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The Story of a Drunken Mughal: Alcohol Culture in Timurid Central Asia

Honchell, Stephanie
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1419850248

Abstract Details

2015, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, History.
This project uses the context of alcohol consumption under the Timurid dynasty in fifteenth-century Central Asia as a prism through which larger cultural and religious trends can be understood and explained. While the assumption that Islam forbids alcohol is often repeated, the issue of alcohol consumption has never been as clear-cut as is often portrayed. In the context of Central Asia, Islamization facilitated rather than hindered the continuation of traditional drinking practices due to the proliferation and flexibility of the Hanafi legal rite and the Maturidist school of theology. As a result, drinking practices did not represent a lack of regard for religious tenets, but instead reflected Islam’s interpretive adaptability. By emphasizing long-term cultural evolution, this project shows how various historical trends converged up to and during the Timurid period and were then disseminated outward, specifically into South Asia with the establishment of the Timurid-Mughal Empire. In addition to shedding light on religious practice, the Timurids’ drinking culture exemplified the ongoing socio-economic shift in the region away from pastoral nomadism. By exploring the changing contexts and occasions of alcohol consumption in fifteenth-century Central Asia, it is possible to identify the distinctive influences of Islamization and sedentarization in shaping cultural practice. As a result, it becomes clear that the most significant factor in shaping Timurid culture was not Islam or a turn towards religious orthodoxy, but instead the ongoing shift away from nomadism in favor of a more sedentary lifestyle.
Scott Levi (Advisor)
Jane Hathaway (Committee Member)
184 p.
History; Islamic Studies
Central Asia, Timurids, Tamerlane, Shah Rukh, Babur, Alcohol Culture

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Honchell, S. (2015). The Story of a Drunken Mughal: Alcohol Culture in Timurid Central Asia [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1419850248

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Honchell, Stephanie. The Story of a Drunken Mughal: Alcohol Culture in Timurid Central Asia. 2015. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1419850248.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Honchell, Stephanie. "The Story of a Drunken Mughal: Alcohol Culture in Timurid Central Asia." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1419850248

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1419850248
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.