András J. Riedlmayer, 1947-2026
"But if you really want to make a librarian mad, burn down a library."

András Riedlmayer, Bibliographer and Director at the Documentation Center of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture in Harvard’s Fine Arts Library for 35 years, passed away on 9 February 2026. A polyglot with an encyclopedic mind, he was generous with his time and expertise, helping many scholars of Islamic art and architecture navigate the extensive resources of the Harvard Libraries. He has also been important to the development of this digital library, a contribution we celebrate in this month’s Archnet update. 

  • András Riedlmayer -Authority Record
    He fled his homeland at the age of 9, was Bibliographer and Director at the Documentation Center of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard for 35 years, and testified in international war crimes tribunals regarding the destruction of cultural heritage in the Balkans
  • Kosovo Cultural Heritage
    Curated by András Riedlmayer, this collection of images and documents attests to the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage during the Kosovo War
  • Josephine Powell: Photographs of Afghanistan 1959-68 / جوزفین پاول
    An exhibition catalog with an essay by András Riedlmayer, "How Josephine Powell’s Photographs came to Harvard"
  • Remarks by the Recipient of the 2022 MEM Lifetime Achievement Award
    András Riedlmayer reflects upon his career on in these brief remarks to the Middle East Medievalists
  • Resources for the Study of Islamic Architecture
    Compiled to help researchers at a time when resources on Islamic architecture were extremely limited, the major document was one of the primary resources guiding the development of Archnet's original digital library
  • The Nine Domes of the Universe : the Ancient Noh Gonbad Mosque
    A beautiful book on the ruined yet still glorious Abbasid-era mosque near Balkh, Afghanistan with a contribution by András Riedlmayer
  • Ferhat-pasina Dzamija Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
    András as instrumental in documenting this 16th c. mosque over time, including its destruction during the in the Bosnian War and its eventual reconstruction
  • Destruction of Cultural Heritage in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1992-1996: A Post-War Survey Of Selected Municipalities
    The text of the 2002 report prepared by András Riedlmayer for the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
  • Egypt-Cairo-IbnTulunMosque-1847
    Archnet would not has such a rich library of historic images were it not for the help of András
  • Mosquée de Paris, France
    One of the photographs by András in the Archnet collection
  • Restorations of Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock and Their Political Significance
    An article co-authored by Beatrice St. Laurent from Muqarnas X: An Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture