Nomadic Empires in Inner Asia: A Comparative Approach

Central part of the Uyghur capital of Karabalgasun in the Orkhon Valley, Mongolia (copyright Martin Oczipka, Jan Bemmann, Geosan).

Nomadic Empires in Inner Asia: A Comparative Approach

Visiting Research Scholar Lecture

Jan Bemmann (Visiting Research Scholar, ISAW)

NOTICE: Due to inclement weather, this lecture, which was originally scheduled for Jan. 27th, has been rescheduled for Feb. 3rd.

Admission to the ISAW Lecture Hall closes 10 minutes after the scheduled start time.

Established by nomadic groups, empires in the steppes of Inner Asia have lain outside the realms of critical and comparative academic discussions of complex polities. Furthermore, comparative archaeological debates on urban settings and early cities have more or less neglected the constructed centers of nomadic empires. Much of the relegation of nomadic polities may lie in the treatment by early historians of nomadic groups as "barbarians," as "non-civilized" peoples, an opinion that has been, until recently, widely accepted by the general public. In his lecture, ISAW Visiting Research Scholar Jan Bemmann will aim to liberate the nomadic steppe empires from old hackneyed cliches. He will present the results of his ongoing research, focusing on a comparative analysis of the archaeological evidence of the Turko-Mongol empires in Mongolia.

--Reception to follow

Jan Bemmann is Professor and Head of the Department of Prehistory and Early Historical Archaeology at the University of Bonn. He received his PhD at the University of Kiel and finished his habilitation at the University of Jena. His research interests include the Roman Iron Age and Early Medieval Central and Northern Europe, weaponry, the history of archaeology, and the archaeology of the Crimean Peninsula during the Roman and Early Medieval periods. Since 2005 he has been director of the Mongolian-German-Karakorum Expedition and has devoted his work to achieving a better understanding of the archaeology of Mongolia. His research in Mongolia has focused on the Orkhon Valley, the cradle and center of several steppe empires, but also covers the Bronze and Iron Ages. He has edited several books on the archaeology of Mongolia and was curator of the exhibition “Warriors of the Steppes – Nomads on horseback in Mongolia 7-14th century AD.”

There will be a reception folowing the event.

This is a public event.

To RSVP, please email isaw@nyu.edu.