When Pashto Became Divine
by William E. B. Sherman O you mangled souls: fear the sigh of the dervish.It’s a sigh exhaled by passioned love for Godthat burns the mountains to ash like straw.…If you see with the eye of your heart,everywhere will you…
Folk Songs as Communication, Resistance, Lament, and Entertainment Among Women in Northeastern Afghanistan
By Wolayat Tabasum Niroo In the northeastern provinces of Afghanistan, talented women sing folk songs to entertain each other in female-only gatherings on happy occasions. The songs are accompanied by a diara or daff, a colorful frame drum made of…
Architectural Matrices: Uncovering the History of the Ghurid Dynasty
Via Discovery & Inspiration, a podcast from the National Humanities Center In this short podcast from the National Humanities Center, Alka Patel, author of Iran to India, introduces her work on the Ghurid Dynasty, and what she means when she…
The destruction of ‘un- Islamic’ edifices by ISIS and the Taliban
by Shivan Mahendrarajah The Taliban are back in power, ushering in renewed fears of destruction of cultural heritages. Their first time in office (1996–2001), the Taliban destroyed edifices on the basis that they were ‘un-Islamic’ and/or ‘beacons’ for polytheists (mushrikin).…
The Lost Splendour of Ghazni: Rediscovering an Islamic Capital in Medieval Afghanistan
By Viola Allegranzi Located in present-day Afghanistan, Ghazni was once a prosperous commercial and cultural centre at the crossroads of Iranian, Central Asian and Indian regions. Under the rule of the Ghaznavid dynasty (r. 977-1186), the city was home to…
Opium in Afghanistan, a glimpse from the past
By Sara Peterson In recent years, the cultivation of opium poppies in Afghanistan has become a news item, with reports from the United Nations and the United States Government documenting record highs (no pun intended) in opium production. Now we…
My First Day in Camp with the Piruzai – Afghanistan, 1971
By Nancy Lindisfarne-Tapper In 1971 and 1972 Richard Tapper and I lived with Afghan villagers for nearly a year. The Piruzai, some 200 families, lived in two small settlements near the town of Sar-e Pol in northern Afghanistan. They were…
Health Service Provision Challenges in 19th-century Afghanistan and Now
By Namatullah Kadrie The COVID-19 pandemic is only the latest of many public health crises that have struck Afghanistan—and that have made the country a site of international intervention by medical experts. Indeed, it was the fifth international cholera epidemic…
Remapping Persian Literary History, 1700-1900
Read the blog post to find out more about writing the newly published book Remapping Persian Literary History, 1700-1900 by Kevin L. Schwartz. Remembering Iran, Forgetting the Persianate There was a time – roughly from 1000 to 1850 – when…