The Rise and Fall of Khoqand, 1709–1876: Central Asia on the Frontier of Empires

This talk will introduce key themes from Scott Levi’s recent book on the Khanate of Khoqand (1799–1876), an extraordinarily dynamic state that emerged over the course of the eighteenth century in eastern Uzbekistan’s Ferghana Valley. The talk will address the ways that global political, economic, technological and environmental developments influenced life in early modern Central Asia and contributed to the rise, and fall, of Khoqand. The talk will also identify a number of ways that Central Asians influenced the policies of their much larger imperial neighbors on the Eurasian periphery – especially Tsarist Russia and Qing China.

Scott Levi is Associate Professor of Central Asian History at Ohio State University. His work on the social and economic history of early modern Central Asia aims to place the region in a broader, world historical context. He has published a number of books, the most recent of which is The Rise and Fall of Khoqand, 1709–1876: Central Asia in the Global Age (Pittsburgh, 2017). He is currently finishing another book project, “Early Modern Connections: Global Integration and the 18th-Century Bukharan Crisis.”