Bukhara: The Medieval Achievement

I read this book nearly 25 years ago and the longer I live, the more impressed I am with it. It gave me a deep appreciation for the Arab-Persian-Turkic fusion that took place in Central Asia in the years 900-1100 (approx). This Islam was the one that came to the Indian subcontinent, even if the Arabs landed there a couple centuries earlier. I thought of this book any number of times as I taught Indian studies over the years and feel that it was one of the influential books in molding how I think about India ( & Pakistan). It can only be even more useful today, now that Uzbekistan and the whole Central Asian region have regained independence and will be making their cultural impact on the world and more specifically, on South Asia. If you are interested in Islam, in Central and South Asia, in Iran or Turkish history, read this book !