Making Afghanistan Medieval

The Multicultural Middle Ages Podcast by Will Beattie, Jonathan Correa Reyes, Reed O'Mara, & Logan Quigley

Episode notes

Afghanistan today is often called medieval: “a broken 13th-century country” (Liam Fox), “delayed by a few centuries” (Thomas Barfield), ruled by “a medieval band of degenerate savages” (Senator Cotton). How did this label come to take hold, and where do we go from here? Join scholars Tanvir Ahmed and Sabauon Nasseri as they discuss how Afghanistan has been made out to be medieval from the British Empire to the War on Terror, and how Afghan historical writing offers multiple escapes from the historiographical trap.

For further reading and more information on Tanvir, Sabauon, and this topic, visit www.multiculturalmiddleages.com.

Keywords
medievalmulticulturalmedieval timeshistoryethnicityidentitycultural narrativesreligionchristianitycolonialmedievalismliteratureliterary criticismmedieval studiesislammuslimdar al islamdar al-islamimperialismcolonialismcaucasusNorthwest asiatranscaucasiasouth caucasusAfghanistan