About the Project
The Svoboda Diaries Project began in 2006 as a project under the umbrella of the Ottoman Texts Archive Project (OTAP). Throughout the project’s history, we have focused on the digitization of the journals of two members of the Svoboda family, Joseph Svoboda and his son Alexander. The Joseph Mathia Svoboda diaries capture over 40 years of trade on the Tigris, life, politics, and the landscape of Ottoman Iraq through the perspective of a British steamship purser with a rich family history and local connections. Read more here.
New Features
We would like to share some new features with you!
- The image gallery provides visual context for the Svoboda diaries through images directly taken during the time period.
- Our diary viewer now displays blurbs sharing interesting information about people mentioned in the text.
- Our revised Current and Future Plans page highlights current projects, future goals, and aspirations.
Recent Updates
Guest presentation in NEAR E 207 | 4/4/22
SDP interns presented in Professor Stephanie Selover’s course, Archeology of Ancient Iran (NEAR E 207). The guest presentation introduced how the Svoboda diaries could be used as a resource to study the trade of antiquities.
Remembering Dr. Walter Andrews
It was recently the two year anniversary of the passing of our founder, Professor Walter Andrews’ (5/31/2020). Learn more about Dr. Andrews here.