On the Spot: William Dalrymple
‘What historical topic have I changed my mind on? The British in India, who I once looked upon as a benign force.’
Why are you a historian of India?
It is the country that most fascinates me and where I have chosen to live since I was 18.
What’s the most important lesson history has taught you?
That those who never study history are destined always to repeat it.
Which history book has had the greatest influence on you?
The Fall of Constantinople 1453 by Steven Runciman.
What book in your field should everyone read?
Vidya Dehejia, The Body Adorned: Dissolving Boundaries Between Sacred and Profane in India’s Art.
Which moment would you most like to go back to?
Gupta India, or the Mughal Court of the Emperor Akbar.
Which historian has had the greatest influence on you?
The great Indian art historian, B.N. Goswamy.
Which person in history would you most like to have met?
The seventh-century prince Mahendravarman Pallava and his cousin Vajrabodhi, the Indian tantric Buddhist answer to Merlin.
How many languages do you have?
Hindi, Urdu, French, Italian and a little Persian and Arabic.
Is there an important historical text you have not read?
I am ashamed to say that I have never read Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
What historical topic have you changed your mind on?
The British in India, who I once looked upon as a benign force.
What is the most common misconception about your field?
That China, not India, was Rome’s greatest trading partner.
Who is the most underrated person in history…
Bahadur Shah Zafar.
… and the most overrated?
Robert Clive (‘of India’).
What’s the most exciting field in history today?
Early India and its enormous pan-Asian influence.
What’s your favourite archive?
The Lahore Archives.
What’s the best museum?
The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
What technology has changed the world the most?
Agriculture. I am fascinated by how much the Neolithic Revolution changed our species.
Recommend us a historical novel...
Robert Graves’ Count Belisarius.
... and a historical drama?
Babylon Berlin.
You can solve one historical mystery. What is it?
I’d like to find the tomb of Chinggis Khan.
William Dalrymple’s latest book is The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World (Bloomsbury, 2024).