Aygün Yılmaz Uzunöz

Aygün Yılmaz Uzunöz is a Fellow at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University (2025-26). She holds a BA from the Faculty of Theology at Ankara University (2016) and a BA in History (double major) from the Faculty of Language, History, and Geography, Ankara University (2017). She received her PhD in Islamic history from the Department of Islamic History and Arts at Ankara University in July 2025. Uzunöz's research focuses on early Islamic historiography, narrative constructions in early Islamic sources, the political and social dimensions of historical writing, and the philosophy of history. Her doctoral dissertation, "Narrative Constructions in Islamic Historiography: The Case of Mu‘awiya and Abū’l-‘Abbās," examined the role of narrative strategies in shaping historical memory and political legitimacy in early Islamic history. At Harvard, she is working on a project exploring the influence of Persian Sīrah historiography on Ottoman Sīrah historiography between the 16th and 18th centuries, emphasizing translation, adaptation, and intellectual exchange. She is currently a full-time faculty member at Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Department of Islamic History and Arts.