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Full Description
Comprehensive and in-depth exploration of one of the oldest civilisations in the world, revealing the dynamic changes of its society, the links to the rest of the world and the underlying forces that led to its significant role on the global stage.
This is the first of a three-volume history of India, characterized by three main arguments: (a) Indian history has been crucially conditioned by the connections linking the Indian subcontinent to the remainder of the world; (b) Indian society was never static, but always crisscrossed by powerful currents of change; (c) colonialism caused both the crystallization of a 'traditional' society - which, in that shape, had never really existed before - and, at the same time, the rise of modernity.
This volume examines the history of India from the first human settlements in the subcontinent up to the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1717. The political, military, economic and social developments are analysed against the backdrop represented by the rise, decline, fall and renaissance of flourishing urban civilizations. While the economy remained mainly agrarian, long-distance trade and pre-modern, but quite sophisticated, manufacturing and service activities rose, declined and rose again. This caused the parallel rise, decline and resurgence of intermediate social strata, later resulting in the formation of a modern bourgeoisie. While the existing religious and cultural strands are analysed, a particular emphasis is placed on the relations between the two main religious traditions, Hinduism and Islam. This volume demonstrates that, despite exceptions, an essentially harmonious coexistence prevailed, which often resulted in cooperation. This coexistence came into being as a result of both Realpolitik and the presence, within both Hinduism and Islam, of surprisingly similar mystical movements extremely influential both at the mass level and at the level of the ruling classes.
Contents
List of Maps
Preface to the Indian Edition
Preface to the Original Italian Edition
Introduction: Geographical Location and its Influence on History
1. The First Indian Civilizations
2. The Revolution of Mid-Millennium BC
3. The First Political Unification of India: The Mauryan Empire
4. The Post-Mauryan Era: Invasions, Trade and Cultural Development
5. The 'Golden Age' of the Guptas
6. The Initial Stage of the Indian Middle Ages: The Feudal Era
7. The Era of the Sultans: Unification, Centralization and Cultural Synthesis
8. The Final Stage of the Indian Middle Ages
9. The First Phase of the Early Modern Era: The Rise and Decline of the Mughal Empire
10. The Concluding Phase of the Early Modern Era: The Crisis of the Indian States and the
Rise of British Rule
11. The Formation of the Colonial State
Key to the Bibliographical References
Index
