Above: Ai Khanoum Mosaic by Edward A. S. Ross.
January 2020 – present
This is my current PhD research project. I am studying in the Department of Classics at the University of Reading under the supervision of Prof. Rachel Mairs and Prof. Ian Rutherford. My research examines the daily religious life of people in Hellenistic Bactria. This was a period in Central Asia immediately following the conquests of Alexander III of Macedon (356 – 323 BCE). Ancient Greek and Macedonian people were forcibly migrated to Central Asia during these conquests and married into local Bactrian families. This created a new cultural milieu that was influenced by the Ancient Greek, Macedonian, Iranian, and Indian worlds. The people living in Bactria during this period engaged in a variety of religious practice for the purpose of fulfilling their spiritual needs. My dissertation explores the lived experience of these people by addressing three major themes: transplanting sacred landscapes, multi-religious spaces, and ancient proselytism.
Proposed Submission: January 2024
My research is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Blakes Scholarship from the Canadian Centennial Scholarship Fund (CCSF), the Spalding Memorial Educational Trust, the New Classicists Journal, and the Hellenic Society.
Outputs
Conference Presentations
Ross, Edward A. S. “This is Our Sacred Place: The Spiritual Transplantation of Sacred Landscapes in Hellenistic Central Asia.” Godscapes: Ritual, Belief and the Natural World in the Ancient Mediterranean and Beyond, University of St. Andrews, United Kingdom. June 28, 2023.
Ross, Edward A. S. “Bringing the Dhamma over Mountains: Buddhist Transmission Activity and the Hindukush-Karakoram Mountain Range.” United Kingdom Association for Buddhist Studies Annual Conference – Negotiating Boundaries, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, United Kingdom. June 22, 2023.
Ross, Edward A. S. “The Other Home of the Gods: The Spiritual Transplantation of Sacred Landscapes in Hellenistic Central Asia.” University of Reading Classics Postgraduate Colloquium, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom. May 26, 2023.
Ross, Edward A. S. “Living Spiritual Beings: Understanding Ancient Multi-Religion through Translocalism.” University of Reading Postgraduate Research Sharing Workshop, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom. March 23, 2023.
Ross, Edward A. S. “Parsing the Unexpected: Re-examining the “Local” Ritual Practices of Hellenistic Bactria at Aï Khanoum and Torbulok.” Interpreting Afghanistan: Art, Archaeology, and History of the Eastern Iranian World (600 BCE-999 CE), University of California, Irvine, California, United States of America. October 7, 2022.
Ross, Edward A. S. “Making Space for Buddhism: Early Buddhist Practice in Hellenistic Central Asian Religious Spaces.” 28th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary. September 3, 2022.
(Poster) Ross, Edward A. S. “Ritual Activity in Multi-Religious Spaces: A Case Study of the Hellenistic Far East.” University of Reading Graduate School Doctoral Research Conference, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom. June 15, 2022.
Ross, Edward A. S. “A Place or Everyone: Understanding the Sanctuary at Aï Khanoum as a Multi-Religious Space.” University of Reading Classics Postgraduate Colloquium, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom. June 8, 2022.
(Poster) Ross, Edward A. S. “Ritual Activity in Multi-Religious Spaces: A Case Study of the Hellenistic Far East.” Fourth Conference of the Hellenistic Central Asia Research Network – Entangled Pasts and Presents: Temporal Interactions and Knowledge Production in the Study of Hellenistic Central Asia, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany. March 24, 2022.
Ross, Edward A. S. “Piety and Truth: The Western Reception of Dhamma in the Hellenistic Far East.” Dynamic Encounters Between Buddhism and the West, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. June 28, 2021.
Ross, Edward A. S. “Bringing Merit to the Yonakas through Fear: The Perception and Use of Hell as Skilful Means in Buddhist Proselytism.” Annual Meeting of Postgraduates in Ancient Literature, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom. June 19, 2021.
Ross, Edward A. S. “Greeks, Central Asians, Muslims: The Evolving Identity of Yonas/Yavanas in South Asia.” University of Reading Classics Doctoral Colloquium, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom. May 20, 2021.
Ross, Edward A. S. “Votive River Stones: The Problem of Locating Material Culture in Central Asian Archaeology.” University of Reading Classics Doctoral Colloquium, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom. June 3, 2020.
Edward A. S. Ross 