Transfer of the Art of Printing from the Romanian Principalities to the Arabic-Speaking Christians in the Early 18th Century

Abstract The beginnings of printing in Arabic, with Arabic type, in the Middle East was the focus of the TYPARABIC project, funded by an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council since 2021. The international team hosted by the Romanian Academy in Bucharest and led by Ioana Feodorov, as Principal Investigator, has been studying the first Arabic books printed beyond the borders of Western and Central Europe, in Wallachia (1701–1702), the transfer of the printing technology and implements from Bucharest to a new printing press that worked in Aleppo by care of Athanasios Dabbās (1706–1711), and the printing works of Patriarch Sylvester of Antioch in Moldavia, Wallachia, and Greater Syria. This contribution traces the progress of the TYPARABIC project, with a special focus on its unexpected outcomes and the benefits – and beneficiaries – of the team’s research work during this ERC-funded project, completed on June 30, 2026.