Michael Shenkar

Prof. Michael Shenkar is an Associate Professor of Pre-Islamic Iranian Studies at the University of Oxford. His research focuses on civilizations and cultures of the pre-Islamic Iranian world through material remains and visual representations. He co-directs excavations at the Sogdian town of Sanjar-Shah (5th-9th centuries CE) in northern Tajikistan with Dr. Sharof Kurbanov.

Research interests include:

• Pre-Islamic Iranian archaeology and art
• Zoroastrian religious iconography
• Sogdian civilization
• Silk Road cultural interactions
• Eurasian nomadic cultures

Scientific recognition:

• ONGC Visiting Fellow