The R.B. Suleimenov Institute of Oriental Studies invites everyone to the lecture "Global Leaders and Driving Forces: Nomads and Traders of Central Asia in World History", which will be held on April 7, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at 200 Muratbayeva St., Kazakh Ablai Khan University of International Relations and World Languages, Almaty, Room 108, 1 academic building, 1st floor.
The lecture will be delivered by a researcher at Cambridge Central Asia Forum, Jesus College & Research Networks, Wolfson College, University of Cambridge (UK), Ms. Prajakti Kalra.
Global Movers and Shakers: Central Asian Nomads and Merchants in World History
by Prajakti Kalra, Cambridge Central Asia Forum, Jesus College & Research Networks, Wolfson College
The lecture will be devoted to the revision of the role of the nomads of Central Asia in world history, their influence on global processes and the development of trade along the Silk Road.
Since the early migrations and the first forms of civilization – nomadic and semi–nomadic - the Central Asian peoples were the main actors in the global historical processes taking place in Eurasia. Their influence on the settled peoples and, consequently, on the whole of Eurasia makes it necessary to rethink their role in world history, which has long remained underestimated.
It is important to recognize the role of Central Asian empires and khanates, especially nomadic empires, in the development of trade along the Silk Road, which became the basis of the world system at least since the 13th century, if not earlier. Historically established approaches to the study of world history, focused on settled civilizations and, in our time, on Europe, do not take into account the complexity and multilayeredness of Central Asian societies and their constant influence on global processes.
This report will use the example of the "Mongolian moment" of the 13th century to highlight the role of nomads and traders in shaping global history. The institutions and infrastructure created by nomadic empires and their trusted trading partners tell a rich story of globalization long before Europe and the West began to claim to create new unique connections in the world. The report will examine in detail the importance of Central Asia in terms of its own historical trajectory and justify its importance in global historical narratives.
Biography
Prajakti Kalra is a Researcher at the Cambridge Forum on Central Asia, Jesus College, and the Research Networks Project, Wolfson College, University of Cambridge (UK). In 2018-2023, she was a visiting lecturer at the Center for Development Studies at the University of Cambridge. In 2018-2021, she worked on the RCUK project, funded by GCRF COMPASS, at the same center. She also served as the Chief Coordinator of the MPhil Program on Contemporary South Asian Studies at the Center for South Asian Studies at the University of Cambridge until 2024.
Professor Prajakti Kalra is the author of a number of significant works on the history of Central Asia and the trading networks of Eurasia. Her book "The Silk Road and the Political Economy of the Mongolian Empire" was published in 2018 by Routledge Publishing House and is a detailed study of the economic system of the Mongolian Empire. It analyzes how Mongol rule contributed to the development of transcontinental trade, and examines the political and economic structures that ensured the stability of this system.
Recent publications include:
- "Intercontinental and Long-range trade in Medieval Eurasia" (co-authored, Routledge, 2024)
- "Arguments in favor of Scientific Diplomacy in Mongolian Eurasia" (Journal of Eurasian Studies, 2023)
- "Globalization of Local Understanding of Instability in Eurasia" (Journal of Eurasian Studies, 2021)
- "Location of Central Asian Internal Stability" (Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 2022)
- "Pax Mongolica: Trade and Traders in the Mongol Empire" (Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History, 2020)
- Reflections on the article "Is the History of Central Asia peripheral?" on the Peripheral Histories website (December 14, 2020).
These works emphasize the importance of Central Asia in world history and its contribution to the formation of economic and cultural ties between different regions.
Working languages of the lecture: English, Kazakh, Russian
Lecture venue: 200 Muratbayeva St., Almaty, Kazakh Ablai Khan University of International Relations and World Languages, Room 108, 1st academic building, 1st floor.
Postgraduate Education Department
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