HIST 261 Indian Ocean World, 1300-1800
An introduction to the history of the peoples and societies of India, Arabia, and East Africa, with an emphasis on the role of trade, religion, and cultural exchange in shaping the civilizations of the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughal Empire, cities of the East African Swahili Coast and the Ottoman Empire. The course will examine the thriving indigenous shipping and other exchange networks before the arrival of Europeans in 1498, with a primary focus on the Indian Ocean as a hub of human exchanges between India, Arabia, and Africa in the era of the classical Islamic world.