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

THE MAKING OF CENTRAL ASIA’S MODERN BORDERS

The Turbulent Story of the National-Territorial Delimitation of 1924

~ 16 min read

Central Asia

WHY TURKIC RULERS SPOKE PERSIAN?

Historian Richard Foltz on the alliance that built the Silk Road — and was somehow forgotten

~ 6 min read

Central Asia

THE FORGOTTEN NORTHERN SILK ROAD

How the Syr Darya Corridor Once Connected China to the Golden Horde

~ 17 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

THE MAGIC OF METAL

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

~ 12 min read

Central Asia

WHAT TO READ IN THE NEW YEAR

Qalam’s Curated History Reading List

~ 6 min read

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

Central Asia

THE MAGIC OF METAL

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

~ 12 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

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Central Asia

THE YENISEI KYRGYZ KHAGANATE

Tracing Its Rise and Legacy in Modern Kyrgyz Identity

~ 13 min read

Central Asia

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