Robert D. McChesney
Encyclopedia
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...
) is a scholar of the social and cultural history of Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
Academic career
Robert D. McChesney received his BA in 1967 and his PhD in 1973 from Princeton UniversityPrinceton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
.
McChesney’s academic focus has been on the history Central Asia, Iran and Afghanistan from the time of the Mongol conquest through the early 20th century. Much of his work has centered on the connection of social history and architecture and the Islamic charitable institutions that supported architecture. He has taken a particular interest in the works of Afghan scholar Fayz Muhammad
Faiz Mohammad Katib Hazara
Faiz Mohammad Katib son of Saeed Mohammad b. Khudydad was born in 1279 , in Zard Sang village of Qarabagh district, Ghazni Province of Afghanistan, and died in Kabul in 1931. He was an ethnic Hazara and was of Mohammad Khuwaja clan. He was Afghan court chronicler, a skilled calligrapher and...
, in particular his monumental history of Afghanistan, Sirajul Tawarikh. McChesney has also written a translation of Fayz Muhammad's account of the 1929 Afghan Civil War. He has made frequent contributions to Encyclopædia Iranica
Encyclopædia Iranica
Encyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times...
. McChensney is held in high regard by his peers for his meticulous use of primary sources and fluency in several languages.
He retired in 2007 as a professor of Middle Eastern Studies
Middle Eastern studies
Middle Eastern studies is a name given to a number of academic programs associated with the study of the history, culture, politics, economies, and geography of the Middle East, an area that is generally interpreted to cover a range of nations extending from North Africa in the west to the Chinese...
and History at the Department of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
.
McChesney is also the director of the Afghanistan Digital Library, a project to create an online library of rare books from Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. The project began in response to the destruction and looting of many library collections and private book collections during the several decades of war in Afghanistan in recent decades.
Works by Robert D. McChesney
Note: Works have been published under the names Robert D. McChesney, R. D. McChesney, and R. McChesney.- "'Abd-al-Mo'men b. 'Abdallāh." Encyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times...
. http://www.iranica.com/newsite/
- "'Abd-al-Qoddus b. Boltan Mohammād." Encyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times...
. http://www.iranica.com/newsite/
- "'Abd-al-Rahmān b. Soyunj." Encyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times...
http://www.iranica.com/newsite/
- "Abu'l-Hasan b. Mohammad Amin Golestāna." Encyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times...
.http://www.iranica.com/newsite/
- "'Alāmārā-Ye Šāh Esmā 'Īl." Encyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times...
. http://www.iranica.com/newsite/
- "Architecture and Narrative: The Khwaja Abu Nasr Shrine." MuqarnasMuqarnasMuqarnas is a type of corbel used as a decorative device in traditional Islamic architecture. The term is similar to mocárabe, but mocárabe only refers to designs with formations resembling stalactites, by the use of elements known as alveole.Muqarnas takes the form of small pointed niches,...
, vol. 18 (2001) (Part One: Constructing the Complex and Its Meaning, 1469-1696) and vol. 19 (2002) (Part Two: Representing the Complex in Word and Image, 1696-1998).
- "Badī'-al-Zamān Mīirzā." Encyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times...
.http://www.iranica.com/newsite/
- "Bark Ardār Torkmān." Encyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times...
. http://www.iranica.com/newsite/
- "Bokārī Ākund Mollā Mohammad-Šarīf." Encyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times...
. http://www.iranica.com/newsite/
- "Barrier of heterodoxy?" Rethinking the Ties Between IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Central AsiaCentral AsiaCentral Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
in the 17th century" in Pembroke Papers 4 (1996), 231-67.
- "Central Asia: Economy from the Timurids until the 12th/18th century," Encyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times...
. http://www.iranica.com/newsite/
, 1992.
- Central Asia: Foundations of Change. PrincetonPrinceton, New JerseyPrinceton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
&New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
: The Darwin Press, 1996.
- "Central Asia in the 16th_18th centuries" Encyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times...
. http://www.iranica.com/newsite/
, 1992.
- Charity and Philanthropy in Islam: Institutionalizing the Call to Do Good. (IndianapolisIndianapolisIndianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
: Indian University Press, 1995)
- "Corās. Šāh-Mahamud b Mīrza Fāzel." Encyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times...
. http://www.iranica.com/newsite/
- "Economic and Social Aspects of the Public Architecture of BukharaBukharaBukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
in the 1560s and 1570s," Islamic ArtIslamic artIslamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people who lived within the territory that was inhabited by or ruled by culturally Islamic populations...
, v. 2, 1987.
- Written by Fayz MuhammadFaiz Mohammad Katib HazaraFaiz Mohammad Katib son of Saeed Mohammad b. Khudydad was born in 1279 , in Zard Sang village of Qarabagh district, Ghazni Province of Afghanistan, and died in Kabul in 1931. He was an ethnic Hazara and was of Mohammad Khuwaja clan. He was Afghan court chronicler, a skilled calligrapher and...
. Translated by R.D. McChesney. KabulKabulKabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
Under Siege: Fayz Muhammad's Account of the 1929 Uprising. (PrincetonPrinceton, New JerseyPrinceton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
: Markus Wiener Publishers, 1999.)
- "Fayz Mohammad Kateb." Written with A. H. Tarzi. Encyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times...
. http://www.iranica.com/newsite/index.isc?Article=http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/unicode/v9f5/v9f507.html
- "Four Sources on Shah Abbas's Building of Isfahan," MuqarnasMuqarnasMuqarnas is a type of corbel used as a decorative device in traditional Islamic architecture. The term is similar to mocárabe, but mocárabe only refers to designs with formations resembling stalactites, by the use of elements known as alveole.Muqarnas takes the form of small pointed niches,...
, v. 5, 1988.
- "Mohammad-Ayyub Khan." Encyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia IranicaEncyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times...
, 2003.
- "Reconstructing BalkhBalkhBalkh , was an ancient city and centre of Zoroastrianism in what is now northern Afghanistan. Today it is a small town in the province of Balkh, about 20 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif, and some south of the Amu Darya. It was one of the major cities of Khorasan...
: The Vakfiya of 947/1540." Studies on Central Asian History, ed. Devin DeWeeseDevin DeweeseDevin Deweese is a professor of Islamic and Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington.He received his PhD in 1985 at Indiana University, and since then has continued to do research on Central Asian Islam, particularly Sufism and its political and social dimensions...
(BloomingtonBloomington, IndianaBloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
2001).
- Waqf in Central Asia: Four Hundred Years in the History of a Muslim Shrine, 1480-1889. (PrincetonPrinceton, New JerseyPrinceton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
:Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, 1991.)
- "Waqf and public policy: the waqfs of Shāh 'Abbās 1011-23/1602-14" Asian and African Studies v. 15, no. 2, (July 1981), 165-90
- "Zamzam Water on a White Felt Carpet: Adapting Mongol Ways in Muslim Central Asia, 1550-1650," in Michael Gervers and Wayne Schlepp, eds., Religion, Customary Law, and Nomadic Technology (TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, 2000).