Bijan Omrani is an historian and classicist specialising in the history of Afghanistan and Central Asia. He was educated at Wellington, and then read Classics and English at Lincoln College Oxford, where he contributed to the Spectator as an undergraduate. He produced his first major publication, Afghanistan: A Companion and Guide, in collaboration with the seasoned Afghan traveller Matthew Leeming in 2005, and since then has edited and published numerous works, articles and book reviews on Afghan and Central Asian history. A special area of research has been the controversial area of the Afghan-Pakistan border, also known as the Durand Line.
Omrani has also lectured and broadcast widely, commentating on Afghan history for BBC Radio 4 and Sky News. He has spoken at numerous venues including the RGS (Hong Kong chapter), the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, SOAS, Pushkin House, and Eton College. He has also briefed army officers and journalists on aspects of Afghan history. He sits on the editorial board of the Asian Affairs Journal. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Asiatic Society.
Books in order of publication:
Afghanistan, A Companion and Guide, (Odyssey, 2005, republished 2007, 2nd edition 2010)
Asia Overland: Tales of Travel on the Trans-Siberian and Silk Road (Odyssey, 2010)
Iran: Persia Ancient and Modern (co-author), (Odyssey, 2010)
Caesar’s Footprints (Head of Zeus, 2017; Pegasus Books 2018 (US))
God is an Englishman: Christianity and the Creation of England (Forum Press, April 2025)
Oak Lawn Library Friends 