Evgeny Ivanovich Narozhny: Archaeologist and Historian of the Golden Horde’s Possessions in the North Caucasus (to mark the researcher’s sixtieth birthday)

Research objective: To present the key stages in the development of Evgeny Ivanovich Narozhny’s academic activity and demonstrate his major contributions to the study of the historical and archaeological heritage of the Golden Horde in the North Caucasus. Research materials: This work is based on the results of a comparative analysis of the main academic studies of E.I. Narozhny. Results and novelty of the research: This work analyzes the main directions of the academic pursuits of the researcher and gave a description of his most important conclusions regarding the political history of the Golden Horde’s dominion in the North Caucasus, the dynamics of the influx of the nomadic population, and the state’s role in the region. The author highlighted the contributions of E.I. Narozhny in the study of the ethnic and cultural emergence of nomads and their influence on the history of the North Caucasus, as well as the “urban” population of the Golden Horde, the historical geography of this state, and global historical transformations that took place within a context of shifts in material culture and a change in ideological priorities.

“EKa Is Sick of EKa”

This chapter details Ernst Kantorowicz's obsession about youth and the effects of aging. In 1926 he wrote to Wilhelm Stein that he knew well of the “crisis of the thirty-year-old.” In 1939, he regretted that he was putting on weight as a result of his age (he was forty-four). His continual joking about dying at the age of fifty-six contained an element of memento mori, and when he outlived that year and turned sixty in 1955, his concern with age became a fixation. Just two weeks after his sixtieth birthday he referred to his “senility,” a term he then changed to “senile delinquency.” But this does not mean that he did not have his enjoyments and active engagements. In his later Princeton years until his death at age sixty-eight Kantorowicz led a very comfortable life.

Al-Qaeda 2.0

On 16 June 2011, three days before his sixtieth birthday, Ayman al-Zawahiri was declared the new leader of Al-Qaeda, replacing the fallen Osama bin Laden. The veteran Egyptian jihadist had little of his predecessor's charisma and enjoyed much less popularity, respect and celebrity. Yet, as scores of jihadi commanders from different organizations have succumbed to their enemies' missiles, bombs and bullets, Zawahiri has soldiered on. His tenure as Al-Qaeda's leader has been marked by some of its darkest and most challenging moments, which have threatened the viability and future of Al-Qaeda's central leadership. The gravest such development has been the emergence of Islamic State as a separate and rival jihadist entity. The best way to gauge Zawahiri's response to these threats is by studying the official statements and public communiqués that he has issued since taking the reins. This book provides the reader with professional translations of Zawahiri's key statements during his first five years as leader of Al-Qaeda. These official communications are introduced and contextualized to provide the reader with a comprehensive sourcebook, outlining the Al-Qaeda leadership's stance on the challenges to its existence since the death of bin Laden.