Dr Ahmad Yengimolki
Postdoctoral Research Associate

Profile

Biography

Dr Ahmad Yengimolki is currently a postdoctoral research associate collaborating with Professor Milwright on an investigation into the phases of rapid technological and aesthetic evolution within Islamic Art. This comprehensive project examines the impact of external challenges—political, economic, and religious—on the transformation of object design and manufacturing processes. Ahmad’s primary focus lies on the crafts of the Ilkhanid era, the period after the Mongol conquest.

Ahmad received his doctorate under the supervision of Professor Jane Hawkes and Doctor Richard McClary, entitled “A Safavid Armenian Monument: Architectural Hybridity at the Vank Cathedral in Isfahan”, from the University of York in 2023. His research investigated the Armenian Migration to central Iran and, the transmission and changes of their architecture in the seventeenth century, with a particular focus on Vank Cathedral (Surb Amenaprkich Vank) in Isfahan. His thesis is under review by the University of Edinburgh Press. Prior to this, he completed his MA in Research of Art at the Islamic Art University of Tabriz. His master's thesis focused on the influences of Sunni and Shiite Islam on visual arts, with a specific case study on Safavid Carpets. His broader research interest lies in cultural exchanges and complexities within the known Islamic lands, mainly the art and role of religious minorities.

Research

Projects

Currently, Ahmad is working as a research assistant with Prof Marcus Milwright on the project titled: “Making Meaning: Craft Practices and the Process of Change in Islamic Art”

Research group(s)

Research Interest

• Cultural and artistic exchanges of religious minorities within Islamic lands
• Safavid art and architecture
• Safavid textile

Publications

Full publications list

Yengimolki, Ahmad. “The Emergence of a New Identity: Armenians in Safavid Isfahan.” Journal of Religious Minorities under Muslim Rule, Vol. 1, No. 2 (2023): 161-179.

Baniasadi, Mohammad Ali and Ahmad Yengimolki. “An Overview of “Illustration” With A Look at Its Formation in The Early Centuries of Islam.” 6th International Conference on Tourism, Culture and Art (2021): 100-108.

Yengimolki, Ahmad and Bahram Ajorloo. “An Analytical Study on the Impact of the Safavid Shi’ism Over the Iranian Art of Weaving.” New Historical Studies, Vol. 1, No. 4 (2016): 70-98.

Yengimolki, Ahmad. “Relation between Nowruz and Art of Carpet Weaving.” Ipek Yolu. No. 2 (2014): 50-60.

Yengimolki, Ahmad. “Brief Look to Art of Carpet Weaving in Iran.” Ipek Yolu. No. 1 (2013): 35-43.

Accepted

McClary Richard P. and Ahmad Yengimolki. “The Qarakhanid Stucco Decoration in the Shah Fazil Tomb at Safid Buland, Kyrgyzstan: A Unicum in Context.” In Stucco in the Wider Iranian world. Edited by Hillenbrand Robert and Richard P. McClary Edinburgh University Press: October 2023. 

Under Review

Yengimolki, Ahmad. A Safavid Armenian Monument: Architectural Hybridity at the Vank Cathedral in Isfahan. Edinburgh University Press: 2023.

Teaching

Undergraduate

As a Teaching Assistant (UG Level)

• Image and Icon: Introduction to Early Islam and Islamic Art
• Transmissions and Connections

As an Instructor (UG level)

• Art in History
• Art in Islamic Civilization
• Basics of Visual Art,
• Basics of Drawing
• Kilim Drawing
• Islamic Geometry Patterns

External activities