Cities and states developed in South Asia between c. BC 800 and AD 250, as Hinduism and Buddhism arose and spread. Drawing on archaeological studies and also on texts and inscriptions, this book explores the character of the early Indian cities, paying particular attention to their art and architecture and analysing the political ideas that shaped the state systems. The authors chart the development of the settlement pattern in the Ganges valley through to the rise of cities and the formation of the Mauryan empire and its successor states. They also trace the spread of cities and states throughout South Asia to the opening centuries of the Christian era, offering an Indian perspective on the contacts with the Greek and Roman worlds that followed the invasion of Alexander the Great.
Cities and states developed in South Asia between c. BC 800 and AD 250, as Hinduism and Buddhism arose and spread. Drawing on archaeological studies and also on texts and inscriptions, this book explores the character of the early Indian cities, paying particular attention to their art and architecture and analysing the political ideas that shaped the state systems. The authors chart the development of the settlement pattern in the Ganges valley through to the rise of cities and the formation of the Mauryan empire and its successor states. They also trace the spread of cities and states throughout South Asia to the opening centuries of the Christian era, offering an Indian perspective on the contacts with the Greek and Roman worlds that followed the invasion of Alexander the Great.
1. The archaeology of early historic South Asia; 2. The environmental context; 3. The end of Harappan urbanism and its legacy; 4. Language, culture and the concept of ethnicity; 5. Dark Age or continuum? An archaeological analysis of the second urban development in South Asia; 6. The prelude to urbanisation: ethnogenesis and the rise of late Vedic chiefdoms; 7. City states of north India and Pakistan at the time of the Buddha; 8. Early cities and states beyond the Ganges valley; 9. The rise of cities in Sri Lanka; 10. The Mauryan state and empire; 11. Mauryan architecture and art; 12. Post-Mauryan states of mainland South Asia (c.185BC–AD 320); 13. The emergence of cities and states: concluding synthesis.
A study of the cities and states of South Asia between c.800BC and AD 250.
..".the excellent maps, abundant illustrations, and comprehensive index make this an essential reference work for South Asian historians and archaeologists." Choice
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