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Papers by Scott C Levi
Page 1. The Indian Diaspora in Central Asia and its Trade 1550-1900 SCOTT C.LEVI Page 2. Page 3. ... more Page 1. The Indian Diaspora in Central Asia and its Trade 1550-1900 SCOTT C.LEVI Page 2. Page 3. Th± s One W2QY-LXD-OC68 Page 4. Page 5. THE INDIAN DIASPORA IN CENTRAL ASIA AND ITS TRADE, 1550-1900 Page 6. ...
Analyzes commercial structures in world history
Scholars have long recognized that Central Asia played a key role in trans-Eurasian trade, positi... more Scholars have long recognized that Central Asia played a key role in trans-Eurasian trade, positioned as it was at the crossroads of the overland ''Silk Road'' network of caravan routes. The economic advantages associated with the region's geography are presumed to have supported the great nomadic empires of the Eurasian interior in the classical and medieval eras, and to have come to an abrupt end in the early modern era. This generally has been attributed to the rise of European commercial interests in the Indian Ocean, which signaled the end of the overland Silk Road trade and sent Central Asia into a centuries-long period of decline. This essay draws attention to a number of foundational assumptions that have informed this interpretation, and it advocates for moving beyond the decline paradigm to employ an integrative method of analysis that more effectively situates the region in its global context and invigorates the study of early modern Central Asian history.
This work challenges the widely accepted notion that eighteenth-
The Khanate of Khoqand emerged, flourished and collapsed during the era of Chinese and Russian im... more The Khanate of Khoqand emerged, flourished and collapsed during the era of Chinese and Russian imperial expansion into Central Asia. While eighteenth-century Central Asia has long been considered to have been an unimportant backwater 'on the margins of world history', this essay juxtaposes focused research in local primary sources with a world historical perspective in an effort to illuminate some of the ways in which the region remained interactively engaged with its neighbours and, through them, with historical processes unfolding across the globe. The essay argues that these interactions were substantial, and that they contributed to Khoqand's emergence as a significant regional power and centre of Islamic cultural activity in pre-colonial Central Asia.
Not: in pages 104-105 are some technical mistakes missed by publishers (in arabic text and correc... more Not: in pages 104-105 are some technical mistakes missed by publishers (in arabic text and correction of editor)
Books by Scott C Levi
Book Reviews by Scott C Levi
The Merchants of Siberia: Trade in Early Modern Eurasia. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Pr... more The Merchants of Siberia: Trade in Early Modern Eurasia. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2016. xiii + 410 pp. isbn 978-0-80145-407-3. $ 49.95. In The Merchants of Siberia, Erika Monahan examines the relationship between Russia's economic ambitions and territorial expansion across Siberia from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries. One might be tempted to pause for a moment and ask: in the larger context of Russian imperial history, how important was Siberia? As the answer unfolds over eight chapters, divided into three parts, it becomes quite clear that for early modern Russia, Siberia was very important. Throughout her study, Monahan highlights not just Russian intentions, but the ways that the Siberian environment challenged Russian officials and merchants, requiring them to rethink their plans, modify them, and make new ones in order to achieve their goals. Monahan summarizes: " Siberia immediately evokes associations of exile and fur, but the history of Siberia told here is that of an empire learning to function " (p. vi). Part One of the book, " Commerce and Empire, " introduces readers to Rus-sian objectives in venturing into Siberia. Monahan observes that Moscow's political and commercial interests were in some ways different from those of other early modern European powers venturing out elsewhere in the globe. But she finds that the differences have often been overstated, and those that merit consideration stem from environmental factors peculiar to the Russian experience in Siberia and not from Russia's presumed backwardness or isolation. Together, merchants and agents of the state learned to negotiate governance, commercial relationships, and life in a distant and poorly defined imperial territory that was rapidly expanding and transforming over the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In these first two chapters, Monahan lays the foundation for her argument that the state was important, but that it was primarily local context that shaped infrastructure, relationships and fortunes in early modern Siberia.
Page 1. The Indian Diaspora in Central Asia and its Trade 1550-1900 SCOTT C.LEVI Page 2. Page 3. ... more Page 1. The Indian Diaspora in Central Asia and its Trade 1550-1900 SCOTT C.LEVI Page 2. Page 3. Th± s One W2QY-LXD-OC68 Page 4. Page 5. THE INDIAN DIASPORA IN CENTRAL ASIA AND ITS TRADE, 1550-1900 Page 6. ...
Analyzes commercial structures in world history
Scholars have long recognized that Central Asia played a key role in trans-Eurasian trade, positi... more Scholars have long recognized that Central Asia played a key role in trans-Eurasian trade, positioned as it was at the crossroads of the overland ''Silk Road'' network of caravan routes. The economic advantages associated with the region's geography are presumed to have supported the great nomadic empires of the Eurasian interior in the classical and medieval eras, and to have come to an abrupt end in the early modern era. This generally has been attributed to the rise of European commercial interests in the Indian Ocean, which signaled the end of the overland Silk Road trade and sent Central Asia into a centuries-long period of decline. This essay draws attention to a number of foundational assumptions that have informed this interpretation, and it advocates for moving beyond the decline paradigm to employ an integrative method of analysis that more effectively situates the region in its global context and invigorates the study of early modern Central Asian history.
This work challenges the widely accepted notion that eighteenth-
The Khanate of Khoqand emerged, flourished and collapsed during the era of Chinese and Russian im... more The Khanate of Khoqand emerged, flourished and collapsed during the era of Chinese and Russian imperial expansion into Central Asia. While eighteenth-century Central Asia has long been considered to have been an unimportant backwater 'on the margins of world history', this essay juxtaposes focused research in local primary sources with a world historical perspective in an effort to illuminate some of the ways in which the region remained interactively engaged with its neighbours and, through them, with historical processes unfolding across the globe. The essay argues that these interactions were substantial, and that they contributed to Khoqand's emergence as a significant regional power and centre of Islamic cultural activity in pre-colonial Central Asia.
Not: in pages 104-105 are some technical mistakes missed by publishers (in arabic text and correc... more Not: in pages 104-105 are some technical mistakes missed by publishers (in arabic text and correction of editor)
The Merchants of Siberia: Trade in Early Modern Eurasia. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Pr... more The Merchants of Siberia: Trade in Early Modern Eurasia. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2016. xiii + 410 pp. isbn 978-0-80145-407-3. $ 49.95. In The Merchants of Siberia, Erika Monahan examines the relationship between Russia's economic ambitions and territorial expansion across Siberia from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries. One might be tempted to pause for a moment and ask: in the larger context of Russian imperial history, how important was Siberia? As the answer unfolds over eight chapters, divided into three parts, it becomes quite clear that for early modern Russia, Siberia was very important. Throughout her study, Monahan highlights not just Russian intentions, but the ways that the Siberian environment challenged Russian officials and merchants, requiring them to rethink their plans, modify them, and make new ones in order to achieve their goals. Monahan summarizes: " Siberia immediately evokes associations of exile and fur, but the history of Siberia told here is that of an empire learning to function " (p. vi). Part One of the book, " Commerce and Empire, " introduces readers to Rus-sian objectives in venturing into Siberia. Monahan observes that Moscow's political and commercial interests were in some ways different from those of other early modern European powers venturing out elsewhere in the globe. But she finds that the differences have often been overstated, and those that merit consideration stem from environmental factors peculiar to the Russian experience in Siberia and not from Russia's presumed backwardness or isolation. Together, merchants and agents of the state learned to negotiate governance, commercial relationships, and life in a distant and poorly defined imperial territory that was rapidly expanding and transforming over the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In these first two chapters, Monahan lays the foundation for her argument that the state was important, but that it was primarily local context that shaped infrastructure, relationships and fortunes in early modern Siberia.