Simon Berger

Simon Berger is a postdoctoral researcher at CNRS under the "Societies and Cultures of Afghanistan" program (2024–2026). His research spans medieval Central Eurasia, focusing on the Mongol Empire, Eurasian steppe societies, state-building, and political anthropology of nomadic powers, with a specialization in Afghanistan's long-term historical dynamics.

Education:

• PhD in History from EHESS (2022), supervised by Étienne de la Vaissière, on "An Army as a People": The Military Structure of the Political and Social Organization of Eurasian Nomads through the Medieval Mongol Example
• Agrégé d’histoire (2015)
• Former student of École Normale Supérieure de Lyon (2011–2016)

Research Interests: Medieval Central Eurasia, Mongol Empire, nomadic state-building, ideological transmission in nomadic societies, and Mongol imperial historiography. His work integrates political anthropology and critical source analysis of Afghan nomadic history.

Professional Experience: Held teaching and research roles at the University of Strasbourg (ATER, 2023), INaLCO (Lecturer, 2022–2023), Sorbonne University (Lecturer, 2020–2022), and EHESS (Teaching Supervisor, 2016–2018).

Scientific Awards:

• Royal Asiatic Society David Morgan Best Paper Award (2022) for work on Plano Carpini and Jūzjānī's role in Mongol Empire origins
• GIS Asia Thesis Award (2022) for his EHESS/CETOBAC dissertation

Research Projects: Contributed to cartographic studies (CartOrient), epigraphic research (EpiPOM), Persian martyr acts (TransPerse), and linguistic resources for Iranian languages (Perspred), reflecting his interdisciplinary engagement with Central Eurasian heritage.