Dr. Ahmed AlMaazmi

Dr. Ahmed Yaqoub AlMaazmi is an Emirati historian and an Assistant Professor of History at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU). Born and raised in Sharjah, he has  emerged as a dynamic scholar who connects the UAE’s rich heritage with global historical narratives. His academic journey spans three continents and reflects a passion for bringing Gulf perspectives to the forefront of international scholarship. Colleagues and observers have noted AlMaazmi’s talent for “bridging gaps in histories and using a Khaleeji lens to shift focus away from European accounts” of Gulf history, a quality that makes his work both distinctive and impactful.

Academic Journey and Background

Dr. AlMaazmi’s academic path is as inspiring as it is international. He earned his B.A. with honors in International Studies from Zayed University in 2015, laying a strong foundation in global affairs. Shortly after, he was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Fellowship to study cultural anthropology at Rutgers University in the United States. This experience in 2016 allowed him to explore anthropological approaches to history, enriching his perspective on the human stories behind historical events. In addition to his studies, he even spent time working as a tourist guide in Sharjah’s heritage sector early in his career, reflecting an early interest in sharing culture and history with others.

He also interned with the United Nations World Food Programme, gaining firsthand experience in international development work. Building on these experiences, AlMaazmi pursued his doctorate at Princeton University, where he earned a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Studies in 2025. Notably, he defended his dissertation “An Enchanted Sea: Occultism, Empire, and Society in the Western Indian Ocean, 1450–1750” to high acclaim. In fact, Dr. AlMaazmi is the first Emirati to earn a PhD from Princeton – a testament to his trailblazing journey.

Now as a faculty member at UAEU, Dr. AlMaazmi brings this rich international background back home. His journey exemplifies a commitment to leveraging global knowledge for the benefit of his country and students. In the classroom and beyond, he draws on his diverse experiences to inspire UAEU students, showing them the value of global scholarship rooted in local identity.

Dr. AlMaazmi’s research sits at the intersection of Gulf history, the Indian Ocean world, and cultural anthropology. He focuses on the intersection of empire, knowledge, and law – in particular, the role of celestial and alchemical sciences and intellectual networks in the early modern period. In essence, he explores how ideas and people circulated between Arabia, East Africa, and South Asia. His scholarly work is characterized by an interdisciplinary approach, giving voice to underrepresented communities and knowledge systems in the region’s past.

Achievements and Honors

Dr. AlMaazmi’s innovative scholarship has earned him recognition both in the UAE and internationally. Most prominently, in November 2025, he won the Gwenn Okruhlik Dissertation Award from the Association for Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies – a first for Emirati scholars, celebrating his outstanding doctoral research on the Gulf region. The award committee praised his thesis as “a highly original and compelling” work that fills “a significant lacuna” in Gulf historiography. They highlighted how his research is “well-written and analytically clear,” weaving together multiple layers of history and knowledge, and how it brilliantly positions Southeastern Arabia at the center of a far-reaching intellectual network. Such praise from fellow scholars underscores the impact of AlMaazmi’s work in redefining our understanding of the region’s history.

Public Engagement and Cultural Contributions

One of the hallmarks of Dr. AlMaazmi’s career is his dedication to public engagement — the idea that history should not reside only in academic halls, but be shared widely with the community. He actively promotes public history, connecting scholarship with wider communities. A clear example of this ethos is his founding of the Indian Ocean World Podcast, which he hosts on the New Books Network platform. This podcast invites listeners around the world to learn about the latest research and stories concerning the Indian Ocean region. Through interviews and discussions, AlMaazmi brings scholarly conversations to a general audience, effectively bridging the gap between academia and the public. Whether the topic is East African environmental history or Arabian Sea trade networks, his podcast work makes complex historical topics accessible and engaging for listeners far beyond the university campus.

Another major contribution Dr. AlMaazmi has made to cultural knowledge is through translation of important historical works into Arabic. To date, he has translated five academic monographs into Arabic. Notably, he rendered Fahad Ahmad Bishara’s Sea of Debt: Law and Economic Life in the Western Indian Ocean into Arabic, in collaboration with Abu Dhabi’s Kalima Project for Translation. Through these translation efforts, AlMaazmi is helping to enrich the Arabic library of scholarly resources and ensure that knowledge flows both ways between languages. As he has noted, translation in the Gulf is part of a historic endeavor “encouraging interaction and knowledge creation” across cultures.

In sum, Dr. Ahmed Yaqoub AlMaazmi stands out as an exceptional faculty member at UAEU who combines scholarly rigor with a community-oriented spirit. His academic background and research achievements are impressive but equally important is his approachable, enthusiastic way of engaging others with the topics he loves. Whether he’s in a lecture hall in Al Ain, an archive in Zanzibar, or a studio recording a podcast, Dr. AlMaazmi exemplifies the values of curiosity and knowledge sharing. He is not only illuminating the past through his work but also inspiring a new generation of students and researchers to explore the rich Gulf and Emirati history within the wider world.