Institute for the Study of the Ancient World

Spring is here—and so is the return of our Rostovtzeff Lecture Series 🌿

This season, “The Emergence, Adventures, and Legacies of Early Farming in Western Eurasia” with Amy Bogaard explores how early farming began, spread, and still shapes the way we think today.

Join us tomorrow for:
Lecture Il: Reflections of Early Farming in Lakes of the Southwest Balkans

RSVP using link in bio, bring a friend, and experience it with us—we can’t wait to see you there ✨

We’re excited to announce that this April marks the start of this year’s Annual M.I. Rostovtzeff Lecture Series at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World!

This year’s series, “The Emergence, Adventures and Legacies of Early Farming in Western Eurasia,” will be presented by Amy Bogaard of the University of Oxford. Exploring the archaeological evidence for the rise and spread of early farming from western Asia into Europe, the series examines how farming was practiced, how it evolved over millennia, and how Neolithic approaches to agriculture resonate with conversations today.

Don’t miss it — here: https://isaw.nyu.edu/events/rostovtzeff-lecture-series

We’re delighted to share the Spring ’26 lineup for Expanding the Ancient World 🌍🏺
Our K–12 educator professional development workshops bring big ideas—from ancient ceramics and monsters to digital art history—straight into the classroom. Join us this spring for engaging talks, fresh approaches, and CTLE credit.

📅 Feb–May | 💻 Zoom
🔗 Register: isaw.nyu.edu/outreach

Meet Brian Lander! One of ISAW's 2025-26 Visiting Research Scholars.

Brian Lander is an environmental historian of China. He uses textual, archaeological and paleoecological evidence to study the long history of how humans gradually transformed the forests and wetlands of the core regions of Chinese civilization into farmland. He received his PhD from Columbia University in 2015 and held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Harvard University Center for the Environment before taking up his current position at Brown University.

At , Lander is particularly interested in the lowlands of the Yangtze River valley, whose indigenous cultures were swamped by Han Chinese culture but whose swampy agriculture resisted colonization as wet rice paddies were instead incorporated into Chinese culture and cuisine. The story of how the early empires transformed this region’s society and culture is something he hopes to tell in his current work.

Publications link:

Lander, Brian I study the environmental history of China. I am particularly interested in the long term transformation of the natural ecosystems of the Yellow and Yangzi river valleys into human ecosystems, including farms, tree plantations and fish ponds. China's lowlands are now home to hundreds of millions of....

As the year draws to a close, all of us at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World extend our warmest wishes for a joyful holiday season and a happy, healthy New Year.

We look forward to welcoming you in the year ahead for new discoveries, collaborations, and opportunities to engage with the ancient past.

Meet Aydogdy Kurbanov! One of ISAW's 2025-26 Visiting Research Scholars.

Aydogdy Kurbanov is a historian and archaeologist specializing in the prehistoric and Late Antique periods of Central Asia. He earned his Ph.D. in 2010 from the Free University of Berlin, with a dissertation titled “The Hephthalites: Archaeological and Historical Analysis” - a comprehensive study of the Late Antique period in Central Asia.

At , Dr. Kurbanov will investigate Sasanian imperial dynamics along their northeastern frontier, focusing on the regions of Abiverd, the Merv oasis, and Dehistan during the 3rd to 7th centuries CE. By integrating historical, archaeological, and environmental data, he will examine the mechanisms of imperial control and interaction in these frontier zones. This research will culminate in a monograph offering a comprehensive interpretation of Sasanian strategies of governance and engagement along their northeastern periphery.

🎨 Join us for a Drawing Workshop at !
On December 6 at 1 pm, come sketch in the galleries with artist Joan Chiverton as part of our latest Rodin’s Egypt exhibition.

All levels welcome — beginners too!
Bring a sketch pad; pens, pastels, charcoal, and paints will be provided.

📍 ISAW, 15 E 84th St
🔗 Learn more & register: isaw.nyu.edu/events/rodins-exhibition-drawing-workshop

Exhibition Drawing Workshop Please join illustrator and teaching artist Joan Chiverton for an afternoon of sketching and watercolor in the galleries in conjunction with our new exhibition Rodin’s Egypt. Develop your drawing skills and discover a new way of seeing the human form, as you sketch masterpieces from Rodin’s coll...

At this year’s ASOR conference in Boston students and scholars are on the first line sharing knowledge with colleagues and building expanding academic networks around the ancient world!

Robert Hoyland, Professor of Late Antique and Early Islamic Middle Eastern History at ISAW, recently published an edition, translation and study of the work of one of the most famous of all Arabic prose writers, al-Jahiz (d. 868), namely "The Merits of the Turks and the composition of the caliphal army".

With this text, written at the request of a high-ranking official, the legendary polymath and “father of Arabic prose” al-Jāḥiẓ defends the Turkish soldiers’ effectiveness and importance, and in so doing defends the unity and integrity of the army and the value of allegiance to the Abbasid state.

Join us next week on Tuesday, November 11, for Robert's talk, which will explore the questions and controversies surrounding the deployment of these Turkish troops and its consequences, drawing on this contemporary literary work.
Register here: https://isaw.nyu.edu/events/from-samarkand-to-samarra

If you're interested in purchasing the book, you can enjoy a 30% discount with the code NYU30 at checkout here: https://www.libraryofarabicliterature.org/books/9781479840625/the-turks-and-the-caliphal-army/

Congratulations to our Marathoners! 🏅🏃 We are thrilled to celebrate Patrick Burns and Ryan Schnell for completing the 2025 ! Finishing 26.2 miles through all five boroughs is no small feat — your endurance, dedication, and spirit inspires us all!