Explorations in the Social History of Modern Central Asia (19th- Early 20th Century)

Most authors have chosen to rely on accounts of the Zarafshan Valley that were produced in Soviet or even tsarist times. This new treatment has several surprises caused by new material. The nine essays examine such topics as Zarafshan Valley before the Soviets, the management of rural lands in Turkestan, irrigation concessions between Russia and Khiva in 1913, high rank and power among the northern Kirghiz, performance and poetics in Kyrgyz funeral feasts, reconstructing Turki-language letters, nomads in Bukhara, creating the fa?ade of a despotic state, and re-reading archives in Samarqandi. Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Paolo Sartori, Ph.D. (2006), is Research Fellow at the Institute of Iranian Studies in Vienna. From 2007-2011 he was VolkswagenStiftung Fellow at the Institute of Oriental Studies in Halle/Saale He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient (Brill).