Europe's place in history is re-assessed in this first comprehensive history of the ancient world, centering on the Indian Ocean and its role in pre-modern globalization. Philippe Beaujard presents an ambitious and comprehensive global history of the Indian Ocean world, from the earliest state formations to 1500 CE. Supported by a wealth of empirical data, full color maps, plates, and figures, he shows how Asia and Africa dominated the economic and cultural landscape and the flow of ideas in the pre-modern world. This led to a trans-regional division of labor and an Afro-Eurasian world economy. Beaujard questions the origins of capitalism and hints at how this world-system may evolve in the future. The result is a reorienting of world history, taking the Indian Ocean, rather than Europe, as the point of departure. Volume I provides in-depth coverage of the period from the fourth millennium BCE to the sixth century CE.

Volume 1 reorients world history, placing the Indian Ocean, not Europe, at the center of the globalization of the pre-modern world.

About the Author
Philippe Beaujard is an Emeritus Director of Research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut des Mondes Africains, Paris.

Reviews
'... a really interesting journey through the history of all states of Afro-Eurasian World ...' Fabrizio Martino, Global Maritime History



Book Information
ISBN 9781108424561
Author Philippe Beaujard
Format Hardback
Page Count 946
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 2970g
Dimensions(mm) 286mm * 222mm * 45mm