Gone : Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan, originally uploaded by babasteve.

Timur, who married one of Genghis Khan's descendants, moved the capital of the Mongol Empire to this ancient city.

See my various posts below on the legacy of the Mongol Empire and what is currently going on in Central Asia as I blog from Moscow.

About me

In fall 2007, I started working for the Kabul Center for Strategic Studies, a think tank founded by Afghans based in Kabul, Afghanistan, to build Afghan policy research expertise.

In 2006 Palgrave published a book I cowrote, "Jihad and International Security," with Jalil Roshandel.

Now I'm watching what I see to be the last gasp of a nonviable movement: militant, insurgent jihadism. This movement has killed many more Muslims than polytheists, infidels, or non-Muslims. It has also done more to damage the image of Islam than any other force in 1400 years of Islamic history.

Bruce Lawrence, Professor of Islamic Studies, Director, Duke Islamic Studies Center, Duke University