Social Science Research Council

"Subjects of the Tsar, Brothers of the Sultan: The Ferghana Valley between Russian Colonialism and Ottoman Pan-Islamism"

This dissertation will use newly available archival materials in Istanbul, Turkey to reconstruct Ottoman relations with Central Asia in the late 19th century, and to examine the Ottoman role in supporting and/or fomenting resistance to Russian colonialism. Taking a major 1898 rebellion in Andijan (now in Uzbekistan) lead by a Naqshbandi sheikh claiming to have Ottoman support as my focal point, I will investigate how this uprising can be understood vis-à-vis Sultan Abdulhamid II's promotion of pan-Islamist politics and rhetoric. My research in Turkey will focus on uncovering the details of Hamidian policy vis-à-vis Asia and the role of Naqshbandi networks in maintaining relations between the Sublime Porte and the Ferghana Valley, a densely populated region in the heart of Central Asia. This line of inquiry will complement research I conducted in Uzbekistan in fall 2004. By studying the Ferghana Valley within the framework of geopolitical and regional trends in the greater Islamic world, I seek to challenge ideologically-driven Russian/Soviet scholarship and historiographical works emphasizing the region's alleged isolation and the primacy of Islamic 'fervor' in driving resistance. At the same time, this project will contribute to the field of Ottoman studies by exploring Ottoman relations with a historically-connected, Sunni/Turkic region in Asia.