This book analyzes how Central Asians actively engaged with the rapidly globalizing world of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In presenting the first English-language history of the Khanate of Khoqand (1709–1876), Scott C. Levi examines the rise of that extraordinarily dynamic state in the Ferghana Valley. Levi reveals the many ways in which the Khanate’s integration with globalizing forces shaped political, economic, demographic, and environmental developments in the region, and he illustrates how these same forces contributed to the downfall of Khoqand.

To demonstrate the major historical significance of this vibrant state and region, too often relegated to the periphery of early modern Eurasian history , Levi applies a “connected history” methodology showing in great detail how Central Asians actively influenced policies among their larger imperial neighbors—notably tsarist Russia and Qing China. This original study will appeal to a wide interdisciplinary audience, including scholars and students of Central Asian, Russian, Middle Eastern, Chinese, and world history, as well as the study of comparative empire and the history of globalization.

Professor Scott Levi joined the OSU History Department in 2008 as a specialist in the history of Islamic Central Asia. He earned his Ph.D. in History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2000).

Professor Levi's research focuses on the socio-economic history of early modern Central Asia. In addition to his journal articles, book chapters and other publications, Professor Levi has authored The Indian Diaspora in Central Asia and its Trade, 1550-1900 (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 2002). He has also edited India and Central Asia: Commerce and Culture, 1500–1800 (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2007) and co-edited (with Ron Sela) Islamic Central Asia: An Anthology of Sources (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2010). He has recently completed work on another book, Caravans: Indian Merchants on the Silk Road (Penguin 2015). He is currently at work on another research monograph, Central Asia on the Frontier of Empires: The Khanate of Khoqand (1799-1876), that seeks to connect the Khanate's rapid rise and fall to larger Eurasian, and global, historical patterns. Professor Levi is a recipient of the 2011 OSU Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching.