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Recent publications
The Development of Modern medicine in Non-Western Countries
Edited by Hormoz Ebrahimnejad
Price: £80.00
ISBN: 9780415447423
Pages: 242
The history of medecine in non-European countries has often been characterized by the study of their native "traditional" medicine, such as (Galenico-)Islamic medicine, and Ayurvedic or Chinese medicine. Modern medecine in these countries, on the other hand, has usually been viewed as a Western corpus of knowledge and institution, juxtaposing or replacing the native medecine but without any organic relation with the local context.
By discarding categories like Islamic, Indian, or Chinese medicine as myths invented by modern (Western) historiography in the aftermath of the colonial and post-colonial periods, the book proposes to bridge the gap between Western and 'non-Western' medicines, opening a new perspective in medical historiography in which 'modern medecine' becomes an integral part of the history of medicine in non-European countries.
Through essays and case studies of medical modernization, this volume particularly calls into question the categorization of 'Western' and 'non-Western' medicine and challenges the idea that modern medicine could only be developed in its Western birthplace and then imported to and practised as such to the rest of the world. Against a concept of a 'project' of modernization at the heart of the history of modern medicine in non-Western countries, the chapters of this book describe 'processes' of medical development by highlighting the active involvement of local elements. The book's emphasis is thus on the 'modernization' or 'construction' of modern medicine rather than on the diffusion of 'modern medecine' as an ontological entity beyond the West.
State Violence and Punishment in India
Taylor C. Sherman
Price: £80.00
ISBN: 978041555970
Pages: 246
Exploring violent confrontation between the state and the population in colonial and post-colonial India, this book is both a study of the many techniques of colonial coercion and state violence and a cultural history of the different ways in which Indians imbued practices of punishment with their own meanings and reinterpreted acts of state violence in their own political campaigns.
This work examines state violence from a historical perspective, expanding the study of punishment beyond the prison by investigating the interplay between imprisonment, corporal punishment, collective fines and state violence. It provides a fresh look at seminal events in the history of mid-twentieth century India, such as the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh, the non-cooperation and civil disobedience movements, the Quit India campaign, and the Hindu-Muslim riots of the 1930s and 1940s. The book extends its analysis into the postcolonial period by considering the ways in which partition and then the struggle against a communist insurgency reshaped practices of punishment and state violence in the first decade after independence. Ultimately, this research challenges prevailing conceptions of the nature of the state ability to use the police, military and bureaucracy to dominate the population at will. It argues, on the contrary, that the state in twentieth-century India tended to be self-limiting, vulnerable, and replete with tensions.
Hindi Poetry in a Musical Genre: Thumri Lyrics
Lalita du Perron
Price: £75.00
ISBN: 9780415394468
Pages: 240
Indian classical music has long been fascinating to Western audiences, most prominently since the Beatles' sessions with Ravi Shankar in the 1960s. This fascination with the musical genre still prevails in the twenty-first century. Hindi Poetry in a Musical Genre examines Thumri Lyrics, a major genre of Hindustani music, from a primarily linguistic perspective. On a cultural level, it discusses the interface between devotional and secular poetry. Furthermore, it explains the impact of social and political change on the musical liife of North India. Well-written and thoroughly researched, this book is a valuable contribution to the field of South Asian studies. It will be intersting to academics across the discipline, including linguistics, politics, sociology, cultural and gender studies.
Muslim Women, Reform and Princely Patronage:
Nawab Sultan Jahan Begam of Bhopal
Siobhan Lambert-Hurley Price: £65.00
ISBN: 9780415401920
Pages: 272
This is a new and engaging examination of the emergence of a Muslim women's movement in India. The state of Bhopal, a Muslim principality in central India, was ruled by a succession of female rulers throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, most notably the last Begam of bhopal, Nawab Sultan Jahan Begam. Siobhan Lambert-Hurley puts forward the importance for early Muslim female activists to balance continuity and innovation. By operating within the framework of Islam, these women built on traditional norms in order to introduce incremental change in terms of veiling, female education, marriage, motherhood and women's political rights. For the first time, this book analyzes the role of the 'daughters of reform', the first generation of Muslim women who contributed to the reformist discourse, particularly at the regional level. Based on numerous primary sources in Urdu, including the tracts, books, reports, letters and journal articles of Sultan Jahan Begam and the other women of Bhopal along with official records such as the reports of early organizations and institutions in the Bhopal state, the aythor sheds light on an important part of India's history.
The Theory of Citrasutras in Indian Painting:
A critical re-evaluation of their uses and interpretations
Isabella Nardi
Price: £80.00
ISBN: 9780415391955
Pages: 208
The study of technical treatises in Indian art has increasingly attracted much interest. This work puts forward a critical re-examination of the key Indian concepts of painting described in the Sanskrit treatises, called citrasutras. In an in-depth and systematic analysis of the texts on the theory of Indian painting, it critically examines the different ways in which the texts have been interpreted and used in the study of Indian painting, and suggests a new approach to reading and understanding their concepts. Contrary to previous publications on the subject, it is argued that the intended use of such texts as a standard of critique largely failed due to a fundamental misconceptualization of the significance of 'text' for Indian painters. Isabella Nardi offers an original approach to research in this field by drawing on the experiences of painters, who are considered as a valid source of knowledge for our understanding of the citrasutras, and provides a new conceptual framework for understanding the interlinkages between textual sources and the practice of Indian painting. Filling a significant gap in Indian scholarship, Nardi's study will appeal to those studying Indian painting and Indian art in general.
The Politics of Self-Expression:
The Urdu Middleclass Milieu
in Mid-Twentieth Century India and Pakistan
Markus Daechsel
Price: £65.00
ISBN: 9780415312141
Pages: 272
The 1930s to 1950s witnessed the rise and dominance of a political culture across much of North India which combined unprecedented levels of mobilization and organization with an effective de-politicization of politics. On the one hand obsessed with world events, people also came to understand politics as a question of personal morality and achievement. In other words, politics was about expressing the self in new ways and about finding and securing an imaginary home in a fast-moving and often terrifying universe. The scope and arguments of this book make an innovative contribution to the historiography of modern South Asia, by focusing on the middle-class milieu which was the epicentre of this new political culture.
Tribal Politics in Iran:
Rural Conflict and the New State, 1921-1941
Stephanie Cronin
Price: £75.00
ISBN: 9780415404402
Pages: 272
Placing Iran's 'tribal problem' in its historical context, Tribal Politics in Iran provides an overall assessment of the impact of this crucial period on the character of tribe-state relations in Iran to the end of Pahlavi rule and in the Islamic Republic. It analyzes the political and socio-economic factors undermining tribal politics under the regime of Reza Shah, and examines the division which took place regarding the 'tribal problem'. The author argues that on the one hand, it led to modern ethnic nationalism and on the other, detribalization and absorption into wider class- or ideology-based organizations happened. Looking particularly at the land reform of the early 1960s and the revolution of 1979, Cronin also discusses the final disappearance of the khans as a political force and the rise of a new tribal leadership loyal to and dependent upon the regime. This innovative and important work challenges conventional political and scholarly approaches to tribal politics.
Anglo-Iranian Relations since 1800
Editor: Vanessa Martin
Price: £65.00
ISBN: 9780415372954
Pages: 192
Illustrations: 3 b&w halftones
With contributions from renowned experts in the field, this book provides an excellent background to the history of Anglo-Iranian relations. Focusing on Iran's political and economic relationship with Britain and issues of strategic sensitivity, the book also illuminates British relations with society and the state and describes the interaction between various representatives and agents of both countries. Anglo-Iranian relations have a long and complex history, characterised on the one hand by mistrust and intrusion, and on the other by mutual exchange and understanding. This book explores the intriguing history of this interactive relationship since 1800, looking at it from a variety of perspectives. Drawing on previously unavailable documents in English and Persian, the book argues that Iran in the nineteenth century had a national state, which strongly defended the national interests.
The British Occupation of Indonesia, 1945-1946:
Britain, The Netherlands and the Indonesian Revolution
Richard McMillan
Price: £75.00
ISBN: 9780415355513
Pages: 264
Illustrations: 14 line drawings, 2 b/w photos and 3 tables
This is the first work to examine systematically the British occupation of Indonesia after the Second World War. The occupation by British-Indian forces between 1945 and 1946 bridged the gap between the surrender of Japan and the resumption of Dutch rule, and this book is a reappraisal of the conduct on the ground of that British Occupation. Contrary to previous studies, it demonstrates that occupation was neither exclusively pro-Dutch nor pro-Indonesian; nor was it the orderly affair portrayed in the official histories. Richard McMillan draws upon a wide range of sources previously unavailable to scholars - such as recently declassified government papers and papers in private archives; he has also carried out revealing interviews with key players. Presenting a wealth of new information, this highly original and well-written book will appeal to scholars of European Imperialism, the Second World War, military history and the history of South and Southeast Asia.
The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur - Cheitharon Kumpapa: original text, translation and notes Vol. 1. 33-1763 CE
Saroj N Arambam Parratt
Price: £75.00
ISBN: 9780415344302
Pages: 336
Illustrations: 227 line drawings
This volume contains a copy of the original text of the Cheitharon Kumpapa , the Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur, which is authorised by the Palace, and the English translation from the original composed in archaic Manipuri script (Meetei Mayek). Explanatory notes and a glossary complement this interesting source of information. Scholars working on East and South Asia will find this volume enlightening and the text will be useful for those readers engaged in social anthropology, religious history, archaeology, human geography and linguistics.
Grievance Administration (Sikayet) in an Ottoman Province: The Kaymakam of Rumelia's 'Record Book of Complaints' of 1781-1783
Michael Ursinus
Price: £70.00
ISBN: 9780415358873
Pages: 248
The 'Record Book of Complaints', from the office of the governor-general (beylerbey) of Rumelia, is an exceptional manuscript of the Ottoman archive. It offers a unique insight into the experience of Ottoman administration in the most important province of Ottoman Europe, Rumelia. For the first time, this important document has been translated into English and its original facsimile is reproduced. Additionally, the author provides a concise introduction to the historical context of the 'Record Book of Complaints'. This book is the first volume to appear in the Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt series, a sub-series of the Royal Asiatic Society Books series.
Muslims in India Since 1947:
Islamic Perspectives on Inter-Faith Relations
Yoginder Sikand
Price: £70.00
ISBN: 9780415314862
Pages: 288
Muslims in India today are responding to the challenge of religious pluralism in a variety of ways. This book explores the attempts being made by scholar-activists and Muslim organisations to develop new understandings of Islam to relate to people of other faiths and to the modern nation-state, and to deal with issues such as democracy and secularism. It examines how a common predicament, characterised by a sense of siege and the perception of being an oppressed minority, is producing new expressions of Islam, some of which seek to relate to non-Muslims in terms of confrontation, and others which call for dialogue, reconciliation and inter-faith harmony.
The Origins of Himalayan Studies:
Brian Houghton Hodgson in Nepal and Darjeeling
David Waterhouse
Price: £75.00
ISBN: 9780415312158
Pages: 296
Illustrations: 84 b+w photos, 24 colour photos and 2 plate sections
Brian Houghton Hodgson lived in Nepal from 1820 to 1843, during which time he wrote and published extensively on Nepalese culture, religion, natural history, architecture, ethnography and linguistics. Contributors from leading historians of Nepal and South Asia, and from specialists in Buddhist studies, art history, linguistics, ornithology and ethnography, critically examine Hodgson's life and achievement within the context of his contribution to scholarship. Many of the drawings photographed for this book have not previously been published.
Persian Literature - A Bio-Bibliographical Survey:
Poetry of the Pre-Mongol Period (Volume V)
François de Blois
Price: £95.00
ISBN: 9780947593476
Pages: 544
This famous work from the Royal Asiatic Society is an indispensable tool for all serious students of Persian literature, history and culture, and a welcome companion to Persian literature in its most glorious period. This volume is the second, revised edition of three parts published in 1992 and 1994.
Forthcoming publications
The Making of Western Indology:
Henry Thomas Colebrooke and the East India Company
Ludo Rocher, Rosane Rocher
Price: £70.00
ISBN: 9780415336017
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 576
Illustrations: 10 b+w photos
Henry Thomas Colebrooke was an East India Company civil servant who became the father of modern Indology. He embodies the significant passage from the speculative yearnings attendant on eighteenth-century colonial expansion, to the professional, transnational ethos of nineteenth-century intellectual life and scholarly enquiry. Written by renowned academics in the field of Indology, and drawing on new sources, this book traces, explains and evaluates Colebrooke's importance. This modern biography will contribute to the reassessment of Oriental studies that is currently taking place.
The Rise of the Ottoman Empire:
Studies in the History of Turkey, 13th-15th Centuries
Paul Wittek, Colin Heywood
Price: £75.00
ISBN: 9780700715008
Publication Date: 31/12/2010
Pages: 256
Illustrations: Maps
Wittek's The Rise of the Ottoman Empire was first published by the Royal Asiatic Society in 1938, and has been out of print for more than a quarter of a century. The opportunity has been taken at the present reissue of Wittek's 1937 London lectures to bring together in one volume translations of his other studies on Ottoman history, dating mainly from his Brussels years. The majority of these other studies - Two Chapters on the History of Rûm , The Sultan of Rûm , Religious Warriors in the early Ottoman State and From the Defeat at Ankara to the Conquest of Constantinople - were originally delivered in French (in one case German) at seminars or conferences in non-Nazi Europe in the mid to late 1930s. The journals in which they were originally published are for the most part inaccessible except in specialist libraries, it seems, in a period when Wittek's activities as an Ottoman historian are coming under increasing study within the Anglo-Saxon world of scholarship. In an increasingly monoglot age, his luminous and persuasive prose and historical insights should be made accessible to a wider English-reading audience.
Asceticism and Power in South and Southeast Asia
Editor(s) - Peter Flügel, Gustaaf Houtman
Price: £85.00
ISBN: 9780415423847
Publication Date: 30/06/2007
Pages: 336
Other publications
Persian Literature - A Bioibliographical Survey
C. A Storey
This famous work from the Royal Asiatic Society is an indispensable tool for all serious students of Persian history and culture, and a welcome companion to Persian Literature in its most glorious period.
Persian Literature - A Biobibliographical Survey:
Qur'anic Literature; History (Volume I Part 1)
This volume reprints C.A. Storey's History of Qur'anic Literature, originally published between 1927-1939
Price: £80.00
ISBN: 9780947593049
Pages: 544
Persian Literature - A Biobibliographical Survey: Biography; Additions & Corrections; Indexes (Volume I Part 2)
C.A. Storey
This volume is the second part of C.A. Storey's History of Qur'anic Literature, including the Additions and Corrections, and Index.
Price: £80.00
ISBN: 9780947593384
Pages: 544
Persian Literature - A Biobibliographical Survey:
A. Mathematics. B. Weights and Measures. C. Astronomy and Astrology. D. Geography. (Volume II Part 1)
C.A. Storey
Price: £29.99
ISBN: 9780700713615
Pages: 192
Persian Literature - A Biobibliographical Survey:
E. Medicine. (Volume II Part 2)
C.A. Storey
Price: £29.99
ISBN: 9780700713622
Pages: 154
Persian Literature - A Biobibliographical Survey:
F. Encyclopedias and Miscellanies. G. Arts and Crafts. H. Science. J. Occult Arts (Volume II Part 3)
C.A. Storey
Price: £29.99
ISBN: 9780700713639
ISBN-10: 0700713638
Publisher: Routledge
Publication Date: 31/12/1977
Pages: 152
Persian Literature - A Biobibliographical Survey:
A. Lexicography. B. Grammar. C. Prosody and Poetics. (Volume III Part 1)
C.A. Storey
Price: £29.99
ISBN: 9780700713646
Pages: 206
Persian Literature - A Biobibliographical Survey: D. Rhetoric, Riddles and Chronograms. E. Ornate Prose (Volume III Part 2)
C.A. Storey
Price: £36.99
ISBN: 9780947593056
Persian Literature - A Biobibliographical Survey:
Poetry ca. A.D. 1100-1225 (Volume V Part 2)
begun by C. A. Storey, François de Blois
Price: £29.99
ISBN: 9780947593117
ISBN-10: 094759311X
Publisher: Routledge
Publication Date: 31/12/1994
Pages: 343
Persian Literature - A Biobibliographical Survey: Appendix II-IV, Addenda and Corrigenda, Indexes (Volume V Part 3)
begun by C. A. Storey, François de Blois
Price: £29.99
ISBN: 9780947593148
Pages: 83
The Courts of Pre-Colonial South India:
Material Culture and Kingship
Jennifer Howes
Price: £75.00
ISBN: 9780700715855
Pages: 296
Illustrations: 153 b+w photos and 2 x 8 page plate sections
This book investigates how the material culture of South Indian courts was perceived by those who lived there in the pre-colonial period. Howes peels away the standard categories used to study Indian palace space, such as public/private and male/female, and replaces them with indigenous descriptions of space found in court poetry, vastu shastra and painted representations of courtly life. Set against the historical background of the events which led to the formation of the Ramnad Kingdom, the Kingdom's material circumstances are examined, beginning with the innermost region of the palace and moving out to the Kingdom via the palace compound itself and the walled town which surrounded it. An important study for both art historians and South India specialists. The volume is richly illustrated in colour.
Society, Politics and Economics in Mazandaran,
Iran 1848-1914
Mohammad Ali Kazembeyki
Price: £75.00
ISBN: 9780700715046
Pages: 336
This is the first major study of provincial history in the Qajar period. Drawing extensively on unpublished Iranian and British documents, it explores the history of Mazandaran, a province in the Caspian region, during 1848-1914, when the province as a part of Iran was exposed to the policies of rival great powers, particularly Tzarist Russia. While showing socio-economic characteristics of Mazandaran and its potential for development, the book examines in detail the transformation of the traditional provincial community and economy in the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Studies in Turkic and Mongolic Linguistics
Gerard Clauson
Price: £75.00
ISBN: 9780415297721
Pages: 312
Now back in print, having been unavailable for many years, this is one of the most important contributions to Turkic and Mongolic linguistics, and to the contentious 'Altaic theory'. Proponents of the theory hold that Turkish is part of the Altaic family, and that Turkish accordingly exists in parallel with Mongolic and Tungusic-Manchu. Whatever the truth of this theory, Gerard Clauson's erudite and vigorously expressed views, based as they were on a remarkable knowledge of the lexicon of the Altaic languages and his outstanding work in the field of Turkish lexicography, continues to command respect and deserve attention.
Women, Religion and Culture in Iran
Sarah Ansari, Vanessa Martin
Price: £75.00
ISBN: 9780700715091
Pages: 231
Investigates how women, religion and culture have interacted in the context of 19th and 20th century Iran, covering topics as seemingly diverse as the social and cultural history of Persian cuisine, the work and attitudes of 19th century Christian missionaries, the impact of growing female literacy, and the consequences of developments since 1979.
The Zen Arts: An Anthropological Study of the Culture of Aesthetic Form in Japan
Rupert Cox
Price: £75.00
ISBN: 9780700714759
Pages: 296
The tea ceremony and the martial arts are intimately linked in the popular and historical imagination with Zen Buddhism, and Japanese culture. They are commonly interpreted as religio-aesthetic pursuits which express core spiritual values through bodily gesture and the creation of highly valued objects. Ideally, the experience of practising the Zen arts culminates in enlightenment. This book challenges that long-held view and proposes that the Zen arts should be understood as part of a literary and visual history of representing Japanese culture through the arts. Cox argues that these texts and images emerged fully as systems for representing the arts during the modern period, produced within Japan as a form of cultural nationalism and outside Japan as part of an orientalist discourse. Practitioners' experiences are in fact rarely referred to in terms of Zen or art, but instead are spatially and socially grounded. Combining anthropological description with historical criticism, Cox shows that the Zen arts are best understood in terms of a dynamic relationship between an aesthetic discourse on art and culture and the social and embodied experiences of those who participate in them.
Theology, Ethics and Metaphysics:
Royal Asiatic Society Classics of Islam
Editor - Hiroyuki Mashita
Price: £650.00
ISBN: 9780700716708
This collection of classic works, originally published under the auspices of the Royal Asiatic Society, includes an introduction by Professor Edmund Bosworth, and a preface by Professor Anthony Stockwell. Primary texts include works by F. Rosen, W.F. Thompson, C.E. Sachau, R.A. Nicholson, W.H.T. Gairdner, W.M. Miller and J. Robson, spanning over 100 years of oriental scholarship.
The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain
Ahmed ibn Mohammed al Makkari
List Price: £350.00
ISBN: 9780415297714
ISBN-10: 0415297710
Publisher: Routledge
Publication Date: 24/10/2002
Pages: 1440
Trim Size: 246X189
This is the original History of the Mohammedan Dynasties of Spain reprinted from the first edition of 1840-43. A masterpiece of typography in its own right, it is an early, ingenious and fascinating history of Muslim Spain. One hundred and fifty years on, it represents the foundations of our modern understanding of a great civilisation, and a fresh and vibrant introduction to the history of the time.
The Man in the Panther's Skin
Shot'ha Rust'haveli Rusthaveli, M. S Wardrop
Price: £20.99
ISBN: 9780947593438
Pages: 301
This romantic epic is said to have been in a unique manner the book of a nation for 700 years. This is a reprint of the 1912 translation.
Persian Paintings in the Collection
of the Royal Asiatic Society
B. W Robinson
Price: £60.00
ISBN: 9780947593162
Pages: 80
Catalogue of Paintings, Drawings, Engravings and Busts in the Collection of the Royal Asiatic Society
Raymond Head
Price: £75.00
ISBN: 9780947593070
Pages: 232
The Royal Asiatic Society: Its History and Treasures
Simon Digby, Stuart Simmonds
Price: £26.99
ISBN: 9780947593353
Pages: 174
Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari
A. J Cameron
Price: £26.99
ISBN: 9780718909628
Pages: 191
Al-Kitab Al-Aqdas or The Most Holy Book
E. Elder, Mirza Husayn, W. McE. Miller
Price: £16.99
ISBN: 9780947593209
Pages: 78
Arab Navigation in the Indian Ocean before the Portuguese
G. R Tibbetts
Price: £60.00
ISBN: 9780947593230
Pages: 640
The Baluchi Language
J. H Elfenbein
Price: £16.99
ISBN: 9780947593346
Pages: 49
Burzoy's Voyage to India and the Origin
of the Book of Kalilah Wa Dimnah
Price: £75.00
ISBN: 9780947593063
Pages: 112
The Cambodian Version of the Ramayana
Kuoch Haksrea, Jeanne Jacob,
Reamker (Ramakerti) Reamker
Price: £26.99
ISBN: 9780947593025
Pages: 352
A Corpus of Early Tibetan Inscriptions
H. E Richardson
Price: £29.99
ISBN: 9780947593001
Pages: 190
Guide to the Romanization of Burmese
John Okell
Price: £17.99
ISBN: 9780947593322
Pages: 76
Ibn Al-Jazzar on Forgetfulness and Its Treatment
G. Bos
Price: £60.00
ISBN: 9780947593124
Pages: 91
Julfar, An Arabic Port
J Hansman
Price: £60.00
ISBN: 9780947593018
Pages: 114
Nagaur: Sultanate and Early Mughal History
and Architecture of the District of Nagaur, India
M. Shokoohy, N. H Shokoohy
Price: £75.00
ISBN: 9780947593094
Pages: 184
A Pilgrimage to Lalish
C. J Edmonds
Price: £26.99
ISBN: 9780947593285
Publisher: Routledge
Publication Date: 11/11/2004
Pages: 100
A Study of the Arabic Texts Containing Material
on South-East Asia
G. R Tibbetts
Price: £65.00
ISBN: 9780947593247
Pages: 305
A Study of the Gujarati Language in the XVth Century
T. N Dave
Price: £26.99
ISBN: 9780947593308
Pages: 207
Tibetan Literary Texts and Documents Concerning Chinese Turkistan: Volume 4: Addenda and Corrigenda
Royal Asiatic Society
Price: £16.99
ISBN: 9780947593223
Illustrations: Illus
Two Prakrit Versions of the Manipati-carita
R. Williams
Price: £60.00
ISBN: 9780947593315
Pages: 382
Vicitrakaranikavadanoddhrta:
A Collection of Buddhistic Legends
Hans Jorgensen
Price: £60.00
ISBN: 9780947593186
Pages: 344