In 1903, an expedition of Prussian scholars investigated the ruins of the important caravan city of Turfan. The results of this expedition were nothing short of spectacular: the explorers unearthed a trove of manuscripts in more than 20 languages including Sogdian, Sanskrit, Old Turkish, and Syriac. Among the finds were also thousands of fragments written in an unknown language using a variant of the Indic Brahmi script.
The Indo-Europeans were a nomadic people, shrouded in mystery. Their existence was first inferred by linguists who identified numerous syntactical and lexical similarities among various languages spoken across the Eurasian continent, from the British Isles to Central Asia. As a result, generations of linguists have faced the significant challenge of reconstructing the theorized proto-language that existed several thousand years ago. Alongside these linguistic efforts, interest in the culture and identity of the people who spoke this language also grew. In this article, I aim to explore one particular aspect of the Indo-Europeans: their religion and mythology, and how comparative linguistic research can help fill the gaps in our limited source material.
In this essay, Prof. Dr. Hakan Özoğlu details the policies and perspectives of the major imperial powers toward the Kurds in the Caucasus region around the time of World War I.
The migrating Karakhanids arrived at the borders of the Islamic world around the middle of the 9th century. To their west, the Samanid emirs of Bukhara held sway over a vast territory. The Karakhanids settled around the city of Kashgar, currently one of the westernmost cities in China. They established an independent khanate, which — despite many challenges including rampant dynastic factionalism — would last into the early 13th century. At the height of their power, the Karakhanids ruled an empire which stretched from the Tarim Basin in the east to the Oxus River (Amu Darya) in the west. In this article we shall discuss the political history of the khanate up until its division around 1040.
This article seeks to elucidate the true etymology of Istanbul.
When Alexander founded in the Nile Delta one of his many Alexandrias in 331 BCE, he would have been overjoyed to know that this settlement would later become one of the cultural capitals of the ancient world—a city that still bears his name today. This location was not entirely unknown to the Greeks. In fact,... Continue Reading →
After Lysimachos’ defeat at Corupedium in 281 BCE, Seleukos became the master of nearly all of Asia Minor and Thrace. The road to the Macedonian heartland lay open before him. However, his chances to consolidate his rule in these regions and to be proclaimed king in his homeland were cut short when he was assassinated... Continue Reading →
Georgios Pachymeres' father was part of the large group of Byzantines who fled the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, Constantinople, after the Latin conquest of 1204 during the Fourth Crusade. He sought refuge with the Laskarid dynasty in Nicaea, one of the Byzantine successor states, where Georgios is believed to have been born around... Continue Reading →
Around 2000 BCE, the Indo-Europeans migrated to what is today Greece. After settling there, they lived for several centuries in the shadow of the splendorous Minoan civilization on Crete. However, the Indo-Europeans did not remain idle. They developed into a series of well-organized small states, ruled by kings (wanax) in their heavily fortified palaces. This... Continue Reading →
After the Galatians settled in Asia Minor, Northern Phrygia became a popular recruitment area for various competing Hellenistic monarchs. These Celts were known and respected for their military prowess. At the same time, the various kings of the ancient world occasionally waged war against them. These victories were then used in the royal propaganda to portray the monarch as a defender of civilization and liberty against these "barbarians." This perceived liberating role was often celebrated with the title "Soter" ("Savior"). The ambiguous love-hate relationship with the Galatians is clearly demonstrated in Ptolemaic Egypt, particularly during the reign of Ptolemy II.
alongthesilkroad.com 