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Alexander Hainy-Khaleeli Profile picture
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9 Jul, 10 tweets, 7 min read
Sadly stereotypes like this still persist. 15th century Afghanistan was a major centre of culture and learning - art, science, literature, and architecture flourished under the Timurids. The city of Herat was abuzz with artists, poets, scholars, and scientists. A few examples,🧵:
1/ PAINTING: Here is a beautiful miniature from an early 15th C Shahnameh. One of many great manuscripts from this period adorned with delicate illustrations.

davidmus.dk/en/collections… Image
2/ CERAMICS: This is a glazed ceramic tile c.1440

davidmus.dk/en/collections… Image
3/ WOODWORKING: Carved and painted wooden panel with calligraphy c.1450

davidmus.dk/en/collections… Image
4/ SCIENCE: A brass astrolabe, possibly commissioned by the Timurid ruler Shahrukh (r. 1407-1447)

davidmus.dk/en/collections… Image
5/ METALWORKING: A bronze candlestick with entwined dragons

davidmus.dk/en/collections… Image
6/ ARCHITECTURE: The great mosque of Herat (1498), which would have served as a hub for public urban life

davidmus.dk/en/collections… Image
7/ As you can see from the beautiful examples of material culture, 15th Century Afghanistan was pretty great! So maybe we need to stop using the pre-modern world as a byword for barbarism? /END
And now for some shameless self-promotion! @RachelSchine @katherineschof8 @J_mugs @khowaga @gypsy_heart6 @profdanhicks @EskandarSadeghi @FuchsiaHart @peterfrankopan @greenleejw @KrebsVerena @JonnyLawrence10 @miqdaad
P.S. And that’s not all!

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More from @Alex_Khaleeli

Alexander Hainy-Khaleeli Profile picture
12 Aug
Another day another trite “graveyard of empires” take on Afghanistan. Notice how after Alexander (4th C BC) we go straight to the British Empire (19th C AD) - a gap of 2300+ years! What happened in the intervening time? Glad you asked! 🧵 /1
Here’s a recent thread of mine showing that Afghanistan was both conquered and the cradle of several major world empires throughout its history 2/
And here’s another thread addressing the (related) stereotype of Afghanistan being inherently backwards. As you can see, far from being underdeveloped, it contained some of the most advanced and cosmopolitan urban centres of the 15th C! /3
Read 5 tweets
Alexander Hainy-Khaleeli Profile picture
16 Jul
Another example of lazy stereotypes informing policy discourse. Far from being the graveyard of empires, Afghanistan was both conquered by and made the capital of a number of important dynasties, a few examples:🧵
1/ Kushans (30-350 AD): a Buddhist Greek-influenced empire that ruled over parts of Afghanistan, Central Asia, and North India from its capital at Bagram (of airbase fame) before being conquered by the Sasanians. They traded with Rome, Persia, India, Ethiopia, and China. ImageImageImage
2/ Samanids (819-999 AD): Persian satraps of the Abbasid Caliphs. They ruled most of Afghanistan (which was then part of Khurasan province) from their capital, Bukhara. Patrons of art and science, Firdawsi began composing the great Persian epic, the Shahnameh, during their reign! ImageImageImageImage
Read 12 tweets

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