Ranabir Chakravarti

This collection of fifteen essays underlines the significance of trade in the economic, political... more This collection of fifteen essays underlines the significance of trade in the economic, political, and cultural life of traditional India, without dissociating it from the overall agrarian economy. Spanning the third millennium BC to 1300 AD, the book includes work from leading historians of early India and draws on new approaches to the study of trade and its links to social and political issues.

Monsoon Islam: Trade and Faith on the Medieval Malabar Coast, by Sebastian R. Prange

The English Historical Review, Jun 1, 2020

Book Reviews : D.N. Jha (ed.), The Feudal Order: State, Society and Ideology in Early Medieval India, New Delhi, Manohar, 2000, pp. xi + 539

Medieval History Journal, Apr 1, 2002

and Ideology in Early Medieval India (2000). This change of nomenclature certainly is also a conc... more and Ideology in Early Medieval India (2000). This change of nomenclature certainly is also a conceptual improvement. It clarifies the period to which the present model of Indian feudalism applies and hopefully facilitates the overdue improvement of communication between ’feudalists’ and ’early medievalists’. Another sign of improvement is Sharma’s reference to Kosambi’s concept of ’feudalism from below’ (p. 5). He admits that he did not consider it in 1958, and this has been true in the following decades more or less for his whole

Coastal trade and voyages in Konkan: The early medieval scenario

Indian Economic and Social History Review, Jun 1, 1998

Page 1. Coastal trade and voyages in Konkan: The early medieval scenario Ranabir Chakravarti Univ... more

An Enchanting Seascape: Through Epigraphic Lens

Routledge eBooks, Jun 9, 2020

Reaching out to Distant Shores: Indo-Judaic Trade Contacts (Up to CE 1300)

Palgrave Macmillan US eBooks, 2007

Indic studies and Judaic studies strike both specialist scholars and the informed public with the... more Indic studies and Judaic studies strike both specialist scholars and the informed public with the richness of their respective traditions and profound knowledge. Both Indic and Judaic cultures are generally marked as “traditional” with their respective cultural roots going back several millennia. The spread of Indian cultural tradition to different parts of East, West, Central, and Southeast Asia offers exciting materials to any student of pre-modern cultural studies. On the other hand, one of the planks of Judaic studies revolves around understanding the Jewish diaspora both in the Old World and the New World. Yet, Indo-Judaic studies has, so far, attracted fewer specialists than that should have been expected. It is indeed difficult to demonstrate the presence of Indians in the land of Israel on a long range historical scale. In the vast and variegated population of India, the Jews are the smallest minority community, enriching the pluralist culture of India. Simultaneously, one encounters the world’s smallest Jewish diaspora in India, coupled with the fact that India has no history of anti-Semitism.

Warfare for wealth : early Indian perspective

Early Historical India: A Study in its Material Milieu (c. 600 BC-AD 300)

In Horses: A Note

This essay brings into focus a relatively neglected aspect of economic life in early medieval Ben... more This essay brings into focus a relatively neglected aspect of economic life in early medieval Bengal. Like many other parts of India, Bengal during ancient and early medieval times did not have any indigenous, good quality war horses. The emergence of Bengal as a regional political entity to reckon with during the early medieval times (c. AD 600-1300) must have increased the demand for war horses. The paper analyses the epigraphic accounts of the procurement of these indispensable war animals from northern and northwestern India by the rulers of early medieval Bengal. The Tabaqdt-i-Ndsiri of the thirteenth century gives an indication of the availablity of northeastern horses-probably Tibetan ones-in Bengal. Chinese accounts of the fifteenth century and some Arabic accounts of the invasions of the Deccan by the Delhi Sultante have been utilised here to suggest that early medieval Bengal not only received regular supplies of imported horses, but also witnessed the transportation of some of these war machines to the Deccan and China. A perusal of the historiography of early Indian trade reveals an impressive range of subjects and issues addressed by economic historians of early India.') Trade in animals, especially the dealings in domesticated ones, however, has not so far engaged the sustained attention of specialists in early Indian history. Of domesticated animals, the horse and the elephant are of special significance as they were integral elements of armed forces in pre-modern times and also effective symbols of power, prestige and pre-eminence in society. While India had an indigenous supply of excellent elephants, the horse, specially the war horse, was always a rarity in India. The horse, being undoubtedly the fastest means of movement during the pre-industrial age, was essential for speedy communications and offensive and defensive operations. The quality war horse was in constant demand in India and had to be regularly imported mostly by political powers at a very high price. The northwestern borderland of the subcontinent

Knowing the Sea: Thalassographies to Thalassology of the Indian Ocean (up to c. 1500 CE)

Springer eBooks, Sep 12, 2018

This essay attempts to outline the broad patterns of the knowledge about the Indian Ocean, the th... more This essay attempts to outline the broad patterns of the knowledge about the Indian Ocean, the third largest maritime space in the world, up to c. 1500 CE. A particular form of knowing the sea (an artisanal epistemology) emanated from the experiences of the ship-builders, sailors, captains and navigators, who rarely left any written manual on their understanding of the sea. The paper will look at different nomenclatures of this maritime space (or parts thereof), captured in various literary texts of diverse times and areas, as alternate impressions of thalassography. The epigraphic evidence of Indic seafaring and the Jewish geniza documents portrays the voyager’s views of the Ocean. The transition from thalassography to thalassology of the Indian Ocean coincided with growing thalassocratic aspirations in post-1500 times.