Central Asia

Central Asia through the currents of history, the legacy of empires, the crossroads of ideas and trade routes, and the formation of identities.

Central Asia

CROSSING THE RELIGIOUS DIVIDE

Daniel Scarborough on Orthodoxy, Islam, and Imperial Power in Turkestan

~ 8 min read

Kazakhstan

WHEN THE EMPIRE MISREAD THE STEPPE

How Imperial Russia’s failure to understand the ways of Kazakh life exposed the cracks in its own power

~ 13 min read

Partnership

THE MAGIC OF METAL

From Ancient Rituals to Modern Technology: How Copper Became an Essential Part of Nomadic Culture

~ 12 min read

CENTRAL ASIA: FROM EMPIRE TO SOVIET RULE

Historian Adeeb Khalid on Colonialism, Nation-Building, and the Enduring Myths That Shape Our Understanding of the Region

~ 11 min read

PASSPORTS, INNS, AND EXPRESS DELIVERY IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY

What Travel Was Really Like on the Silk Road—and Why It Was Far More than a Caravan Highway

~ 16 min read

Kazakhstan

BUTTER, COPPER, AND A CRUMBLING EMPIRE

British Encounters with Early Industrialization in the Kazakh Steppe

~ 15 min read

Central Asia

A TALE OF TWO AUTONOMIES

Central Asia During the Russian Revolution (1917–18)

~ 16 min read

Central Asia

THE YENISEI KYRGYZ KHAGANATE

Tracing Its Rise and Legacy in Modern Kyrgyz Identity

~ 13 min read

Partnership

JOURNEYS FROM THE CENTER OF THE EARTH

How Central Asia Became the Crossroads of the World

~ 7 min read

Central Asia

PASSPORTS, INNS, AND EXPRESS DELIVERY IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY

What Travel Was Really Like on the Silk Road—and Why It Was Far More than a Caravan Highway

~ 16 min read

Central Asia

THE ULUS OF JOCHI: THE LIFE AND EVOLUTION OF THE FIRST STEPPE EMPIRE

The Golden Horde: The Ulus of Jochi and Its Significance for Kazakhstan

~ 10 min read

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A flavour of history

QURT AMONG THE NOMADS

The Anatomy of the Steppe’s Ultimate Superfood

~ 9 min read

Central Asia

LOVE OR POLITICS?

Part 2: Mixed Marriages in the Kazakh Khanate

~ 11 min read

Central Asia

LOVE OR POLITICS?

Part 1: How Mixed Marriages Shaped States and Altered History Through the Ages

~ 8 min read