Prof. Johannes Bronkhorst: Geography and the Cultural History of Ancient India

In the study of ancient Indian culture the importance of geography has often been overlooked. A close inspection reveals that different regions have to be distinguished, with altogether different cultural and political histories. This lecture will concentrate on the North of the Indian subcontinent during the centuries preceding and following the beginning of the Common Era, and bring to light the ways in which these regions and their cultures interacted so as to bring about what we look upon as classical Indian civilization.