About

Demirkazık (north star, Polaris, "the iron tentpole") offers podcasts exploring new research on the northern reaches of Ottoman history. Areas of study include the Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Pontic Steppe, and the Balkans. Special attention is paid to historical interactions between the Ottoman Empire and Muscovy/Russia, Poland-Lithuania, Ukraine, Crimea, Moldavia, Romania, and Hungary.

Do you have an exciting upcoming conference? Expecting a new publication? Let us know and we will help you get the word out!

Our Team

Blog Administrators

Michael Połczyński  is a graduate of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland, holds an MA in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Chicago, and is currently a Doctoral Candidate at Georgetown University. Michael's dissertation research focuses on the Polish-Lithuanian / Ottoman frontier during the 16th and 17th centuries. His love of primary sources material, political theory and social history find expression through methodological interests including historical Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and agent-based modeling. His favorite color is green, and his favorite animal is a giant squid and a sperm whale locked in eternal combat. For more see: academia.edu