Historian William Dalrymple reexamines India's role in shaping the ancient and medieval world, revealing how it stood at the centre of global trade, religion, and scientific innovation, centuries before the rise of Europe.

Today, India is thought of as a rising power. But history tells a different story.

For over a thousand years, India dominated trade networks, shaped the religious life of a continent, and laid the foundations for the modern world's most important ideas in science and mathematics.

But how did India's influences become so central, and so forgotten?

In his 2024 book, The Golden Road, bestselling historian William Dalrymple helps us uncover the answers.

Dalrymple describes how India influenced not just its neighbours, but also the entire known world through advantageous geography, ancient philosophy, and commercial enterprise.