Claude Rapin (born 19??) is an archaeologist and historian specializing in

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

, with special attention to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. He is Director Emeritus for research at the

Centre national de la recherche scientifique The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 eng ...

(CNRS) and is associated with the ("Franco-Uzbek Archaeological Mission of

Sogdia Sogdia () or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemen ...

na").

Career

Rapin studied archaeology, ancient history and Greek language at the

University of Lausanne The University of Lausanne (UNIL; ) in Lausanne, Switzerland, was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second-oldest in Switzerland, and one of the oldest universities ...

, where he obtained the degree of

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

by writing a thesis on the royal treasury of the Hellenistic palace at

Ai-Khanoum Ai-Khanoum (, meaning 'Lady Moon'; ) is the archaeological site of a Hellenistic city in Takhar Province, Afghanistan. The city, whose original name is unknown, was likely founded by an early ruler of the Seleucid Empire and served as a mili ...

in Afghanistan, under the direction of Paul Bernard. After a period of archaeological excavations in Europe (Great Britain, Romania and Switzerland), he began to concentrate his field activities on Central Asia, first in Afghanistan, then in Uzbekistan. He has participated in the excavations of

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

, Koktepe and the Sogdian

Iron Gate (Central Asia) The Iron Gate (; in Orkhon and Tonyukuk inscriptions; ''Darband'', ), is a defile between Balkh and Samarkand. It breaks up the mountains which extend from the Hisar range south towards the Amu Darya. In ancient times it was used as the pa ...

relating to activities of the Franco-Uzbek Archaeological Mission of Sogdiana. Since 1995, he has been a research fellow of the team at CNRS in Paris; and gave courses on Central Asian archaeology as a

privat-docent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualifi ...

at University of Lausanne.

Selected publications

; Articles * ''Greeks in Afghanistan: Aï Khanum'', 1990 * ''Nomads and the Shaping of Central Asia: From the Early Iron Age to the Kushan period'', 2007 * With Svetlana Gorshenina, "Hellenism with or without Alexander the Great: Russian, Soviet and Central Asian approaches", article published in ''The Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek World'', edited by Rachel Mairs. Milton Park: Routledge, 2021. ; Books * ''Fouilles d'Aï Khanoum VIII : La Trésorerie du palais hellénistique d'Aï Khanoum'', Éditions de Boccard, 1992 * ''Indian Art from Afghanistan: The Legend of Śakuntalā and the Indian Treasure of Eucratides at Ai Khanum'', Manohar Publishers, 1996 * With Svetlana Gorshenina, ''De Kaboul à Samarcande : Les archéologues en Asie centrale'', coll. «

Découvertes Gallimard (, ; in United Kingdom: ''New Horizons'', in United States: ''Abrams Discoveries'') is an Collection (publishing), editorial collection of Book illustration, illustrated monographic books published by the Éditions Gallimard in Pocket edition, ...

» (nº 411), série Archéologie. Éditions Gallimard, 2001 * ''Samarcande : Cité mythique au coeur de l'Asie'', coll. « Dossiers d'Archéologie » (nº 341). Éditions Faton, 2010

References

External links

*
Publications de Claude Rapin
at his official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Rapin, Claude Living people Central Asian studies scholars 20th-century French archaeologists 21st-century French archaeologists University of Lausanne alumni Academic staff of the University of Lausanne Year of birth missing (living people) Research directors of the French National Centre for Scientific Research

Career

Selected publications

See also

References

External links