Ali Aydin Karamustafa

I am a historian of the early modern Eurasian world. I am generally interested in literature and social history in the Ottoman, Safavid, and Russian Empires. My research project, which aims to turn my doctoral dissertation into a book, examines the popular song and storytelling tradition of Köroğlu (Turkish for “the blind man’s son”) as a historical source regarding the expansion of Ottoman and Safavid imperial power in the Caucasus. Although my dissertation primarily examined the source for its insight on 17th-century tribal perspectives, the book project will broaden the time frame and include the modern period in its analysis. I am from St. Louis, Missouri, but when I am not at Oxford I live in Bologna, Italy.