Turko-Persian culture as a connector between East and West
Central Asia, Caucasus and Middle East form a belt between the western frontier of modern day China and eastern-most Europe. Across this vast swath of land, much of it being harsh mountains and deserts dotted with oases and valleys, there is a remarkable continuity in culture, despite the many rulers who have come and gone in different parts of these regions throughout its long history.
This is thanks to the two major groups of people who have dominated the region for much of recent history: the sedentary Iranian people who have long inhabited the region, and the nomadic Turkic tribes who presumably originated from present day Mongolia and Northeastern China, who migrated into the region in successive waves over millennia. They fought wars with each other, co-existed peacefully with each other, and through the process has created a strong symbiosis through intensive engagement with each other over centuries.
They even transformed the cultures of their conquerors. After being Islamized by Arabs in the 7th century, they brought about a new Turco-Persian Islamic culture that gave new dynamism to the development of Islamic culture. In the 12th century, when they were conquered by the Mongol Empire, local Mongol rulers had in turn embraced Islam. Such was the strength of their culture.
In the artistic heritage of this Turco-Persian culture, especially in their music and their costumes, we can find traces of abstract Islamic philosophy, of shamanistic belief in natural spirits, of the pursuit of divine mystical love, and of constant exchanges with its neighbors from east to west and from north to south. We invite you to discover this fascinating land, its peoples and their rich cultural heritage with us!
Ancient Empires
In this exhibition, you may explore different ancient empires who had ruled over this vast swath of land at the interactive device powered by Google Earth.
- Achaemenid Empire (550 BC–330 BC)The first empire in history to stretch between today’s Egypt and Tajikistan, making possible long-distance trade and cultural exchanges, fusing Greek, Mesopotamian, Central Asian and other elements to form a unique Persian culture that is both diverse and orderly.
- Mongol Empire (1206–1368)The Mongol Empire was the largest empire in history that had contiguous land from the Pacific to the Mediterranean. Cultural exchanges between its Turkic and Persian populations, among others, were fostered not only by the size of the empire, but also the active Mongol patrons of arts.
- Timurid Empire (1370–1507)Established by the Turko-Mongol conqueror Tamerlane between Central Asia and Anatolia, the Timurid Empire adapted Persianate culture, and saw the “Timurid Renaissance” in the arts such as painting and handicrafts, combining Persian and Chinese features, as well as in poetry, all of which became classics for subsequent states of Turco-Persian culture.
- Ottoman Empire (1299-1922), Safavid Empire (1501-1736) & the Uzbek Khanates (1506-1920)These three polities were all inheritors of Turco-Persian cultures in their own distinct ways. While the Uzbek khanates ruled over much of Central Asia, and the Safavid Empire Iran and the Caucasus, the Ottoman Empire stretched from Turkey into the Balkans and North Africa to the west and the Iranian border to the east.