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A journey through the Italian region reveals the lingering influence of its Islamic past
A captivating if gory history of Mongol Asia sheds gruesome light on a conqueror who began life as a sheep-stealer
Nandini Das’s study of London’s first emissary to the subcontinent is a triumph of writing and scholarship
Though the Khmer empire left a stupendous architectural legacy, its birthplace is all but forgotten today
How the dizzying rise of Elizabethan traders transformed Britain’s future
William Dalrymple, Sophy Roberts, Pico Iyer, Cal Flyn and many more reveal their favourite finds in the year of travel’s hesitant return
A remarkable new history of the Ottomans restores the empire’s central role in shaping European culture
The 16th-century empire-builder wrote longingly of his homeland. Do traces of its delights survive in what is now Uzbekistan?
Cat Jarman’s thrilling archaeological detective work unearths the wealth, trading and slaving history of medieval Scandinavians
From his base in an ancient villa built for an emir, the historian seeks out the legacy of the island’s Arab rulers
The Wallace Collection’s survey of art from the East India Company era reveals surprising truths about Anglo-Indian relations
The country boasts a wealth of little-visited Roman ruins and Ottoman palaces
This riveting account of how a piratical corporation subjugated India resonates with today’s global capitalism
How a motley City gathering morphed into history’s most rapacious corporation — and why its story matters today
From a boutique retreat in Nairobi to the streets of downtown Nuuk, FT writers pick their best destinations of the year
Close to the Afghan border, William Dalrymple finds bucolic valleys and a unique community
William Dalrymple, Jan Morris, Pico Iyer and a panel of FT travel writers look back on 2017’s highlights
Despite the stone’s bloody history, it is regarded as the world’s greatest gem
Modernisers and missionaries transformed the once fearsome tribal region — but did they go too far?
Suspended in the midst of the Hindu Kush is a place of otherworldly beauty and fascinating history — despite the efforts of the Taliban
The British author shares a stage with Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi at the Jaipur literature festival
A history of the first Anglo-Afghan war describes the consequences of political ignorance and military folly – and the west’s failure to learn from past mistakes
A journey through centuries of Crete’s history via its elegiac musical traditions
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