Human Circus: Journeys in the Medieval World

• Afanasy Nikitin 2: Return from India

  The 15th-century Russian merchant and traveller journeys back from India. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠my Patreon is here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. I'm on BlueSky ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@a-devon.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@humancircuspod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and I have some things on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Redbubble⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sources: Afanasy Nikitin's Voyage Beyond The Three Seas, 1466–1472. Geografgiz, 1960. Alam, Muzaffar and Subrahmanyam, Sanjay. Indo-Persian Travels in the Age of Discoveries, 1400-1800. Cambridge University Press, 2007. Belkov, Gregory. The Journey Beyond Three Seas of Afanasij Nikitin in A.D. 1466-1472 : Establishment of Text, Translation and Commentary. University of British Columbia, 1950. Paulau, Stanislau. “Embodying the World beyond Three Seas: India in the Imagination of the Mediaeval Rus," in Body, Emotion and Mind. ‛Embodying’ the Experiences in Indo-European Encounters, edited by Martin Tamcke and Gladson Jathanna. LIT Verlag, 2013. Romano, John. Medieval Travel and Travellers: A Reader. University of Toronto Press, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Afanasy Nikitin 1: Journey Beyond the Three Seas

  Afanasy Nikitin, a 15th-century Russian merchant, sets out from Tver and immediately runs into trouble before travelling to India. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠my Patreon is here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. I'm on BlueSky ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@a-devon.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@humancircuspod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and I have some things on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Redbubble⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sources: Afanasy Nikitin's Voyage Beyond The Three Seas, 1466–1472. Geografgiz, 1960. Alam, Muzaffar and Subrahmanyam, Sanjay. Indo-Persian Travels in the Age of Discoveries, 1400-1800. Cambridge University Press, 2007. Belkov, Gregory. The Journey Beyond Three Seas of Afanasij Nikitin in A.D. 1466-1472 : Establishment of Text, Translation and Commentary. University of British Columbia, 1950. Paulau, Stanislau. “Embodying the World beyond Three Seas: India in the Imagination of the Mediaeval Rus," in Body, Emotion and Mind. ‛Embodying’ the Experiences in Indo-European Encounters, edited by Martin Tamcke and Gladson Jathanna. LIT Verlag, 2013. Romano, John. Medieval Travel and Travellers: A Reader. University of Toronto Press, 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Osman of Timisoara 5: Osman's Great Escape

  Osman flees Vienna and reaches freedom, with success and suffering on the other side. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠my Patreon is here⁠⁠⁠⁠. I'm on BlueSky ⁠⁠⁠⁠@a-devon.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠, Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠@humancircuspod⁠⁠⁠⁠, and I have some things on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Redbubble⁠⁠⁠⁠. Sources: Osman Aga of Timisoara. Prisoner of the Infidels. Edited, translated, and introduced by Giancarlo Casale. University of California Press, 2021. Olin, Timothy. The Banat of Temesvar: Borderland Colonization in the Habsburg Monarchy. Stanford University Press, 2025. Yaycıoğlu, Ali. "On the Ottoman Arguments during the Congress of Karlowitz (1699)," in Territorial Imaginaries: Beyond the Sovereign Map, edited by Kären Wigen. University of Chicago Press, 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Osman of Timisoara 4: Imperial Pastry Prep and Tavern Brawls

  Osman's time in the city of Vienna is punctuated by violent misadventure, an unlikely career in sweets, and an ethical failing. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, ⁠⁠⁠my Patreon is here⁠⁠⁠. I'm on BlueSky ⁠⁠⁠@a-devon.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠, Instagram ⁠⁠⁠@humancircuspod⁠⁠⁠, and I have some things on ⁠⁠⁠Redbubble⁠⁠⁠. Sources: Osman Aga of Timisoara. Prisoner of the Infidels. Edited, translated, and introduced by Giancarlo Casale. University of California Press, 2021. An Ottoman Traveller: Selections from the Book of Travels of Evliya Çelebi. Translation and commentary by Robert Dankoff and Sooyong Kim. Eland, 2010. Finkel, Caroline. Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire. Basic Books, 2005. Robertson, Angus. The Crossroads of Civilization: A History of Vienna. Simon and Schuster, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Osman of Timisoara 3: Hunger, Illness, and Intimacy

  The story of Osman of Timisoara continues, and on this episode we follow him out of his initial adventures in captivity and into the years that came after, years of "toil and misery," he would say, along with hunger and sickness, but also of surprising moments of friendship and intimacy. If you like what you hear and want to chip in to support the podcast, ⁠⁠my Patreon is here⁠⁠. I'm on BlueSky ⁠⁠@a-devon.bsky.social⁠⁠, Instagram ⁠⁠@humancircuspod⁠⁠, and I have some things on ⁠⁠Redbubble⁠⁠. Sources: Osman Aga of Timisoara. Prisoner of the Infidels. Edited, translated, and introduced by Giancarlo Casale. University of California Press, 2021. Büsching, Anton Friedrich. A New System of Geography, Volume 4. A. Millar, 1762. Finkel, Caroline. Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire. Basic Books, 2005. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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