Robert J Haug , PhD
Associate Professor
Associate Professor, Director of Undergraduate Advising, History
Professional Summary
Prof. Haug received his BA in Geography and History from DePaul University in 1999, his MA in Modern Middle Eastern and North African Studies from the University of Michigan in 2002, and his PhD in Near Eastern Studies also from the University of Michigan in 2010. Prof. Haug came to the University of Cincinnati's History Department in 2010 where he has taught survey courses in World and Middle Eastern History as well as the history of Iran and a variety of upper level courses on the history of the Islamic World including courses on the `Abbasid Caliphate, the Crusades, the history of Afghanistan and Central Asia, and the interaction between nomadic and agrarian societies. His research interests focus on the history of the early Islamic World (7th-13th centuries) with a special interest on the Iranian World and Central Asia. He is the author of The Eastern Froniter: Limits of Empire in Late Antique and Early Medieval Central Asia, published by I.B. Tauris/Bloomsbury in 2019. His current research project focuses on representations of masculinity in medieval chronicles with special focus on accounts of the conquest of Iran and Central Asia.
Education
PhD: University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, 2010 (Near Eastern Studies)
MA: University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, 2002 (Modern Middle Eastern and North African Studies)
BA: DePaul University Chicago, IL, 1999 (Geography and History)
Positions and Work Experience
2012 -2018 Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor of Islamic World History, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
2011 -2012 Educator Assistant Professor, Educator Assistant Professor of Islamic World and World History, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
2010 -2011 Visiting Assistant Professor, Visiting Assistant Professor of World and Islamic World History, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
2014 -To Present Director of the Program in Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cincinnati,
2018 -To Present Associate Professor, Associate Professor of Islamic World History, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
Research Support
05-2013 -08-2013 Charles Phelps Taft Research Center Summer Research Fellowship Planned/In Preparation Type:Fellowship
Abbreviated Publications
Review
Review of M. Levy-Rubin. Non-Muslims in the Early Islamic Empire: From Surrender to Coexistence. Cambridge, 2011. In: Middle East Media and Book Reviews Online. Vol. 1, no. 1, 2013.
Review of A. Azad, Sacred Landscape in Medieval Afghanistan: Revisiting the Faḍā’il-i Balkh. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013). In The Journal of Near Eastern Studies. Vol. 74, no. 2 (Oct. 2015), 386-8.
Review of S. Savran, Arabs and Iranians in the Islamic Conquest Narrative: Memory and Identity Construction in Islamic Historiography, 750-1050. (Abingdon, Oxon and New York: Routledge, 2018). In Review of Middle East Studies 53 (2019), 179–81.
Review of T. El-Hibri, The Abbasid Caliphate: A History. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021). In International Journal of Middle East Studies 54 (2022), 394-6.
Peer Reviewed Publications
“Frontiers and the State in the Medieval Islamic World: Jihād Between Caliphs and Volunteers,” History Compass, vol. 9, issue 8 (August, 2011), 634-643.
"The Gifts of Mihragan: Taxation, Tribute, and the Licitness of Gifts on Non-Muslim Holidays" in Richard Beal and JoAnn Scurlock (eds.), What Difference Does Time Make? Oxford: Archaeopress Publishing, 2020, pp. 31-43.
Book Chapter
“Frontiers and the State in the Medieval Islamic World: Jihād Between Caliphs and Volunteers,” in Carool Kersten (editor), The Caliphate and Islamic Statehood: Formation, Fragmentation and Modern Interpretations, (Berlin & London: Gerlach Press, 2015), 1:76-86.
“Slaves with Swords: Slave-Soldiers in Essos and in the Islamic World” in Brian Pavlac (ed.), Game of Thrones Versus History: Written in Blood, (Hoboken, NJ; Wiley, 2017), pp. 111–21.
Encyclopedia Article
“Farīghūnids (Āl-i Farīghūn, Banū Farīghūn).” Encyclopaedia of Islam, Third Edition. (Leiden: Brill, 2015), vol. 2015-4, pp. 132-4.
“ʿAmr b. al-Layth,” Encyclopaedia of Islam, Third Edition, (Leiden: Brill, 2010), vol. 2010-x, pp. 91–2.
Book
The Eastern Frontier: Limits of Empire in Late Antique and Early Medieval Central Asia
Popular Magazine Article
“En el techo del mundo: La expansion hacia Oriente,” Desperta Ferro, 46 (March, 2018), pp. 40–9.
Other Publication
"Recompense and Reward: The Scholarly Contributions of Michael David Bonner (1955-2019)," Der Islam 96 (2019): 271-80.
Presentations
Invited Presentations
Robert Haug (06-30-2011. ) The Rise of Islam and World History .World History Initiative, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Workshop. . Level:Regional
Robert Haug (11-01-2014. ) What Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and ISIS Don't Know About Islamic History: The Use and Abuse of History in Modern Iraq and Beyond .Cincinnati Public Library, Genealogy & Local History Program, Cincinnati, OH. Other Institution. . Level:Local
Paper Presentations
Robert Haug (04-06-2013. ) Recycled Elites: The Transformation of Dihqans in Early Islamic Khurasan .Honolulu, HI. Conference. Level:National
Robert Haug (01-03-2013. ) Between the Limits and the Gaps: Conceptualizing Frontiers in Medieval Arabic and Persian Geographies .New Orleans, LA. Conference. Level:National
Robert Haug (12-02-2011. ) From City of Merchants to City of Murābiṭūn: The Origins of Baykand‟s 1,000 Ribāṭs .Washington DC. Conference. Level:National
Robert Haug (11-19-2010. ) Overlapping Frontiers: Defining the Limits of Ma wara’ al-Nahr and the Presence of Non-Muslim Authorities .San Diego, CA. Professional Meeting. Level:National
Robert Haug (03-15-2014. ) How to be an Arab Dihqan: The Appropriation of Persian Symbols of Authority in Early Islamic Khurasan .Phoenix, AZ. Conference. Level:National
Robert Haug (02-08-2014. ) Between the Steppe and the Throne: The Rise of Daenerys Targaryen and Turko-Persian Empire Building .Ohio State University Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Columbus, OH. Workshop. Level:National
Robert Haug (11-24-2014. ) Turan Triumphant: Abu Mansur Tusi's Shahnama and the Ghaznavid's Victory over the Sasanian Social Order .Washington DC. Conference. Level:International
Robert Haug (11-24-2015. ) I will give the kharaj to al-Mu῾tasim, not ῾Abdullah b. Tahir: Local Authority vs. Regional Authority vs. Imperial Authority in Tahirid Khurasan .Denver, CO. Conference. Level:International
Robert Haug (04-29-2016. ) The Decline of the Private Estate and the Rise of the Public Ribat in Early Islamic Transoxania .University of Dayton. Other Institution. Level:State
Service
Department of History (Undergraduate Studies Committee ) Committee Member Type:Departmental Service Level:Department 09-21-2011 -2012
University of Cincinnati (Middle East Studies Committee ) Committee Member Type:University/College Service Level:University 01-01-2011 -To Present
Department of History (Executive Committee ) Elected Member Type:Departmental Service Level:Department 09-2013 -08-2015
University of Cincinnati (European Studies Committee ) Member Type:University/College Service Level:University 09-2010 -To Present
University of Cincinnati (History Club ) Faculty Sponsor Type:Service to Student Groups Level:University 08-2012 -To Present
Department of History (Graduate Studies Committee ) Committee Member Type:Departmental Service Level:Department 09-2012 -08-2013
Department of History (Lecture Committee ) Committee Member Type:Departmental Service Level:Department 09-2012 -08-2013
Phi Alpha Theta Faculty Sponsor Type:Service to Student Groups Level:National 2014 -To Present
Post Graduate Training and Education
2003-2010 PhD in Near Eastern Studies, University of Michigan, , Ann Arbor, MI
1999-2002 MA in Modern Middle Eastern and North African Studies, University of Michigan, , Ann Arbor, MI
Courses Taught
15-HIST-130 WLD HIS I:WLDS FORM Level:Undergraduate
15-HIST-131 WLD HIS II:WLD CNCT Level:Undergraduate
Afghanistan Level:Both
15-HIST-300 INTRO HIST THINKING Level:Undergraduate
15-HIST-538 THE CRUSADES Level:Both
15-HIST-132 WLD HIS III:WLD INT Level:Undergraduate
-HIST-1003 WLD HIST I Level:Undergraduate
Afghanistan and Central Asia Level:Undergraduate
Graduate Teaching Practicum Level:Graduate
-HIST-1004 WLDHISTII Level:Undergraduate
-HIST-1007 MIDEAST HIST I Level:Undergraduate
The Crusades Level:Undergraduate
Themes in World History: Playing the Game of Thrones Level:Undergraduate
Afghanistan and Central Asia Level:Undergraduate
The Golden Age of Islamic Civilization: The Abbasid Caliphate Level:Undergraduate
Middle Eastern History I Level:Undergraduate
-HIST-3000 THOUGHT AND METHODS Level:Undergraduate
The Crusades Level:Undergraduate