 | Ancient and Early Medieval Kingdoms of the Pamir Region of Central Asia: Historical Shughnān and its Lost Capital Subjects: Area Studies; Humanities; Central Asian Russian & Eastern European Studies; Asian Studies; Archaeology; Classical Studies; Central Asian Studies; Ancient Near East; Archaeology by Period or Region; This focused study is one of the few analytical resources in English that covers the ancient and early medieval history of one of the least studied areas of the vast mountainous Pamir region of Central Asia: Shughnān. The book brings together scattered fragments of information from a wide range of early Greek, Chinese, Persian and Arabic sources, as well as the accounts of early European travellers and the scholarly contributions of Soviet and Post-Soviet authors, as well as personal accounts and oral history material from the region. Drawing on historical, archaeological, linguistic, and ethnographic data, it provides a holistic overview of the kingdom of Shughnān. It also attempts, for the first time, to identify and locate the town of Kǔhán, which the Chinese historical chronicle, the Táng Shū ( Book of the Tang Dynasty , 618-907 CE) describes as the 'first capital' of Shughnān. Many archaeological sites are examined and offered as potential candidates for the location of the town of Kǔhán, providing a foundation for future archaeological and ethnolinguistic research in the area. Ancient and Early Medieval Kingdoms of the Pamir Region of Central Asia: Historical Shughnān and its Lost Capital is suitable for students, scholars, and historians studying ancient and early medieval Central Asia, particularly the Pamir region, as well as those interested in Central Asian history and archaeology more broadly. Muzaffar Zoirshoevich Zoolshoev is Research Assistant in the Central Asian Studies Unit (CASU), Department of Academic Research and Publications (DARP) at the Institute of Ismaili Studies, United Kingdom. His research focuses on the history and culture of the peoples of Central Asia and he is the author of several articles and chapters on this subject. |
