PRESIDENCY UNIVERSITY

NAME : SAYAN LODH

UG – 1 SEMESTER – 2

REGISTRATION NUMBER - 17106110022

ROLL NUMBER – 022

PAPER CODE – HIST 0202

RESEARCH QUESTION – WHAT DO YOU UNDERSTAND BY DOING

‘CONNECTED HISTORIES’ ?
ABSTRACT

The research question is “What do you understand by doing ‘connected histories’ ? ”

The assignment is aimed at explaining connected histories with the help of examples like

the conversation between Akbar and Monserrate in Akbar’s court, endowments by

Southeast Asian kings in Buddhist establishments in India. The idea of Millenarianism

has also been touched upon with suitable examples like the story of Shah Abbas. The

research concludes with the accidental discovery of the Rosetta stone during Napoleon’s

Egyptian expedition. The book ‘Asian Encounters’ by Upinder Singh and Parul Pandya

Dhar ; along with Sanjay Subrahmanyam’s article ‘Connected Histories : Notes Towards a

Reconfiguration of Early Modern Eurasia’ have been used as sources for this assignment.

The Paper is open to different interpretation by the readers.

INTRODUCTION

In order to understand the meaning of connected histories, the terms ‘connected’ and

‘history’ should be analyzed separately. Connections mean being related or linked in

some way or the other. On the other hand history literally means Man’s story. It is

made up of the different elements of human nature. The main aim of studying history is

the development of humanity. History can be described as the critical engagement with

our past. It is not only about dates , but facts to speak about the larger context. The facts

are derived through the reconstruction of the sources – archaeological, literary, etc. Then

there are examples to illustrate the facts within the larger processes.

Throughout the past, Man’s action in one part of the world has affected the people in

other parts in one way or another. The changes occurring in Pala Bengal would have

affected the situation in Chola South India within the larger context of South Asia.

The interaction between two cultural traditions often gave rise to a new form of culture.

The interaction between the Persian and Indian cultures gave rise to a new language ,

‘Urdu’. Due to the communication of ideas from place to place, sometimes terms

acquired a totally new meaning. The term ‘Ajam’ , initially meant a person not born

Arab in the larger context of Islamic expansion. But with time the term acquired a new

meaning - something or someone related to Iranian , further Indo – Iranian culture.

The terms Nauvittak ( Sanskrit ) , Nakhuda ( Arabic ) , Naukhuda ( Persian ) literally meant

the ‘Master of the Seas’ referred to a person who owned many vessels. The term

‘Nauvittak’ was not encountered in European or Arabian sources. This refers to the
Indian specificity of the term. The similarity between the three terms suggests a close

link or frequent interaction between the Indian, Arabic and Persian cultural spaces

through trade.

Due to interactions through trade many ideas travelled from one place to another. The

idea of ‘Zero – 0’ travelled from India to Arabia and then further on to Europe through

the traders and revolutionized science.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the Bay of Bengal was a tightly knit zone of

interaction. Within this zone there was a development of commercial activities on one

hand , and a significant nexus on the other hand by which military elites, courtiers and

religious specialists traversed on a regular basis. This is corroborated by the fact that the

Arakan ruler Thirithudhamma used Persian for his diplomatic correspondence and he

bragged that ‘ his power came not only from the Firangis ( Franks, here Portuguese and

Luso- Asians ), but also Telengas ( viz. troops from the Deccan).’1

CASE STUDY - MILLENARIANISM

1
Sanjay Subrahmanyam, ‘Modern Asian Studies’ ( ‘Connected Histories : Notes towards a Reconfiguration of
Early Modern Eurasia’ ), Year – 1997, Volume – 31 Number – 3, p - 13
An important example of connected histories is the belief of millenarianism in many

different cultures of the world. Millenarianism refers to the belief by a political ,

religious or social group in a coming major transformation of the society , after which

all things will be changed. The term ‘millenarianism’ is derived from the Latin

mīllēnārius , meaning ‘containing a thousand’.

An important example of millenarianism is the conversation between the Portuguese

Jesuit António Monserrate and Mughal Emperor Jalal – ud – din Muhammad Akbar in

mid – 1581 CE , ie. the year 989 of the Hegiran calendar, about ‘the Last Judgement’ and

it’s occurrence. It reflects Akbar’s inherent desire to know about the theological

differences and similarities between his own version of Islam and Jesuit version of

Christianity. Monserrate mentions in his book Mongoliecae Legationis Commentarius ,

about the ‘the Day of Judgement’ being a divine mystery, that will be revealed by the

frequent occurrence of certain signs like wars, rebellions, conquests , invasions by one

kingdom over another. During this time many Muslims and Christians awaited for the

signs of the end of the world. Philip II of Spain also spoke gloomily about the end of

the world.2

The conversation between Akbar and Monserrate points to a few facts. It points to the

presence of European Catholic missionary orders in various Asian and African courts. It

reflects at the existence of a vocabulary that transcended across the various religious

traditions ; here heterodox Sunni Islam and Counter – Reformation Christianity. Moreover

it shows an interconnection between South Asia and Europe.

2
Sanjay Subrahmanyam, ‘Modern Asian Studies’ ( ‘Connected Histories : Notes towards a Reconfiguration of
Early Modern Eurasia’ ), Year – 1997, Volume – 31 Number – 3 , p.p – 14 & 15
Recent researches have shown that millenarianism was one of the driving force behind

the voyages of discovery besides the advances in navigational techniques, better

geographical knowledge and the greed to acquire new reaches. On 3rd August 1492,

Christopher Columbus inspired by millenarian ideas set sail on his westward voyage to

find a new route to India and China. He reached the New World on 12th October, 1492.

This discovery opened floodgates of a new wave of interconnections in commercial,

political, religious and social contexts. There was suddenly a spike in the supply of

silver bullions across the globe resulting in an inflation, which differed in different

societies. While in Spain the inflation was quite acute, it’s effect was very pale in the

Ottoman Empire, and the inflation was hardly felt in India. It ultimately culminated in

the rise of imperialism and colonialism. These further led to the economic prosperity of

the European nations at the cost of their African, American and Asian colonies.

However the views about millenarianism around the year 1000 of the Hegiran calendar

in North Africa, Ottoman Empire and Iran were not such apocalyptic. In these places

people hovered optimistically around the probability of the re – ordering of the known

world through the intercession of a mujaddid ( or ‘Renewer’ ). The idea of mujaddid

grew parallel to the another well established idea within Islam, the notion of Imam

Mahdi – the Concealed or Expected one, who would emerge to reform the world in a

radical manner. The Canonical texts describes the Imam Mahdi as a ‘ descendant of the

Prophet and a member of the Quraishi clan’. It was also said that after all men had

been led to Islam by the Mahdi’s intervention , the Day of Judgement would commence.3
3
Sanjay Subrahmanyam, ‘Modern Asian Studies’ ( ‘Connected Histories : Notes towards a Reconfiguration of
Early Modern Eurasia’ ), Year – 1997, Volume – 31 Number – 3 , p - 18
In another instance, regarding millenarianism, Shah Abbas, the Safavid ruler shrewdly

preserved his power by abdicating the throne in favour of a puppet Sultan Yasufi

Tarkishduz, in order to negate a prophecy about the Sultan’s death by a court astrologer.

He later executed Yasufi and hung his body on a scaffold for public view. Shah Abbas

also used this prophecy as an excuse to imprison and execute the bulk of the Nuqtavis.

In this case millenarianism was used by a monarchy as a resource to centralize and

strengthen it’s authority by eliminating the opposition.

CASE STUDY – SOUTHEAST ASIAN ENDOWMENTS

Buddhism started to gradually decline in India after the gradual regionalization that

followed the fall of the Gupta Empire during the First millennium CE. Many other

factors like the invasion by the Huns and Turks coupled with the spread of Islam and

the reduction in patronage due the resurgence of Hinduism. However Buddhism continued

to thrive in Eastern India under the Palas between 8th and 12th Centuries. After the

decline of Buddhism in India, Southeast Asian kings extended royal patronage to the

Buddhist establishments in India like Buddhist Vihāra at Nāgapaṭṭinam , Bodh Gaya and

Nalanda.
A copper plate inscription at Nalanda records the grant of five villages by the Pala king

Devapaladeva at the request maharaja Balaputradeva, the Sailendra ruler of Suvarṇadvīpa

or Yavabhūmi, for the construction of a monastery by the latter at Nalanda. The

Sailendra dynasty was based in central Java. This 9th Century copper plate showcases the

earliest endowment by a Southeast Asian ruler in the subcontinent. Many inscriptions at

Bodh Gaya, ranging from the time period between 12th and 13th centuries record the

attempts by the various Burmese kings at repairing and maintaining the Buddhist

establishments there. Various endowments were also made. The importance of Bodh Gaya

for Burmese kings is further indicated by the building of a ‘ Mahabodhi ‘ temple at the

ancient capital of Arakan. Htilo Minlo, the ruler of Pagan in the 13th century built a

temple modelled on the Bodh Gaya shrine in his capital city. The Srivijayan endowments

at Nāgapaṭṭinam were a result of a complex relationship between the Cholas and

Srivijayans through trade and religious interactions. These interactions were paused at

least on one occasion due to hostilities and war.4

These relationships established through endowments were a part of the larger context of

inter – state relations among contemporary dynasts located in different parts of South and

Southeast Asia. This also reflects at the similarities in the religious landscape of South

Asia – pluralism and a belief in the transfer of merit ( that was never a fixed quantity ).

Bodh Gaya attained a preeminent position , when it came to transregional endowments.

Like the Southeast Asian kings, Indian kings too extended their patronage to religious

establishments in other lands through patronage. The Cholas constructed temples in Sri

4
Upinder Singh and Parul Pandya Dhar, ‘Asian Interactions’ , Oxford Unibversity Press ( 2014 ) , p.p. – xvi, 47,
48, 56
Lanka and Indonesia. These exchanges between the kings of South and Southeast Asia

hints towards a form of close interaction or connection between the two cultural spheres.

CONCLUSION

Throughout history there has been different examples of histories being connected. When

Philip II of Spain was warning about Millenarianism and thinking it as the end of the

world ; there were people on the side of the world in early seventeenth century India

who thought Millenarianism as the renewal of the world order and came to regard

Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi of Naqshbandi Sufi order as mujaddid - i alf - i sani ( 'Renewer of

the Second Millennium’ ).

Often imperialism and war are thought of as harmful for mankind as a whole. Napoleon

Bonaparte’s expedition to Egypt in 1799 led to the discovery of Rosetta stone in a small

town of Rosetta about 35 miles from Alexandria. The irregular shaped stone contained

inscriptions in three scripts – Greek, Egyptian Hieroglyphics and Egyptian Demotic. The

stone helped in deciphering Hieroglyphics, a written language that had been dead for

nearly 2000 years. The decipherment of the Hieroglyphic script opened a new vista into

the study of Ancient Egypt and unlocked a treasure trove of information locked till then

in the pictures of the script. Although Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt resulted in a

disaster, it played a crucial role in deciphering of the Hieroglyphic script. Thus the

ultimate decipherment of the Hieroglyphic script was the indirect result of the imperialist

aspirations of Napoleon.

One event leads to another. With every declining kingdom, there rises a new empire. In

this case mention may be made about the development of the port of Bombay ( English

East India Company ) , at the cost of the Mughal port of Surat. The decline of the

Mughal Empire was followed by the colonization of South Asia by European powers –

British ( mainly ), French, Portuguese.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Book -

Upinder Singh and Parul Pandya Dhar, ‘Asian Encounters’ , New Delhi, Oxford University

Press, Year - 2014

Article –

Sanjay Subrahmanyam, ‘Modern Asian Studies’ ( ‘Connected Histories : Notes towards a

Reconfiguration of Early Modern Eurasia’ ), Year – 1997, Volume – 31 Number - 3