India's Rich Trade History and the Silk Road with William Dalrymple

There is so much of India’s rich heritage and past that is yet to be discovered. But we have great historians like William Dalrymple who spend years researching on India’s history to bring us the most interesting and captivating stories about the country.

In today’s episode, William Dalrymple discusses the stories and contents from his book "The Golden Road" which explores India's 1,500-year history as a hub of cultural and intellectual exchange.

Chapters -
00:00:00 - 00:01:12 Episode introduction
00:01:12 - 00:04:05 William and Mukesh discuss their love for books and podcasts
00:04:05 - 00:10:58 What inspired William to write a book on ancient India titled ‘The Golden Road’?
00:10:58 - 00:14:30 Why is India’s Buddhist heritage not widely known?
00:14:30 - 00:19:25 When and how did the trade route ‘The Silk Road’ begin?
00:19:25 - 00:26:50 How was India’s trade relations and market during the Silk Road?
00:26:50 - 00:32:43 What was Ashoka the ruler’s impact on Buddhism and the spread of its religion
00:32:43 - 00:38:42 Who was Xuanzang and what were his contributions to Buddhism?
00:38:42 - 00:41:45 What was the significance of Nalanda in those years?
00:41:45 - 00:45:50 How did the Tamil Merchant Guilds trade and build their empire?
00:45:50 - 00:50:40 How did Hinduism spread alongside Buddhism?
00:50:40 - 00:52:20 How did Islamic powers and influences spread across the east?
00:52:20 - 01:02:30 Who were some key figures that revolutionised mathematics around the world during the Islamic Golden Age?
01:02:30 - 01:06:30 Concluding today’s episode

Resource List -
William Dalrymple Website - https://williamdalrymple.com/
Empire Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/0sBh58h...
The Rest is History Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/7Cvsbcj...
What are frescoes? - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresco
More about the Silk Road - https://education.nationalgeographic....
Who was Ferdinand Freiherr von Richthofen? - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdina...
The travels of Marco Polo - https://silk-road.com/artl/marcopolo....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tra...
Read about the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea - https://www.worldhistory.org/Periplus...
What is the Muziris Papyrus? - https://historicalleys.blogspot.com/2...
Read about the Suvarnabhumi - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suvarna...
What is the Mes Aynak - https://archeologie.culture.gouv.fr/a...
Who was Xuanzang? - https://asiasociety.org/xuanzang-monk...
https://artsandculture.google.com/sto...
China’s only female empress, Wu Zetian - https://artsandculture.google.com/sto...
More about Angkor Wat - https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/668/
What was the Islamic Golden Age? - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic...
Al-Khwarizmi’s book on Algebra - https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666184/
What is the Fibonacci sequence? - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonac...