Why are you a historian of India?
It’s the nation that almost all fascinates me and the place I’ve chosen to reside since I used to be 18.
What’s a very powerful lesson historical past has taught you?
That those that by no means examine historical past are destined all the time to repeat it.
Which historical past guide has had the best affect on you?
The Fall of Constantinople 1453 by Steven Runciman.
What guide in your area ought to everybody learn?
Vidya Dehejia, The Physique Adorned: Dissolving Boundaries Between Sacred and Profane in India’s Artwork.
Which second would you most like to return to?
Gupta India, or the Mughal Court docket of the Emperor Akbar.
Which historian has had the best affect on you?
The nice Indian artwork historian, B.N. Goswamy.
Which particular person in historical past would you most prefer to have met?
The seventh-century prince Mahendravarman Pallava and his cousin Vajrabodhi, the Indian tantric Buddhist reply to Merlin.
What number of languages do you may have?
Hindi, Urdu, French, Italian and a bit of Persian and Arabic.
Is there an necessary historic textual content you haven’t learn?
I’m ashamed to say that I’ve by no means learn Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
What historic subject have you ever modified your thoughts on?
The British in India, who I as soon as appeared upon as a benign pressure.
What’s the most typical false impression about your area?
That China, not India, was Rome’s biggest buying and selling associate.
Who’s essentially the most underrated particular person in historical past…
Bahadur Shah Zafar.
… and essentially the most overrated?
Robert Clive (‘of India’).
What’s essentially the most thrilling area in historical past right this moment?
Early India and its huge pan-Asian affect.
What’s your favorite archive?
The Lahore Archives.
What’s the perfect museum?
The Metropolitan Museum of Artwork.
What expertise has modified the world essentially the most?
Agriculture. I’m fascinated by how a lot the Neolithic Revolution modified our species.
Suggest us a historic novel…
Robert Graves’ Rely Belisarius.
… and a historic drama?
Babylon Berlin.
You may remedy one historic thriller. What’s it?
I’d like to seek out the tomb of Chinggis Khan.
William Dalrymple’s newest guide is The Golden Highway: How Historic India Remodeled the World (Bloomsbury, 2024).