Authored by one of the leading scholars of German Indology, “Fortified Cities in Ancient India” offers a comparative exploration of the development of towns and cities in ancient India. Based on in-depth textual and archeological research, Professor Dieter Schlingloff’s work presents for the first time the striking outcomes of intertwining data garnered from a wide range of sources. This volume scrutinizes much of the established knowledge on urban fortifications in South Asia, advancing new conceptions based on an authoritative, far-reaching study.

"Military history, ancient India, fortification."

India's military history goes back to the Indus or Harappan people who flourished 5,000 years ago; the history of military fortifications in the country goes back even further. It remains, however, a subject largely neglected by the country's historians. This book traces the evolution of India's military tactics and strategy during the ancient period and till the eleventh century ad by examining available sources from a dispassionate, professional military perspective. The author analyses the military factors which led to the end of the Harappan civilization. The Rig Veda contains a great deal of information about battles fought by the Aryans. The author makes use of the description of the first recorded battle, the Dasrajan War fought around 1900 bc, as a basis for reconstructing the strategy and tactics employed by the combatants. The portion of Kautilya's Arthashastra dealing with matters military has been examined at some length because it exercised a profound influence on the tactics of Indian warfare for over a millennium. Such loyalty to the injunctions of the shastras bred extreme conservatism in military doctrine and often effectively prevented progress and innovation in the art of war. Learning from experience, the Guptas repudiated Kautilya's static concept and successfully defended the country against the Hunas. This work traces how a subsequent reversion to tradition and the antiquated Kautilyan system led to tragic consequences.

This book is a compilation of papers presented at the first international conference on ‘Challenges Faced in Interpretation and Site Management in Fortifications and World Heritage’, organised jointly by ICOFORT India, the National Scientific Committee on Fortifications and Military Heritage of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) India, ICOFORT International Scientific Committee, the World Monuments Fund, the School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal, UNESCO, and the DRONAH Foundation held in February 2015. It brought together a team of international and national experts, architects and scholars who shared their experiences and opinions, and looked at possible solutions to the problems faced in site management and interpretation of fortifications. Structured as per conference sessions, the book provides a preface based on the ICOFORT Charter, and is divided into three sections: namely, Classifying Fortified Heritage; Conservation and Management Challenges in Forts; and Interpretation and Tourism Challenges in Forts. The book will appeal to both a national and international audience, composed primarily of heritage experts, architects, archivists, students of architecture, ICOMOS members, and scholars with a focus on fortifications and world heritage.