Book Details

• Author: Ranabir Chakravarti

• Publisher: Oxford University Press

• Language: English

• Publication Date: 10 November 2004

• ISBN: 9780195673005

• Pages: Not specified

About the Book

This book is a scholarly collection of fifteen well-researched essays that highlights the crucial role of trade in the economic, political, and cultural life of early India, while firmly situating it within the broader agrarian framework of the subcontinent. Covering a vast historical span from the third millennium BCE to around 1300 CE, the volume provides a long-term perspective on the evolution of trade networks and commercial practices.

Edited by Ranabir Chakravarti, a leading historian of early India, the book brings together contributions from eminent scholars in the field. The essays employ new historical approaches to examine trade not merely as an economic activity but as a dynamic force interconnected with social structures, state formation, urbanization, and political power.

By integrating archaeological evidence, textual sources, and interdisciplinary methodologies, the book offers fresh insights into inland and overseas trade, merchant communities, exchange systems, and the interaction between commerce and society. It is an essential academic resource for students, researchers, and readers interested in ancient and early medieval Indian history, economic history, and historical sociology.