Islamic Rule in Central Asia (10th-13th Centuries) as Reflected in Monumental Epigraphy

Project description

From the 9th-10th centuries, Muslim dynasties of Iranian or Turkic origins established self- governed emirates and sultanates in the eastern regions of the Abbasid caliphate. The extensive loss of manuscript sources and material remains leaves open many questions about the ruling lines and local elites, their spheres of influence and interactions, and the circulation of political discourses, religious currents, literary and artistic trends. Only a connected view of the preserved texts, architectural complexes, and artistic products can provide a better understanding of the political and cultural history of the eastern Islamic lands, marked by the encounter of Arabo-Islamic models with local traditions and features imported from neighbouring areas of Eurasia.

The project proposes the first comprehensive study of architectural inscriptions dating from the 10th-13th centuries, recorded in an area encompassing present-day Afghanistan and the Central Asian republics (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan). Varying in materials and writing styles, these epigraphic sources present historical, religious, poetic texts composed in Arabic or Persian. Many of them remain unstudied. Others have been studied in isolation, without proper consideration of their architectural and socio-historical environment. The project aims to reappraise the dual nature of inscriptions as texts and artefacts, to define their context of production and reception, and to draw connections with manuscripts, coins, and material culture. Such an investigation promises to shed light on the textual and visual communication strategies that shaped Islamic rule, enabling temporal and religious authorities to appropriate space and gain recognition from local communities.

The data collected through fieldwork and archival search will be compiled in an open access online database, gathering texts and descriptions of the inscriptions, photographs, graphic reconstructions, and available contextual information. The use of digital tools has multiple objectives: systematising data and facilitating comparative analysis; mapping inscriptions and establishing connections with monuments and historical figures (patrons, craftsmen, authors).

Furthermore, making available a collection of little-known primary sources will fuel interdisciplinary research in the fields of Islamic and Eurasian studies.

The project also participates in the preservation and enhancement of endangered cultural heritage, since several of the monuments surveyed are threatened with ruin or improvident restorations, which make it urgent to collect photos and transcripts of the inscriptions and to raise awareness about their paramount historical and artistic value.