The eight centuries of India’s history covered by this volume has, until recently, been seen as a ‘dark age’ for the development of science in the country. It was however a period of intense debate and advancement in many fields, enriched by the influx of Arabic and Persian scholars and scientists into India, and was a period during which many of the key principles of modern-day scientific thinking were established. This volume brings together some of today’s leading scholars from a range of different disciplines to explore the development of Indian scientific, technological and cultural thinking in this fertile and crucial period. The essays address such diverse topics as: food, agriculture, metallurgy, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry and alchemy, irrigation, paper technology, science and social movements. The impact of the Bhakti and Sufi movements, and the changes in women’s spirituality during the medieval period are also discussed, as is the wide-spread growth of translation which facilitated the spread of different forms of knowledge throughout the country. For historians, philosophers and anyone interested in the history of Indian science and ideas, particularly during the medieval period, this will be an essential book.
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