The Netherlands Institute for the Near East is a pillar of Dutch research on the Near East and Egypt. NINO maintains an internationally renowned open-shelf library, holds important collections of cuneiform tablets and other Near Eastern objects, publishes scientific journals and monographic series, and offers a variety of funding instruments.
Download general information flyer (March 2025).
From its location at Leiden University, NINO provides excellent research facilities and a variety of instruments in support of students and researchers working locally and remotely. NINO is a national research centre and library that initiates, supports, and conducts scholarly research in Egyptology (including Coptology), Assyriology (including Hittitology), Near Eastern archaeology and connected studies.
The NINO Near Eastern Library, internationally renowned as one of the most complete study collections in the fields of Egyptology (including Coptology), Assyriology (including Hittitology), Near Eastern archaeology and connected studies, is curated by Leiden University Libraries (UBL) and part of its Middle Eastern Library (MEL).
The NINO Research Centre is part of Leiden University’s Leiden Institute for Area Studies (LIAS).
NINO owns several collections, notably the De Liagre Böhl Collection: the largest collection of cuneiform inscriptions in the Netherlands. The National Museum of Antiquities (RMO) displays a number of highlights in its permanent exhibition. As of 2018 the Böhl Collection is curated in cooperation with the Museum; in 2024 the cuneiform documents have been given on loan to UBL, where they are available to researchers.
The NINO Research Centre offers various fellowships, grants, and subsidies in support of researchers and students. With Peeters Publishers, Leuven, it publishes several series and journals.
Read more on the organisation and structure of NINO >
Our main partners are:
The NINO Research Centre is part of the Leiden Institute for Area Studies (LIAS) at the Faculty of Humanities.
The NINO Near Eastern Library is curated by Leiden University Libraries (UBL).
NINO’s De Liagre Böhl Collection of cuneiform inscriptions and other Near Eastern objects is curated in cooperation with the museum. The museum’s ancient Middle East gallery permanently displays a number of highlights from our collection. A small number of cuneiform documents is in storage at the museum.
NINO’s book series and journals are published and distributed by Peeters Publishers.
Dedicated to public engagement and disseminating knowledge on the Near East and Egypt, EOL’s association and partnership with NINO dates back to our foundation in 1939.
The cuneiform inscriptions of NINO’s De Liagre Böhl Collection have been included in CDLI. Digital images, handcopies, transliterations, translations, and references to literature are available in open access through the CDLI website.
NINO participates in the following partnerships:
Aimed at raising the impact of scholarship, LeidenGlobal strengthens the cooperation between leading academic and cultural institutions. As a collaborative effort of institutes, LeidenGlobal develops a dynamic program of research in comparative area studies and organises various public events.
As a partnership between Dutch university heritage professionals, the SAE represents and promotes the interest of the academic heritage in the administrative circuit, in government institutions and within the heritage sector.
The National Research School in Classical Studies in the Netherlands, OIKOS, stimulates and coordinates research efforts in the area of Graeco-Roman and Near Eastern Antiquity and its reception.
NINO maintains ties with various universities and institutions in the Netherlands: