This Volume Brings Together Twelve Of Kosambi`S Major Essays On The Statistical And Analysical Study Of Coins From Ancient India.

This important contribution about ancient coins in India has been written jointly by Osmund Bopearachchi and Wilfried Pieper. It is an impressive volume of 289 pages with 59 plates which presents a private collection of ancient coins patiently gathered trough the years. In Part one, W.Pieper develops a historical commentary about the earliest coinages of India, the imperial period of late Magadha and Maurya rule ( ca late IVth-early IInd centuries B.C.), Ujjain and Eran, the Satavahanas (ca Ist century B.C.-early IInd century A.D.), and tribal republics and kingdoms in post-Mauryan northern India ( ca 200 B.C-ca 300 A.D.). This commentary is followed by a detailed catalogue with very precise drawings of more than 600 coins and punch-marked coins. Part two by o. Bopearachhi is organized on the same pattern: a historical commentary about foreign powers in ancient northern India, from the Bactrian Greeks untill the time of the early Kushans followed by a precise catalogue presenting Greek, Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek, Indo-Scythian, Indo-Parthian, and early Kushan coins (in fact, more than 300 specimens). The commentary intends to give a general overview of the coins concerned and of their historical context with a more extensive discussion of the series best represented in the collection. For the indigenous Indian coins this is specially true for the coinages of Ujjain, Eran, Taxila and Kausambi, many of which are new and published here for the first time.

Epigraphy and NumismaticsDescriptionVolume IV, Epigraphy and Numismatics: The Volume contains 34 articles in which there are 23 articles on Epigraphy and 11 articles on Numismatics. The epigraphy section covers studies on almost all the dynasties ruled over the Indian sub-continent and through valuable light on Political, social, economic, religious and other aspects of Indian history. The second section of the book covers important aspects of Coinage found from various regions of India right from the pre-Mauryan times to late medieval times. These articles shed light on the coinage on a Pan Indian context right from the Punch marked coins, Satavahana, Roman, Kshatrapa, Pandyas and Sultanate and also symbols on the coins which opens new vistas in the Numismatics study.This volume serves as a valuable source book for the students, research scholars and teachers as well in the fields. This volume also highlights the love and affection of Prof. P. Chenna Reddy enjoys in the intellectual world. The felicitation Volume is brought out in a series of 12 independent books covering a total of 460 articles. Every volume contains two sections. The first section contains the biographical sketch of Prof.P.Chenna Reddy, his achievements and contribution to archaeology, history and Society. The second section of each volume is subject specific.

This book examines knowledge traditions that held together the fluid and overlapping maritime worlds of the Indian Ocean in the premodern period, as evident in the material and archaeological record. It breaks new ground by shifting the focus from studying cross-pollination of ideas from textual sources to identifying this exchange of ideas in archaeological and historical documentation. The themes covered in the book include conceptualization of the seas and maritime landscapes in Sanskrit, Arabic and Chinese narratives; materiality of knowledge production as indicated in the archaeological record of communities where writing on stone first appears; and anchoring the coasts, not only through an understanding of littoral shrines and ritual landscapes, but also by an analysis of religious imagery on coins, more so at the time of the introduction of new religions such as Islam in the Indian Ocean around the eighth century. This volume will be of great interest to researchers and scholars of archaeology, anthropology, museum and heritage studies, Indian Ocean studies, maritime studies, South and Southeast Asian studies, religious studies and cultural studies.

This book offers a critical synthesis of the archaeology of South Asia from the Neolithic period (c.6500 BCE), when domestication began, to the spread of Buddhism accompanying the Mauryan Emperor Asoka's reign (third century BCE). The authors examine the growth and character of the Indus civilisation, with its town planning, sophisticated drainage systems, vast cities and international trade. They also consider the strong cultural links between the Indus civilisation and the second, later period of South Asian urbanism which began in the first millennium BCE and developed through the early first millennium CE. In addition to examining the evidence for emerging urban complexity, this book gives equal weight to interactions between rural and urban communities across South Asia and considers the critical roles played by rural areas in social and economic development. The authors explore how narratives of continuity and transformation have been formulated in analyses of South Asia's Prehistoric and Early Historic archaeological record.

This study of ancient Roman shipping and trade across continents reveals the Roman Empire’s far-reaching impact in the ancient world. In ancient times, large fleets of Roman merchant ships set sail from Egypt on voyages across the Indian Ocean. They sailed from Roman ports on the Red Sea to distant kingdoms on the east coast of Africa and southern Arabia. Many continued their voyages across the ocean to trade with the rich kingdoms of ancient India. Along these routes, the Roman Empire traded bullion for valuable goods, including exotic African products, Arabian incense, and eastern spices. This book examines Roman commerce with Indian kingdoms from the Indus region to the Tamil lands. It investigates contacts between the Roman Empire and powerful African kingdoms, including the Nilotic regime that ruled Meroe and the rising Axumite Realm. Further chapters explore Roman dealings with the Arab kingdoms of southern Arabia, including the Saba-Himyarites and the Hadramaut Regime, which sent caravans along the incense trail to the ancient rock-carved city of Petra. The first book to bring these subjects together in a single comprehensive study, The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean reveals Rome’s impact on the ancient world and explains how international trade funded the legions that maintained imperial rule.

Basic Approach Developed as a comprehensive introductory work for scholars and students of ancient and early medieval Indian history, this books provides the most exhaustive overview of the subject. Dividing the vast historical expanse from the stone age to the 12th century into broad chronological units, it constructs profiles of various geographical regions of the subcontinent, weaving together and analysing an unparalleled range of literary and archaeological evidence. Dealing with prehistory and protohistory of the subcontinent in considerable detail, the narrative of the historical period breaks away from conventional text-based history writing. Providing a window into the world primary sources, it incorporates a large volume of archaeological data, along with literary, epigraphic, and numismatic evidence. Revealing the ways in which our past is constructed, it explains fundamental concepts, and illuminates contemporary debates, discoveries, and research. Situating prevailing historical debates in their contexts, Ancient and Early Medieval India presents balanced assessments, encouraging readers to independently evaluate theories, evidence, and arguments. Beautifully illustrated with over four hundred photographs, maps, and figures, Ancient and Early Medieval India helps visualize and understand the extraordinarily rich and varied remains of the ancient past of Indian subcontinent. It offers a scholarly and nuanced yet lucid account of India s early past, and will surely transform the discovery of this past into an exciting experience. Tabel of Contents List of photographs List of maps List of figures About the author Preface Acknowledgements A readers guide 1. Understanding Literary and Archaeological Sources 2. Hunter-Gatherers of the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Ages 3. The Transition to Food Production: Neolithic,Neolithic Chalcolithic, and Chalcolithic Villages, c. 7000 2000 bce 4. The Harappan Civilization, c. 2600 1900 bce 5. Cultural Transitions: Images from Texts and Archaeology, c. 2000 600 bce 6. Cities, Kings, and Renunciants: North India, c. 600 300 bce 7. Power and Piety: The Maurya Empire, c. 324 187 bce 8. Interaction and Innovation, c. 200 BCE 300 ce 9. Aesthetics and Empire, c. 300 600 ce 10. Emerging Regional Configurations, c. 600 1200 ce Note on diacritics Glossary Further readings References Index Author Bio Upinder Singh is Professor in the Department of History at the University of Delhi. She taught history at St. Stephen s College, Delhi, from 1981 until 2004, after which she joined the faculty of the Department of History at the University of Delhi. Professor Singh s wide range of research interests and expertise include the analysis of ancient and early medieval inscriptions; social and economic history; religious institutions and patrona≥ history of archaeology; and modern history of ancient monuments. Her research papers have been published in various national and international journals. Her published books include: Kings, Brahmanas, and Temples in Orissa: An Epigraphic Study (AD 300 1147) (1994); Ancient Delhi (1999; 2nd edn., 2006); a book for children, Mysteries of the Past: Archaeological Sites in India (2002); The Discovery of Ancient India: Early Archaeologists and the Beginnings of Archaeology (2004); and Delhi: Ancient History (edited, 2006).