzyamil Gabdulkhakovich Zainullin becomes the Head of the Department. He is the author of a number of textbooks and manuals in Arabic, over 100 published works, devoted to the Arabic language and literature, culture-oriented linguistics of Arab countries.

2000 - The Institute of Oriental Studies of Kazan State University is established, professor G.G.Zaynullin becomes its first director.

2000 – the Chief Scientific Officer of the St. Petersburg branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies, an outstanding Russian Arabist, the student of I. Yu. Krachkovsky, Anas Bakievich Khalidov arrives to Kazan to take the post of the Professor of the Department of Oriental Languages at Kazan State University. He owns more than one hundred scientific and educational works, Russian translations of Arabic monuments and works of fiction.

2001 - A. B. Halidov dies.

In the first decade of XXI century by efforts of the members of the Department of Oriental Languages ​​at Kazan State University, textbooks, monographs and anthologies, such as " culture-oriented linguistics " (G.G.Zaynullin), "Arabic: Egyptian dialect" (G.G.Zaynullin, M . M.Abdalla), "Reading the Arabic manus­cripts" (D.A.Sharafutdinov), "Arab poetry of Transoxania" (D.A.Shagaviev), "The Art of Arab letters" (Avhadieva A.I.), the textbook "The Arab horizons "(Elsabruti R.R.), and numerous articles and speeches at conferences of Elsabruti R.R., Khairutdinova D.R., Gilemshina F.F., Abrorov I.M., etc. were published.

2011 – the Department of Oriental Languages is renamed the Department of the Arabic language,  Kazan Federal (Volga region) University.

Since 2012 – the Department of Arabic philology, Kazan Federal (Volga region) University.