The most important lesson I draw from the Iranian debacle is that you let your entire political system and society to be run by a bunch of highly ideologized religious fanatic boomers who know nothing about life and the world.

It’s a recipe for disaster. After 1979, Iran could have become a random Islamic state, with an Islamic society and moderately integrated in the global world. Instead of that they got one run by loud-mouth idiots. Decades hearing about war and nukes and it turns out these morons weren’t ready for neither.

In France the Yellow Vest rioted for several months. A month ago many French people rioted due to Macron rising the retirment age. No one went insane over them because there were not minority led riots. The European Garden is much more tribalist than people are willing to accept. Which also leads to an important question: what stops Europe from serious civic/political unrest? Clearly not education, or "enlightened rationalism" but strong institutions and also economic stability (people have things to lose).

Remove those, and you will get Rwanda 2.0.

Apparently Bollywood is making a movie on the Ghorid invasion of India and this is the way Sultân Muhammad of Ghor is being portrayed. I wonder where they found their inspiration from. He does not match neither the Islamic nor Hindu descriptions of Muhammad of Ghor. According to the Hindu text Prithviraja Vijaya Muhammad had a "ghastly white" complexion which made him appear to be suffering from a skin disease.

Backgammon is not just the best game in history but also the most meaningful one. Let me share some interesting facts on this amazing.

Thread.

There are 30 chips representing 30 days in a month. 24 positions representing 24 hours in a day. The board is divided into 4 parts, each represents a season of the year. Every game consists of 5 rounds, each represents 5 parts of a day. Chips are two color: white and black representing day and night. Each side of the board has 12 blocks, which indicates 12 months of a year.

Since its inception in 1919, Afghanistan has been an unstable country with highly dysfunctional systems.

Except in 2002 when Jamiat-e Islami handed over power to Hamid Karzai without violence, every single other Afghan ruler was either ousted or killed.

Short thread. Amanullah Khan came to power in 1919 but was defeated and forced to flee by Habibullah Kalakani in 1929.

Habibullah Kalakani, one of the very few independent rulers in Afghanistan´s history, was betrayed and executed by Nadir Khan in 1929.

His reign lasted only 9 months.

My brother @Tajik_polymath sent me a lot of good stuff on AFG´s hidden cultural, historical and geographical jewels from the book "The Archeology of Afghanistan: From Earliest Times to the Timurid Period", R. Allchin and N. Hammond.

Going to share it on a regular basis.

Thread. Valleys in Panjshir and the Wakhan Corridor in the Pamir Mountains.

Today Taliban have officially banned girls from attending schools in Afghanistan. I am going to share some quotes on children education from Ibn Sina (he lived 1000 years ago) so you can see we and the Satanic tribal Taliban horde belong to two different traditions.

Thread. Ibn Sina´s definition of education:

"...social and personal planning and activities for family health, child growth and making decision about social affairs so that human attains felicity in this world and after death”.

Under the rule of a Greco-Bactrian king called "Menander" (ca. 150-135 BC) extensive conquests in India were made. The huge number of coins found in India and what is now southern Afghanistan indicates a shifting of power and interest from Central Asia to the Indian Subcontinent. The empire either lost interest or ability to control the former the region. Those lands were left in the hands of local satraps and lords. Heliocles was most likely the last GB to rule on the plains of Bactria (ca. 145-130 BC).

Short thread on the Kushan Emperors and their administration

It is unknown but probable that the Kushan emperors had some kind of council to advise them. Directly responsible to the emperor were generals of the army (named "Kara-Irango" in Bactrian, Surkh Kotal) and military... officers such as the "Kanarang" ("warden of the marches"). Civil officials existed, most of whom continuations from earlier periods and empires, such as the Greco-Bactrians. After conquering the Subcontinent, some Indian titles were also embraced by the Kushans.

"The Sufi Saint of Jam" by @S_Mahendrarajah

Interesting book on the context of historical Khorasan, the Persianate world, Sufism and the complex Sunni-Shia dynamics in the wider region.

Thanks to my friend @ZalNishat for the recommendation!

https://twitter.com/BiruniKhorasan/status/1384215248731729926

Thread about Samarkand´s paper industry in Medieval times:

It is said that paper was introduced in Central Asia after the Battle of Talas in 751, when defeated Chinese soldiers were brought to Samarkand and taught how to make paper. According to an Arab writter, Al Nadim,... Chinese craftsmen made Khorasan´s paper. This is literally what he said:

"Then there is the Khurasani paper made of flax, which some say appeared in the days of the Umayyads, while others say it was during the Abbasid regime. Some say that it was an ancient product and...

Muftis, Fatwas and Qadis. How the Muslim judiciary system worked in pre-Colonial times. 1

The Impossible State by Wael B. Hallaq





Muftis, Fatwas and Qadis. How the Muslim judiciary system worked in pre-Colonial times. 2

The Impossible State by Wael B. Hallaq