South Asian Civilisations — Indus, Persia, India, Aryans, Shakya, Mughals

The chapter tackles one of the most intriguing questions of the ancient world: how did the Indus Valley and Mesopotamia trade with each other in the 3rd millennium BC? The book first explains the geographical and geological context: the three main Harappan ports on the Gulf — Sutkagen Dor, Balakot and Sonmiani — now lie far from the Arabian Sea because over five thousand years the Makran coastline has advanced seawards through silt deposition. The ports are shown to have been built at strategic points controlling river valleys and sea lanes, and protected by fortifications.

At the heart of the chapter are cuneiform sources. The name «Meluhha» first appears in texts of the Akkadian king Sargon, which mention regular trade with the ports of Meluhha, Dilmun and Magan. Most scholars identify Meluhha with the Harappan region and believe the two areas had close ties especially in 2400–2000 BC. Because the alluvial plain of southern Iraq lacked stone and timber, Sumerian and Akkadian craftsmen imported these raw materials — along with copper, carnelian, lapis lazuli, pearls and ivory ornaments — from Meluhha and Magan; Meluhhan copper was reportedly of higher quality than Magan's.

The section on the port is devoted to Lothal, the only known Harappan port city: walls 12–21 metres thick to withstand tidal surges, an upper town with wide streets and drainage, and a warehouse where partly charred seal remains were found after a fire. Clay tablets depicting a sailing boat were found at Lothal, and models of sailing boats at Chanhudaro. The book is measured: it states openly that whether these boats were actually used in the Gulf trade remains an unanswered question.

The section on trade goods conveys the seasonal rhythm well: the trading season began after the monsoon rains ended and rivers returned to their beds; caravans of cattle, sheep and goats carried grain, copper, precious stones, wool and fruit, and heavy loads reached cities by ox-cart. Cities were built on large mud-brick platforms to escape floods, and watchmen in towers kept an eye on boats and caravans.

The chapter's greatest virtue is methodological honesty. The book shows that pottery is a weak indicator of trade links; that three figurines found in Mesopotamia resemble Harappan examples in style but may be the work of individual craftsmen; and that it is impossible to say for certain whether dice found at Nippur and Tell Asmar came from Harappa. Unlike the bold, unproven claims in some other volumes of the series, here there is the ability to say «we don't know». The weakness is the language: the chapter is clearly taken from a thesis or article, is full of long sentences, and gives no references in the text.

In the end, this chapter is a short but sound starting point for readers who want to learn about links between the Indus Valley and Mesopotamia, and read alongside the Mesopotamia books on our site it builds a fuller picture. The rest of the book — from Buddhism to the Mughal Empire — is broad but superficial; readers who want to study Indian history seriously should use this volume as a starting point and move on to more detailed sources.

• Chronological and thematic chapters
• References to cuneiform sources and archaeological finds
• Colour illustrations and short marginal notes
• Bibliography and the translator's sources at the end