Ancient India Ruled The World | William Dalrymple talks to Ash Sarkar

The Silk Road has dominated the way we imagine the trading relationship between Europe and Asia to have worked in antiquity.
In his new book, The Golden Road, William Dalrymple busts that myth. He sat down with Ash to talk about the origins of algebra, Indian gems in Anglo-Saxon Britain and why Genghis Khan was scared of India.
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Episodes of Downstream are released Sundays at 3PM on KZbin.
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[@interested-q4d]

yes, it was William told me about the part the methodist church played in the Indian mutiny pulling down mosques and Hindu temples until it all kicked off 1857 in Cawnpore. Very educational.

[@johnholmes2490]

Wonderful that Novara Media is not just a political stopping off point. The wider your menu of programmes is, the greater you will grow this site. Excellent interview!

[@SusieGee1]

And this doesnt allow NOVA to spread falsehood and misinformation

[@biggpicture2930]

Pure Fakery... Hindu caste forbid sea travel... Brahmins face ex communication and relegation to lower caste.... is the penalty..

[@jonathandunn9302]

I love these down streams, love hearing about topics that don't always get the attention they deserve

[@pausereflect5911]

Would have been wonderful to SEE photos/videos of the sites and artifacts he was talking about PLEASE ❤

[@juliewake4585]

I think you may have to buy his book!

[@pausereflect5911]

@@juliewake4585 I've been through his past interviews. Right now, I'm more interested in CURRENT geopolitics. It STILL would have helped to SEE the images and even the book cover

[@juliewake4585]

@@pausereflect5911yes indeed.

[@alizsyed6831]

Well done, Novara Media, Ash! Keep it up.

[@mabrahamlee5]

Excellent. I could listen to Dalrymple all day. A favourite writer of mine. Thanks, Novara.

[@LexChaoticus]

People argue about which civilization came first and not what we can learn from them. This adds more pieces to the puzzle for my understanding of the past, thank you!

[@colibri1]

This is so good. You could also interview Tony Joseph on the genetic history of India, equally fascinating.

[@AnBreadanFeasa]

Absolutely first class video and interview... love it. I knew much of the fragments... Hindu numerals, algebra and algorithms, Alexander the Great and the Mongols, but this stitched so many threads together. Thank you, Novara and Ash... and of course, William.

[@MarkScott-n4f]

What does he think of Peter Frankopan's New Silk Roads?

[@parispeyrovian7205]

That is a great book by “a real historian “ not everyone can say bunch of lies and call themselves historians.

[@zzzzz653]

Peter Frankopan is a friend & acquaintance of William. William’s book is partly inspired by Peter’s book because as per William it was very Sinocentric.

[@Shaggy-839two]

India also trying to eradicate mughal history and follow british jail without trial laws.

[@kerryf9399]

Yes as if it never happened and negating all the positive contributions of that era.

[@KhattaMeethaOficial]

The Descendents of Mughal era Are not so much of Patriots , shows 1947 , They lost their credibility there ,what do you expect ,another Breakage by Apeasing these freeloaders ,Comgress Tried 70 years ,,,,

[@biggpicture2930]

Fakery... Hindu caste forbid sea travel... ex communication and relegation to lower caste is the penalty..

[@elgonm289]

Whole Mughals were trying to eradicate the Vedic Religion, Culture and replacing it a foreign Religion, about time history of Subcontinent came to the fore, you must a Pakistani Muslim

[@jimjiminy5836]

Neglecting the up keep of the Taj Mahal.

[@wavingcat5]

Omg the dad on Goodness Gracious Me was right!

[@davidpaterson2309]

When the son announces that he’s becoming a Christian: Jesus? Worked for his father? Indian! Mother was a virgin? Indian! Fed 5000 people with 5 loaves and 3 fishes? Indian picnic! Some of the best lines in British comedy.

[@julian5883]

Utterly fascinating, thank you Ash/Novara and William!

[@radman1136]

Well ... I bought Anarchy because of Novara, so ... I guess I'll order The Golden Road. Thx Ash, Mr. Dalrymple. Hello from Portland Oregon.

[@angklungeds]

Great! Looking forward to hear from Will on Novara!

[@intello8953]

How is this comment 3 days 👀

[@davidwright8432]

OK, I'm sold! I'm going to buy the book. As I do all of William Dalrymple's work. Thanks for an informative and entertaining interview. Learning that rhubarb is from India is worth the time, alone!

[@fredrickdemello2260]

Aajaa nachle bro

[@Thomas_basiv]

His podcast with Anita arnand is so good

[@sararichardson737]

Anita Anand is as a nail scratching a blackboard to listen to. Very difficult to listen to an otherwise great podcast

[@maxgodwin398]

What a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful interview. Extraordinarily informative!

[@sandyanarayanswami5708]

A very nice interview that I enjoyed as much as I did reading "The Golden Road"!!

[@EyeLean5280]

This should be interesting.

[@elmersbalm5219]

A friend gifted me Nine Lives. Loved it so much that I devoured the Mughal trilogy. Have to read this too.

[@jitendrajoshi786]

Very true

[@onepartyroule]

Is this from a Goodness Gracious Me sketch? (Anyone else remember the Sanjeev Baskar character?)

[@burtyactual3272]

@@onepartyroule superman Indian paraphrase "in what other country do know where a man can run faster than a speeding train" still funny

[@onepartyroule]

@@burtyactual3272 Hehe, I always remember the one where he says the royal family is Indian because they all work in the family business and have arranged mariages xD

[@selmaunsley6683]

Santa clause, red suit big beard Indian

[@wavingcat5]

Lol I commented “omg, the dad from Goodness Gracious Me was right!”

[@wavingcat5]

Indian!

[@mikethomas9551]

William Dalrymple is an incredible writer. It would benefit everyone in Britain to read "The Anarchy" as it makes sense of a lot of modern British history.

[@KC-lc8dx]

This was fascinating! Thank you both!❤ from Canada

[@paulwhetstone0473]

Thank you so much for this extended interview which unfortunately covered more than time allowed.

[@totonow6955]

6:33 Good grief Charlie Brown!

[@Chillwire2]

Anglo-countries & Israel (with help of EU) vs China & India (with Help from Russia). Thats pretty much the global struggle in geopolitics for the next 20-30 years.

[@richardallan2767]

Just been to India. However magnificent it clearly was, it is currently a horrific culture. Holding on to the brutality of the caste system, profound sexism, racism, not just to foriegners but to themselves (on the basis of caste, religion and skin tone, both ends of the melanin spectrum) . They have taken the middle class judgementalism and bureaucracy of the British empire and the mindless grindset of hypercapitalism and really run with them.

[@elcapitaan1]

@@richardallan2767 maybe it was just towards you Richard

[@longcours]

You might have a point here, BUT most Indians of all walks of life I've seen were very polite, gentle, highly-educated people, and interacting with them was almost always a pleasure. Between them many tensions always seem to exist, which to me, being rather coming, as a European, from Northeast Asia (decades in Japan, Korea, China), has the added charm of seeing strong and assertive individuals...

[@snathan3198]

Some friends recently visited London, they thought parts of it looked and felt like Pakistan!

[@dominokid7996]

Ok Mustafa, Mohammed

[@jero4059]

Great, just great.

[@workingtoseethelight8244]

The Elon Musk of Alexandria? Let's have a bit more respect for Alexandria over here!

[@mbronzeinfo7950]

WEST INDIES THE SILK ROAD THE SPICES ROAD

[@elcapitaan1]

INDIA!

[@mbronzeinfo7950]

@@elcapitaan1 TEA FROM CHINA DIFFERENT THINGS FROM DIFFERENT PART OF THE WORLD FAUNA FLORA MINERALS HUMANKIND

[@mbronzeinfo7950]

@@elcapitaan1 LOVE THEM ALL

[@RitaRajaa]

Ash Sarkar would be wonderful to have on the Empire podcast with William

[@leighfoulkes7297]

Came off as really nice man, I'm going to getting my hands on this book.

[@fuzzbang]

ALL his books are super engaging. Start with Xanadu

[@biggpicture2930]

Pure Fakery... Hindu caste forbid sea travel... Brahmins face ex communication and relegation to lower caste.... is the penalty..

[@mr.lenormandsinusitisbelly6242]

Ancient World first starts with THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA #1 You can’t talk about any other continents or countries without talking about Africa first that’s where you came from and that’s where you walked out from…. straight to India

[@mr.lenormandsinusitisbelly6242]

The guy did mention Ancient Egyptians… ANCIENT GODDESS ISIS. Thank You😊

[@biggpicture2930]

Pure Fakery... Hindu caste forbid sea travel... Brahmins face ex communication and relegation to lower caste.... is the penalty..

[@globalcitizenn]

Africa is where life began, India is where civilisation began

[@stacycarlton2056]

​@@globalcitizennnot sure about that one

[@tomg268]

This is the crossover i didn’t know I needed! Please ask him about the destruction of historic Mughal architecture under BJP rule.

[@zatarawood3588]

what historic Mughal architecture has been destroyed? Sounds like Pakistani propaganda. I don't know any country which has been as tolerant of foreign minorities as India.

[@deepsareen1]

So you do not see it as Babri Masjid? By the way India was not always Islamic.

[@tomg268]

@@deepsareen1 i didn’t specifically mention Babri Masjid in my comment, and it was destroyed before the BJP came to power. Others have been demolished in recent years as well. However, we don’t know whether or not a Hindu temple was demolished prior to the building of Babri. Be that as it may, the destruction of one historical architectural site would not justify the destruction of another 500 years later. Second, I never claimed that Islam was ‘always in India’. The first Muslims came to India shortly after the time of the Prophet, but Indian Islam did not flourish until the times of the slave kings and the Delhi Sultanate (around 800 - 1000 years ago). In that millennium, Islam has had a profound impact on Indian life and culture that shows itself in architecture, styles of dress, music, art, food, every aspect of life. It’s not about trying to erase each other, it’s about living together in mutual respect.

[@deepsareen1]

@@tomg268 BJP was the ruling party in state of Uttar Pradesh when Babri Masjid was demolished. This state government was dismissed by central government for their connivance. Nothing as important has been destroyed after that. Also we rarely realize that there is a large South India which was scarcely under Mughals. You are perfectly right about the cross cultural influences and need to preserve them but unfortunately religious Otherism emanating from politics in percolating to other spheres of life. fresh injustices are being justified in the name of old ones (BTW proofs of old temples being destroyed are very much there). As such in India many archaeological sites are in state of disrepair due to apathy, ignorance and paucity of funds for upkeep.

[@elcapitaan1]

fyi the babri masjid was attacked by a mob and was not during bjp rule

[@MichaelLoda]

Will Dalrymple is the best!

[@TigerTiger-fx3ps]

the indan cultureal influence on all other races is baddly covered. carious forces such as thchurch and islamic destruction of ancietn artifacts jas desreoued much of the history, however, it will slowly come to light in the coming centuries.

[@utopianguy]

I don't think Rhubarb is originally from India. There is not even a name for Rhubarb in Indian languages. Rhubarb was most likely cultivated in China first and was potentially one of the most expensive commodity traded at one time and may be Indian traders jumped in on the trade

[@elcapitaan1]

@@utopianguy you can have rhubarb

[@zzzzz653]

There are 3 species of Rhubarb that grow in the Indian Himalayas. Moreover, it was known in Ayurveda for its medicinal properties.

[@utopianguy]

@@zzzzz653 I did find few rhubarb species growing in Himalayas, mostly in wild. Apparently, it is called revand-chini in Hindi and similar names in other languages. My wife is from Utarakhand but never heard them using Rhubarb in their cooking although my exposure to Uttarakhand culture is relatively limited. I see few farms that grow Rhubarbs in India but they seem more like for a niche market. I don't see any large scale farming happening in India. Pretty sure an average Indian not living in Himalayas would not be familiar with Rhubarb. Given all this it makes me partly skeptical about the claim that Rhubarbs were first discovered in India

[@zzzzz653]

@@utopianguy rhubarb was never used as food in the past but as a medicine. It is only in the recent past that the Europeans have started eating it as food. That is likely the reason the Indians, even in the Himalayas, don’t use it that much. Furthermore, it is sometimes the case that you do not use a particular substance yourself but you trade it for profit because the other person has a big demand for it. Do they use the rhubarb as medicine in Uttarakhand ?

[@philly5452]

​@@utopianguyI've just quickly looked it up and it evidently was originally native to Himalayan areas of China Mongolia and Tibet, it's use was medicinal.

[@bumbabums-]

No Genghis Khan was not scared of India. He conquered Arabian and Persian areas. He was busy in the middle east. Dude was brutal in technique too

[@r.b6170]

His descendants tried to conquer India; raided, apparently found the heat intolerably and left.

[@nobilismaximus]

No, he was scared of heights

[@aqeeldean686]

​@@r.b6170yh tell that to Timur and Babur.

[@biggpicture2930]

Mughal were the mongol with islamic faith

[@r.b6170]

@@biggpicture2930 the type that you're talking of, came to India a few hundred years later; and they preferred to be called " chaghatais", Mughul, for them was apparently a derogatory word.

[@rnandkumar]

Superbly engrossing. I wish all his books and research could be used to make documentaries.

[@strathyreinn8124]

Have been listening to Empire on Spotify…presumed the presenters were both 2 decades older!😂

[@Storyraymond]

Very interesting talk! So many details I didn’t know. Thanks.🙏

[@carlossantos6683]

The Chinese may disagree with this statement..and not without a reason 😅

[@silveriver9]

China was the epicentre of the ancient world and will reclaim that spot again in the coming years.

[@elcapitaan1]

this silk road as a concept was made popular in the 80s. thats not enough reason

[@Kids11111]

@@silveriver9 You can't even keep your birth rate in order lol

[@silveriver9]

@@Kids11111 You say it like it is a bad thing. Your tiny population of a country in the eyes of China is seen as just another village. Fertility and ED issues?

[@biggpicture2930]

Complete Fakery... Hindu caste forbid sea travel... ex communication and relegation to lower caste is the penalty..

[@UKgamer87]

I wonder if this will discuss modis india being hindu supremacist.....

[@Abbale]

No. She will only say anything as long it subverts Britain.

[@ChandraSedari]

What does ancient India have to do with Modi? Why are you so obsessed with him?

[@zatarawood3588]

@@ChandraSedari The obsession with Modi is because he is restoring hindu culture and values to India and that threatens all the other forces which have swirled around in India since Independence namely the Islamists and the barmy socialists/communists, not to mention outside forces namely Pakistan (not so much) and Communist China. There is an influence campaign against Modi as a result but I wouldnt worry as most of the comments you see online and even under a video like this one are probably coming from a click farm paid for by a rogue Intelligence agency. Within India Modi is extremely popular, & thats why he wins election after election, not only that he is one of the most popular leaders amongst global leaders and that includes within the muslim Arab world)

[@IXXILordFibonacciIXXI]

How is he Hindu supremacist when he supports all religions in India at his own political ceremonies? Doea it bother you that India has a Hindu history that deserves its place among the rest?

[@elcapitaan1]

hinduism is the name given to all religions in ancient india...there are many types of hinduism -Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, Smartism etc, even buddhism and sihkism having come from india are considered hindu. To call something hindu and then say supremicist seems quite ignorant.

[@ekamsat429]

Many puerile quips aside, the host manages to put together a fascinating conversation. Looking forward to reading the book.

[@ekulio]

What an incredibly backhanded compliment

[@petenorton883]

Great interview. Dinghy is bengali too. I have ordered the book 😀There is one point. While he talks about the trade routes from west india to Egypt. Surely the trade from east India to south east asia was contemporaneous and so just continued as normal when the western trade was interrupted so it didn't replace it. Isn't there also the question of direct India China trade, with ships from china sailing down to malaya on one monsoon and transferring their cargoes to indian ships which then carried the cargo back on the next monsoon to India and visa versa?

[@dsbdsb6637]

Yep Dna evidence point to a continued interactions b/w India & South East Asia since earlier periods. Check - Indian genetic heritage in Southeast Asian populations

[@dicky-duck6632]

Something unusual is happening; there have been many claims like this about India recently on KZbin, both about the past and the future

[@zzzzz653]

Simply because there are more Indians now on the Internet and many of them like to talk about their ancient past. What is so unusual about it ?

[@r.b6170]

I've read " Dehli-city of jinns" and " White Mughals", and i only enjoyed the former; i read it three times. Can anyone recommend another of this gentlemans books ?? Thank you.

[@arifshahabuddin8888]

I can't believe that you haven't read Dalrymple's "The Last Mughal." It's a poignant story worthy of an epic film.

[@r.b6170]

@@arifshahabuddin8888 it sounded so; and I intended to. I will make time for it one day. I've yet to purchase it.

[@silveriver9]

China was the epicentre of the ancient world and will reclaim that spot again in the coming years.

[@IXXILordFibonacciIXXI]

China? What was China called? What dynasty? Han Chinese are not original people nor are the Manchu

[@jameswilliam26]

India was older than China, and an epicentre on its own.

[@silveriver9]

@@jameswilliam26 China is the longest running civilisation in the world, and continues to this day. Ancient Hindus Valley are a different people from modern day Indians, just like Egyptians today are different from ancient Egyptians.

[@jameswilliam26]

@@silveriver9, yes, you are correct to an extent, and Indian civilization was disrupted by the British Raj, but you have to admit that the Indian civilization came before the Chinese. Chinese Buddhists especially went on pilgrimages to India to seek out their holy texts.

[@silveriver9]

@@jameswilliam26 Don’t confuse Indian with Hindu Valley peoples which many ppl do. They are different. Thus, Indian and Chinese civilisation emerged at similar times. Buddha is from Nepal.

[@HilareBelloc]

Except the culture that dominated was aryan

[@hadzana3558]

YES. Finally someone talks about it.

[@afml7049]

Bravo!

[@KAZVorpal]

Actually, it's worth note that some of India's ideas came from Greece. For example, Buddhist sculpture largely originated in the Greco-Bactrian kingdoms that were founded by Alexander the Great.

[@dsbdsb6637]

Indeed but that was before Abrahamic appropriation this was the norm among all indigenous / non-Abrahamic traditions but after Abrahamic religions emerged they vilified everything bad on existing systems & appropriated everything good for themselves in the name of God delinking it from ancient traditions.

[@KAZVorpal]

@@dsbdsb6637 There is truth to that, about monotheism in general. The very premise is arrogant, belittling, and demonizing in a way polytheists and henotheists were not. Sadly, that's a secret of their success...they harm everyone, but perpetuate themselves.

[@dsbdsb6637]

@@KAZVorpal // Sadly, that's a secret of their success...they harm everyone, but perpetuate themselves. // Exactly, you either perish or learn to play the game on their terms.

[@johnmckiernan2176]

"Buddhist sculpture" did not "largely originate" in the Greco-Bactrian kingdoms. Naturalistic human iconography in Buddhist sculpture did. Prior to this, there was a fine tradition of aniconic Indian Buddhist stonework, wherein the Buddha was portrayed by a footprint, a parasol held over an empty space and other such ingenious devices. The point was that he had transcended the human. What the Greeks brought was an idealised human form that combined with textual descriptions of a Buddha's features to create the Buddha iconography we know today.

[@elcapitaan1]

@@KAZVorpal yes Buddha was From Athens 😂

[@idio-syncrasy]

Ash is quite simply a very impressive person.

[@duncanmclean6416]

Enjoyed that. Very good

[@alteredstate07]

I thought we were all African?

[@lordjustice6994]

Fascinating

[@ludwig327]

No it isn't you silly silly man

[@bazs7669]

Fascinating discussion!

[@Justlib543]

Great insight

[@thedarkknightReturns]

happy to see you safe

[@drs2969]

When is WD going to speak about hindutva fascism?

[@coreyjblakey]

A very very valid point.

[@advityat]

He has many many times, just not openly.

[@yj9032]

He has already spoken about it

[@palestine5920]

I will speak about it to u. Hindutva arose to counter islam or any abrahamic religion that is oppressin in indian land. Usually its islam beco its a political religion with its strategies. Hindutva is an effect of colonialism/ imperialism. Its not the cause. Ask your masters😂happy?

[@advityat]

@@drs2969 And in any case why should he? He isn't a political commentator or a journalist. It isn't his place to make comments about that.

[@anllpp]

🙏

[@TheLion377]

It is important to distinguish "Indian" from "Islamic civilization" (i.e. the Mughals). The Extremist Modi government wants to make it seem that Muslims are foreign but somehow everything the Mughals did "Indians" were responsible for. You can't have it both ways. Indians made great advances in Medicine (like Sushruta) and other sciences, but that was far outweighed by the contributions made by Muslims across the Islamic civilizations. Algebra came from Islamic civilization, not India. Not denying the Indian roots of many modern day mathematical concepts, but just saying.

[@EyeLean5280]

One of the great Muslim "contributions" to Indian culture was to undermine the status of women. Before the Mughals, women could hold respected government jobs, but afterward... well I'm sure you can guess.

[@deepsareen1]

Islam is a Religion and not a civilization. Arabs borrowed profusely from Indian sources particularly in Baghdad Caliphate. The names of books by Arab scholars themselves mention that reality. Mughals only made palaces and gardens; no universities or hospitals or observatories or dams & canals. No major discovery or invention happened during their rule. They just co-opted those willing locals and fought with ones not willing to expand heir empire and focused on conversion (except one significant exception) bigtime. India had "Bija Ganita" (oldest works found in Aryabhatta of late 6th Century) analogous to Algebra (developed in Arabia by Al Khwarizmi in 8th century and not by Mughals in India). But more important than anything else is use of "zero" and decimal system dating back to 3rd century. Parts of oldest existing Birch manuscripts called "Bakhshali manuscript" (kept at Oxford University) has been dated at 3rd century and contains problems spanning involve arithmetic, algebra and geometry, including mensuration.

[@IXXILordFibonacciIXXI]

Kitab Al Hind means book of India.

[@johnmckiernan2176]

The algebra invented using Indian numerals? That algebra? Imagine believing scientific/mathematical knowledge has some alignment with religion.

[@elcapitaan1]

which ones? like domes?

[@davidarchibald50]

Any talk of a country or an ethnic group being an epicentre at anytime smacks of racism to me. The people of Australia knew nothing of India, neither did the South American peoples, the African population may have known of a fabled place but the Pacific nations would have a void to India. Always we miss the point of the human obsession with supremacy.

[@biggpicture2930]

Fakery... Hindu caste forbid sea travel... Brahmins face ex communication and relegation to lower caste.... is the penalty..

[@stacycarlton2056]

Seriously I'm not shocked though

[@TAinWufu]

I think rhubarb is from China actually

[@Yeaitsej]

That isn't true at all Africa was the epicenter of the ancient world as that is where we all came from

[@elcapitaan1]

@@Yeaitsej you’ve mixed up your era that pre historic is where Africa is the only inhabited land .. it wasn’t even Africa it was Pangea or something

[@Yeaitsej]

@@elcapitaan1 lmao humans did not exist in Pangaea. Please educate yourself you have information at your fingertips.. our ancestors came out of Africa. Hell you could play the game ancestors and figure that out smh

[@elcapitaan1]

@@Yeaitsej Gondwanaland whatever the point is it wasn’t what is called the ancient era…before you call me ignorant 😂

[@Yeaitsej]

@@elcapitaan1 lmao yes you very are because I wasn't talking solely about our origin, Africa because of the Atlantean empire was the center of trade which is why Egypt thrived until they were invaded and the blackness bred or killed out of Egypt

[@sandynoall]

Im hoping Tartarianism is mentioned....those dome features originated from somewhere :)

[@elcapitaan1]

INDIA!

[@johnmckiernan2176]

Yes, the Tartarian proto-civilisation was the capital of Flat Earth and perished in the war against the Lemurians and the Reptoids from Alpha Centauri. Before the Yeti took over. It's all there in Herodotus, people. It's history, like.

[@JayFLopez]

Hold your horses, India got so much of its food from the new world that not EVERYTHING about you is Indian, quite a lot is Native American. Plus a ton of other influences that influenced India

[@elcapitaan1]

like what?

[@4gilgameshenkidu]

😂😂😂

[@Kids11111]

The entire mathematical system in the modern world that provides modern day living is Indian. So pardon us if we ascribe less importance to a potato or tomato lmao, Cool that you cultivated a vegetable. It's delicious, no cap. But have you tried inventing the entire mathematical basis of modern day civilisation?

[@HarryMonn]

​@Kids11111 what you talking about bro. Numbers are literally Arabic in origin. Tons of math came from India but also from the Islamic Caliphate, Greece, and other cultures. India is by no means the inventor of modern math, they are a contributor.

[@Kids11111]

@@HarryMonn Numbers are most definitely not Arabic in origin. They got them from India. Europeans then in turn got them from the Arabs and thought the Arabs invented numbers. The decimal and base 10 system comes from India.

[@apflewis]

What an excellent informative enjoyable interview. Thank you.

[@rice4550]

India is always so underrepresented in these type of discussions I'm glad this conversation is happening especially without the lunacy of Indian nationalists wet dream of Akhand Bharat

[@dsbdsb6637]

It is a cultural expression not a political one if you get the drift.

[@thoughts4872]

We already know about 90% of what he is said about ancient india. It has no relevance in ancient india.

[@dologongpoloponobonotongpo235]

aztecs and san people of africa? definitely indian. you definitely got this dumb premise from goodness gracious me and it shows😂

[@SusieGee1]

A disgustingly false narrative. As I listened to Dalrymple, I was shocked and more shocked and then disgusted by his rewriting of history. Not only that, he censored himself every time he had to say Persian or Persia. Either he just censored himself or was too ignorant of the current history. The Islamic Republic happened when he was a teenager by the time he made it to Cambridge the mullahs and powers of the world started wiping out any sign of the greatest Empire in the ancient world from all history books. As my Children went through school in this century, I was shocked that any and all things Persian were referred to as Indian. As a historian, he should have known better. But no he wasn't! What did they teach you in Cambridge? If they didn't teach you, what did you learn yourself? A total disgrace of an interview. Just by reference, Uzbekistan was not a country until the demise of the Soviet Union which happened when Dalrymple was in Cambridge! It was lost in the 19th Century to Russians by the Ghajjars of Persia. It has always been a state of Persia. Alkharazmi is a Persian mathematician. All cities of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakisstann are Persian and appear in poems of Omar Khayyam (Oh please don't say he was Neyshaburestani!!), Hafez Rumi Ferdowsi... as they were cities and states of Persia. "Estan" which appears at the end of all these magnificent countries, means "state" in Persian. Check out the current states in Iran they are also called Sistan Baluchestan, Golestan, Kurdistan, Lorestan...They still all know and speak Persian, even though Russians and later Soviets tried to change the Persian alphabet to Russian, so they could not read about their heritage, they still know Persian poetry by heart. What a total disgrace of a "historian"! The British never got over the fact they could not colonize Persia and tear it apart like what they did to India. Correct your books and interviews, or you will go down in history as either an ignorant, a fraud, or both.

[@zzzzz653]

Much of Persian influence in Central Asia happened after the coming of Islam. Before that much of Central Asia was Indianised. No one is interested in your emotional half truths. If you want to debate make rational and not emotional arguments.

[@pausereflect5911]

😂 Oh man! He is telling HIS findings AND you're getting angry 😡. Check it out man, check it out!

[@SusieGee1]

@@zzzzz653 go read history Cyrus, the Achaemenian king freed the Jews after he conquered Babylon 2600 years ago and issued the first declaration of Human Rights (currently in the UN) was king of Persia. Read history young zzzzz653. Islam is 1400 years old. Is your adding as bad as your history? Go to the British museum and The Louvre if you cannot read and see with your own eyes. The civilised history of Persia currently goes back to 5100 years ago read or google Jiroft Ziggurat !! Wake up zzzzz!!

[@SusieGee1]

@@pausereflect5911 he has not found anything obviously if he totally didn’t see Persia!!

[@pausereflect5911]

@@SusieGee1 Well he mentions Persia. You obviously didn't hear well enough!

[@JohnJones-k9d]

Let’s see if they do one on. China Russia I think not would be the answer.

[@youkeepwalking]

Learned...plus a kind and decent human being. Thank you.

[@jncoles]

37:33 the Romans famously reversed engineered a Carthaginian Quinquereme - not a Venetian ship! (Venice didn't even exist)

[@sincaable]

I think they were saying "Phonecian", not "Venetian"

[@johnmckiernan2176]

Carthaginians were also Phoenician in their origin, meaning that Ash and William are not exactly wrong.

[@DataCrusade1999]

Bhakts won't like this video. But I'm waiting for it.

[@Mulvers]

Fascinating, I learnt so much!

[@neeloor2004able]

I think his claim is just to get support from the current ruling party BJP in India. There will be pleased by his claims

[@fuzzbang]

Not really, he seems cynical about the current mood.

[@yj9032]

He has criticised Modi in this podcast itself!

[@robinhazell6019]

Buddhism arrived in Thailand with King Asoka at Nakhorn Si Tammarat in the south. Even toady, the Thai Royal rituals are actually Hindu and NOT Buddhist.

[@arbitScaleModels]

I don't want to troll on India, but based on what Indians say, if you go to New Delhi, take a mask, sanitizers, nose plugs, and antibiotics.

[@arifshahabuddin8888]

When I was at the airport in March 2019 in transit, I could hardly see the skyline through the window. It was hard to see anything clearly with the air being so thick. I remember visiting historic sites in Delhi in the 1970s. At least the air was cleaner back then.

[@arbitScaleModels]

@@arifshahabuddin8888 Yes, I bet it was amazing back in history.

[@Hession0Drasha]

India was the most prominant power in southeast asia, for most of history.

[@robinhazell6019]

Wrong. Prominent culture but6 not power.

[@HarryMonn]

For most of history India was not a single country

[@biggpicture2930]

Fakery... Hindu caste forbid sea travel... Brahmins face ex communication and relegation to lower caste.... is the penalty..

[@Archmagos_Faber]

Rome is still cooler... but in all seriousness why are we doing this. it reeks of my toy is cooler then yours or is better or older.

[@elcapitaan1]

but it is

[@TheYopogo]

Can't you like all of them? What's so wrong about learning more about something which is not often given the spotlight it deserves?

[@johnmckiernan2176]

The only truly international major idea of the ancient world was Buddhism, which travelled from India as far as Parthia in the west and China, the Malayan archipelago and Japan in the east. Rome was important, but Roman norms were spread by violence and peoples - like the Gauls - were Romanised to make them conform. This is not true of Buddhism, which was poured into other cultures as a liquid into many different-shaped containers. Buddhism being an Indian innovation in thought. So I accept the premise. Along with the vast trade going east and west, India was influential at that time in a way that both the European classical world and China were not. Their heydays came later.

[@Archmagos_Faber]

@@TheYopogo this is true and a good point, I often find moments in a civilisation very interesting but never really dive deeply into a civilisations history as a whole. from native American to Prussian and Sardinian history all they way to Japanese all have interesting moments in history.

[@Archmagos_Faber]

@@johnmckiernan2176 while you make some interesting points I feel like you are trying to sell me a religion. Not all roman ideals were exported by violent means. it like many empires or states did conquer and at times was very violent so I would like to point out it was not unique to them or Europeans/ Mediterraneans. I know nothing of Buddhism really and won't argue with you on anything regarding it so I will just take you word on it. in regards to India's importance in history there is no argument that it was and is but to say it is the most important or all encompassing falls into the same trap as the Eurocentric's I believe.

[@Meevious]

One innovation the Macedonians brought to India is the _kopis,_ which became a common feature on stone carvings throughout much of the subcontinent from about his time until the Mughal era, while earlier carvings only feature straight swords. It was retained in Nepal and the surrounding area where it's known as the _kukri._ Kind of surprising that any Greek technology caught on, considering their very limited military success there, though they did retain sizeable neighbouring kingdoms for around 450 years. Regarding Indian stuff coming with the vikings: it's thought that some viking swords were made from watered steel _(wootz)_ - a technology which was invented in India in the _early_ iron age and wasn't cracked in the rest of the world until the 19th century, by which time it was _still_ considered at least as good as any other steel (though it had very different mechanical properties to any western steel, sharpening very well, but bending very poorly), despite being unchanged for thousands of years. Sadly, the exact processes of the Indian watered steel technology were lost in the early modern period, though a recently deceased scholar was able to demonstrate a convincing reproduction of the results, so we can fairly confidently say that it's been rediscovered. Much like our "Arabic numbers", "chess" and so on, Europeans named it _damascus steel,_ after the Syrian port of Damascus, through which the stuff was traded.

[@appiusclaudias3500]

😂😂😂 what a joke

[@zzzzz653]

…for the ignoramuses !

[@gdrdm]

I'm going to be that guy, sorry: TURN OFF CAMERA AUTOFOCUS. Manual focus on the interviewee once -- done.

[@sabkamalikekhai6714]

Noah was originally from India, tarun City, mentioned in Quran from where Noah floods started is in kerala sea side Also ancient scriptures of India mentions same story of Noah exactly same

[@prashantprashant1476]

Thanks. An Indian American this made my day.

[@vivan10]

So happy he mentioned the great Chola Kings. Amazing dominance of South East Asia.

[@oliverwortley3822]

YESS SAAR, BHARAT NOOBAH WON SAAAAR, SUPER-POOPER 2030 SAAR, NUMBAH WON IN STREET DEFECAZHUN SAAR BUD BUD

[@jithenin]

Thank you ASH for this conversation with WILLIAM 👍❤️

[@roslynromeo5963]

Indus Valley came before Ancient Africa/Egypt/Sumerians/Mitochondrial Eve?😊

[@EyeLean5280]

Are you making this claim, or are you anticipating the video to make it?

[@silveriver9]

China was the epicentre of the ancient world and will reclaim that spot again in the coming years.

[@IXXILordFibonacciIXXI]

Harrapan civilization is proving to be older than we expected. Egypt is Misrahim. Sumer is Ashur, Arphaxad, Aram. Elam is older and proto linear Elamite is found in South India.

[@IXXILordFibonacciIXXI]

​@@silveriver9What was China called?

[@silveriver9]

@@IXXILordFibonacciIXXI Chinese civilisation is the longest running civilisation in the world, and continues to this day.

[@johnkimon1191]

Why weren't the Indians interested about the Greeks when they turned up in India, while the Greeks wanted to record and understand their encounter with this new and different culture? What does Greek inquisitiveness and Indian nonchalance tell us about these two cultures? And which is more laudable, the culture which wants to know about other cultures or the one that has no interest in how others live and think?

[@Divinenatureee]

@@johnkimon1191 because indians consider greeks as barberians lol.

[@justinereisler5930]

lets get something clear. india has lost every war in modern and ancient times . india is not even the real name of the country , it was named from the British empire.

[@Spengleman2]

This might be totally unrelated to the video, but I’ve always found it odd how we always find it much easier to stomach foreign nationalism than nationalism in our own country. This isn’t the case in India at all, or even Wales for that matter, being a nationalist in these places (and most places around the world) is actually approved of, even though it’s the same emotions, temptations and patterns of thinking at play. Is it always a bad thing to think your own nation, peoples and culture is superior to others? Or is it okay for certain peoples to think this way while for others it’s not?

[@burtyactual3272]

the balance of britain as union is helped when the largest nation england express its nationalism through a British filter, rather than an English filter which would exclude and bring into opposition the other uk nations. England's population is so large in comparison to other home nations, that any english nationalism, makes the UK unstable. The EDL do not get this

[@Spengleman2]

@@burtyactual3272 most people do though, and the EDL is almost non existent these days, most people understand that nationalism bad, but they also seem to discriminate when it comes to nationalism around the world. In some places it’s a good thing and in other places bad. That seems silly to me - surely it’s more likely that too many nationalism anywhere is a bad thing.

[@burtyactual3272]

@@Spengleman2 I guess it's down to the specific conditions and relations of different nations

[@yj9032]

its not about foreign or domestic. British nationalism is toxic because of its genocidal and parasitic history. Indian nationalism is the opposite

[@Spengleman2]

@@burtyactual3272 yes I think that’s right among other things

[@DavidGreen-hp5yq]

I thought the Indians were civilised by the Aryan's (whom came south via todays Iran.)

[@elcapitaan1]

@@DavidGreen-hp5yq I think you are getting your dates wrong .. that was way back. Aryans weren’t civilized .. they were nomadic hordes. India civilized the Aryans

[@DavidGreen-hp5yq]

@@elcapitaan1 Hmm, the Aryans I'm referrong too, helped civilise the world.

[@mugekolukisa783]

​@@DavidGreen-hp5yq They didn't do a very good job.😊 We're still at each other's throats, at every level.

[@giansideros]

​@@DavidGreen-hp5yq A shame the Aryans didn't have a written language unlike other Bronze Age Civilisations like the Egyptians, Sumerians and even the Ancient Chinese.

[@harveyyoung3423]

Hello everyone. I'm pretty sure this is pre-recorded anyway, but there's no way Ash is either brave enough or stupid enough to go where my mind has being playing around with recently. I mean I'm not brave or stupid enough either. Since this program intends to go way back before modern States, and so culturally covers a wider scope than just modern India maybe mention the Modern Philippines and particularly The Manila Film Centre part of the Cultural Centre of the Philippines constructed in 1981 for the 1982 The First Manila Film Festival. One of many vanity projects of the powerful First Lady, Imelda Marcos. Ferdinand Marcos declared Marshall Law in September 1972, himself describing his rule as "Constitutional Authoritarianism". It's proper complex 1960's 1970's Cold War in the East stuff, Marxist communist students, City/country gorilla warfare, links with the Soviet Union massive borrowing for investment in Imelda Marcos's Brutalist Architectural Vanity Projects. Left and democratic socialist oligarchy plutocracy. Yes it seems they are things too. I remember them legging it with suitcases full of cash (and Gold? I don't think so) in the 1980's. it seems from Wikipedia to the music of "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree". It's my former job's on building sites and my interest in cinema though that makes this triggering. The rushed 24/7 construction of Manila Film Centre 1981, the construction workers disaster, the ceiling off of the site and News black out to the Medical and Police looking on along with UNESCO, and the silence. (I first became aware of this from KZbin "Bedtime Stories" though not for kids). Anyway the show must go on so UK entry for the 1982 Film Festival was "The French Lieutenants Woman" but India won that year with "36 Chowringhee Lane" claiming best picture. We will never know the truth of the Manila Film Centre Construction Disaster. But it seems the big controversial issue at the time were the showing of P*rn Films! Brings a whole new meaning to breaking the glass ceiling. Is this what feminism looks like. Yes MeToo. (Link to the policy I didn't reference at the start that has no name) Anyway that woman Labour MP has resigned the whip or whatever, so that's OK. Have your cake and eat it too. You will be able to sleep tonight I guess with pleasant dreams and the nicely middleclass carers invites will remain?

[@elcapitaan1]

sorry but im not reading what you wrote

[@harveyyoung3423]

@@elcapitaan1 That's ok I didn't think it would stay up anyway, certainly not still be hear after the streams repost.

[@harveyyoung3423]

upto 5 mins: The differance between land root "connectivity" and sea root "connectivity" is discussed by Manula De Landa drawing he says on Deleuze' later work. I only know Deleuze's very early stuff "Logic of Sense" and "Difference and Repetion". De Landa is one of only few Continental philosophers to also know and work in the Analytical Tradition. The reverse is rare too. De Landa approaches it though "network theory" and "topology" in mathematics. This is get from a couple of books by him and on him, but mostly from his great seminars at the "European Graduate School". For a film link: its the maths problem at the beginning of "Good Will Hunting". Very clever metaphor. As a footnote: I wanted to be an anthropologist when i was a kid at school in the 1970's, but found out you need to be really good at languages, and although i had a great French teacher at school i kept coming bottom of the class. So i went into physics. At university, I found out advanced physics was all maths, and i got the lowest mark in maths the departments history. I was good at experimental physics though and found a anomaly no else had found but it was what philosopher Michael Dummett called "verification transcendent. I know that because instead of continuing with Radiation physics i did post grad philosophy and history of science. I also wanted to be a great guitarist but I'm worse at that than French or Mathematics. There are so many bad philosophers though you can get away with it, for a bit at least. But in politics bad is good and good is bad tactically and strategically. I'm rambling though.

[@harveyyoung3423]

9 mi in. This is great. British museum and Natural history museum are great. A 19th century project for a railway from Berlin to Peking. Unlike Tesler though, I bet the Baron wouldn't be digging it out of the jungle, the desert and the mountains. Wittgenstein on Frazer's "Golden Bough": "savage modernity" (1930) I've got to do the conservative Party conference, now (10 30 am 30 09 24) where did it all go wrong? but...I'll be back

[@IXXILordFibonacciIXXI]

India is origin of Aryan and Shemite. The ancient Shemites or Sharma peoples, descendants of Noah aka Noh aka Manu are the original followers of Aryan rites according the Sacred Law of Manu.

[@johnmckiernan2176]

Are you Sanjeev Bhaskar's grandad? He had similar ideas...

[@IXXILordFibonacciIXXI]

@@johnmckiernan2176 Helena Blavatsky

[@brandonadams32212]

Wrong

[@IXXILordFibonacciIXXI]

@@johnmckiernan2176 Not only HP Blavatsky but many predeluvian historians that study occult history. I have never heard of your reference.

[@IXXILordFibonacciIXXI]

@@brandonadams32212 You mean to say Helena Blavatsky and other predeluvian historians were wrong but i actually study this and have alot of evidence to support their claims.