Sam Dalrymple Profile picture
Jan 5, 2025 8 tweets 3 min read Read on X
The Hindu Kings of Vietnam

A thread Image
Until just five hundred years ago, Vietnamese speakers were mostly limited to the Red River Basin of Northern Vietnam.

South Vietnam, meanwhile, was dominated by a constellation of Hindu states known as Champa, the eastern-most Hindu states in mainland Asia Image
The largest of the early centres was Mỹ Sơn, a complex built to identify King Bhadravarman with the Hindu god Shiva. Image
The tallest temples, meanwhile, would be built around the city of Vijaya, and rival the temples of the Cholas in their enormous height Image
Over a thousand years, Champa would produce a fascinating matrilineal society, constructing vast Hindu temples - not only to Shiva and Vishnu - but also to Allah and the Abrahamic first woman Eve. Image
As a matriarchal society, they would also produce their own remarkable spin on the Shiva lingam - the 'uroja' breast pedestal Image
From 1471 onwards, however, the Viet kingdom to the north would gradually begin encroaching upon its territory Image
Read my latest substack for the full story!

travelsofsamwise.substack.com/p/the-hindu-ki…Image

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More from @SamDalrymple123

Feb 5
This week I finally got to visit Pakistan's two greatest Gupta masterpieces: the Brahma of Mirpur Khas in Karachi... Image
And the Jain sculptures of Murti in Lahore Museum! Image
The greatest Punjabi Gupta site - Murti - suffered during Partition, with the site's archeological finds divided between Chandigarh and Lahore. Here you can see some of the temple fragments now in India as a result. Image
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Read 4 tweets
Jan 24
The Last Kings of Lanka

In the early 18th century, a young Telugu prince named Vijaya Rajasinha set sail from the South Indian city of Madurai for the island of Sri Lanka. Image
Vijaya Rajasinha's family had once ruled a vast kingdom in Southern India but by the time Vijaya was born, his family’s power was fading.

Then, in 1739, a convoluted dynastic succession suddenly placed this Hindu prince on the throne of Kandy in Sri Lanka. Image
His successor – Kirti Sri Rajasinha – would subsequently kickstart one of the most sophisticated schools of painting in Ancient and Medieval South Asia: the Kandyan school of Art Image
Read 10 tweets
Jan 17
The Terracotta Pyramid of Bengal

Tucked away in the heart of West Bengal, the small town of Bishnupur remains one of India’s best-kept secrets. Still largely unknown outside the state, it hosts some of the most refined temples in the subcontinent. Image
As our car drove westward from Kolkata, the urban sprawl of the Hooghly delta fell away and revealed lush paddy fields crisscrossed by lazy distributaries. Then, as we entered Bankura district, the paddy gave way to the ‘Jungle Mahals’ - a rugged forest region of silver-barked Sal trees and gnarled, thick-leaved Mahua.Image
For centuries, these forests had served as a refuge for Bengal’s most independent-minded chiefs, and even today it feels a world away from the riverine plains to the east. Image
Read 11 tweets
Dec 10, 2025
Why is the King of Afghanistan Buried Near Chandigarh?

Well it turns out to be linked with how the Sikhs got hold of the Kohinoor Diamond. Image
Shah Zaman became king of Afghanistan in 1793. Two years later, with his treasuries empty, he ordered an invasion of Punjab - "the time honoured Afghan solution to a cash crisis."

But Punjab was increasingly falling under the sway of the East India Company and Governor General Wellseley managed to persuade the Qajar Shah of Iran to attack Durrani's kingdom's rear. In 1799, Shah Zaman was forced to retreat.Image
In the subsequent power vacuum, a young Sikh Raja called Ranjit Singh ended up as the new ruler of Lahore. And over the next two years, this new Sikh rulers would gradually prise away the Durrani Empire's most lucrative provinces. Image
Read 12 tweets
Nov 22, 2025
Why is the tomb of the last Ottoman Emperor in Ellora Image
The Ellora Caves have long been considered one of the most sacred sites in the world. So much so that the last Ottoman Caliph chose to be buried on a hill overlooking it. Image
Ridiculously, the tomb is not a protected site. Indeed there is no road there, and you still have to scramble up a goats path to reach it. Image
Read 8 tweets
Nov 16, 2025
The First Indian Muslims

We often think of the Muhammad Ghori's 'Islamic invasions' in the 12th century as the start of the Muslim presence in India. Yet by this time, Muslims had already been an integral part of Indian society for almost four hundred years.

Indeed India's earliest Islamic heritage was often patronised by dynasties that we associate with a 'pure' Hindu past.Image
For example, some of the earliest mosques were built under the Pallava, Chola and Pandya kings, in order to attract Muslim traders to their domains. The oldest intact Islamic mihrab is actually in the ancient Chola capital of Uraiyur, across the river from the great temple of Srirangam, and dates from 734AD.Image
Meanwhile a mihrab embedded in the walls of Gwalior Fort is proof that the Pratihara rulers - who built much of modern Gwalior Fort and are most renowned for keeping the Arab Caliphate at bay - did the same.

Evidence of North India's early Islamic community is slim, but the historians Ibn al-Athir and Ibn Hawqal both make reference to an early Muslim trading community there, and a 'turushkadanda' tax imposed on all Turks (Muslims) by the Pratihara rulers. This was probably a tit for tat response to the jizya tax imposed upon non-Muslims in Islamic domains.Image
Read 8 tweets

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