- Central asian history, Middle East History, Ottoman History, Mongols, Caucasus, South Russian Steppes, and 31 morePeople of the Russian Steppes, History, Medieval Studies, Khazars, Kipchaks - Cumans, Turkic & Altaic Studies, Inner Asian Studies, Turkology, Turkic languages, Eurasian Nomads, Old Turkic, Altaic Linguistics, Khazar archaeology and history, Kievan Rus', Central Asia (History), History of the Mongol Empire, Polovtsians, Kumans, Kypchaks, Central Eurasian Studies, Central Asia, Mongolian Studies, Uyghurs, Sogdian, Byzantine Studies, Central Asian Studies, Altaic Studies, History of Central Asia, Scythian and other Eurasian Nomadic Horse Warrior Cultures, Turkic Linguistics, Nicholas Sims-Williams, Saadettin Gömeç, and Walter Pohledit
- Professor Emeritus of History, Turkic and Middle Eastern History. Taught at Rutgers University, 1969-2012. Specialist... moreProfessor Emeritus of History, Turkic and Middle Eastern History. Taught at Rutgers University, 1969-2012. Specialist in history of the Turkic nomads of Medieval Eurasia. Honorary Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (elected in 2019).edit
A collection of articles published from 1979-2008 on the early Turkic peoples
Ethnogenesis and state formation among the Turkic Peoples of medieval Eurasia. This book first appeared in 1992 and has long been out of print. I am currently preparing a second, revised and expanded edition
Research Interests:
The history of the Qay, Kaepiči
Research Interests:
An analysis of the sources that mention the ethnonym "Türk"
Research Interests:
A study of one aspect of Turkic cuisine
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Introduction Nicola Di Cosmo, Allen J. Frank and Peter B. Golden Part I. The Rise of the Chinggisids: 1. Inner Asia c.1200 Peter B. Golden 2. The Mongol age in eastern inner Asia Peter Jackson 3. The Mongols in inner Asia from Chinggis... more
Introduction Nicola Di Cosmo, Allen J. Frank and Peter B. Golden Part I. The Rise of the Chinggisids: 1. Inner Asia c.1200 Peter B. Golden 2. The Mongol age in eastern inner Asia Peter Jackson 3. The Mongols in inner Asia from Chinggis Khan's invasion to the rise of Temur: the OEgoedeid and Chaghadaid realms Michal Biran 4. The Jochid realm: the western Steppe and eastern Europe Istvan Vasary Part II. Legacies of the Mongol Conquests: 5. Administration, revenues and trade Arsenio Peter Martinez 6. Migrations, ethnogenesis Peter B. Golden 7. Islamization in the Mongol Empire Devin DeWeese 8. Mongols as vectors for cultural transmission Tom Allsen Part III. Chinggisid Decline: 1368-c.1700: 9. The eastern Steppe: Mongol regimes after the Yuan (1368-1636) Veronic Veit 10. Temur and the early Timurids to c.1450 Beatrice Forbes Manz 11. Later Timurids c.1450-1526 Stephen Dale Part IV. Nomads and Settled Peoples in Inner Asia after the Timurids: 12. Uzbeks, Qazaqs and Turkmen Yuri Breg...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Asil adi “Central Asia World History” olan ve Turkceye cevirisiyle Dunya Tarihinde Orta Asya adini alan kitap, Oxford University Press tarafindan yayinlanan “The New Oxford World History” adli 24 kitaplik bir serinin parcasidir. Serinin... more
Asil adi “Central Asia World History” olan ve Turkceye cevirisiyle Dunya Tarihinde Orta Asya adini alan kitap, Oxford University Press tarafindan yayinlanan “The New Oxford World History” adli 24 kitaplik bir serinin parcasidir. Serinin editorlugunu Bonnie G. Smith&Anand Yang yaptigindan dolayi kitabin giris kisminda onsozleri mevcuttur. Bu onsozde serinin neden kaleme alindigini aciklanmaktadir. Bati Avrupa ve ABD tarihi manasina geldigi genellikle kabul edilen eski dunya tarihine farkli bir bakis acisi getirmek icin kaleme alinan seride amac, insanoglunun yasamini yeniden yorumlayarak yakindan bir fotograf cekmek ve dunya tarihine siradan insanlarin gozunden bakma imkanini saglamaktir.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
... 71 Al-Istahrî, however, mentions that there are Muslims and mosques in Samandar, but notes that their king is a Jew and a relative ... 780, Leon, was the grandson of the Khazar Qagan and who had asserted his independence of... more
... 71 Al-Istahrî, however, mentions that there are Muslims and mosques in Samandar, but notes that their king is a Jew and a relative ... 780, Leon, was the grandson of the Khazar Qagan and who had asserted his independence of Constantinople with Khazar aid), an anti-Khazar ...
Research Interests:
... 1019-1054); the Davydovici, descendants of Oleg's brother, Davyd; and the house of Jurij Dolgorukij (d. 1 157), a son of Vladimir Monomax (d. 1125), who was also a grandson of Jaro-slav I. They are first noted by the... more
... 1019-1054); the Davydovici, descendants of Oleg's brother, Davyd; and the house of Jurij Dolgorukij (d. 1 157), a son of Vladimir Monomax (d. 1125), who was also a grandson of Jaro-slav I. They are first noted by the Rus' chroniclers sa 1 146 (the same year that the name ...
... 123 Peter B. Golden Byzantine Sources for Khazar History..... 163 James Howard-Johnston Al-Khazar wa-'l-Saqâliba: Contacts and Conflicts?.... 195 Tatiana Kalinina The Economy of the Khazar Khaganate..... ...
Research Interests:
An academic directory and search engine.
Research Interests:
An academic directory and search engine.
An academic directory and search engine.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
An academic directory and search engine.
An academic directory and search engine.
Research Interests:
The Khazar Empire was one of the major states of medieval Eurasia. Drawing on a variety of disciplines (history, linguistics, archaeology, literary studies), the papers in this volume shed new light on many of the disputed topics in... more
The Khazar Empire was one of the major states of medieval Eurasia. Drawing on a variety of disciplines (history, linguistics, archaeology, literary studies), the papers in this volume shed new light on many of the disputed topics in Khazar history.
An academic directory and search engine.
Research Interests:
This article is a tour de horizon of the origin myths that were recorded in the Chinese dynastic and other historical works written during the Türk era (552–ca. 744) and in subsequent official histories (e.g., the Zhoushu, Suishu, Beishi,... more
This article is a tour de horizon of the origin myths that were recorded in the Chinese dynastic and other historical works written during the Türk era (552–ca. 744) and in subsequent official histories (e.g., the Zhoushu, Suishu, Beishi, Jiu Tangshu and Xin Tangshu), historical handbooks (the Tongdian) and historical collections (e.g., the Youyang zazu [and the Taiping Guangji] and the recent translations of and scholarship on them). Also included is a discussion of a Uyğur-origin Tibetan ‘report’ on the ‘Northern Peoples’. The article focuses on the Ashina-Türk grouping that became the founding and ruling clan of the Türk Qağanate. The shaping of the Ashina-Türk took place in a range of areas extending from the Chinese border zones of Gansu and Xinjiang to Mongolia and Southern Siberia. The Ashina-Türks appear to have been a ‘composite’ of peoples with a variety of ethno-linguistic affiliations. A lupine ancestor figures in most of the origin accounts.
Research Interests:
... elements. Khazaria had an ongoing entente with Byzantium, serving as its partner in wars (during the latter part of the 7 th to mid-8 th century) with the Arabian Caliphate and as Constantinople's first line of defense in the... more
... elements. Khazaria had an ongoing entente with Byzantium, serving as its partner in wars (during the latter part of the 7 th to mid-8 th century) with the Arabian Caliphate and as Constantinople's first line of defense in the steppes. ...
... 163 Acta Orient. Hung. 60, 2007 He notes a series of peoples: The Burjân, Dailam, Babr, Ṭaylasân, Jilân, Fîlân, Alans (al-Lân), the Khazars, Dûdâniyya and Arman. The Khazars conquered the people of the country of Armenia. ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The author claims that this work is a “preliminary argument for a new approach” (p. xxi) to the history of the Muslim East, one that runs counter to older Indo-centric views of the Mughals and the contrived “national” histories produced... more
The author claims that this work is a “preliminary argument for a new approach” (p. xxi) to the history of the Muslim East, one that runs counter to older Indo-centric views of the Mughals and the contrived “national” histories produced by British and Russian imperial historians (p. 154). Two central themes run through this study. The first is that “tripartite Muslim Asia” (Iran–Turan–Hindustan) of the 16th and 17th centuries was, in terms of the dominant elite culture, one world and not several. The Muslims of Central Asia and northern India in the 16th and 17th centuries “appear not to have thought of each other mainly as foreigners or as subjects of another king. Rather, they considered each other foremost as Muslims and secondarily in terms of family connections or other loyalties” (p. 31). This in part contributed to and permitted the large-scale movement of talent from Iran and Central Asia to the Mughal domain, “where opportunities were perceived as being better” (p. xix). This notion and the elements of “shared economy” and “mental geography of Asian Muslims” are briefly explored in the first chapter and returned to repeatedly throughout the book. The second chapter, “Timurid Legacy and Turko-Mongol Identity,” focuses on one very particular aspect of this special relationship. The Mughal dynasty was founded by Babur, a descendant of Tamerlane and heir to the extraordinary Turko-Iranian culture that flourished under Timurid rule in Central Asia. Having been evicted from his patrimony in Central Asia by the Uzbeks and having failed to regain his ancestral lands, Babur (who viewed India as “inhospitable, uncivilized and heathen” [p. 127]) and his descendants had to make do with Muslim South Asia. This was their “consolation prize.” That is not bad as “consolation prizes” go, especially because the new territory, which Babur's descendants, after a shaky start, soon expanded to include much of the Indian Subcontinent, quickly outpaced their Central Asian patrimony in power and wealth. Uzbek Central Asia, decreasing in importance militarily, strategically, and economically, never constituted a threat to the Mughal regime and was no longer a core zone of world trade. “In strictly material terms the Mughals had little to gain by reconquering the land of their forebears,” Foltz writes, “yet it remained an obsession. Simple nostalgia appears to have been a major factor in determining the Mughal's foreign policy, and may well provide historians with an example of psychology overriding economics” (p. 6). This is the second major theme of this work. Babur, understandably, always dreamed of returning to his Central Asian homeland. Foltz, however, contends that his “obsession was to be the inheritance he bequeathed to his own descendants, which would haunt them mercilessly despite their successes and glories in India for two centuries to come” (p. 14). Another psychological factor, the author suggests, was the need of the Mughals to prove to the Uzbeks and the rest of the world that they had “made good in exile” (p. 68). By the late 16th century, the Mughals controlled a state with some 60 million to 90 million subjects, while Uzbek Turan could only muster some 5 million—and not always under stable rule. In addition to the psychological factors, which, with the exception of Babur's memoirs (a unique source) are difficult to document, there were also very good political reasons for the Mughals to maintain this Central Asian link. They were Timurids, after all, and Timurid descent was an important component of their ideology, especially when facing the Shibanid Uzbeks. Although they considered the Shibanid Uzbeks barbarians, the Shibanids' Chinggisid descent gave them even higher standing. Foltz correctly notes that “in a world where lineage was nearly everything, the Mughal descendants of Timur could not, ideologically speaking, abandon their paramount claim to Central Asia no matter how firmly established in India they became” (p. 22). Viewing themselves as the lawful rulers of Central Asia, the Mughals “were content to let the Uzbeks ‘house sit’ for them” (p. 33), sometimes referring to Uzbek rulers as “governors” or the Wali-yi Turan (p. 127). Although many Uzbeks eventually came to seek their fortunes in Mughal service, they were stereotyped as simpleminded and pious but obstinate ruffians and bigots, given to revolt. Foltz attributes their rebellious inclinations to the egalitarian traditions that they brought with them from the Turkic lands (p. 59).
Research Interests:
... Pelliot correctly concluded that , / 4 was not a corruption of Joci, but a genuine Turkic form of the name (une forme turque correspondant au Joci, Jucı, oji des Mongols") (Pelliot 1949, p. 19). ... In: Varia Eurasiatica.... more
... Pelliot correctly concluded that , / 4 was not a corruption of Joci, but a genuine Turkic form of the name (une forme turque correspondant au Joci, Jucı, oji des Mongols") (Pelliot 1949, p. 19). ... In: Varia Eurasiatica. Festschrift für Professor András Rόna-Tas. ...
ABSTRACT
Research Interests:
... It may be classified as one of the trade-tribute empires of the period 551907, extracting tribute ... III, The Cross-roads of Civilizations AD 250 to 750 (Paris, 1996), pp ... reached with the edition and translation of the then... more
... It may be classified as one of the trade-tribute empires of the period 551907, extracting tribute ... III, The Cross-roads of Civilizations AD 250 to 750 (Paris, 1996), pp ... reached with the edition and translation of the then known Khazar Hebrew correspon-dence along with pertinent ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
... the inherent superiority of Islam over Christianity' (p. 5). From relatively unvarnished and sometimes quite brief narratives, the story of ... The last chapter in Part One, 'Writing the Battle', is a fine essay in... more
... the inherent superiority of Islam over Christianity' (p. 5). From relatively unvarnished and sometimes quite brief narratives, the story of ... The last chapter in Part One, 'Writing the Battle', is a fine essay in which Hillenbrand discusses the didacticism of Islamic historical writing ...
Research Interests:
The Mongol conquests produced the last in a series of realignments of the Turkic peoples, creating, more or less, the configurations in which we find them today. The earliest of these realignments was associated with the rise and fall of... more
The Mongol conquests produced the last in a series of realignments of the Turkic peoples, creating, more or less, the configurations in which we find them today. The earliest of these realignments was associated with the rise and fall of the Hsiung-nu polity (second century BC to mid-second century AD). This was the first of the attempts at a pannomadic state. Mao-tun, the “Great Shanyü whom heaven has set up”, the founder of the Hsiung-nu union, boasted in a letter to the Han Court that because of his efforts “all the people who live by drawing the bow are now united into one family.”2 Činggis Qan expressed similar thoughts regarding the “people having skirts of felt” i.e. living in feltcovered tents.3 Although it cannot be demonstrated that all the Eurasian nomads were, indeed, incorporated into the Hsiung-nu polity, substantial numbers of the Turkic nomads undoubtedly were. In its formative, “heroic” years of conquest and in the course of its collapse, a number of Turkic (and oth...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
... Long-distance merchants, noted in Chinese sources (eg, Sima Qian) as active in Central Asia and coming from areas that may be ... Transoxanian (Sogdian) professional sol-diers (eg, the Afshin of Ustrushana) became important in the... more
... Long-distance merchants, noted in Chinese sources (eg, Sima Qian) as active in Central Asia and coming from areas that may be ... Transoxanian (Sogdian) professional sol-diers (eg, the Afshin of Ustrushana) became important in the caliphal armies of the early ninth century. ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Turkish translation of An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples
Research Interests:
Turkish translation of Khazar Studies. Istanbul: Selenge Yayınları, 2006