Keywords
Abstract
This thesis examines interregional cultural contacts between the Tashkent oasis and the Ferghana Valley during the ninth–twelfth centuries through the analysis of medieval glassware. The source base consists of published glass finds from Binkat-Tashkent, Kanka, Banokat-Shahrukhiya, Kavardan, Tunkat, Akhsikent and Kuva, compared against archaeological and archaeometric evidence from Samarkand, Bukhara, Paykend and Nishapur. Typological, morphological, technological, comparative and historical-contextual methods are applied to vessel rims, necks, bodies, handles and bases, together with manufacturing techniques, surface treatment, colour and decoration. Similarities are not treated automatically as proof of direct importation but are interpreted in relation to several mechanisms: circulation of finished vessels, movement of raw or semi-finished glass, mobility of craftspeople, transfer of technical knowledge and local imitation. The results show that both regions shared common functional and morphological groups — bottles, flasks, carafes, bowls, cups and goblets — indicating participation in a common Central Asian glassmaking and consumption tradition. However, formal parallels alone cannot prove direct trade in finished vessels. The medieval glass economy is best explained as a decentralised, multi-centred system combining local and regional production, interurban exchange, selective importation, recycling and the transfer of craft knowledge. Chemical and isotopic analysis of stratified assemblages is required to determine the precise provenance of the glass.
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