India before Europe

by Catherine B. Asher, Cynthia Talbot

Overview

India is a land of enormous diversity. Cross-cultural influences are everywhere in evidence, in the food people eat, the clothes they wear, and in the places they worship. This was ever the case, and at no time more so than in the India that existed from 1200 to 1750, before the European intervention. This beautifully illustrated book takes the reader on a journey across the political, religious and cultural landscapes of medieval India. It is fluently composed, with a cast of characters that will educate students and general readers alike.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521005395
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/16/2006
Edition description:	1ST
Pages:	333
Product dimensions:	6.06(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.79(d)

About the Author

Catherine B. Asher is Associate Professor in the Department of Art History at the University of Minnesota. Her previous publications include Architecture of Mughal India (1992) and, as editor with Thomas R. Metcalf, Perceptions of South Asia's Visual Past (1994).

Cynthia Talbot is Associate Professor of History and Asian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. She has published Precolonial India in Practice: Society, Religion, and Identity in Medieval Andhra (2001).

Table of Contents

Preface; Glossary; 1. Introduction: situating India; 2. The expansion of Turkish power, 1180–1350; 3. Southern India in the age of Vijayanagara, 1350–1550; 4. North India between empires: history, society, and culture, 1350–1550; 5. Sixteenth-century north India: empire reformulated; 6. Expanding political and economic spheres, 1550–1650; 7. Elite cultures in seventeenth-century South Asia; 8. Challenging central authority, 1650–1750; 9. Changing socio-economic formations, 1650–1750; Epilogue; Biographical notes; Bibliography.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"India Before Europe" is not only up to date and deeply erudite, but it also presents a highly engaging narrative: thoughtful, accessible, and perfectly balanced between the 'forest' and the 'trees'. Asher and Talbot are acknowledged authorities in the field of medieval India, and their differing areas of expertise complement one another beautifully. The text moves seamlessly from discussions of political structure and social-economic history, to consideration of large scale cultural processes and the physical realis of architecture, painting, and textiles. There is simply no other work like it, and it will be eagerly welcomed by students and specialists alike."-Phillip B. Wagoner, Wesleyan University

"An insightful and authoritative history of what the authors term 'the rich composite culture of South Asia...which started to come into being after 1200 and fully matured during the Mughal era.'" - John E. Court, Religious Studies Review

"Asher and Talbot's survey is distinguished by its original engagement with the artistic styles and architectural achievements of different royal courts and dynasties...India before Europe constructs an intriguing picture of the composite synergy of Islamic and Indic tradition"
Emilian Kavalski, Canadian Journal of History

Editorial Reviews

"India Before Europe" is not only up to date and deeply erudite, but it also presents a highly engaging narrative: thoughtful, accessible, and perfectly balanced between the 'forest' and the 'trees'. Asher and Talbot are acknowledged authorities in the field of medieval India, and their differing areas of expertise complement one another beautifully. The text moves seamlessly from discussions of political structure and social-economic history, to consideration of large scale cultural processes and the physical realis of architecture, painting, and textiles. There is simply no other work like it, and it will be eagerly welcomed by students and specialists alike."-Phillip B. Wagoner, Wesleyan University

"An insightful and authoritative history of what the authors term 'the rich composite culture of South Asia...which started to come into being after 1200 and fully matured during the Mughal era.'" - John E. Court, Religious Studies Review

"Asher and Talbot's survey is distinguished by its original engagement with the artistic styles and architectural achievements of different royal courts and dynasties...India before Europe constructs an intriguing picture of the composite synergy of Islamic and Indic tradition"
Emilian Kavalski, Canadian Journal of History

From the Publisher