Welcome to Steppe Sisters

Our first small grant program launched last summer to support our members in their professional journey with money for travel, research and publication expenses. You may have met them at our online Annual General Meeting, when they had a chance to introduce themselves and their projects. You can now click through to meet them here, and we will be sharing more with you about their work in the coming months. 

SYMPOSIUM 

Mapping the Past: History and Culture of Central Asia

&

BOOK LAUNCH

European-Chinese Imperial Maps and Gazetteers Related to the Kazakh Khanate and Its Adjacent Regions from the 16th to the 19th Centuries

Time: Friday, 29th September 2023, 10:00-15:00 (BST)

Venue: British Library, 96 Euston Road, London  

Dilnoza Duturaeva, a steering committee member of Steppe Sisters, is set to host a one-day symposium and book launch in celebration of the release of Nurlan Kenzheakhmet's latest work titled European-Chinese Imperial Maps and Gazetteers Related to the Kazakh Khanate and Its Adjacent Regions from the 16th to the 19th Centuries (Ostasien Verlag, 2023). This event will also include a presentation about the Steppe Sisters Network by Ashleigh Haruda, Kristen Hopper, and Aiya Raissova.

RSVP to register for webinar: https://forms.gle/nKuasDf63xJVPAMd9

Confirmed Speakers:

Ashleigh Haruda (University of Oxford)

Kristen Hopper (Durham University)

Gai Jorayev (UCL)

Richard McClary (University of York)

Alexander Morrison (University of Oxford)

Aiya Raissova (Durham University)

Rebecca Roberts (University of Cambridge)

Organisers:

Dilnoza Duturaeva | University of York

Nurlan Kenzheakhmet | Eurasian Research Institute, Akhmet Yassawi University

Organisations:

University of York

Eurasian Research Institute, Akhmet Yassawi University

Steppe Sisters Network

Programme

10:00 – Opening Remarks

Panel 1: Archaeology and Art | Chair: Kristen Hopper (Durham University) 

10:15 to 10:45 – Rebecca Roberts (University of Cambridge) & Gai Jorayev (UCL)

Maps, Metadata, Margins and Machines: Historic Maps as an Archaeological Resource  

10:45 to 11:15 – Richard McClary (University of York) 

Mapping Changes and Dispersal Over Time: Two Shah-i Zinda 

Tombs and their Lajvardina Tiles

11:15 – 11:30 Coffee Break

Panel 2: History | Chair: Ashleigh Haruda (University of Oxford) 

11:30 to 12:00 – Dilnoza Duturaeva (University of York)

Mapping the Qarakhanids: A Song Dynasty Map of Central Asia

12:00 to 12:30 – Alexander Morrison (University of Oxford)

Russian Colonialism and the Qazaq Steppe, 1731 – 1916

Panel 3: Network | Chair: Dilnoza Duturaeva (University of York)

12:30 to 1:00 – Ashleigh Haruda (University of Oxford), Kristen Hopper (Durham University) & Aiya Raissova (Durham University)

Mapping Women Working on the Past & Present of Central Asia: Steppe Sisters Network   

1:00 – 2:00 Lunch

2:00 to 3:00 – Book Presentation by Nurlan Kenzheakhmet (Eurasian Research Institute, Akhmet Yassawi University) 

European-Chinese Imperial Maps and Gazetteers Related to the Kazakh Khanate and Its Adjacent Regions from the 16th to the 19th Centuries (Ostasien Verlag, 2023)

Read the latest from the Steppe Sisters- including announcements about our upcoming Annual General Meeting, news from the field, and more! Click here to download if you aren't subscribed to our email list. 

We are pleased to announce the launch of the first Steppe Sisters blog post/video contest! This year, we would like applicants to answer the question: In what ways can we reconceptualize the Silk Roads as more than just a means of trade, but as a social and cultural phenomenon with a lasting legacy? In a video or a blog post, tell us what the Silk Roads means to you and why it matters today! Find more HERE.

The Steppe Sisters Network, in collaboration with York Asia Research Network (YARN), is organising its 2nd Annual Meeting at the University of York on 21st October 2023, from 2pm to 6pm. This event, which will be conducted both in-person and online, is open to postgraduates and early career researchers who are interested in Central Asian research. Participants are invited to join us and help establish a community of scholars in this field.

For more information:

https://www.steppesisters.org/index.php?page=steppe-sisters-annual-meeting

Read the latest news from the Steppe Sisters group, including information about our conference in Tashkent, new online library, and grant database! Click here to read the Winter 2023 newsletter, or enter your email in our "Contact Us" box to subscribe to our mailing list to receive this directly to your inbox. 

This article by Steppe Sister Elissa Bullion and her colleagues discusses the discovery and excavation of an early Islamic cemetery in the highlands of Central Asia at the site of Tashbulak, in modern-day Uzbekistan. The Tashbulak cemetery demonstrates the presence of an early Islamic community in a rural region, challenging narratives that Islam was slowly adopted in these areas as it diffused from urban centers. 

Find the article here (open access):

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/community-practice-and-religion-at-an-early-islamic-cemetery-in-highland-central-asia/4C292A5614CFA03DF5059B1798B70990

Duturaeva, Dilnoza. Qarakhanid Roads to China: A History of Sino-Turkic Relations. Leiden: Brill, 2022.

Qarakhanid Roads to China reconsiders the diplomacy, trade and geography of transcontinental networks between Central Asia and China from the 10th to the 12th centuries and challenges the concept of “the Silk Road crisis” in the period between the fall of the Tang Dynasty and the rise of the Mongols. Utilizing a broad range of Islamic and Chinese primary sources together with archaeological data, Dilnoza Duturaeva demonstrates the complexity of interaction along the Silk Roads and beyond that, revolutionizes our understanding of the Qarakhanid world and Song-era China’s relations with neighboring regions. 

The e-book version of this publication is available in Open Access: https://brill.com/view/title/61452

The Steppe Sisters Network supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation will hold a conference for early career researchers at the National Center of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan in Tashkent from September 5-7, 2022. The training workshop is designed to enhance the capacity of women researchers in history, archaeology, ecology and anthropology and create a community of scholars interested in Central and Inner Asian Research. The conference will focus on topics to help early career researchers and students succeed in a wide range of academic fields.

For information see: https://www.steppesisters.org/early-career-conference