CSI Monday Majlis: Said Reza Huseini
The Arab Conquests in Bactria: Locl Politics and Arab Domination (651-750 CE)
Register please on this link: https://Universityofexeter.zoom.us/meeting/register/4qcbR_CRQ2miDRV35B6zPw
| An Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies seminar | |
|---|---|
| Date | 13 October 2025 |
| Time | 17:00 to 18:30 |
| Place | Online Only |
Event details
Abstract
Abstract:
The history of the Arab conquests of Iranian regions has often been narrated from an Arabocentric perspective. In order to ‘idealise’ the role of the Arab Muslims in the making of the conquests, these narratives overlooked the local contexts of the conquests, such as the geography and environment, as well as local rulers and their political priorities. However, a close reading of the Arabic and non-Arabic sources, in light of other source materials, reveals that this Arabocentric view is misleading. By examining the Arab conquests in Bactria from a local perspective, I will demonstrate that the processes of the Arab conquests were closely linked to the dynamic power politics in the region and constantly changed according to the local needs.
Bio:
Said Reza Huseini is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Near Eastern Studies Department, Princeton University. He has also served as a Research Fellow at King’s College, University of Cambridge, in the Silk Roads Programme. He specialises in the history of the Islamicate East in the connected regions of Iran, Central Asia and North India over the longue durée, from Late Antiquity to the Early Modern era. His research is based on documentary and literary sources in Arabic, Middle Persian, New Persian, Bactrian, Sogdian and other relevant source materials. He takes a connected historical approach to explore these milieus, uncovering long-term patterns of intellectual and cultural changes. His first book, entitled The Arab Conquests of Bactria, will be published by Edinburgh University Press.
