Barakatullo Ashurov

Barakatullo Ashurov is a linguist and historian from Tajikistan. His research and teaching focus on the history of religions, cultures, and languages of Ancient Iran encompassing the modern territories of Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Central Asian countries. One of his primary scholarly focuses is history of Eastern Syriac Christianity among Iranian and Turkic-speaking ethnolinguistic communities of West and Central Asia. More specifically, his interests include: the Syriac Christian tradition among Sogdian, especially the spread of the East Syrian tradition along the Silk Roads; other philosophical and religious movements of the ancient Iranian world. Ashurov’s current projects include “Studies on Sogdian body-part words”; “Politeness and Impoliteness in Sogdian language”; and a book project, “Christianity in Central Asia: An Introductory History”.