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. 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.

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. 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.

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. 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.

Why is the tomb of the last Ottoman Emperor in Ellora 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.

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. 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.

The Forgotten Citadel

Gwalior is not a particularly well-visited city, even from within India. Yet just three hours south of Agra, it is one of the most historic cities in the world. The fort was established in the fifth century, shortly after the fall of Rome.

Renowned as one of the best forts in India, it was sought after by every major power in the region - from the Pratiharas to the Mamluks, from the Tomars to the Mughals to the Scindias and the British

When Dubai Was a Part of India

Although largely forgotten today, in the early 20th Century, nearly a third of the Arabian Peninsula was ruled as part of Britain's Indian Empire. From Aden to Kuwait, a crescent of Arabian protectorates was governed from Delhi, used the rupee, was overseen by the Indian Political Service, policed by Indian troops, and answerable to the Viceroy of India.

The European Colonies of Bengal

In the early 1700s, Bengal was one of the richest places in the world. Generating 5% of global GDP, its capital Murshidabad had more wealth than the British aristocracy combined. Indeed so rich was this region, that foreign trading companies all competed with eachother for the favours of the Bengali elite.

Gradually, a series of European factories would dot the Hooghly river

The Hindu Gods of Ancient Syria

In the heart of Istanbul, opposite the Blue Mosque, stands an Ancient Egyptian obelisk proclaiming victory over a kingdom called the Mittani. In the summer of 1913, archaeologists made a stunning discovery: a Mittani clay tablet from 1350 BC, bearing the earliest known written references to Hindu gods - Indra, Varuna, Agni, Mitra, and Nasatya.

The Founding Father of Pakistan

Of all the figures that I had to research in my book Shattered Lands, it is probably Muhammad Ali Jinnah who surprised me the most. Indeed in the early 1920s, everything about him belied the fact that he would soon found the world's first Islamic republic.

The Endangered Tombs of Junagadh

By the mid 18th century the Mughal Empire was crumbling and when Nadir Shah sacked the imperial capital of Delhi, all hell broke loose As the steel frame of the empire collapsed, the Mughal General of Gujarat, Bahadur Khan Babi, suddenly found himself struggling against an invasion by the Maratha Gaekwad Dynasty.

Tucked away in a small corner of Tamil Nadu lies one of the greatest clusters of palatial mansions in all of India For a hundred years, the Tamil Chettiar community were the single most important financiers in the whole of South East Asia, essentially setting the foundations of microfinance in the region.

The Tomb of the Last Maharaja of Punjab

In a small churchyard in Suffolk, in Southeast England, lies the grave of the last Maharaja of Punjab. Taken to England as a political hostage, Duleep Singh became Queen Victoria's godson, and converted to Christianity around the same time.

This is him top left at Queen Victoria's Osborne House.

The Last Maharaja of Punjab

In a quiet corner of Suffolk, just beyond the hedgerows and honey-stone cottages of Thetford Forest, stands a country house unlike any other in Britain. From the outside, it looks like your rather standard 19th century Italianate country pile.

The Hindu Gods of Ancient Syria

In the summer of 1913, archaeologists made a stunning discovery: a clay tablet from 1350 BC, bearing the earliest known written references to Hindu gods—Indra, Varuna, Agni, Mitra, and Nasatya—in Vedic Sanskrit. With that one tablet, they proved the language and belief system of the Rig Veda were already well established by 1350 BC.

Indeed it confirmed Vedic Sanskrit as the oldest surviving Indo-European language.

The Temples of Mughal Delhi

Delhi was once one of the great pilgrimage sites in the medeival world. A centre of pilgrimage for Muslims, it was also sacred to Hindus, who see it as the site of the legendary city Indraprastha, as well as Sikhs, who mourn their gurus here The historic Hindu and Jain temples in the Indian capital are probably my favourite hidden gems in the city.

The Brahmin Sultan of Maharashtra

In 1422, a young Marathi-speaking Brahmin called Tima Bhat, who had grown up in the Vijayanagara Empire, was taken hostage by the Bahmani general Ahmad Shah Wali and converted to Islam by force. Conscripted as a military slave, things weren't looking good for Tima Bhatt, who now took the name Malik Hasan Bahri.

But in 1463, he was appointed the personal servant of the Bahmani Sultan, and over time, he gained the emperors favour.

The Greatest Empire You've Probably Never Heard Of

The Gupta Empire is often extolled as the 'Golden Age' of Ancient India, but it was arguably their predecessors who did more to put India on the world map. The Kushans (30-375AD) are an empire that few people have heard of today.

Beginning as nomads in northwest China, they were forced across the Himalayas by the Huns and, around 100 AD, they adopted Greek customs from the descendents of Alexander the Great.

The Ethiopian Ruler of Maharashtra

Malik Ambar, buried a five minute walk from the Ellora Caves, is of the most extraordinary figures in world history. Born with the name 'Chapu" in Har into Ethiopia's Oromo tribe, Ambar was "captured as a boy and sold to an Arab for twenty ducats."

"He has a stern Roman face" recalled one traveller, "and is tall and strong of stature", thought his white glassy eyes... do not become him."

The Melon Palace

In a small corner of Burhanpur, near the city's municipal rubbish dump, stands a rather gorgeous tomb known as the Kharbuja Mahal, or Melon Palace.

In actual fact it's not a Palace at all, but rather the Tomb Bilqis Bano Begum, the wife of Price Shah Shuja. Shuja's parents, Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, are buried in the Taj Mahal, and the Tomb of Shujas wife shows the same aesthetic attention to detail.

The Sultans of Sanskrit

Asirgarh is renowned as one of the most ancient and impregnable forts in India, and even to climb up to the citadel from the village below takes a fair bit of puff. Most pilgrims were heading to a Maratha temple dedicated to Shiva and Ashwathhama. What's most remarkable, however, is what's on top.