THE GOLDEN ROAD

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER A Waterstones and TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR A SPECTATOR and History Today BOOK OF THE YEAR A revolutionary new history of the diffusion of Indian ideas from the award winning bestselling author and co host of the chart topping Empire podcast Richly woven highly readable Written with passion and verve Spectator Dazzling Not just a historical study but also a love letter Guardian An outstanding new account The most compelling retelling we have had for generations Financial Times India is the forgotten heart of the ancient world For a millennium and a half India was a confident exporter of its diverse civilisation creating around it a vast empire of ideas Indian art religions technology astronomy music dance literature mathematics and mythology blazed a trail across the world along a Golden Road that stretched from the Red Sea to the Pacific 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 world From the largest Hindu temple in the world at Angkor Wat to the Buddhism of China from the trade that helped fund the Roman Empire to th