This blog connects the reader with the rich past and present of Eurasia. The aim is to promote interest in and discussion of history, philology, archaeology and anthropology without forcing the subject to be viewed through the prevalent prisms of Orientalism, Hellenocentrism, and Islamocentrism
Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. The goal of this article is to introduce the reader to the history of Khorezm located in modern-day Uzbekistan, as well as its historic Iranian and modern Turkic vernaculars. The western gate (Ata-Darvaza) to the Ichan Qal'a complex, Khiva, Khorezm province, …
Continue reading Khwārazm: Examining the Past and Present of the “Lowlands” and its Idioms
Written by Afsheen Sharifzadeh, a graduate of Tufts University focusing on Iran and the Caucasus. The goal of this article is to introduce the reader to the history, language and culture of the autochthonous Tajik Persian-speaking population of Uzbekistan. The anterior façade of Madrasa-i Mīr-i 'Arab (c. 1535 A.D.) from the vantage point of the portal to …
Continue reading The Persian Vernacular of Samarkand and Bukhara: A Primer