Mohammedmoin Sadeq

He earned a B.A. in Archaeology from the College of Archaeology, Cairo University, and received a DAAD grant to pursue his graduate studies, culminating in a Ph.D. in Archaeology and Art History from the Free University of Berlin in 1990. Following his doctoral studies, he pursued advanced training in Museums and Cultural Heritage with the U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in Washington, D.C. He later received a Fulbright Fellowship to teach and conduct research at the University of Chicago, in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.

His early academic career started at the Higher Institute of Islamic Archaeology, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem. While serving as founding director of the Gaza Department of Antiquities (1994–2007), he also taught at various universities in Gaza. He taught at NMC (2007-2010) and later at Qatar University (2010-2019).

His research interests encompass the archaeology and art history of the southern Levant, with a special focus on Gaza and the Gulf region, emphasizing ceramic art and cultural exchanges with China and India along the Silk Road.

His archaeological field career began with the Department of Antiquities of Qatar, where he participated in the French archaeological mission at the deserted city of al-Zubarah on the northwestern coast of Qatar (1980–1984). He later carried out extensive excavations and surface surveys across the Gaza Strip in collaboration with French and British missions, focusing on Bronze Age, Roman, and Byzantine sites. He co-directed the excavation of the Early Bronze Age site of Tell es-Sakan, the renewed excavations of the Middle and Late Bronze Age site of Tell el-‘Ajjul, and the Middle and Late Bronze Age site of al-Mughraqa, south of Tell el-‘Ajjul, where several terracotta cones stamped with the cartouche of Thutmose III were discovered. In addition, he co-directed the survey of ancient Gaza and directed the excavation of the Roman-Byzantine site at Bayt Lahya, north of Gaza City, as well as other sites across the Gaza Strip.

He has published on excavated archaeological sites, surveys, and objects from the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, in a series of international refereed journals, as well as a book in German on the Mamluk architecture of the city of Gaza.

Teaching

With over 25 years of teaching experience at universities across the Middle East—including Gaza, the High Institute for Islamic Archaeology in Jerusalem, Qatar University (2010-2019), and other Gaza universities—he has also taught in North America at Montclair State University (New Jersey), the University of Chicago (USA), and the University of Toronto (St. George and UTM campuses, 2007–2010), where he was a Fellow of Massey College. His teaching interests span a wide range of subjects, with a particular focus on the Middle East and the Gulf region. Sample topics include:

• Introduction to Middle Eastern Archaeology and Art History
• Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East
• History of Architecture and Art in the Muslim World
• Gender, Art, and Architecture in the Muslim World
• The Gulf Region in Antiquity
• Societies and Urbanism in the Southern Levant
• Roman - Byzantine, and Sasanian Architecture and Art
• History of Islamic Systems, Orders, Blazons, Mottos, and Heraldry
• Islamic Civilization

Recent Publications

• Sadeq, M. (2019). Arab-Sino relations and maritime trade from the 7th to the 10th century. Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies. Beirut.
• Sadeq, M. & van Gulik, J.  (2019). The Majlis: Cultures in dialogue. Skira Paris.
• Sadeq, M. (2018). Society in Qatar before the oil industry in light of archaeological evidence. Sociology of Islam. Brill.
• Sadeq, M. (2017). Community identity and economy in Qatar prior to the oil industry, based on archaeological evidence: Interdisciplinary research. AWG. GEO Publishing.
• Sadeq, M. (2016). Architectural overview of al-Andalus: Iberian traditions and Islamic innovations. In J. C. Carvajal López (Ed.), Al-Andalus: Archaeology, history and memory (Vol. 3). UCL Qatar Series in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage./p>
• Sadeq, M. (2015). Christian topography of Gaza. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 5(12), 47–54.
• Miroschedji, P., & Sadeq, M. (2015). Sakan, Tell es-: Introduction. In The new encyclopedia of archaeological excavations in the Holy Land (Vol. 5, Supplementary volume). Israel Exploration Society; Biblical Archaeology Society.
• Sadeq, M. (2014). An overview of Iron Age Gaza in light of the archaeological evidence. In J. R. Spencer, R. A. Mullins, & A. J. Brody (Eds.), Material culture matters: Essays on the archaeology of the Southern Levant in honor of Seymour Gitin (pp. 239–254). Penn State University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781575068787-019
• Sadeq, M. (2014). Mamluk cartouches and blazons displayed in the Museum of Islamic Arts, Doha: An art historical study. International Journal of Business, Humanities and Technology, 4(2), 138–143.
• Sadeq, M. (2013). History of Gaza architecture and art. (2013). In Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE (online and print). Brill.
• Al-Thani, N., Al-Maadeed, M., Sobott, R., & Sadeq, M. (2013). Pottery from Halat Aobeer and Hazem Al-Jasrah, Qatar. Ceramics International.