A Review of William Dalrymple's "The Return of A King"

William Dalrymple has done it again. Once again he takes us on a fairy-tale adventure across two continents with a cast of characters as diverse as Napoleon to Queen Victoria. In his book, he describes the first Anglo-Afghan War of 1839-1842 complete with its background of the Great Game- the Anglo-Russian rivalry in Central Asia. However, this work has a few shortcomings. Dalrymple, in a sense, tries to do too much. The book starts with the meeting of Napoleon and Tsar Alexander I at the drafting of the Treaty of Tilsit. From there it goes towards British and Russian intrigues in locations as varied as Tehran to Hong Kong during the Opium Wars. It also involves supporting actors such as Ranjit Singh and the Polish-Russian adventurer Ivan Vitkevich. As Dalrymple gives a thorough background of each of his characters, the central narrative tends to get drowned in the verbosity. Often it seems that the author is going off on a tangent instead of sticking to the main events discussed in the book. Dalrymple's fondness of descriptive writing is also a bit of a let-down. While he describes the geography and locales very well, the actual description of the battle scenes tend to be flat and lifeless. On that particular point, it seems as if the soldiers do not seem to have any spirit.

However, on the whole, it is a good book worth reading as it draws parallels between the British misadventure of the 1840s with the troubles faced by NATO in its present day war on terror and also includes interesting tidbits such as the Taliban chief Mullah Omar likening himself to Dost Mohammed who resisted the British. 

Opium, A History. The Ancient Period

The Ancient Period(5000 B.C. to A.D. 500)

Scholars are divided as to when and where the use of opium started.  This is because poppy seeds have been found in diverse locations stretching from the ‘Cave of the Bats’ in Spain to the Shanidar Cave in modern-day Iraq[1].  However, there is consensus that cultivation on a wide scale began in the Tigris-Euphrates valley in lower Mesopotamia in present-day Iraq.  By 3400 B.C., the ancient Sumerian civilization compiled medicine lists which mention the wide use of opium[2].  The Sumerians called the poppy plant as hul-gil or the ‘joy plant’, probably a reference to its hallucinogenic properties[3].  Opium was used not only for its medicinal effects but also as a culinary item, in order to spice up foods like bread and salads.  From the Sumerians, it was passed on to the Babylonians who exported it in large quantities to other regions such as Egypt and Persia with the Phoenicians acting as the intermediary.

By the year 1500 B.C., opium was well-known in Egypt.  The city of Thebes was one of the major centres of cultivation.  In fact, the place has lent its name to one of the alkaloids in opium, namely thebaine[4].  In the medical texts compiled by the Egyptians, more than 700 medicines use opium.  It was from the time of its cultivation in Egypt that opium became a commodity traded all over the Mediterranean world.  The Phoenicians and the Greek merchants who traded in Egypt purchased the opium in the local markets and transported them to regions as diverse as Carthage, the Greek world and Europe.  In Greece, opium had religious as well as medicinal value.  Many Greek gods such as Apollo and Hypnos are depicted with wreaths of poppies.  Homer mentions it in his epics as the drink that Greek warriors took after a battle[5].  By the time of the Greek Classical period, its medicinal properties were also known.  Hippocrates lists out the properties of opium in his treatises.  Hence Greece became a large market for the drug.

From Greece, the use of opium spread to the Roman Empire.  The Romans highly valued the drug for both mystical as well as practical purposes.  The opium was purchased by Greek and Phoenician merchants in Alexandria from where it was taken on the last leg of the Silk Road to the Eternal City.  Several Roman gods such as Somnos are depicted with poppies.   The drug was also valued as a painkiller.  The Romans also were among the first people to learn of the recreational use of opium.  They would crush the poppy pod and mix it with honey and then eat it.  This remained the principal mode of ingestion in the ancient world.  Opium was so important to the Romans that their coins often carried the image of the poppy plant.  It was during the heyday of the Silk Road during the Pax Romana that opium use spread across the known world.  The use of opium, mainly for medicine extended from China in the east to the British Isles in the west.  The Persians had already introduced opium to the societies of China and India.

Opium smokers in China

---

[1] Walter Sneader,Drug discovery.

[2] Paul L. Schiff, Jr., Opium and its Alkaloids, American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Summer 2002, p. 1.

[3] Thomas M. Santella, Opium, Infobase Publishing, 2007, p. 9.

[4] Ibid., p. 10.

[5]Santella, Opium, p. 11.

Opium, A History. Introduction

Opium! Probably no other organic substance has played such a prolific role both in
History as well as in imagination. The very name ‘opium’ conjures up the image
of the mysterious East, with its opium dens, prostitutes, shadowy figures in dark

alleys and visions of paradise. It has been associated with the Assassins who
terrorized the Christian forces during the Crusades and also with sinister Chinamen
who seem bent on shanghaiing innocent people into adventures in far-off lands.

Opium in India
Opium is no stranger to India. Scholars are of the opinion that the drink ‘soma’
mentioned in Rig Veda was a derivative of opium. They base this belief on the
substance’s hallucinogenic effects.

(1) Courtesy Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Opium_Seller_(W._M%C3%BCller).jpg (Accessed on 13/4/2013)

What is Opium and why is it important to History?

Opium is the resin of the opium poppy plant, which goes by the botanical name
Papaver somniferum. It is prized for the powerful hallucinogenic and narcotic
effect it produces on its intake. The use of opium goes back thousands of years
into the Neolithic Age. Poppy seeds have been found in Neolithic burial sites in
the Danube valley dating to around 4000 B.C. Also a large number of poppy
seeds have been found in France and the remains of lake villages in Switzerland
which date back to the fourth millennium B.C. The trade in opium is almost
simultaneous to its discovery. It started with the Phoenicians who took it from
Egypt and Mesopotamia and traded it with places like Greece and Rome. In the
Medieval period, the Arabs took over the trade which formed an important
component of the trade triangle between Southeast Asia and Europe along with
slaves and spices. But the opium trade emerged as a global phenomenon only in
the eighteenth century when it was used by the common people. Till then it had
been a luxury item enjoyed by the elite. But after the common people in the world,
particularly in China, grew addicted to it, the demand grew exponentially. The
Opium Wars were fought over this trade. Even today, though opium is no longer
widely used in its original form, it is highly prized as the source of the drug heroin.
The trade in opiates constitutes a major part of global commerce and is alone
valued at $40 billion annually. In spite of government efforts to end the illegal
trade in the substance, the demand, and hence the supply, continues to grow every
year, making the venture extremely profitable. Today the main producers of
opium are located in an arc from Central Asia to East Asia, comprising the
countries of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Myanmar and Thailand which account for most
of the world’s opium poppy production.

Aims and Objectives
In this paper, I wish to trace a global history of the trade in opium from its origin in

the Middle East in Antiquity to its global circulation in the present day.













(2) Courtesy Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Slaapbol_R0017601.JPG (accessed on 13/4/2013)

THE FORGOTTEN EMPEROR

VENKATAPATI RAYA II: THE LAST GREAT EMPEROR OF VIJAYANAGAR

In popular and scholarly thinking, it is assumed that the fall of the Vijayanagar empire was after the battle of Raksas Tangadi in January 1565 when the combined forces of the Deccan sultans killed Rama Raya and sacked Vijayanagar. However, this is not the full story. What many are not aware of is that the Empire continued in a shrunken form with its capital at Penukonda in Andhra country for nearly a century after. This is due to the courage of the kings Sriranga I and Venkata II. 

After the sack of Vijayanagara, Tirumala, the brother of Rama Raya, fled with the ruler Sadashiva who was a minor and set up his capital at Penukonda. Though there was a great shock among the allies and feudatories of the kingdom due to the sack of its capital, the prestige of the Empire was such that they continued to pay tribute and regard the Vijayanagar ruler as the Emperor of South India. Capitalizing on this respect, Tirumala and his son Sriranga managed to hold the invading sultans at bay and thus let the kingdom continue.

Venkatapati, the younger brother of Sriranga, who came to the throne at Penukonda in 1586 was the greatest ruler of the Aravidu dynasty of Vijayanagar. He managed to rein in his recalcitrant feudatories and also to defeat the sultans of Bijapur and Golconda. Immediately on coming to the throne, he secured the services of Achyutappa Nayaka of Tanjore. This was particularly fortunate as the Nayaka had a powerful army. Soon after his coronation, probably between 1587 and 1589, the sultan of Bijapur launched an invasion of Vijayanagar territory and laid siege to Penukonda. But the sultan had underestimated his opponent. Learning from the mistakes of his predecessors, Venkata had built a powerful army which was composed of primarily musketeers and cavalrymen unlike his ancestors who relied on archers and swordsmen. The musketeers who had been trained in marksmanship kept the enemy at bay while a message was sent to the Nayaka of Tanjore for reinforcements. Fresh troops with a large contingent of musketeers were sent under Raghunatha, the son of Achyuta. While Venkata engaged the enemy from front, Raghunatha launched an attack on its rear, throwing the sultan's forces into confusion. Ibrahim Adil Shah II had no option but to retreat from the siege. Most Indian kings would have been content at this. But Venkata saw an opportunity in his enemy's flight. He immediately rallied all his forces and combined them with the troops of Raghunatha. He then pursued the retreating opponent across Andhra into Karnataka thus capturing vast areas of territory from him. This shows considerable foresight and initiative on the part of the Vijayanagar king. It is significant that the Sultan of Bijapur never again entered into hostilities with him.

However, the Raya's last act proved to be the downfall of the empire. He bypassed his son and nominated his nephew as the new emperor. With this civil war broke out and once again exposed the kingdom to outside influences.