Afghanistan – Axis of World History

Thu 23 Oct 2014

6:00pm – 7:00pm

NOTE: This lecture will be held at the Theatre Auditorium, University Club, UWA, not the WA Museum. Details and bookings can be found on UWA's IAS website.

Presented by Alison Betts, Professor of Silk Road Studies at the University of Sydney.

Afghanistan lies at the heart of the great Silk Roads. It is a region rich in natural resources, and as early as the 3rd millennium BC Afghanistan became part of the first web of international contacts in the ancient world. From this point on, as invaders came and went and the trade routes crossing from all points of the compass flourished and faded, her history became a rich tapestry of influences that stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Pacific Ocean and from Siberia to the Indian sub-continent. From the lapis trade to the Great Game, this talk will illustrate some of the key events through the ages that defined Afghanistan and made her a central player in the history of Asia.

Alison Betts specializes in the archaeology of the lands along the Silk Roads from the Near East to China, with a particular interest in the study of nomadic peoples. She has worked extensively in eastern Jordan and Central Asia, and currently runs major Australian Research Council funded field projects in Uzbekistan and Xinjiang, western China. She also works with the Kabul Museum in Afghanistan and has research affiliations in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Kashmir.

CROWN, TILLYA TEPE. GOLD. 1ST CENTURY BCE – 1ST CENTURY CE