Encountering Buddhism and Islam in Premodern Central and South Asia (Welten Süd- Und Zentralasiens / Worlds of South and Inner Asia / Mondes De L'asie ... De L'asie Du Sud Et De L'asie Centrale, 9)

This volume brings together a variety of historians, epigraphists, philologists, art historians and archaeologists to address the understanding of the encounter between Buddhist and Muslim communities in South and Central Asia during the medieval period. The articles collected here provoke a fresh look at the relevant sources. The main areas touched by this new research can be divided into five broad categories: deconstructing scholarship on Buddhist/Muslim interactions, cultural and religious exchanges, perceptions of the other, transmission of knowledge, and trade and economics. The subjects covered are wide ranging and demonstrate the vast challenges involved in dealing with historical, social, cultural and economic frameworks that span Central and South Asia of the premodern world. We hope that the results show promise for future research produced on Buddhist and Muslim encounters. The intended audience is specialists in Asian Studies, Buddhist Studies and Islamic Studies. Contents Introduction: Situating the Encounter between Buddhist and Muslim Communities in South Asia The Power of the Islamic Sword in Narrating the Death of Indian Buddhism Reassessing the Muslim Attacks and the Decline of Buddhist Monasteries in the Thirteenth Century Magadha The Narratives on the Bāmiyān Buddhist Remains in the Islamic Period Ibn Baṭṭūṭa’s Buddhists: Monuments, Memory, and the Materiality of Travel Buddhism and Islam in Kashmir as Represented by Rājataraṅgiṇī Authors The Avatāra in Medieval South Asian Contexts: Dynamic Translation Across Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic Traditions in the Ghaznavid Period Buddhists, Hellenists, Muslims, and the Origin of Science Medieval Endowment Cultures in Western India: Buddhist and Muslim Encounters – Some Preliminary Observations List of Contributors Index The volume analyses the encounter between Buddhist and Muslim communities in South and Central Asia during the medieval period. The articles by historians, epigraphists, philologists, art historians and archaeologists provoke a fresh look at relevant sources, focusing on the areas: deconstructing scholarship on Buddhist/Muslim interactions, cultural and religious exchanges, perceptions of the other, transmission of knowledge, trade and economics