What this is about
Even if you have taught history in school for many years, you can always discover something new.
That’s exactly what happened to us when we came across the following YouTube video. In its original English, it was titled:
„The Ancient Indian History Our Schools Don’t Teach“
and features a conversation before a large audience between:
Ash Sarkar and William Dalrymple.
You can find the video here:
https://youtu.be/iI8KmWVGOYw?si=zeAtJ0LLBDfDtzlc
We asked NotebookLM what the most interesting facts, theses, and arguments are, and received the following result – with a timeline so that we and anyone else can quickly watch particularly engaging parts of the conversation.
Please note: We are not experts in the areas mentioned, just curious.
The positions expressed are those of the author and may need to be verified. The same applies to the names, which in the present form have been taken from the transcript of the film.
Our only aim here is to share interesting food for thought.
Here is the summary from NotebookLM
William Dalrymple and His Work
Dalrymple is described as a historian who „has cut a very different path“ by combining travel writing, art history, archaeology, architecture, and cultural commentary. His books are both richly researched and compellingly written.
His works on the history of India, the British Empire, and the Islamic world challenge dominant narratives around civilization, conquest, and cultural exchange.
He co-founded the Jaipur Literary Festival, and his podcast „Empire“ has achieved 80 million downloads.
His book, „The Golden Road, how ancient India transformed the world,“ is presented as a „friendly retort to the Silk Roads theory“. Instead of focusing on the land trading route from China through Central Asia to Europe, Dalrymple examines sea trading routes from India westwards into the Red Sea and eastwards into the Mekong Delta. He traces the spread of people, ideas, religion, philosophy, numbers, silk, and even rhubarb along these routes.
Timeline: 0:57 – 4:00
Alexander the Great’s Encounter with India
There is „not a single reference to Alexander the Great in any Indian source“. This suggests that Indians found his arrival so unimportant that it was not recorded, with some historians even doubting it happened.
Timeline: 3:02 – 3:40
Ancient Indian Works of Genius
It’s astonishing how little is known about ancient India in the West, particularly in the UK, despite 300 years of relations and a large Indian population.
Aryabhata (around 350 AD) calculated the exact circumference of the earth, the distance of the Earth to the moon and the sun, and the fact that we live in a heliocentric universe – „a thousand years before Galileo“.
Brahmagupta developed definitions of zero. He realized that zero is not just an absence but „a number with its own qualities,“ enabling place value (tens, hundreds, thousands) and mathematical concepts like algorithms and algebra.
Brahmagupta added zero to the existing nine Indian number symbols to create our modern numbers.
The numbers we call „Arabic numbers“ originally came from India, and Arabs still call them „Hindi numbers“.
The mathematician Al-Khwarizmi translated the works of Aryabhata and Brahmagupta into Arabic. His book became known by the nickname „Algebra,“ and his own name „Al-Khwarizmi“ became the basis of our word „Algorithm“.
The concept of universities with courtyards, like Oxford, can be seen at the Indian University of Nalanda around 600 AD.
Chess is an originally Indian game that traveled to the West via Persia. The term „checkmate“ comes from the Farsi word „Shamat,“ meaning „the king is dead“.
Timeline: 4:11 – 14:10
Monsoon Winds and Trade with Rome
The monsoon winds are „completely central“ to India’s trade. These „very punctual and well-organized wind systems“ allowed Indian sailors to travel from Kerala to Roman Egypt via Yemen in just six weeks.
Dalrymple argues that the „Silk Road“ is „not an ancient idea“. There is „not a single ancient mention“ of it. It was coined in 1877 by a German geographer and only entered the English language in 1936.
In the ancient period, Rome and India were „each other’s number one trading partners“. Boats could carry „10 times 100 times more“ goods than camels.
After Augustus conquered Egypt, India gained direct access to Rome. Indian ports like Muziris (in modern Kerala) were closely linked to the Roman economy.
Pliny the Elder complained about the „massive drain of the wealth of the Roman Empire into Indian pockets“ for luxury goods like silk, pepper, and ivory. Roman tariffs on Indian imports at the Red Sea may have accounted for „as much as a quarter of the Roman imperial budget“.
Timeline: 10:10 – 30:00
As Rome Falls, India Pivots Eastwards
When Rome fell in the mid-5th century AD and the main ports receiving Indian imports were abandoned, the flow of gold into India stopped, creating a „big problem“.
Powerful Indian guilds, like the „300,“ then „pivoted“ their focus to Southeast Asia.
Around 500 AD, a „massive infusion of Indian ideas into Southeast Asia“ began.
The largest Hindu temple in the world, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, is not in India, serving as a culmination of this thousand-year cultural infusion.
Local rivers were renamed after Indian examples, such as the Mekong (Ma Ganga) after the Ganges. Indian cities and places were replicated in Southeast Asia.
This spread of Indian culture to Southeast Asia was „not a conquest of the sword“ and shows „no clear evidence of violence“. It was „genuinely an empire of the spirit“.
Buddhism was favored by the merchant class as it allowed for „karma wash“ through donations. Buddhist monasteries were involved in trade and even lent money with interest.
Hinduism was preferred by kings and ruling classes, as Hindu kingship in classical and early medieval India was strongly associated with successful warrior activity.
Indian Brahmins brought Sanskrit (which became the lingua franca from Afghanistan to Bali) and the South Indian Palagr script (the basis for all pre-Islamic scripts in Southeast Asia).
Timeline: 34:00 – 48:00
Ancient India and China
One of the most important religions in China, Buddhism, is an Indian religion.
The Chinese monk Xuanzang traveled to Nalanda University in India, copied 500 manuscripts, and brought them back to China, where a large translation bureau was established.
Empress Wu Zetian, the only woman to rule as emperor in 3,000 years of Chinese history, made Buddhism the state religion of China during her reign. Unlike Confucianism, Buddhism had no rules prohibiting women from ruling.
Dalrymple argues that India in the mid-7th century was „the most influential force in the whole of Asia“ and „much more the center of things at that period than China“.
Timeline: 56:10 – 1:00:00
The Arrival of Islam and Persian Influence
In the 11th and 12th centuries, Turkish migrations led to the arrival of Islam in India.
Persian became the „dominant language of culture“ in India, partly due to Persian-speaking refugees fleeing the Mongols. This also led to India being „locked off“ from the rest of Asia as overland routes were closed.
Dalrymple describes India as a „cake with three layers“: the Sanskrit layer, the Persian layer (Mughal era, Taj Mahal), and the English layer.
Indo-Islamic culture is „pluralistic and mixed and cosmopolitan“. Urdu and Hindi are very similar, reflecting this hybridity.
Timeline: 1:00:05 – 1:10:00
The East India Company
The East India Company (founded in 1599) was „not the state,“ but a „commercial operation,“ a „for-profit business,“ a „corporation“ that took over India.
From the Battle of Plassey in 1757, India was ruled by a corporation whose „most important thing“ was its share price and dividends for investors. It’s compared to the movie „Avatar,“ where a mining company exploits a planet for profit.
From 1599 to 1858 (when it provoked the „largest anti-colonial revolt in history“), the East India Company „exploited, looted and asset stripped India“.
India’s share of global GDP fell from 40% under the Mughals to 7% in 1947.
Today, India is „re-establishing itself“ and is projected to be the third-largest economy in the world by the end of the decade.
Timeline: 1:17:00 – 1:24:00
Curriculum and Imperial Legacy
Dalrymple notes that the information he presents is „not part of the curriculum“ in British schools. However, „adventurous teachers“ can still teach these topics.
Timeline:1:00:50-1:07:00
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