Somanatha: The Many Voices of a History by Romila Thapar Essay

It was during the year 1026 that Mahmud of Ghazni raided the Somanatha temple for its wealth, leading to the terminal of its many idols. In Somanatha The Many Voices of a level, Romila Thapar explores the distinct narratives that were written at the time by placing them into the historical context of the percentage point. Her goal, through this monograph, was not to alter how we perceive the history of the raid, entirely to instead study the diverse perspectives and views be in the various sources collected on the topic. historical interpretations range from the Turko-Persian narratives of the period to the Colonial writings long after the raid. Through the investigation of the sources mavin would hope to point out the variations in the texts, and then analyze why these deviations in the story came to be. Thapars findings would assist any historian in determining the nature of these sources and the way they are currently used. One must remember that any and all sources could be of significant importance when aspect at the attitudes of the individuals of the time. The Turko-Persian narratives contain a multitude of different reading materials of the raid on the Somanatha temple by Mahmud of Ghazni. Persian scholar Al-Biruni provides historians with the most realistic version of the events surrounding the raid. He believed that because the Somanatha temple was constructed of st bingle and placed in an field of view surrounded by sea on three sides it had to be guarding wealth. Mahmud was in fact able to conquer the Somanatha temple for its wealth, subsequently taking pieces fanny to Ghazni. Turkish raids to India were originally focused on obtaining animal herds, but the savvy for them now was to loot urban treasuries and capture prisoners of war... ...itish Colonials short term goals, but this course of action would leave long lasting effects on the people of these two cultures. All in all, Somanatha The Many Voices of a History hopes to study the diverse perspectives and views represented in the various sources collected on the topic. The hope is that this will allow historians to better understand the various perspectives on the period. In order to get the true picture of an event one will need to analyze all of the possible views of what actually occurred. Historical interpretations range from the Turko-Persian narratives of the period to the Colonial writings long after the raid. any event, such as the raid on the Somanatha temple, can prove to be more complicated then one would ever believe at first sight. Works CitedThapar, Romila. Somanatha The Many Voices of a History. London Verso, 2005. Print.