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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

We are happy to forward a lecture series run by Matteo De Chiara and Arezou Azad at Inalco university in Paris with lectures on Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia across the ages. Sign up through the QR code in the image!

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

We are pleased to be showing the programme for this year's Rething History series. The sessions are held over Zoom and start 1PM Toronto time (19:00 CET); we would love to see you there! scan the QR code below to register.

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

August's Document of the Month: some fragments from Dunhuang and their many scripts and languages. Read Tasha Vorderstrasse's piece now: bit.ly/DotMAug26 #documents #history #khotan #Buddhism #multilingual #centralasia #silkroad #manuscripts #medievalist #dunhuang

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Document of the Month 8/26: Reading and Writing in Multilingual Dunhuang

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Tune in tomorrow to hear Arezou Azad talk in the Intercultural Heritage Dialogues along the Silk Road between Egypt and China! Scan the QR code below to register.

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

July's Document of the Month examines an Old Uyghur folio from Turfan and the notes three lay Manichaeans left in its margins. Read Leighton Smith's piece now: bit.ly/DotMJuly26 #documents #history #manichaeism #turfan #olduyghur #centralasia #silkroad #manuscripts #medievalist

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Document of the Month 7/26: An Old Uyghur Fragment of Manichaean Scripture from Xinjiang

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Zaiba Patel delivered a workshop on our schools outreach at the Schools History Project conference. Participants enjoyed exploring our "fascinating sources" & "the position and role of women" in our corpus, and said the session would impact their teaching practice. #SHP26 #medievalsky #skystorians

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Ed, Mateen and Zaiba have been in Birmingham this week at the Oxplore Festival - a free enrichment event hosted by @ox.ac.uk - welcoming hundreds of school pupils in Key Stage 3 to explore our research! 1/2

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

#TBT to the joy of reconnecting with colleagues, including Takao Ito and Ryoko Watabe, at our @imc-leeds.bsky.social panel earlier this week. It is always an encouragement to hear from other teams researching #Persian #documents! #digitalhumanities #medievalsky

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

We presented on medieval fragments at @imc-leeds.bsky.social! It was a pleasure to catch up with colleagues, including Robert Hoyland, co-editor with Arezou of 'The City of Balkh' & our @edinburghup.bsky.social commissioning editor Rachel Bridgewater. #digitalhumanities #medievalsky #skystorians

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

📣 New Palaeography Pages 📣 Some documents in our digital corpus carry distinctive scribal features worth a closer look - and we’ve now built dedicated pages spelling out exactly what makes them interesting, right down to the line and the letter... 1/2

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Our corpus spans the region's earliest Islamic centuries, from the 7th century right through to the Mongol invasions of the 13th century. Now you can navigate that whole sweep on a brand-new interactive timeline! 1/2

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

The Invisible East Digital Corpus 2.0 is here! New features include the Live Corpus Explorer: toggle between Languages, Types and Sub-types and watch the corpus reshape in front of you - a whole new way to experience the IEDC: www.invisible-east.org #digitalhumanities #medievalsky #skystorians

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Delighted to share that the latest Document of the Month, live on our project website: 'Timurid Epistolary Collections as a Source for Social History', by Danielle Zwarthoed. Read now at bit.ly/DotMJune26 #medievalsky #skystorians #documents

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

It has been a busy week! Yesterday @arezouazad.bsky.social had the privilege of visiting the beautiful Sheldonian Theatre for Encaenia, a ceremony where @ox.ac.uk confers honorary degrees. You can read more about this year's recipients at www.ox.ac.uk #oxforduniversity #encaenia2026

The image shows a woman, Arezou Azad, in a black and white dress on a balcony overlooking the lower floor of the Sheldonian Theatre. Rows of chairs and guests are visible, as well as an incredible painted ceiling.

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

‘The City of Balkh’ is out today! Congratulations to the contributors and editors, especially the principal project director Ed Herzig. Huge thanks to the Afghan authorities who hosted the team, and the Afghan colleagues who participated in the Balkh Art and Cultural Heritage project (2011-15). 1/2

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

The Invisible East team was honoured to be recognised as Researcher of the Year at the @lifelong-learning.ox.ac.uk awards. Thank you to everyone who nominated us! The afternoon was an opportunity to recognise the research, teaching and outreach taking place in the best department at @ox.ac.uk! 1/2

The image is of two women standing in a garden. The one on the left of the photo is Arezou Azad, an historian. The one on the right is Hayley Smith, a programme co-ordinator at Invisible East. Arezou is holding a wooden award and Hayley is holding a framed certificate marked 'Researcher of the Year'

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Arezou Azad and Ed Shawe-Taylor will be presenting on the Invisible East Digital Corpus at this Summer School tomorrow. Can't make it to Paris? Explore the corpus at home: www.invisible-east.org #digitalhumanities #skystorians #medievalmonday

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

We were delighted to welcome Mr Safarov, from the Embassy of Tajikistan, to meet Invisible East researchers in Oxford. We visited @bodleian.ox.ac.uk with colleagues from @wadhamcollege.bsky.social for a manuscript viewing session with @nikokontovas.bsky.social #medievalmonday #manuscriptmonday

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

📚 Series launch for 'The Islamicate East' and 'Ancient and Medieval Afghanistan', both published by @edinburghup.bsky.social 📅 Wednesday 17 June, 6.30pm 📍 Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme, 54 boulevard Raspail, Paris 🔗 A few tickets remain. Book yours at: bit.ly/ParisSeriesLaunch

Image is of repeating tiles in a blue, yellow, white and green pattern. Overlaid is a white box with dark blue text which states 'Lancement de collection / Book series launch - The Islamicate East: New Approaches to Texts and History & Ancient and Medieval Afghanistan'

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

📚 Series launch for 'The Islamicate East' and 'Ancient and Medieval Afghanistan', both published by @edinburghup.bsky.social 📅 Wednesday 17 June, 6.30pm 📍 Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme (FMSH) at 54 boulevard Raspail, Paris 🔗 For full info & to book: bit.ly/ParisSeriesLaunch

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Our Programme Director, @arezouazad.bsky.social, is speaking at an event hosted by Centre Camille Jullian and CPAF @univ-amu.fr tomorrow - all are welcome. #documents #silkroads #skystorians

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

#ICYMI May's Document of the Month explores a surprising phenomenon among the Cairo Geniza documents: Muslim blessings for the prophet Muḥammad in mercantile letters sent by C12th Jewish traders. Read Alan Elbaum's piece on our website: bit.ly/DotMMay26 #medievalmonday #cairogeniza #skystorians

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Document of the Month 5/26: Trade Letters from the Indian Ocean

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Arezou Azad @arezouazad.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Delighted Invisible East Digital Corpus has won 2025 Digital Humanities award in 1 category! Thanks to all who voted for us. We dedicate this to people of Bamiyan, Ghorband, Panjshir, Firuzkuh, Ghur, Qom area, & other places from which our texts stem @arezouazad.bsky.social @dhawards.bsky.social

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lyra tasis🪬🧿✡︎ @tribhuwana.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

A fascinating piece detailing Muslim scribes’ involvement in Genizah /Geniza documents. And I am so looking forward to the publication of the Indian Ocean project.

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Niall Winters @nwin.eurosky.social · 26/05/2026

This is the best thing you’ll read all day:). “[T]he same Geniza letters reveal an astonishing degree of interdenominational cooperation, matched by almost complete absence of animosity against other communities.“

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

May's Document of the Month explores a surprising phenomenon among the Cairo Geniza documents: Muslim blessings for the prophet Muḥammad in mercantile letters sent by C12th Jewish traders. Read Alan Elbaum's piece now on our project website: bit.ly/DotMMay26 #medievalsky #cairogeniza #documents

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Alex Ford @apf102.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

Lovely weekend at the @histassoc.bsky.social conference meeting friends old and new. Some fantastic sessions from Sally Burnham, Zaiba Patel @invisibleeast.bsky.social , @fredoxby.bsky.social @victoriacrooks.bsky.social @lauralondo1017.bsky.social . Lots of ideas and threads to think about now!

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Arezou Azad @arezouazad.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

Looking forward to discussing my dear colleague and friend Yossi Rapoport's new book, Becoming Arab (Princeton, Oxford, 2025): Join us if you are in London on Wed 20 May at 5 pm at Queen Mary University of London: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/yossef-rap... @invisibleeast.bsky.social

eventbrite.co.uk

Yossef Rapoport Book Launch: Becoming Arab:

Yossef Rapoport, Becoming Arab: The formation of Arab Identity in the Medieval Middle East (Princeton UP, 2025)

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Join us on Zoom tomorrow, from 5pm BST/6pm CEST, to hear Dr Nima Asefi speak on 'Documents from Turbulent Times: Studying Middle Persian Collections from the Late Sasanian and Early Islamic Periods-Opportunities and Challenges'. Register: bit.ly/RethinkingHistoryZoom #documents #Persian #history

The image contains an extract from a poster. The title of the series 'Rethinking History: Returning to Archives and Documents' sits above the seminar topic 'Documents from Turbulent Times: Studying Middle Persian Collections from the Late Sasanian and Early Islamic Periods-Opportunities and Challenges'. The conveners' names (Arezou Azad and Mohamad Tavakoli) are listed, along with that of the speaker (Nima Asefi), a short biography and abstract from his paper.

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Join us on 13 May, 5pm BST, to hear Dr Nima Asefi of @uni-hamburg.de on 'Documents from Turbulent Times: Studying Middle Persian Collections from the Late Sasanian and Early Islamic Periods-Opportunities and Challenges'. Register for the Zoom: bit.ly/RethinkingHistoryZoom #medievalsky #skystorian

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Our latest Document of the Month, "Watching the Taxman? Oversight and Fiscal Accountability in Khurasan Seen Through One Document in the Bamiyan Papers", is now available to read at: bit.ly/DotMApr26 Enjoy this insight into life in medieval Bamiyan! #medievalsky #Khurasan #skystorian

Picture of green fields, and a wide meandering river in a valley. Many trees in full leaf and a scattering of buildings.

Image: By Ahmad 5shiry - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25058683

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Register to join us at 12pm EDT / 5pm BST / 6pm CET for a virtual launch for 'The Warehouse of Bamiyan' and 'The Rise and Fall of the Barmakids', with the authors and special guests. New in The Islamicate East series @edinburghup.bsky.social: bit.ly/BookLaunchTZoom #Bamiyan #Barmakids #Afghanistan

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Register now for Monday's virtual launch of @arezouazad.bsky.social's latest titles with Pejman Firoozbakhsh 'The Warehouse of Bamiyan' & 'The Rise and Fall of the Barmakids': bit.ly/TorontoBookLaunch New in The Islamicate East series for @edinburghup.bsky.social #Bamiyan #Barmakids #Afghanistan

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

Join us on Monday 27 April for a virtual launch event for 'The Warehouse of Bamiyan' & 'The Rise and Fall of the Barmakids', Arezou Azad & Pejman Firoozbakhsh's latest publications in The Islamicate East series for @edinburghup.bsky.social. bit.ly/TorontoBookLaunch #Bamiyan #Barmakids #Afghanistan

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

The Invisible East Digital Corpus www.invisible-east.org is nominated in the 2025 DH Awards 🎉 If you've found it a helpful resource, why not vote for it (before Friday 17 April!) Check out all of the other fascinating nominees whilst you are voting! #digitalhumanities #medievalsky #digitalcorpus

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Join us on Zoom later for Dr Márton Vér of @uni-hamburg.de's seminar 'The Old Uyghur Documents and a Global Microhistory of the Silk Roads'. The next in our 'Rethinking History' series with colleagues at @utoronto.ca. Register now: bit.ly/RethinkingHistoryZoom #documents #SilkRoads #OldUyghur

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Simon Berger @chakarchinggis.eurosky.social · 15/04/2026

C'est aujourd'hui ! Celles et ceux qui le souhaitent peuvent suivre le colloque en ligne : zoom.us/j/97920962767

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Team member Nabi Saqee will speak tomorrow on "The presence and role of Turkic elements and figures in the Ghurid Sultanate" at a conference in Paris. Any followers in Paris are welcome to join this free event. Full conference schedule is at bit.ly/Parisconf #conference #Afghanistan #Ghurids

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Join us on Wednesday to hear Dr Márton Vér of @uni-hamburg.de speak on 'The Old Uyghur Documents and a Global Microhistory of the Silk Roads'. This is the next in our 'Rethinking History' series with @utoronto.ca. Register for Zoom: bit.ly/RethinkingHistoryZoom #documents #SilkRoads #OldUyghur

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Our Programme Director, @arezouazad.bsky.social, was honoured to deliver the Heshmat Moayyad Lecture at the University of Chicago yesterday. Arezou presented research from our team, as well as the latest books in The Islamicate East series with @edinburghup.bsky.social. 1/3

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

New on the @edinburghup.bsky.social blog: @arezouazad.bsky.social discusses her latest book with Pejman Firoozbakhsh. Enjoy a fascinating taster of stories from this translation of the Akhbār-i Barmakiyān in @bodleian.ox.ac.uk's manuscript Ouseley 217: bit.ly/BarmakidsQandA #Barmakids #Persian

Image comprises of a book cover. The background is teal, with a rectangular white frame around a colourful artwork which appears to show people sat on the floor or standing, having discussions and possibly playing instruments. The title of the book is in large white print 'The Rise and Fall of the Barmakids' with the subtitle in yellow 'Stories from a Forgotten Persian Manuscript'. The cover also includes the series name 'The Islamicate East' and the credits 'Translated and annotated by Pejman Firoozbakhsh and Arezou Azad'.

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Later today our Programme Director, Arezou Azad, will deliver the 2026 Heshmat Moayyad Lecture at the Dept of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago. For more information and to register for the Zoom link, visit bit.ly/HeshmatMoayyadLecture #medievalsky #Persian #documents

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Arezou Azad delivers Heshmat Moayyad Lecture

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Our Programme Director, Arezou Azad, will deliver the 2026 Heshmat Moayyad Lecture at the Dept of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago on 8 April. For more information and to register for the Zoom link, visit bit.ly/HeshmatMoayyadLecture #medievalsky #Persian #documents

Image is of a poster for a lecture series. The background is a beige/gold colour and on top are three images, one a photograph of the speaker, Arezou Azad, seated with her hands clasped; the others are of a damaged document with Persian text and a book cover for 'The Warehouse of Bamiyan'. The poster invites the reader to attend The Department of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago's Heshmat Moayyad Lecture Series Spring 2026. The lecture is entitled "Restore Her Rights! Sketches from Forgotten Persian Manuscripts" and the speaker is Dr Arezou Azad. The lecture takes place on 8 April, 5.30pm local time in The Social Sciences Building - The Tea Room - SSRB 201

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

#ICYMI The latest Document of the Month is live on our project website. Enjoy Jawid Mojaddedi's piece “Whoever Places the Hand of Good Actions in the Circle of Chivalry”: A Homily in the Jawānmardī Mystical Tradition at bit.ly/DotMMar26 #medievalsky #skystorian #firuzkuh

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Join Arezou Azad and Matteo de Chiara of @inalco.fr online on Wednesday 1 April to hear from Xavier Hermand (EHESS-Paris): ‘Trop peu respectables pour devenir musulmans: gens de métiers et changements religieux’, the next seminar in the 'Afghanistan through the Ages' series. #seminar #afghanistan

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

📢 The latest Document of the Month is live on our project website. 📚 Read Jawid Mojaddedi's exploration of Firuzkuh 3 “Whoever Places the Hand of Good Actions in the Circle of Chivalry”: A Homily in the Jawānmardī Mystical Tradition at bit.ly/DotMMar26 #medievalmonday #manuscriptmonday #firuzkuh

Beige background, with two images superimposed. They are the recto (front) and verso (back) of the same document. The documents appear to be on brown paper with black ink and written in New Persian script. They have been glued onto a notebook with lines/squares and written notes around them.

Images of the document, Firuzkuh 3, are reproduced courtesy of Nabi Saqee and can be found in the Invisible East Digital Corpus.

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

We are delighted to announce that our Digital Corpus, www.invisible-east.org has been nominated for a DH Resource award! Please consider voting for us if you think we deserve it! You can cast your ballot anytime before 17 April. #digitalhumanities #digitalcorpus #medievalsky

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Invisible East @invisibleeast.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

With the coming of spring, Nowruz returns — a celebration of renewal, hope, and wisdom. This year, we honour the resilience of the people of Iran, Afghanistan, and others across the region whose everyday lives have been upended by war. (1/3)

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