"Astrakhan and the Caspian Sea in Russia’s Early Modern Political Geography": Article by Guido Hausmann

Article by Guido Hausmann (IOS): Astrakhan and the Caspian Sea in Russia’s Early Modern Political Geography. In: Abbas Amanat, Kevin Gledhill, Kayhan A. Nejad (eds.): The Caspian World. Connections and Contentions at a Modern Eurasian Crossroads. Ithaca, New York & London: Cornell University Press, 2025, p. 113–133.

The book "The Caspian World" traces its origins back to a 2019 conference at Yale University that brought together specialists in the history of Iran/Persia and Russia, as well as other peoples living on the shores of the Caspian Sea and in neighboring regions, including Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Kazakhs, and Turkmen. This pioneering study, published by Cornell University Press, examines the distinctive features and diverse interconnections of the region from the 16th to the end of the 20th century. In his contribution, Guido Hausmann discusses the geographical and cartographic appropriation of the Caspian Sea by Europeans and Russians from the 16th to the end of the 18th century, and how these were linked to political claims and interests."

Guido Hausmann: Astrakhan and the Caspian Sea in Russia’s Early Modern Political Geography. In: Abbas Amanat, Kevin Gledhill, Kayhan A. Nejad (eds.): The Caspian World. Connections and Contentions at a Modern Eurasian Crossroads. Ithaca, New York & London: Cornell University Press, 2025, p. 113–133.