Elyor E. Karimov (, , Karimov, Ė. Ė. (Ėlʹër Ėrikovich); born ) is an Uzbekistani orientalist and scholar of

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

Central Eurasian Studies Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and

Diplomatics Diplomatics (in American English, and in most anglophone countries), or diplomatic (in British English), is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of documents, especially historical documents. It focuses on the conventions, pr ...

Academic career

Elyor Karimov graduated from the

Tashkent State University National University of Uzbekistan (NUUz; ) is a public research university located in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. NUUz is the oldest and largest university in Uzbekistan. The National University of Uzbekistan is named after Mirzo Ulugbek. NUUz prof ...

(Faculty of Oriental Studies) in 1986. He is a holder of a graduate degree in History and Area Studies (1986) and Ph.D. (1990) in

Medieval History In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

('"Role, place and social positions of clergy of Maverannahr in 15th century") and a Habilitation/Postdoctoral Studies (1998) in

History of Islam The history of Islam is believed, by most historians, to have originated with Muhammad's mission in Mecca and Medina at the start of the 7th century CE, although Muslims regard this time as a return to the original faith passed down by the Abr ...

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 ...

("''Sufi tariqats'' in Central Asia of 12th – 15th centuries"). Since 1986 Karimov has worked in the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan. He has been head of Department of Medieval History at the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan since 1998. He was elected a chairman of Uzbek National Society of Young Scholars in 1999. He received a residential fellowship at the

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topi ...

in 2009. Elyor Karimov has collaborated with

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

since 1996 when he was awarded the Hirayama/UNESCO Silk Roads Fellowship. Karimov participated at the International Symposium on the Silk Roads in

Xi’an Xi'an is the capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populous city in Northwestern Chin ...

(

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

), organized on the occasion of the United Nations Year for Cultural Heritage and the 30th anniversary of the

World Heritage Convention The World Heritage Convention, formally the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, is an international treaty signed on 23 November 1972, which created the World Heritage Sites, with the primary goals o ...

organized by UNESCO in November 2002. Elyor Karimov one of the authors of multi-volume History of Civilizations of Central Asia, published by UNESCO, member of the annual “''Сolloque international Soufisme, Culture et Musique ‘‘les Routes de la Foi’’'', founded by UNESCO in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

from 2005. He is a Member of the UNESCO

Memory of the World UNESCO's Memory of the World (MoW) Programme is an international initiative to safeguard the documentary heritage of humanity against collective amnesia, neglect, decay over time and climatic conditions, as well as deliberate destruction. It ca ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

). Karimov is formally affiliated with the Institute of History, Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, but is effectively an independent scholar, living most of the time in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. He is a Professor of the Middle East and Central Asia at the Hofstra University (

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

) since 2017. Elyor Karimov is an expert in the History of Civilization and Culture in Central Asia and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

with numerous research publications in this field. His research is unique in that he uses both written and oral sources and combines approaches, which lie at the intersection of history, religious studies, and anthropology. His knowledge of

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and Chaghatai has positioned him well for critically assessing the study of social history in Islamic Central Asia. His publications in English, Uzbek, and Russian address a spectrum of themes: Islam in early modern Central Asia; elucidation of legal documents from qazi courts; studies of contemporary shrines and their keepers; a social history of women and family in Central Asia.

Notable works

* ''Religion Made Official: a Comprehensive Collection of Documents from the State Archives of Soviet Uzbekistan, 1920s – 1960s. ith David Abramson' / “Institut Francais d’Etude sur l’Asie Centrale”, Almaty, Kazakhstan, 2009. * ''The Kubraviya Waqf (17th-19th Centuries): Written Sources on the Late History of the Kubravi Sufi Brotherhood in Central Asia'' / Tashkent, “Fan” Publishers: 2008, 280 p. n English, Uzbek and Russian
Library of Congress Online Catalog
* ''Book Review by Alexandre Papas (CNRS, Paris): Central Eurasian Reader: A Biennial Journal of Critical Bibliography and Epistemology of Central Eurasian Studies'' / Verlag: Klaus Schwar, Berlin; Band: Vol.2; 2010. * ''Qadhiy Documents and Khan’s yarliqs of the Khiva Khanate of 17th - the beginning of 20th centuries'' / Tashkent, “Fan” Publishers: 2007, 224 p.
Library of Congress Online CatalogBook review by Maria Szuppe (CNRS, Paris)
* ''Sacred Sites, Profane Ideologies: Religious Pilgrimage and the Uzbek State ith David Abramson' // Everyday Life in Central Asia Past and Present, edited by Jeff Sahadeo and Russell Zanca. Indiana University Press: 2007, pp. 319–338
''The Jews of Bukhara: the End of a Doubly Minoritary Space-Time (1897-1918)''
ith Catherine Poujol// Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée, n° 107-110 – Identités confessionnelles et espace urbain, septembre 2005: pp. 351–374 *
History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Development in contrast: from the sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth century
'. Vol. 5. UNESCO Publishing, Paris, 2003. pp. 760–768 * ''New Collections of Sources on Khorazm’s History of the XVII – the Beginning of the XX Century'' // UNESCO International Symposium on the Silk Roads, 2002. Presentation Paper. Xi’an, China 2002: pp. 193–197
''History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The Achievements (AD 750 - 15th Century)''. Vol. 4
(Part 2), Chapter 2, Part 3. UNESCO Publishing, Paris, 2000. pp. 81–85
''Sufi Brotherhoods in the 15th Century Central Asia''
// Bamberger Zentralasienstudien: Konferenzakten / ESCAS IV, Bamberg 8–12 October 1991, Ingeborg Baldauf; Michael Friederich (Hrsq.), Berlin: Schwarz, 1994, pp. 241–248

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karimov, Elyor 1964 births Living people Uzbekistani scientists Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies alumni