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Reviews
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Books, Articles and other sources of Information
Books, Articles, Internet and Reviews
A number of resources are available to the general reader, free if on the internet and
at a charge through most other resources. Amazon books and several of the other major
internet book suppliers can provide lists of books about the subject.
Amazon.com has considerably expanded its range of books in recent
years. They now provide both initial sales from a variety of publishers and
second hand books from various sources.
However, for books published in India it will often be a lot cheaper to
source the books from an Indian bookseller. I have used Biblia Impex PVT (contact@bibliaimpex.com),
or write to 2/18 Ansari Road, New Delhi-110 002, with no serious problems in
the past. I have also used with some success, and have excellent reports from
others about Vedams Books, https://www.vedamsbooks.com/.
If you think a site warrants inclusion here then email robert@kushan.org
- The Silkroad
Seattle website. Includes translations of several important primary
sources (Hou Han Shu, Periplus, etc)
- Thomas K.Mallon-McCorgray maintains a site dedicated to the
coinage of
Central Asia which includes a superb page on
Kushan Coins.
- Zeno.ru is a
site concerned with coins, it acts as a database and includes a number of
images.
A lot of very useful books for those interested in the Kushan period in fact cover
a broader range. Books covering 'ancient Iran and India' often dedicate a quarter or
a third of their space to Kushan history and provide a useful context.
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Kushan History
 Dated Kushana Inscriptions, Satya Shrava
Trade and religious exchange: India and China, Xinru Liu
The Armies of Bactria, Valerii.P.Nikonorov
Kushana Coins and History, Pameshwari Lal Gupta |
Art
Buddhism and Gandara Art,
edited by R C Sharma and Pranati Ghosal
Art and Culture Under the Kushanas,
Suman Mathur
Echoes of Alexander the Great: Silk Route
Portraits from Gandhara, Marian Wenzel
Gandhara: The Memory of Afghanistan,
by Berenice Geoffroy-Schneiter
Gandharan Art in Context: East-West Exchanges at the Crossroads
of Asia, Raymond Allchin, Bridget Allchin, Neil Kreitman, Elizabeth
Errington. |
Numismatics
Coins of the Great Kushans, Arvind K.Singh
Silk Road Coins: The Hiryama Collection, K.Tanabe
Studies in Silk Road Coins and Culture:Silk Road Art and Archaeology Special Volume
1997, edited by K.Tanabe, J.Cribb, H.Wang
Ancient, Medieval and Recent History and Coins of Pakistan
by Rear Admiral Sohail A. Khan
Ancient Indian Coinage, Rekha Jain |
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General: Asia
History of Civilizations of Central Asia, J.Harmatta
The Crossraods of Asia, E.Errington and J.Cribb |
General: India
Mlecchas in Early India, Aloka Parasher |
Women and Gender Studies
Faces of the Feminine in Ancient, Medieval and Modern
India, edited by Mandakranta Bose
Courtesans and Tantric Consorts,
Serinity Young
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Inscriptions
IndoSkript,
Harry Falk, Walter Slaje, Oliver Hellwig |
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Star system: Books with no stars are only recommended if you have a
strong interest in that area. One Star means a
book is either quite specialized, or that there is something better available
in the same area.
Represents a book that is both well written and presents new and interesting
research, and has appeal beyond a narrow specialism. The stars are only a very
rough guide, the reviews will contain more information on the suitability of
the book.
Other Articles/Books
These are short notes on other books and articles in recent Journals which I don't
intend to review.
- Buddhist Philosophy From 100 to 350AD. Ed. by Karl H. Potter (Encyclopedia of
Indian Philosophies, Vol VII). pp.xvi, 827. Delhi, Motilal Banarsidas, 1999. Rs 1200
This book isn't about Kushan history but it is related. Buddhism flourished under the
Kushan dynasty and the period from the second to the fourth century is the height of
the Kushans influence on Buddhism, the time of Kanishka and the spread of Buddhism
from India to China. This book is concerned with Buddhist thought largely as Buddhist
thought, rather than as an historical influence on other factors. Even so, it could
be useful to anyone interested in religious life in the Kushan Empire. A full review
is available in JRAS vol.10 no.1.
- Many Heads, Arms and Eyes. Origin, Meaning, And Form of Multiplicity in Indian
Art. By Doris Meth Srinivasan. (Studies in Asian Art and Archaeology 20). pp.xxi, 436,
illus. Leiden, E.J.Brill, 1997. US$151. This is an art history book concerned
mostly with images produced in Mathura and Gandhara. It has received a favorable
review in the Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 9, Part 2.
©Robert Bracey.