Nicola Di Cosmo

Nicola Di Cosmo
Luce Foundation Professor in East Asian Studies
School of Historical Studies

Nicola Di Cosmo received his Ph.D. from the Department of Uralic and Altaic Studies (now Central Eurasian Studies) at Indiana University in 1991, and held research and teaching positions at the University of Cambridge, Harvard University, and the University of Canterbury (New Zealand) before joining the Institute for Advanced Study in 2003. His main field of research is the history of the relations between China and Inner Asia from prehistory to the modern period. Within that broad area he has published on the early history of China's relations with steppe nomads (e.g., Ancient China and Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Powers in East Asian History, 2002); on Mongol and Manchu history (e.g., Manchu-Mongol Relations on the Eve of the Qing Conquest, 2003); and on China's northern frontier, especially in the Han and Qing periods. He is also interested  in the military history of China and Inner Asia, especially in relation to technological and cultural aspects. Recent publications include essays on the historiography of ancient nomads, on the Mongol empire's commercial relations with Europe, and on the political history of the early Qing dynasty.

Indiana University, Ph.D. 1991; University of Cambridge, Research Fellow 1989–92; Indiana University, Visiting Lecturer and Rockefeller Fellow 1992–93; Harvard University, Assistant Professor 1993–97, Associate Professor 1998–99; University of Canterbury, Senior Lecturer 1999–2003; Institute for Advanced Study, Member 1999, Luce Foundation Professor in East Asian Studies 2003–

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