Arash Khazeni

Arash Khazeni is Professor of History, Chair of the History Department, and Coordinator of Middle Eastern Studies at Pomona College, where he has been a faculty member since 2010. He holds a Ph.D. in History from Yale University and specializes in the imperial, environmental, and borderland histories of the modern Middle East, South Asia, and the Indian Ocean.

• Ph.D., Yale University
• M.A., Yale University
• B.A., University of Wisconsin, Madison

His research explores the margins of empires and the interconnected histories of the Indo-Persian world, blending environmental history with world-historical perspectives. He investigates how societies on the periphery—such as tribal communities and pastoralists—interacted with imperial structures and shaped transregional exchanges. His approach is influenced by E.P. Thompson’s 'history from below' and engages with postcolonial and Marxist frameworks.

His publications reveal a consistent focus on global trade, cultural mobility, and human-environment interactions, particularly in arid and frontier zones. Themes such as the turquoise trade, equestrian pastoralism, and Indo-Persian travel writing demonstrate his interdisciplinary reach across economic, cultural, and environmental history.

• Recipient of the Middle East Studies Association Houshang Pourshariati Book Award
• Balzan Keddie Fellowship, UCLA
• Huntington Library, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Short Term Research Fellowship

Khazeni advises on interdisciplinary scholarship and has co-edited thematic volumes on trade in the Persianate world. His academic leadership includes directing the Middle Eastern Studies program and teaching courses on Gunpowder Empires, Environmental Histories, and the Indian Ocean World. He has no known active grants listed, but his fellowships reflect sustained research support.

He is deeply involved in shaping curricula that connect global regions and historical methodologies. His work is associated with intellectual communities focused on world history and environmental humanities, though no formal lab or research team is mentioned.