More than a thousand years ago, ideas, faith, and temple traditions sailed across the Bay of Bengal from southern India to Southeast Asia. Specifically, historians have written about the connections between southern India and the ancient Champa Kingdom of Vietnam. The Cham kings built temples at My Son (pronounced mee-sun ) in Vietnam to worship the god Shiva, similar to the ones in Tamil Nadu and other parts of southern India. Early Champa inscriptions were in Sanskrit, writ

Explore the history of the Armenian Church in Old Dhaka and the Armenian merchants of Armanitola, and their lasting impact on the city’s trade and education. Armenian church When I was working in Bangladesh, I travelled widely across the country. I was based at Dhaka, the capital, a city where history hides in fading façades, old courtyards, and even street names. One morning, while wandering through the narrow lanes of Old Dhaka, replete with rickshaws and a web of electric

Gandhara bent bar coins A coin is a small piece of metal stamped with a value and represents the authority and trust of a ruler or state. Ancient coins are valuable historical evidence; they reflect the wealth of their time. The places from where they are unearthed help us trace ancient trade routes and political boundaries. Coins also hold the names of rulers, religious symbols, artistic styles, languages, and the culture of their period. Recently, I spent a week with Dr. Te