Iran to India - The Shansabanis of Afghanistan, c. 1145-1190 CE

Alka Patel brings together all the architectural patronage attributed to the Shansabanis in Afghanistan and Pakistan (Swat and lower Indus region). In doing so, she creates an architectural biography of this pivotal polity and its trans-regional empire. By treating built remains as independent, primary sources, and juxtaposing them with the principal texts, Patel creates a complex understanding of the historical processes the Shansabanis initiated throughout the landscapes they re-conjoined. Overall, this book provides the first analysis of this important epigraphic corpus. It will serve as the starting point for future research on the medieval epigraphy of Afghanistan and Pakistan.