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Sir Aurel Stein
Sir Marc Aurel Stein, KCIE, FRAS, FBA (26 November 1862 - 26 October 1943) was a Hungarian-British archaeologist, primarily known for his explorations and archaeological discoveries in Central Asia...view moreSir Marc Aurel Stein, KCIE, FRAS, FBA (26 November 1862 - 26 October 1943) was a Hungarian-British archaeologist, primarily known for his explorations and archaeological discoveries in Central Asia. He was also a professor at universities in India, where he spent much of his life in the service of the British Empire.
Born to Jewish parents in Budapest in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1862, Stein went to England to study oriental languages and archaeology in 1884. He became a British citizen in 1904 and made his famous expeditions with British sponsorship.
In 1887, Stein went to India, where he joined the Punjab University as Registrar. Later, between 1888 and 1899, he was the Principal of Oriental College, Lahore. Realizing the importance of Central Asian history and archaeology, Stein sent a proposal to the government to explore, map and study the people of Central Asia. In May 1900 he received the approval to lead an expedition to Chinese Turkestan which was strategically located in High Asia where the Russians and Germans were already taking interest.
Thus began a series of important Central Asian expeditions traversing virtually the whole of the North-West frontier—territory which had not previously been accessible to Europeans. He recorded his experiences in On Alexander’s Track to the Indus, which was published in 1929.
Stein was also an ethnographer, geographer, linguist and surveyor. His collection of books and manuscripts taken from Dunhuang caves is important for the study of the history of Central Asia and the art and literature of Buddhism. He wrote several volumes on his expeditions and discoveries which include Ancient Khotan, Serindia and Innermost Asia.
He died in Kabul, Afghanistan in 1943 aged 80.view less
Books by Sir Aurel Stein
On Alexander’s Track to the Indus: Personal Narrative of Explorations on the North-West Frontier of India