Cultural Heritage - The Times Of Central Asia

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Archaeology

Archaeologist Steven Gilbert on Medieval Christianity in Kazakhstan

For almost a decade, archaeologists excavating a medieval Silk Road city in southeastern Kazakhstan have been uncovering evidence of a little-known Christian community that lived there centuries before the Russian conquest. At Ilibalyk, in the Zhetysu region near Kazakhstan’s border with China, they have found a Christian cemetery, dozens of gravestones bearing crosses and epitaphs, a funerary chapel, and burials of women of high social status. In an interview with The Times of Central Asia, American archaeologist Steven Gilbert discusses the discoveries at Ilibalyk, what they reveal about Christianity in medieval Central Asia, and what archaeology can add to Kazakhstanis’ understanding of the region’s past. TCA: What inspired you to pursue archaeology, and how did your research journey bring you to Kazakhstan? Gilbert: I lived in Kazakhstan before I became an archaeologist. I moved to Kazakhstan in 1993, shortly after independence. My wife and I originally came as part of a humanitarian organization because Kazakhstan was facing many difficulties at the time. Our organization was involved in food aid projects in the Aral Sea region and various exchange programs. My interest in archaeology began after a schoolteacher discovered a very large Christian gravestone, one meter long, in Usharal, in the Panfilov district of the Zhetysu region, in 2014. I had previously conducted historical research into Christianity in Central Asia and knew that Christians had been present in the region since the fifth century, and possibly as early as the second century. The discovery of this remarkable artifact, now housed at the Center for the Rapprochement of Cultures in Almaty, allowed me to establish connections with archaeologists from Kazakhstan and the United States. Through them, I returned to the U.S. to study archaeology specifically so that I could work at this and other sites. TCA: What makes the ancient city of Ilibalyk historically unique within the Silk Road network? Gilbert: Ilibalyk was located on an ancient trade route just beyond the Dzungarian Gate in this region. It was a stop before Almaliq, the capital of the Chagataids in the late medieval period. This oasis on the edge of the desert was an important place for travelers both before and after the Mongol conquest. For our research, its uniqueness lies primarily in the fact that we now know that a large community of Turkic-speaking Christians lived here for almost two centuries, from the 12th to the 14th century.They lived in the city alongside followers of several religions: Muslims, Buddhists, Manichaeans, and those who followed traditional religious beliefs that today we call Tengrism. This is the first clearly Christian cemetery discovered in Kazakhstan dating from before the arrival of the Russian Empire. Christian communities and cemeteries had previously been found in Kyrgyzstan, but this is the first reliable evidence of such a community on the territory of modern-day Kazakhstan. TCA: Which of the artifacts and discoveries made by your team at Ilibalyk do you consider the most significant? Gilbert: We have discovered more than 50 gravestones, known as kairaks, bearing images of crosses. Six of...

Archaeology

Ancient Royal Seal Discovered in Tajikistan

Archaeologists from Tajikistan’s National Museum say they have made a significant discovery, a royal seal made of fired clay from the Kushan period, which began about 2,000 years ago and lasted for several centuries. The circular, pea-green seal has a perforation for threading a cord and was found in very good condition in the Abdurahmoni Jomi district of Khatlon region in southwest Tajikistan, the museum said on August 14. “This discovery may mark a new stage in the study of the Kushan period in the region, providing a solid scholarly basis for reassessing certain existing theories and interpretations concerning its history,” the museum said in a statement. The Kushan Empire extended across a vast area at the height of its power, including swaths of present-day Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and northern India. It emerged from the Yuezhi, a nomadic people who had migrated from what is today northwestern China and established themselves in Bactria, an ancient Central Asian region. The decorated surface of the newly discovered seal, engraved within a circular field measuring six centimeters in diameter, features what the museum’s archaeologists describe as significant political, cultural and artistic elements of the Kushan period. “The composition includes a Bactrian inscription, geometric ornamentation, a bust of a king wearing a crenellated crown, depictions of mountain goats, symbols associated with the royal authority and statehood of the Kushan rulers, as well as motifs associated with the authority of local rulers and other symbolic elements,” the Tajik museum said. Specialists from the Department of Archaeology and Numismatics at the National Museum are analyzing the seal and, once finalized, their findings will be shared with a wider circle of researchers. Arkeonews, an archaeology news platform, said the Bactrian inscription on the seal could be especially important because it might “help determine whether the seal belonged to a royal official, a local ruler or another figure operating within the Kushan political system.” The platform said “the seal may ultimately provide evidence for the relationship between Kushan rulers and regional elites in what is now southern Tajikistan.” Arkeonews said that until the museum’s analysis is complete, some of the “most important questions -- who used the seal, what it was intended to authenticate, and how it functioned within Kushan administration -- remain unanswered.”

Cultural Heritage

Rome to Host Exhibition of Ancient Artifacts from Tajikistan

The National Museum of Tajikistan will present an exhibition in Rome later this year, displaying cultural and archaeological heritage spanning about 2,500 years. The exhibition, titled Tajikistan – The Land of Unique Heritage, will open in Rome on October 20 and mark the 35th anniversary of Tajikistan’s independence from the Soviet Union, according to the National Museum. Tajikistan declared independence on September 9, 1991. The show includes artifacts from Takht-i Sangin, an archaeological site in southern Tajikistan; the Ajina-Teppa Buddhist monastery, a seventh- to eighth-century site in the south where a large reclining Buddha statue was discovered; and Panjakent, the ruins of an ancient Sogdian city that was part of the Silk Road trade network and lies in northwestern Tajikistan. “The exhibited artifacts span a chronological period from the 6th century BCE to the 20th century CE, illustrating the major stages in the formation and development of the civilization of the Tajik people,” the National Museum said. Heritage from Tajikistan has previously gone on display in Europe. From October 2021 to January 2022, the show Tajikistan: The Land of Golden Rivers was held at the Musée Guimet. It featured heritage spanning the period from prehistory to the arrival of Islam in Central Asia in the early eighth century. Rome recently hosted another exhibition of artifacts from Central Asia. From October 2025 to April this year, the Capitoline Museums presented Ancient Civilizations of Turkmenistan. On display were “masterpieces from prehistoric Margiana, corresponding to the present-day Murghab River valley in southeastern Turkmenistan, and from ancient Parthia, in particular from Nisa,” a site in south-central Turkmenistan that is more than 2,000 years old, Italy’s foreign ministry said.

Cultural Heritage

Rain Festival: How Ancient Tirgon Became an Official Holiday in Tajikistan

Until recently, Tirgon was remembered mainly through medieval poetry and scholarly references. In 2023, an apricot festival and dried-fruit exhibition were held in its honor in Dushanbe. Now, the ancient agricultural holiday is listed in Tajikistan’s official calendar of festive dates. In 2026, it was celebrated for the first time under its new official status. A Holiday Rooted in Antiquity Tirgon belongs to the ancient seasonal traditions of Iranian peoples and is mentioned in sources including Ferdowsi’s epic poem Shahnameh. Tajik sources trace these seasonal holidays back several millennia. Tirgon was traditionally associated with the 13th day of the month of Tir in the ancient Iranian calendar, with celebrations lasting several days. At its core, the holiday is connected with water and the fertility of the land. In ancient practice, people prayed to ancestral spirits for protection from drought before the new harvest was gathered. From Custom to Law Tirgon received official status only recently. An amendment to Tajikistan’s Law “On Holidays” added the festival to the country’s calendar of official holiday dates in 2025. The change was presented as part of Tajikistan’s effort to preserve national cultural heritage and revive ancient folk traditions. The country’s holiday calendar already contained dozens of dates, though not all official holidays are non-working days. Tirgon’s new status shows its place in the country’s cultural life and in the state-backed revival of ancient seasonal traditions. The First Official Tirgon In 2026, Tirgon was marked for the first time after being added to the official holiday calendar. The date is observed on July 1, but the 2026 production calendar did not make it an additional non-working day. To mark the holiday, the president addressed the nation with a message connecting the ancient reverence for water with Tajikistan’s modern water diplomacy. The message referred to the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development” and Tajikistan’s glacier-protection initiatives. Through that framing, the old ritual was tied to one of Tajikistan’s main foreign-policy themes: water. Part of a Seasonal Cycle Tirgon is part of Tajikistan’s revived cycle of ancient seasonal holidays. In that cycle, Sada is associated with fire and purification. Nowruz marks renewal, and Mehrgon is linked to the harvest. Tirgon occupies the place of water and rain, without which farming is impossible. Each holiday is tied to a time of year and a natural element revered in ancient tradition. Its return to the official calendar gives an old ritual a new public role. For many years, knowledge of Tirgon survived mainly in old manuscripts and scholarly descriptions. Its modern revival moved quickly. Public celebrations resumed in 2023. Official recognition followed in 2025, and the first observance under the new status came in 2026. Tajikistan has made water diplomacy a major part of its international agenda, including glacier protection. In that context, an ancient holiday dedicated to rain and the fertility of the land has taken on contemporary political meaning. Tirgon is a reminder that water in the region is a condition for agriculture and survival.

Bukhara Biennial

Bukhara Biennial Sets 2027 Dates and Names New Artistic Director

Organizers of the Bukhara Biennial have announced key details of its second edition: the event will run from September 3 to November 21, 2027, with architect and designer Kulapat Yantrasast appointed artistic director. The announcement was made at the Fondation Beyeler during Art Basel in Basel, Switzerland, placing the Uzbek cultural project before an international art and museum audience. What Is Known About the 2027 Concept Yantrasast will succeed Diana Campbell, who curated the first edition in 2025. The biennial’s organizer remains Gayane Umerova, chairwoman of the Art and Culture Development Foundation of Uzbekistan (ACDF). In 2025, artists were paired with Uzbek master craftsmen. The 2027 format will expand that model by involving local ecologists, scientists, and economists. The central theme will be the connection between art, urban space, and sustainable development. Bukhara as Venue Biennial projects will be housed in restored caravanserais, madrasas, hammams, city squares, and other historic sites, some of which are expected to open to the public for the first time. The aim is to place contemporary art within Bukhara’s historic urban fabric. The city holds UNESCO Creative City status in crafts and folk art, giving the biennial a venue with international cultural recognition. [caption id="attachment_51635" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Image: bukharabiennial.uz[/caption] Who the New Artistic Director Is Kulapat Yantrasast studied architecture under Tadao Ando and founded the studio WHY Architecture in 2004. His recent projects include the reconstruction of the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the ILMI Science and Innovation Center in Riyadh, and the Dib art museum in Bangkok. His studio is also working on the Department of Byzantine and Eastern Christian Art at the Louvre in Paris and the National Museum of India, which is expected to become the largest museum in the world. Yantrasast has previously worked with ACDF on When Apricots Blossom, shown at Milan Design Week in 2026. The First Edition The first Bukhara Biennial ran from September 5 to November 23, 2025, under the theme Recipes for Broken Hearts, curated by Diana Campbell. It drew 1.8 million visitors, more than half of them from Bukhara and other regions of Uzbekistan. Participating artists included Antony Gormley, Marina Perez Simão, Erika Verzutti, Subodh Gupta, Delcy Morelos, and Dana Awartani. [caption id="attachment_51636" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Image: bukharabiennial.uz[/caption] Part of a Wider Cultural Strategy The Bukhara Biennial forms part of a wider ACDF program to expand Uzbekistan’s cultural infrastructure. The foundation is overseeing the Center for Contemporary Art in Tashkent, due to open on September 6, 2026, and the National Museum of Uzbekistan, designed by Tadao Ando. ACDF has also formed an international advisory board for the biennial, with members including Chris Dercon and Michael Govan. [caption id="attachment_51637" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Image: bukharabiennial.uz[/caption] The Art Basel announcement suggests that Uzbekistan is positioning the biennial as a recurring international platform, while keeping Bukhara’s historic sites and local audiences at its center. In 2025, nearly two million people attended the event in the city’s restored historic spaces. For the 2027 edition, the challenge...

Cultural Heritage

Mikhail Borisoglebsky’s Dzhangyr-Bai: Kazakh Steppe Culture and a Society in Transition

Among the overlooked literary works of the early Soviet period, Mikhail Borisoglebsky’s Dzhangyr-Bai stands as a fascinating cultural and historical artifact. Published in Moscow and Leningrad in 1926, the illustrated book follows Dzhangyr-Bai, a Kazakh figure of the old steppe order, as he confronts a changing world. It is also a vivid ethnographic portrait of the Kazakh steppe, with close attention to its music, clothing, traditions, and spiritual atmosphere. The surviving illustrated edition shows how literature once acted as a bridge between cultures, documenting a way of life being rapidly reshaped by modernization and Soviet reform. The opening pages immediately immerse the reader in the vastness of the steppe, described as boundless and almost eternal in its quiet. Borisoglebsky presents the Kazakh landscape poetically, comparing it to a calm sea beneath the sky. The rhythm of the seasons defines life there: harsh winters bury the earth beneath snow, while spring brings birdsong, grasslands, and nomadic movement. This introduction is not decorative. The steppe itself becomes a living presence in the story, shaping the mentality and fate of the people who inhabit it. At the center of the narrative is Dzhangyr-Bai, a representative of the old order. Through his character, Borisoglebsky explores the tension between tradition and the “new time” that emerged after the Russian Revolution. The story reflects a historical moment when nomadic customs and clan authority came under pressure from Soviet visions of modernization and social change. Dzhangyr-Bai symbolizes a generation struggling to understand whether change is a threat or an opportunity. One of the book’s most striking aspects is its ethnographic richness. The illustrations included in the edition are valuable visual records of Kazakh culture in the 1920s. Traditional clothing and wedding attire are carefully depicted, along with ornaments and everyday objects. These images reveal the elegance and practicality of steppe life. Headdresses and layered garments, many of them embroidered, show how identity and status were expressed visually in nomadic society. The illustrations of musical instruments are equally important. The dombra and kobyz shown in the book appear as central elements of cultural memory rather than exotic curiosities. Other traditional instruments also appear as part of the same artistic world. In Kazakh culture, music has long carried history and lineage, giving emotional form to memory. Through songs and oral storytelling, generations preserved their worldview long before widespread literacy. By including these instruments, the publication acknowledges the deep intellectual and artistic traditions of the Kazakh people. Another memorable section depicts children’s toys and household objects. These seemingly simple details offer insight into everyday life in the steppe. They remind modern readers that history is carried by ordinary habits as well as political upheaval. Such details transform the book into a historical archive as much as a literary work. Today, Dzhangyr-Bai has value far beyond its original political context. For contemporary readers in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, the book captures a transitional era when ancient nomadic civilization encountered industrial modernity. It records material life while also showing how people understood...