Jāmiʿ al-tawārīkh : Tārīkh-i Hind u Sind u Kashmīr /
:
Rashīd al-Dīn Hamadānī's (d. 718/1319) Jāmiʿ al-tawārīkh has been described by many as the first world history ever. Composed in Persian for the Mongol Il-khans Ghāzān (r. 1295-1304) and Öljeitü (Uljāytu, r. 1304-16), its aim was to set out the history and condition of the Mongol people, conquerors of the world (part one), followed by a description of the other peoples and nations of the world and their histories (part two). Given its unprecedented scope, Rashīd, vizier to both rulers, mobilized a whole team of specialists, informants, and collaborators to assist him in his task. Making use of written and oral sources, the part on the Mongols especially is a key source on the emergence and organisation of the Mongol empire, while the second part constitutes the first attempt ever at writing a history of the world. The section published here treats of India, Sind, and Kashmir.
:
1 online resource. :
9789004404151
9789648700053
Battleground Chhamb : The Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 /
:
The Battle of Chhamb is considered to be the fiercest, bloodiest, most intense and decisive battle of the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi termed it as 'the toughest'. Pakistan had amassed a very large and formidable force under 23 Infantry Division for their offensive; it comprised five infantry brigades, one armoured brigade and 31 artillery batteries. In fact the artillery employed by Pakistan in the Chhamb sector was more than they had to defend themselves in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Having tasted success in this sector in the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War, this time, with a much larger force, Pakistan hoped to capture the strategically important town of Akhnur. On the other hand, the Indian 10 Infantry Division's task was changed as many as four times in the run up to the war - from a purely Covering Troops action between the Cease Fire Line (CFL) and the permanent defences well to the rear, to an offensive task, then into a 'Forward Poise' and finally to adopt a defensive posture on 1 December 1971. This final change of plan, literally at the eleventh hour, had a profound bearing on the conduct of the battle. Notwithstanding this, 10 Infantry Division fought magnificently and managed to hold the Pakistanis on the line of the Manawar Tawi River. Just as it was preparing to launch major counter-attacks, the sudden declaration of the unilateral ceasefire by India, robbed the division of an opportunity to recapture lost territory. Nor was it taken back during the Shimla negotiations when India held 92,000 Pakistani PoWs in captivity and had the bargaining upper hand. The Battle holds many lessons for India even today and should be required reading not only for members of the defence forces, but for anybody who is interested in South Asian history.
:
1 online resource (392 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004753099
Gandhāran art in its Buddhist context : papers from the Fifth International Workshop of the Gandhāra Connections Project, University of Oxford, 21st-23rd March, 2022 /
:
This edited volume considers Gandharan art in relation to its religious contexts and meanings within ancient Buddhism. Addressing the responses of patrons and worshippers at the monasteries and shrines of Gandhara, papers seek to understand more about why Gandharan art was made and what its iconographical repertoire meant to ancient viewers.
:
Also issued in print: 2023. :
1 online resource (viii, 87 pages) : illustrations (black and white, and colour), maps (black and white, and colour) :
Specialized. :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9781803274744 (PDF ebook) : :
Open access.
When West Met East : Gandharan Art Revisited /
:
When West Met East: Gandhāran Art Revisited is based on hitherto unpublished or partly published sculptures and artefacts from Gandhāra and Greater Gandhāra dispersed in public and private collections across Asia, Europe, and the United States. Its subject is a form of figurative sculpture that emerged in the Gandhāran region between the second and fifth centuries ce and reflects regional cross-cultural elements arising from its direct relationship with Buddhism and to some extent Hinduism, as both flourished in India at the time of the Ku]sā]n Empire. The author's 'Introduction' presents the historical foundation of the innovative artistic expressions that characterize the singularity of Gandhāran art. The first chapter covers the cross-fertilized nature of the art and examines how Western artistic inspirations were transformed into new forms of art to narrate stories of Indian origin. The second chapter argues that Gandhāran artists followed the chronological sequence established in the Sanskrit Lalitavistara, or pre-existing texts which may have inspired this sacred book, when depicting the scenes of the life of the Blessed One starting with the descent of the future Buddha from Tu]sita Heaven up to the first sermon in the deer park. Singling out one particular episode in the Buddha's life, the descent from the Trāyastri`mśa Heaven to Sā`mkāśya, the third chapter focuses on the literary sources that inspired Gandhāran artists. The fourth chapter addresses the question of the first depictions of the Bodhisattvas Maitreya and Avalokiteśvara in Gandhāran art. And, finally, the fifth chapter looks at the symbolism behind the presence of Hindu gods in Gandhāran art.
:
1 online resource (452 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004752153
Air Defence Gunners at War : India-Pakistan War 1971 /
:
The India-Pakistan War of 1971 was the third round between the two South Asian neighbours, but this war was different in many ways from the earlier conflicts. It was not a long drawn slugfest as the three services operated together in perfect sync in what was a lightning campaign that ended with a clear victory for India and the liberation of Bangladesh. It was a victory made possible by the contributions of all arms and services. As the war started on 3 December with the pre-emptive strikes by the Pakistani Air Force, Air Defence Gunners were the first to fire. Throughout the fourteen day campaign, the Air Defence Artillery played a vital role, from ensuring the defence of strategic assets to defending the field formations from enemy air attacks. While many books have been written about the war, all of them have overlooked the role of Air Defence Artillery, relegating its contributions to the margins. For the first time, this book narrates the story of Air Defence Artillery in the 1971 war as it looks at the performance of Air Defence Artillery and highlights both its achievements and failings. This is the story of the unsung heroes of the Indian and Pakistani Air Defence Artillery, who performed valiantly during the war, fighting against all odds. The narrative is woven together, making use of official records and personal recollections, as it tells the captivating story of the Air Defence Artillery in the biggest military conflict fought between India and Pakistan to date.
:
1 online resource (280 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004753020
Siyah bar safīd : Majmūʿa-yi guftārhā u yād dāshthā dar zamīna-yi kitābshināsī u nuskhashināsī /
:
This is a collection of research notes, personal recollections, interviews with colleagues, and professional letters, sent and received, compiled by the Pakistani specialist of Islamic manuscripts ʿĀrif Nawshāhī (b. 1955). They cover a period of over 35 years of professional activity (1974-2011), mostly in Pakistan, India, and Iran. The work consists of five chapters, of which the research notes contained in chapters one and two are perhaps the most informative ones. Especially interesting is the information on the holdings of some of the libraries in India and Pakistan in chapter one and the codicological notes in chapter two. The notes, memoirs, anecdotes, interviews, and letters of chapters three to five give a fine impression of how this prominent scholar experienced the world of manuscripts and codicologists in which he was active for so many years. And here too, useful information may be found, especially in his long series of very short notes in chapter three.
:
1 online resource. :
9789004405844
9786002030207
Maḥakk-i Khusrawī /
:
When the founder of the Qajar dynasty of Iran, Āqā Muḥammad Khān Qājār (r. 1789-97), conquered the capital of Georgia Tiflis in 1795, two infant sons of the defeated king Heraclius II were captured. Of these, the eldest died on the way. The other, Khusraw Khān, the later Mīrzā Khusraw Bayg Gurjī (d. 1277/1860), was taken back to Tehran by the commander of the Persian forces, Ḥājjī Ibrāhīm, who treated him as if he were his own child, calling him Mīrzā. When Ḥājjī Ibrāhīm was executed in 1803 on the orders of Fatḥ ʿAlī Shāh (d. 1249/1834), Mīrzā Khusraw first lived with a family in Shiraz and then, in 1805, he was adopted by the childless Talpur ruler of Sind, Mīr Karam ʿAlī Khān (r. 1227-44/1812-28). It is there at the court in Hyderabad that he developed into a refined man of letters and where he compiled this poetical anthology, then only 27 years old.
:
1 online resource. :
9789004405776
9786002030146
The Magic in the Image : Women in Clay at Mohenjodaro and Harappa /
:
Hundreds of clay figurines of women, and their fragments, were found in the remains of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, major cities of the Indus civilization, but almost none in the other Harappan towns or villages. What could be the explanation? This study begins with the background: the archaeological history, various studies of figurines, and how they came to be linked with the idea of the mother goddess. There is also an attempt to draw a general picture of popular religion of the time, and to detect archaeological traces of Harappan beliefs and religious practices. There follows an analysis of the figurines themselves: what were their antecedents? Do the few male clay figurines fall in the same genre as the plentiful remains of women's images? There were youthful women, mothers, portly matrons, and also women at the grinding stone, but nothing that could be a representation of 'womanhood'. Attention is paid to the variation in headgear, hairstyles, ornamentation, and the all-pervasive hip-girdles. Nudity is also a topic of discussion. Besides, they cannot be stood upright. As for their distribution, it was significantly irregular. Although attempts to replicate the firing of these solid objects using simple methods failed, it is doubtful to what extent they were made by skilled potters, the modelling being unpractised and even clumsy, as the photographs of some profiles, published here for the first time, shows.
:
1 online resource (444 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004753242
Fihrist-i nushkhahā-yi khaṭṭi-yi Fārsi-yi Arshīw-i Milli-yi Pākistān Islāmābād : Ganjīna-yi Muftī Faḍl ʿAẓīm Bhīrawī /
:
The National Archives of Pakistan were founded in 1951. The manuscript section of the Archives is divided into two parts: manuscripts purchased and manuscripts donated. Of the purchased manuscripts a catalogue describing 107 Persian, Arabic, Pashtu, Punjabi, and Urdu manuscripts was published in 1974. In 1998 a grandson of Muftī Faḍl ʿAẓīm Bhīravī-from an old family of muftis-donated his grandfather's collection of manuscripts, books and magazines. The collection contains around 2.000 manuscripts, some 1.500 of which are in Persian. Among these, several contain works composed by members of the Bhīravī family themselves, or copied or annotated by them. The present catalogue of the Persian manuscripts in this collection, compiled by the well-known Pakistani specialist of Islamic manuscripts, ʿĀrif Nawshāhī, is the first comprehensive catalogue to be published and supersedes an earlier and partial description of them by Masʿūd Aḥmad Khān, published in Nawādir magazine in Lahore, between 2002 and 2005.
:
1 online resource. :
9789004405899
9786002030214
Dardistan in 1866, 1886 and 1893 /
:
Dardistan, situated between the frontiers of Kashmir and Afghanistan, is mentioned in Greek and Roman texts. Many Greek and Roman writers such as Arrian, Strabo, Alexandrius, and Pliny the Elder have described the region in their respective accounts. The ancient Gandhara was located in this region. However, this region came into much prominence under the British. This work by Leitner is an ethnographical study of the region in the late nineteenth century. The first half of the account covers various legends, customs, and songs composed in the region, which were mostly composed in Shina, a dialect spoken in Kashmir Valley. Folklores containing demons, customs, old fables, manners, etc., are covered. The author touches upon different aspects of human life, birth ceremonies, marriage, funeral, holidays, and also different governments formed in this region. Special emphasis is given to areas like Gilgit, Yasin, Chitral, Nagyr, Hunza, etc. Chronology of the history of Dards, wars against Kashmir, etc., is mentioned. Another important aspect covered is the religions, geography, castes, and races of the Dardistan. The latter half has appendices containing various events in Chilas and Chitrals, languages, anthropological observations, sciences, and secret religions practiced in the region.
:
1 online resource (288 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004753600
The view from Malakand : Harold Deane's 'Note on Udyana and Gandhara' /
:
This volume presents a seminal and pioneering account of the antiquities of Swat and Peshawar (Pakistan) by Harold Deane, discovered in the fort at Malakand, Swat; it presents and transcribes the manuscript and provides extended notes identifying and describing the places that Deane discusses in his article.
:
Also issued in print: 2022.
Published in association with the Gandhara Connections Project of the Classical Art Research Centre and ISMEO - Associazione Internazionale di Studi Sul Mediterraneo e l'Oriente. :
1 online resource (vi, 278 pages) : illustrations (black and white, and colour). :
Specialized. :
Includes bibliographical references. :
9781803272085 (PDF ebook) : :
Open access.