Hello,

My name is Hasan Degerli, a PhD candidate in the Religious Studies Department. I’ve been exploring ideas for a project that merges my field with Digital Humanities, and the Digital Humanities summer fellowship program at the University of Iowa Library has provided the perfect opportunity to bring this vision to life.

My project focuses on researching the names, locations, and structures dedicated to Late Antique Christian soldier martyrs, drawing primarily from original sources. The goal is to enhance this data through geo-spatial mapping. I will pinpoint the places, dates, and sites associated with these warrior saints and represent them on a map. In the process, I aim to make the information from martyrdom narratives in languages such as Greek, Syriac, and Coptic accessible to both academic and public audiences, utilizing extensive literature review and mapping techniques.

As I work on this project, I will gather crucial information that will form the foundation for my PhD dissertation. Additionally, this endeavor will produce a novel interdisciplinary study that blends religious studies with Digital Humanities. Although the data and sources are rooted in historical and religious literature, I will leverage Digital Humanities tools to visually represent and analyze this information.

While there is a considerable amount of research on early Christian martyrs, few studies have focused specifically on military martyrs as a distinct category. Existing research is limited, often addressing only a handful of specific cases from the later Middle Ages with an emphasis on artistic aspects. There is currently no comprehensive academic study exploring the origins, emergence, and spread of soldier martyrs. This summer project seeks to address this gap in the field.

This project promises to be both engaging and informative, offering valuable insights and an intriguing exploration. I would like to extend my gratitude to my advisor, Prof. Paul Dilley, for his guidance in refining this project, to the Graduate College for its financial support, and to the entire Studio team for their assistance throughout the summer course.