PhD @SOAS. Devotee of the Iranian and Persianate world.
London
Joined December 2015
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Iskandar Ding retweeted
James Pickett - Russian Subject, Muslim Monarch
Sovereignty and Scribal Culture in Colonial Bukhara
À paraître en septembre aux Cornell UP
Iskandar Ding retweeted
“A HISTORY OF UYGHUR BUDDHISM is an ambitious and valuable study that shifts the study of Buddhism away from narrow civilizational boundaries and toward a broader Eurasian frame.”—Grace Sun, @ReadingReligion
buff.ly/EyR2Wkp #Religion #Uyghur #Buddhism #ReadUP
Iskandar Ding retweeted
On some Persian sources of Himalayan histories, and brief thoughts on why the the Kalapani-Lipulekh-Limpiyadhura problem is particularly difficult. Link in comment.
Iskandar Ding retweeted
Imagine a 14th-century "universal" prayer
The 1348 Stele of Sulaiman from #Dunhuang features the Buddhist mantra "Om Mani Padme Hum" in 6 scripts: Sanskrit, Tibetan, Old Uyghur, 'Phags-pa, Tangut, & Chinese
A stunning relic of Yuan Dynasty multiculturalism!
ALT Stele of Sulaiman: erected in 1348, at the Mogao Caves complex southeast of Dunhuang, to commemorate the donations of Sulaiman, Prince of Xining. The stele has engravings of the Buddhist mantra "oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ" (often poetically translated as "The Jewel is in the Lotus") in six different scripts: Lanydza (Sanskrit), Tibetan, Old Uyghur, 'Phags-pa, Tangut, and Chinese. Image source: 元莫高窟造像 語言：梵文 ; 藏文 ; 漢文 ; 西夏文 ; 八思巴文 ; 回鶻文 典藏者：中央研究院歷史語言研究所 https://openmuseum.tw/muse/digi_object/d5381819f3098bcdb3ea16d1aabe4906
The “Liao-Chin-Yuan Rubbings” database features 2,200 items (dating 946–1382) of various scripts (Chinese, Khitan, Jurchen, Mongolian) with 1,800 having transcriptions. These valuable materials for medieval Chinese phonology and history are now available. dap.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/databa…
Iskandar Ding retweeted
📢 Deadline Extension
Good news for prospective students! The deadline for the Shapoorji Pallonji Scholarships at SOAS has been extended ⏳—giving you more time to apply for this exciting opportunity.
💡 Explore eligibility and apply here:
👉 soas.ac.uk/study/student-lif…
Iskandar Ding retweeted
Lettre envoyé en 1393 par le souverain mongol musulman Toqtamish Khan rappelant au souverain de Lituanie-Pologne d’honorer les obligations fiscales à la Horde et de laisser les marchands circuler librement dans son territoire
La lettre est écrite en turc avec l’alphabet ouighour
Iskandar Ding retweeted
I am pleased to share that the Editorial for the special issue ‘A Sociolinguistics of Islam: Exploring Multilingualism & Meaning in Faith’ is now online:
Iskandar Ding retweeted
New open-access book: The Zoroastrian World. Download the PDF direct from the publisher:
taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-e… – at Gentilly, France
Iskandar Ding retweeted
New Approaches to Ilkhanid History
ed. Timothy May et al. BRill 2020
archive.org/details/nati_202…
PDF 🎯
archive.org/download/nati_20…
Iskandar Ding retweeted
Please spread the word! The Manchu Studies Group is pleased to once again offer online Manchu courses at the beginning and intermediate levels in summer 2026. Application deadline is MAY 11th for both courses. manchustudiesgroup.org/2026/…
Iskandar Ding retweeted
After 7 years, The Oxford Handbook of Kurdish Linguistics, finally in print ( link below)!
Destepirtûka Oxfordê ya Zimannasiya Kurdî niha hatiye çapkirin!
دەستەکتێبی ئۆکسفۆڕد بۆ زمانەوانیی کوردی لە ژێر چاپە!
#Kurdish #Kurdishlanguage #Kurdishliterature #Kurdî #کوردستان #کوردی
Iskandar Ding retweeted
This is a wonderful opportunity for those interested in Ottoman & Mediterranean history, especially with its strong language component and no tuition fees. Plus, it’s in Crete, hard to imagine a better setting.
Call for applications for the admission of students to the M.A. Program in Ottoman History!
history-archaeology.uoc.gr/e…
Iskandar Ding retweeted
Eski Uygurca Bibliyografyası isimli kitabım yayımlandı. Bu kitapta dünyanın dört bir yanında farklı tarihlerde Eski Uygurca üzerine yapılmış 4400den fazla çalışma bir araya getirilmiştir. Bu vesileyle değerli hocam Prof. Dr. Ferruh Ağca'ya sonsuz teşekkürlerimi sunarım.
Iskandar Ding retweeted
The “Syriac dominance” thesis presupposes that the Qur’an’s theological lexicon is primarily derivative of Syriac Christian usage. Suleyman Dost argues that premise is unstable when South Arabian epigraphy is treated as primary comparative evidence (1/25)
Iskandar Ding retweeted
A new Syriac/Arabic Chronicle has been discovered, dating to 712/13 AD. It promises to shed much light on early Islamic history and perhaps other areas too. @AdrianPirtea
This is huge!
A new Syriac chronicle has been discovered dating to around AD 712-13 and covering the 7th century.
Absolutely amazing.
heritagedaily.com/2026/02/13…
Iskandar Ding retweeted
T’ung Tien an 8thc Chinese historical encyclopaedia, has a rare & interesting eyewitness account from a Chinese prisoner captured at the Battle of Talas in 751 AD & held in Iraq for some time before being allowed to return to China in 762. He describes what he saw in Kufa.
Iskandar Ding retweeted
What if Sri Lanka’s Muslim past is best read through monsoon-route pilgrims & merchants—not empires? What shifts when Arabic, Tamil, Malay, Ottoman, Urdu, Dhivehi, and Sinhala sources meet for the first time in "Serendipitous Translations"?👂🏽to Nile Green: newbooksnetwork.com/serendip…
Iskandar Ding retweeted
TIL the most commonly used Chinese words for “past”(過去), “now” (現在), “future” (未來) are all Buddhist calque of Sanskrit (過去未來現在諸佛)😳
過去 Sanskrit अतीत “[what has] gone by”
現在 Sanskrit प्रत्युत्पन्न “present”
未來 Sanskrit अनागत “not yet”
ALT ⼤般若波羅蜜多經 (Mahā-prajñāpāramitā Sūtra) 卷第三百五七 永樂北藏 第九冊 (明正統五年 c. 1440) 三藏法師玄奘奉 詔譯 初分多問不二品第六十一之七 善現！過去未來現在諸佛，不以四念住故護念是菩薩摩訶薩，不以四正斷、四神足、五根、五力、七等覺支、八聖道支故護念是菩薩摩訶薩。 善現！過去未來現在諸佛，不以空解脫門故護念是菩薩摩訶薩，不以無相、無願解脫門故護念是菩薩摩訶薩。 善現！過去未來現在諸佛，不以五眼故護念是菩薩摩訶薩，不以六神通故護念是菩薩摩訶薩。 Image source: http://sutrapearls.org/toc-C/P-sutra/P-sutra1/P009/P009n0001_357.pdf
Iskandar Ding retweeted
#NewPublication
A Sufi Commentary on the Tao Te Ching: The Way and Its Virtue
Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Transl. Mohammad H. Faghfoory, Fons Vitae 2025
fonsvitae.com/product/a-sufi…
