Connecting “Liminal” Spaces – Jewish Trade Networks in Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Khurāsān
In: Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion, Volume 33Search for other papers by Ariane Sadjed in
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Abstract
In nineteenth and early twentieth century Khurāsān, Jewish traders were integral in connecting the region to a variety of places, ranging from Central Asia, Afghanistan and India, to Russia and Europe. Expanding the geographical focus beyond the nation state and looking at the connections that were significant at the time enables us to move towards decentered considerations of belonging and provides a more precise understanding of regions that tend to be considered as “peripheral”. Based on family histories, interviews, memoirs and archival research, this chapter will point out a broad spectrum of relations that Jews in and from Khurāsān maintained to different kinds of actors, polities and communities, persisting well into the twentieth century. As such, Jews were one of the main pillars for sustaining the traditional economy in the region. The border regimes between Russia, Iran, and Afghanistan that emerged at the end of the nineteenth century affected the mobility and forms of identification among tradesmen profoundly. By following their routes, I will point out how the evolvement of new political and economic spheres led to the dispersion of traditional Jewish trade networks from Khurāsān.