The Golden Road How Ancient India Transformed the World

<p><b><u>THE INSTANT <i>SUNDAY TIMES </i>BESTSELLER</u></b><br><b><u>A <i>Waterstones </i>and <i>TIMES </i>HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR</u></b><b><u><br>A <i>SPECTATOR </i>and <i>History Today </i>BOOK OF THE YEAR</u></b><br><br><b>A revolutionary new history of the diffusion of Indian ideas, from the award-winning, bestselling author and co-host of the chart-topping </b><i><b>Empire</b> </i><b>podcast</b><br><br><b>‘Richly woven, highly readable ... Written with passion and verve’ <i>Spectator</i></b><br><b>‘Dazzling ... Not just a historical study but also a love letter’ <i>Guardian</i></b><br><b>‘</b><b>An outstanding new account ...</b> <b>The most compelling retelling we have had for generations</b><b>’ <i>Financial Times</i></b><br><br><i>India is the forgotten heart of the ancient world.</i><br><br>In the millennium and a half from c. 250 BC to 1200 AD, Indian art, religion, technology, astronomy, music, dance, literature, mathematics and mythology blazed a trail across the world – a Golden Road that stretched from the Red Sea to the Pacific. <br><br>Here, 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 culture and technology of not only its ancient world, but of the world as we know it today.</p>