9 June 2026

Photo: Private/Erika Jakab

Two new ERC projects have started at the CSMC this summer semester: Márton Vér sheds new light on the history of the Silk Road, while Suganya Anandakichenin is developing the first comprehensive scholarly study of the Manipravalam language. She presents her work in a talk on 10 June.

At the end of 2025, two CSMC researchers were awarded prestigious ERC Consolidator Grants. On 1 May and 1 June, respectively, Márton Vér, a historian specialising in Central Asia, and the Indologist Suganya Anandakichenin started their five-year research endeavours.  

‘Re-Centring Central Asia: A Global Microhistory of the Silk Road between the 9th and 15th Centuries’ (ReCent), reconsiders the Silk Road from a Central Asian perspective. Challenging the familiar image of one long route linking China to the Mediterranean, Márton and his team examine the more complex regional realities of interregional exchange. In particular, they focus on the Uyghurs, whose role in Silk Road history has often been underestimated. By working with Uyghur documentary sources, the researchers combine micro-historical analysis with wider historical narratives to challenge Eurocentric and Sinocentric interpretations. They also make the sources accessible through a relational database for future research.

Suganya Anandakichenin’s project, ‘Manipravalam: Insight, Research, and Analysis’ (MIRA), produces the first comprehensive scholarly study of Manipravalam, the hybrid language that combined Tamil grammar with Sanskrit vocabulary and stylistic features. Flourishing in medieval South India, Manipravalam was used by Śrīvaiṣṇavas, Jains, and Śaivas in poetry, religious commentaries, and inscriptions, and it served as an important medium for intellectual exchange and theological debate. Suganya and her team will collect, edit, translate, and study key texts from these traditions, many of which remain little known or unpublished. Alongside philological, theological, and historical analysis, they also develop digital resources such as searchable glossaries, text editions, and database tools to support future research.

Suganya will introduce MIRA in her upcoming talk, which highlights Manipravalam as a linguistic, literary, and religious phenomenon and presents the project’s new methods and research tools. The talk takes place on 10 June 2026 at 2:15 pm. More information is available here.