Perhaps the most accurate description of the present state of knowledge on the economic history of the Near East is the schoolboy’s definition of a net as “a bunch of holes tied together with string.” The trouble is that, here, the holes are so wide that rather large fish can easily slip through, while the string is so weak that one cannot be sure of keeping what one thinks one holds. Add to this the fact that the present fisherman is a newcomer to the field, and has not yet had the time to make much of the necessary studies, and it will be seen that this paper must be regarded as only a preliminary and very tentative introduction, which makes no claim to thoroughness or completeness.

The XXVII International Congress of Orientalists was held at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, from August 13 through August 19, 1967. This was the first time the Congress was held in the United States or, for that matter, in the Western Hemisphere. Before the Congress convened, fears were expressed that the distance of Ann Arbor from the East Coast of the United States, and that of the United States from the older centers of Oriental studies, would appreciably reduce attendance. In fact, however, more than 2500 scholars attended, a considerable increase over the previous Congress, demonstrating the tremendous development of Oriental studies in the United States during the previous two decades, and also the effectiveness of the Organizing Committee’s effort to assist the transportation of foreign scholars by means of subsidized airplane flights from Tokyo as well as principal centers in Europe.