India was a confident exporter of its diverse civilisation for a millennium and a half, creating a vast empire of ideas that transformed the world. William Dalrymple highlights India's oft-forgotten position as the heart of ancient Eurasia, giving it a name and exploring its impact on art, religions, technology, astronomy, music, dance, literature, mathematics, and mythology.

Format: Hardback
Length: 496 pages
Publication date: 05 September 2024
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

India, a land of ancient wonders, has been a forgotten heart of the ancient world for over a millennium and a half. During this time, India exported its diverse civilization, creating a vast empire of ideas that spread across the globe. Indian art, religions, technology, astronomy, music, dance, literature, mathematics, and mythology left an indelible mark on the world, creating a Golden Road that stretched from the Red Sea to the Pacific. William Dalrymple, a renowned historian, draws upon his extensive scholarship to shed light on India's often overlooked position as the heart of ancient Eurasia. For the first time, he gives a name to this spread of Indian ideas that transformed the world. From the magnificent Hindu temple of Angkor Wat to the Buddhism of China, from the trade that helped fund the Roman Empire to the creation of the numerals we use today, including zero, India's influence is undeniable.

India's Forgotten Heart of the Ancient World

For a millennium and a half, India was a confident exporter of its diverse civilization, creating around it a vast empire of ideas. Indian art, religions, technology, astronomy, music, dance, literature, mathematics, and mythology blazed a trail across the world, along a Golden Road that stretched from the Red Sea to the Pacific. William Dalrymple draws from a lifetime of scholarship to highlight India's oft-forgotten position as the heart of ancient Eurasia. For the first time, he gives a name to this spread of Indian ideas that transformed the world. From the largest Hindu temple in the world at Angkor Wat to the Buddhism of China, from the trade that helped fund the Roman Empire to the creation of the numerals we use today (including zero).

Weight: 854g
Dimension: 240 x 160 x 42 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781408864418